Cool and Creepy Stuff I Own! (Part 2)

Another set of cool and creepy..or at least spooky-themed…stuff I own kicks off with this Fuzzy-Felt playset ‘fuzzy-felt Monsters’!  I used to own lots of these Fuzzy Felt playsets when I was a toddler, and for years I joked I was going to buy some and relive my younger days by playing with it!

And then I found a teddy bear set in a charity shop, and gifted it to myself one Christmas! And then I got this one, from Ebay, I think, the following year! I mean…I had too! Look at it!! So yeah, it was no longer a joke….using the above ideas included in the box as mild inspiration, I created….this!!

A whole host of Monsters wondering what the initials stand for (Deadpan Flook, of course!) ..

Not much felt left after creating those Monsters, as you can see above….maybe I should mix in the felt from my Teddy Bear set? Oh…I could have a Monster Bear picnic set!! Guess thats me busy on Halloween then! 😂

These odd coffin things had a very specific use, that is no longer apparent…because I consumed the contents! Yes, that’s right…they held candy! Or sweeties as we call them in my neck of the woods….

If I remember right, the pink coffin held the usual sweetie skeleton that was common when I used to get these as a kid…a collection of bones that you could fit together into a full skeleton…..But I think the big D-embossed black coffin actually contained a chocolate vampire, which was a bit of a novelty!

Some research tells me that the original skeleton sweets were called ‘Bone Shaker’ candy and were produced by Swizzels Matlow in the Uk, and were the British version of the US’s ‘Mr.Bones’ by Fleer….you can still buy some called ‘Bone Breaker’ from online retro sweet shops, as seen above!

Last for today, we have this odd Egyptian Skull snow globe, that has had a bit of an accident….

As you can see, I accidentally dropped something on top of it and smashed the globe, unleashing a small puddle of glitter-filled water, and goodness-knows-what-else upon the world! Maybe that is what’s wrong with the world these days….sorry, I guess! 😬😅

A lot of the glitter still sits on the smaller version of the skull, which I believe was supposed to look like a reflection of the bigger skull in the globe….but it looked pretty cool! A little odd for there to be snow in Egypt though, I always thought….

Although, apparently it can happen! It’s just very rare….the above picture of the camel was taken in 2013 when it snowed in Cairo for the first time in 112 years!!

Getting back to my Snow Globe though, and yeah, despite it being dangerously jaggy in places, I couldn’t find myself able to dispose of it, and I keep telling myself that I’m going to find another small glass globe that I can glue on in place of the other one and repair it someday….

But if you’ve followed this blog for a while, you’ll know how often my plans come to fruition… 😂

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I hope you enjoyed this selection of stuff..I’ve still got more to share, including a few books, so keep an eye out for those soon! In the meantime, the other Cryptkeepers like Guillaume over at Vraie Fiction have  plenty of posts to keep you entertained, and if you click the badge below you’ll head to the hub where you can find links to all the Countdown participants!

A Lazy Day...So Have A Vintage Halloween Card/Decoration Post!

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Be sure to check out what the other Cryptkeepers, like The Man Hole, have been up to by clicking the badge below and heading over to the Countdown Hub....

 

Cool and Creepy Stuff I Own! (Part 1)

Last year, before the dreaded lurgy set in, I was going to start posting some of the cool, weird, spooky stuff I own that I've picked up over the years as a fan of horror and sci-fi...Obviously, that was postponed, but now seems like a good time to carry on with the idea!

Let's start with this 'Horror' postcard-game thing that I got as a youngster in the late 80s. It was one of those 'get the coloured balls in the right holes' kinda things, but sadly some of the balls have escaped through a hole in the plastic over the years...I do love that artwork though! 

 

Here's the back of it, in case you're interested...it's seen better days too, but the whole postcard was, apparently, 'Post Office Approved' meaning that you needn't worry about sending it through the post to someone despite it having a bit more going on than the usual old boring postcards!

Next up, is this Golem that made it's way to me all the way from Prague! One of my cousin's was going on holiday, and when I found out I demanded they seek out the Golem and bring him back to me!

I knew about the tale of the Golem from seeing it in movies, y'see....and these days it's a famous tale in Prague.....It  takes place in the now-defunct Jewish Quarter – today’s Josefov – which I believe is part of the Old Town. Supposedly, in the 16th century, a Rabbi named Rabbi Löw, wanted to protect the Jewish people from the rulers up at Prague Castle. He was apparently able to change the elements and doing so, he was able to mould a strong, human form from the mud of the Vltava – what we now know as the Golem! Inserting a shem (a clay tablet bearing the name of God) into the mouth of the Golem, brought the creature to life!

Originally appearing a lot thinner, but still strong and muscley, the popular Golems available in statue, fridge magnet, coffe cup, etc. forms today, are based more on the look of the creature from the 1915 and 1920s movies...the same ones that taught me all about the beast! Worth checking those out if you haven't already.... 

Lastly for today's post, here's a bookmark that I think came with the Halloween Adventure Story Book (click here) that I posted scans of back in 2017....the front is fine and all Halloweeny and stuff, but I really love the back with the vampire in his coffin, so I usually used it with that facing the front!

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Well, I hope you liked that first look at some of the stuff I've gathered! I have loads more, so there will be more stuff popping up in posts throughout the month. As usual though, you can keep youreslves busy in the meantime by checking out what the other bloggers are up to for the Countdown by clicking the badge below! Groovy types like My Two Yen Worth have heaps to keep you amused!

The Evil Ones!

Almost missed posting today! In fact, I posted and then have to hastily edit this in the hope that no one has tried to read it yet! I lost track of time..

Today’s comic strip is from Weird Terror No.2, November 1953…and was uploaded to the Digital Comic Museum by regular contributor tilliban!

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Heading back to the parents and hopefully able to use my mum’s laptop to write posts a bit easier and not try to do stuff on the ipad, which seems to be quite awkward! 

Be sure to check out what the other bloggers are up to in the meantime by heading over to the Countdown hub! Just click the badge below!

Cinema of Stuff Presents….More Old British TV Spookiness!

 Been having a hell of a day travelling back to my flat….got soaked with rain, sprayed with horrible dung-filled water by a passing lorry, got some food when I got to Edinburgh that was supposed to be hot but wasn’t and then had to find another bus-stop to get home from because the main road was shut due to water-pipe issues AND then change buses halfway through the journey back for some unknown reason! All while still soggy and cold….

Anyway, I should have just enough time to post a few old spooky TV shows I’ve found on Twitter over the last week or so….they all come from a bit before I started to watch some of this type of stuff when it actually aired (when I was about 5 in 1982..😅) so when I watched them last week, that was the first time I had seen them too! But they seem to be exactly the kind of freaky nonsense I remember from growing up in the late 70s/early 80s so, here we go…

First up is an episode from a series by Nigel Kneale…writer of the ‘Quatermass’ series, ‘The Stone Tape’ and later Halloween III, although he had his name removed from that after the producer demanded more violence and gore! This episode of ‘Beasts’ (1976) is called ‘The Dummy’ and is about a creature-suit wearing actor, who isn’t having a great time and lets things get to him a bit more than is probably healthy….

Blimey! Good job it’s not Halloween yet…the day I’ve been having, wearing a costume apparently might be dangerous! Let’s move swiftly on to a slightly creepier tale, but one which will come with a warning that the ending is a bit of a let down, in that disappointing, ‘just ends with no answer’ kinda way…if that doesn’t bother you too much, it’s still worth a watch for the creepy feel, and it is directed fairly well! It’s from a series called ‘Leap in the Dark’ and is about a journalist/paranormal investigator who goes to hear about a variety of ghosts haunting a home, but becomes strangely drawn to the absent daughter of the household… ‘Come and Find Me’ is from 1980..

See what I mean about the ending? What was that all about!?

Anyway, time for one last video, and this is a classic! It’s an adaptation of M.R. James’ 1895 short story ‘Lost Hearts’ and this one I have seen before, but it’s been years since I did! And I haven’t watched it again yet either, so I’m going to watch it along with you! All I remember is that the ending is properly scary and involves the ghoulish children you see at the top of this post….*shivers*….nightmare fuel! M.R. James stories were often adapted by the BBC and shown as part of their yearly ‘Ghost Story for Christmas’ series, that has continued on and off right up until current times, and I’m pretty sure I’ve posted a couple on the blog before…

I hope you enjoy these terrifying tales! I’ll probably post some more before the month is out! If you’re not spooked enough yet though, be sure to check out what everyone else is doing over at the Countdown hub by clicking the badge below! 

Spook Sightings of Yester Year - No. 25 - Val Johnson's Unidentified Thing!

From The Beaver County Times, 30th August 1979...

'Unidentified thing' smashes deputy sheriff's patrol car

WARREN, Minn. (AP) - When law officers responding to a call reached Marshall County deputy Val Johnson, they found his car smashed, its windshield broken, antenna bent - and its clock 14 minutes off.

And the chief investigator for the Center for UFO Studies says the "thing" that attacked Johnson on an isolated road may well have been a UFO. "It's certainly as good a case as any I've seen in the past year," Al Hendry said Wednesday after flying here from his Evanston, Ill., Headquarters. 

Johnson, 35, said he was on patrol early Monday when he was attacked by an "unidentified thing" which dove at his car, causing him to lose control.

Val Johnson sat inside a new Marshall County squad car two months after the incident.
(Regene Radniecki) | Star Tribune 1979

"It sat there and appeared to be stationary," he said. "But when I got closer, boom, it was right there, just right now. I heard glass breaking, saw the inside of the car light up real bright with white light. It was very, very, extremely bright. That's all I can remember."

Sheriff Dennis Brekke has calculated the incident occurred about 1.40 a.m. It was 2.19 a.m. that Johnson called for help. Deputy Greg Winskowski, who was on his way to help Johnson, asked him to describe the vehicle that hit him. Johnson responded, "It wasn't a vehicle, Greg. I don't know what the hell it was."

When Winskowski got to the scene, he found Johnson's car sideways on the road. The windshield and one headlight had been smashed. There was a small, round dent in the hood. The red light atop the car was broken and two spring-mounted antenna were bent at angles of nearly 90 degrees.

Winskowski called an ambulance to take Johnson to a hospital, where he was treated for "welder burns" to his eyes. Doctors said the injury could have been caused by a bright flash of light.

Johnson's wrist watch and an electric clock in the patrol car stopped for 14 minutes. Johnson said he had set both time pieces when he began patrolling that night and had checked them several times in the evening.

Johnson pictured a few weeks after the incident, standing where he says he was engulfed by a flash of light, and indicating how big the beam of light was as it approached his car.
(Stormi Greener | Star Tribune 1979)

Hendry said he contacted five Federal Aviation Administration organizations in the area, and they all said they had no knowledge of aircraft activity in the area.

"This case has some clues," Hendry said, adding whatever hit the car "must have been travelling extremely fast to bend the antennas without moving the springs."

Brekke said he was at a loss to explain the incident. "We're not trying to scare people," he said. "We don't know what this was, maybe it's something that can be explained. But at this point, we don't have an answer to it. Even the gentleman we called in from Chicago doesn't have an answer to it."

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From The Madison Courier, 10th September 1979....

Val Johnson wishes he'd never seen that glaring light

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Val Johnson's strange encounter on a dark, lonely road last month has thrust him into the glaring light of nationwide attention and put an emotional strain on his family. The Marshall County deputy sheriff is scheduled to appear Tuesday on ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" program to talk about about a baffling UFO experience that he says burned his eyes, damaged his car and stopped his watch.

And Johnson's home in Oslo, Minn., has been flooded with telephone calls from people around the country telling him of similar experiences. "It's a tremendous strain on the family," said the 35-year-old father of three young children. "My wife's run ragged with phone calls. I hope this drops in a barrel and rests quietly so we can go back to being parents and I can go back to being a little town deputy sheriff."

Johnson said he was on patrol near Stephen, Minn., about 2 a.m. on Aug 27 when he saw a beam of light just above the road. The beam sped towards him, his squad car was engulfed in light and he heard glass breaking. Johnson said he was unconscious for 39 minutes, and when he came to, he realized his watch and the car's electric clock had stopped for 14 minutes.

Val Johnson's squad car, a 1977 Ford LTD known locally as the 'UFO Car' is preserved in the Marshall County Museum.
(Courtesy of the Marshall County Museum)

The windshield was shattered, a headlight and red light atop the car damaged and a thin radio aerial bent back. Deputies responding to Johnson's radio call for help found the squad car sideways on the road. Johnson suffered burns to his eyes which a physician called "welder's burns," caused by extremely bright light.

Because of the damage and the injury, this incident differed from most UFO reports, says Allan Hendry of the Center for UFO studies in Evanston, Ill.

Tests will be run on the squad car, Hendry said Sunday, and infrared pictures will be taken of the ground around the site of the incident "to see if the intensity of the light affected plants."

Hendry is also intrigued by a similar UFO report that came from Vermillion, S.D., two days after Johnson's close encounter was reported. Hendry said Russ Johnson (no relation to Val Johnson) of Vermillion said he was driving alone west of town about 2 a.m. when he, too, saw a light just above the road.

Russ Johnson, 33, told police the object suddenly accelerated toward him and engulfed his car in bright light, Hendry said. He kept his eyes closed as the light approached, but opened them in time to see the light speed away, then suddenly vanish.

Unlike the deputy, Hendry said Johnson suffered no injury and his car was not damaged. Hendry said Johnson told him he was not aware of the Minnesota UFO report at the time. "Only rarely do I have a repeat experence which happens right on the heels of another one," said Hendry.

Hear Val Johnson speak in a 1979 interview about the incident in this MPR news Soundcloud piece by clicking here...

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Remember to check out all the other Cryptkeeper's content by clicking the badge below, like Garage Sale Finds who always has some great posts about what he's found! And be sure to pop back here tomorrow for some more spooky shenanigans!

Hackie's Return!

Our first visit to the Digital Comic Museum this year drag's up a tale that tells why you should always tip your cabbie / Uber driver and not mistreat them in any way, or it could come back to haunt you....quite literally!

This story is from Comic Media's Weird Terror, Issue 3 (dated January 1953), and was uploaded to the museum by user ArKay....

As always, if the pics aren't big enough for you to read, just click them for a full size view!

 Wow, that Taxi driver really took it up a gear to get his revenge, didn't he! Coming back from the dead to collect on his vengeance! I guess it's only fare...I mean..fair.....

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Be sure to head over to the Countdown To Halloween hub by clicking the badge below, where you can find a list of all the other participants in this year's countdown, including such cool cryptkeeper's as Horror Comic's of the 1950's where more tales such as the one I posted today can also be found! 

And join me back here again tomorrow for another creepy contribution!

🎃Countdown To Halloween 2023🎃

 

Well, I don’t know about you guys, but for me it doesn’t seem like 12 months since the last time we were kicking off the countdown! This year has flew by for me, and I can’t quite believe the nights are already drawing in and we’re getting ready to spook thinks up as we head into the darker days!

Last year was obviously a bit of a crazy time for me during the Halloween season, as I had a particularly nasty chest infection….one that would go on to last until December and cause a few issues with a hernia I’ve had for years….and one that I still have now, and which they don’t want to operate on unless they have too, but other than that, so far ‘touch wood’, my medical issues this year are just the ones I’ve had for ages…

The Curse of the Blog has still managed to show it’s face though, this time once more in the form of technical issues. In the last week, as I prepared to get things ready for the blog, my laptop seems to have given up the ghost, a hard drive I had for my Xbox which allowed me to access hundreds of games on old retro systems has packed in and stopped working too, and in the last few hours my new Xbox Series S has started to get a random black screen anytime I go near the HD input cable…oh, and my tablet, the only piece of hardware I have left to put this blog together appears to have had a charge cable break a bit inside it, meaning I can only randomly charge it when it decides to work, and can’t put a new cable in…so everything is wonderful!! (Sarcasm)

In spite of all this, let’s give things a go….it is still my favourite season, and I’m going to give it my best shot to get things done! I’m also looking forward to seeing what everyone else has in store for us, and you check out their offerings too, by clicking the Cryptkeeper badges, either to the top right of the blog or at the end of this very post, which in time-honoured tradition will whisk you off to the Countdown hub, where you can find a list of all the participants!

Now that this catch up and intro-type post is out of the way, we’ll kick things off properly tomorrow, probably with a visit to the Digital Comic Museum to see what terrifying tale I can dig up…in the meantime, it just remains to wish everyone a very happy Countdown and frightfully freaky festive funtime!

See ya here tomorrow, stuffers!