One of my favorite October past times, and quickly becoming a yearly tradition, is the visit to the Halloween store. These stores go by several different names, but they all carry the same wares. They're usually located in dilapidated ex-storefronts, which can be a large part of the allure. My favorite one was the one that opened in the old Media Play building. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's take a look inside.
The first thing I laid eyes on were these odd, brightly colored Disco Skulls. I really can't imagine a use for these, as they're too bright and garish to fit at a Halloween party, yet too morbid for your next rave. Though, strangely, I want one or ten. Nothing like neon glitter skulls to brighten up the homestead.
Right next to the Party Skulls were these gory Hook Heads, and this mortifying Man Without Skin Hanging Upside-Down (can't really think of a clever name for it). These were a little over the top, even for me, and I can't imagine any kid looking at them without 1)crying, or 2)pissing his pants and running home, vowing to never ask people for candy ever again. Maybe I'm just scarred by my own childhood experiences with horrifying props, but any adult who puts this kind of decoration in their yard and still expects kids to come up for treats is a sick fuck. They should be forced to live out their worst nightmares for all eternity. Well.
Ah, here we have the more detailed, and therefore more expensive, butcher meat props that I talked about in
my first Halloween article. These are of much better quality than my little dollar store items, but they get the same point across. The selection is fleshed (hehe) out with the addition of hands and entire leg quarters. Of note are the specimen bottles here, each with a small organ and a pool of blood. Great pieces for your mantle. Gives the room a mad scientist lab vibe.
I've always loved the packaging on children's costumes, just for how awkward the kids look. It really gives the idea that they just stuffed these guys into the costumes and told them to "look like a superhero". It really shows in the glazed-over annoyance of lil Thor, the goofy grin of pint-sized Green Lantern, and the "I have to poop" glance of baby Batman. There were many more examples, but I felt a little uneasy being an adult male taking pictures of children on costume packaging. Plus, I think they called the cops.
Wigs for White Guys.
This is kinda the saddest mask I've ever seen. Wanna dress as Freddy Kruger doing his best cat impersonation?
The entire store was covered in little reminders that this used to be a Hollywood Video. From the giant picture of The Mask, to the small pictures of Pooh Bear and Goofy poking their heads over the macabre wares. the most obvious tell was the fact that the entire place still had carpeting that bore the Hollywood Video logo. This is important to me because I hold great nostalgia for Hollywood Video. They were my go-to rental store. Never much cared for Blockbuster, and good ol' Hollywood always seemed to have a better selection, not to mention their dedicated video game store. I really do miss them, which is odd, because they're a store. But to that I say, hey, fuck you. I don't judge. I just love.
If you've never been to a dedicated Halloween store, I highly encourage it. The selection of horrors you can find there are just unparalleled. It certainly beats the seasonal aisle of walmart. It seems I never leave these places without at least buying something. What did I buy on this trip? Relax, friend, all will be revealed in time. With that, I leave you with this picture of Rastafarian Michael Myers.
I'm trying to make my blog the #1 Google hit for "Rastafarian Michael Myers".
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