Kill, Puppets, Kill

 

Look what I found on a visit to the Digital Comic Museum tonight! It's basically Puppet Master before Puppet Master.....

It comes from American Comis Group's Adventures Into The Unknown, Issue 2, dated December 1948/January 1949 and was uploaded to the archive by the user, Aratak, so thanks go to them for the original scans....

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Only a few days left! Better hurry over to the Countdown hub and catch up with all the other Cryptkeepers! Just click the badge below!

Hands of Death!

 

That beloved staple of  '50s horror comics appears again in tonight's tale from the Digital Comic Museum, which comes from Superior's Strange Mysteries, Issue 4, Dated March 1952. It was uploaded to the archive by darwination so thanks go to them for the original scans...

Let's take a reflective look then, at the....Hands of Death!!

Wow, that old lady really cracked up didn't she? Really went all to pieces! 

Well, I suppose if I'd spent that much time standing trapped in a mirror I'd get pretty shattered too!

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Be sure to go check out what the other Cryptkeepers taking part in the Countdown to Halloween are up to! Moongem Comics is taking a look at some of those horror-themed Fanta cans, for instance!  For the rest, just click the badge below and that will take you to the Countdown hub!

The Ancient Mariner!

 

Yeah, yeah...So I missed yesterday! I had to head back to the parents' house, and by the time I got back and got set up, it was almost midnight...and then because they had had a powercut the other night, my laptop that I use here took forever to start up, meaning it was 12.30 by the time it was ready...so I just gave up trying to post!

But we're back up and running today! And so let's take another trip to the Digital Comic Museum, where I've found a story I'm going to post just so as I can add an awesome music track for you to listen to after you've read it....

Once again it was uploaded to the museum by MarkBoersma so thanks go to them, and it comes from the pages of Youthful Magazines' Chilling Tales, Issue 14, dated February 1953!

For those who don't know, this comic is based upon The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (originally The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere), written by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797–98 and published in 1798 in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads.

This poem was also the inspiration for the song of the same title, by British heavy metal legends, Iron Maiden which I heard as a kid, loving the creepy bit in the middle where it goes all quiet and you can hear the creaking of the ship as the actual poem is recited!  Give it a listen below and revel in its awesomeness!  

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Be sure to click the badge below head over to the Countdown to Halloween hub where you can find links to all the other Cryptkeepers taking part in the Countdown...or you could visit Tom at Garage Sale Finds who has a Beistle Skull and Cross Bones Die Cut to show you!

Halloween Party - Shari Lewis Style!

 

So I was a bit late due to streaming tonight, and missed the deadline of midnight....so that means you'll get 2 posts today! 

Anyway, I was scouring the Internet Archive looking for interesting things when I stumbled upon a copy of the October 1958 issue of the American women's lifestyle magazine, Family Circle. "There must be some cool, spooky, Halloween based stuff in this, right?" I thought to myself as I started to flick through the pages...and sure enough I stumbled upon some holiday themed ads....

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First a recipe for some Pumpkin Cookies from Clabber Girl...

Then some fun for Halloween with Crayola....

Pretty groovy, right...well then a few pages later, I stumbled on to someone who I would have never have recognised were it not for a weird computer game ad I found a few years back. But I'm sure to some of my American readers, the name Shari Lewis will be a lot more familiar. Growing up in the UK, we were never introduced to the wonders of Shari and Lamb Chop, but I discovered a bit more about her after some research when I found the aforementioned ad for a Lamb Chop PC game from the 90s....

And now here she is, in a magazine article, giving a well received Halloween Party to some '50s kids! There's some nice hints as to things to do for any kids who might be running around your house during the season, so here's the article in full.....

Some fun stuff in there I'm sure you'll agree!

Next, I stumbled upon some Trick or Treat fun from Wrigleys....

And found some spooky popcorn!

I also found some ads that weren't spooky, but I'm including them anyway, 'coz I love the fifties-ness of them!

Simple Simon Frozen Pies!

And some grape stuff from Tea Garden!

I was happy to find so much stuff when I usually find nothing in so many magazines, so maybe I'll try and find some more issues later in the month!

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Right, I'll be back later today with another post, hopefully...although I am travelling back to the parents, so it might be a bit late in the day!  In the meantime, go check out what everybody else is doing by hopping over to the hub!  

Go on then...click that badge below! Or you could head straight over to The Horrors of Halloween, where Jack O has a look at what Family Guy has in store for us this Halloween!

The Final Waltz!

 

For our first visit to the Digital Comic Museum this year, we blow the cobwebs off Story Comics' Dark Mysteries Issue 23, from May 1955. This was uploaded to the museum by MarkBoersma, so thanks go to them for providing the original scans.

A spooky old locket is given to a man with a promise that the woman to whom he gives it will be forever bonded to him. 

I think we can all guess how this is going to go.....

Hmm...So Marcy thought she had quick-stepped out of Captain Austen's life, but as expected he just waltzed back in again! She must have felt like she took one step forward, and went two steps back!

Well, she did say she was dying to get Jeb's locket....so she danced right into that one by herself!

Never mind, I'm sure Jeb's ghost will keep her on her toes!

(..sorry...)

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Before you head off, be sure to pop over to the Countdown hub by clicking the badge below and check out what the other Cryptkeepers are up to! I know that Vraie Fiction has a cool kids magazine to show you, for instance....

And remember that tonight I'll hopefully be doing a stream at around 9pm UK time featuring some Gruesome Games on my Twitch channel....

Otherwise, pop back here tomorrow for some more spooky shenanigans!

Dennison's Bogie Book

 

Started as basically a giant advert for their Crepe Paper and what you could create with it, Dennison's started printing yearly Bogie Books in 1909.  Being from the UK, and also not being born until 1977, I never got to experience these wonderful books that give you lots of ideas for parties, decorations, costumes and games to liven up your Halloween experience!

Thankfully, the Internet Archive let me know some of these books were in the public domain, and so presented here is one in its entirity for your reading pleasure! For more information on these, there is a wonderful blog post over at the Food Historian's blog that does a far more impressive job of explaining them than I ever could, so go check that out and then go try out some of these ideas.....just be sure to buy a ton of crepe paper first though!

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Look at those costumes!  Also, I think "Old Man Autumn" needs to make some sort of comeback as a thing for Halloween..his leafy face is just amazing!

Do we really only have two days left before Halloween!? Where the heck does the time go?

Best get over to the Countdown hub and check out as much stuff as possible over the next couple of days! Just click the badge below....