COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 31: HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL YOU BOILS AND GHOULS! Make sure you celebrate tonight with lots of candy and goodies, and be sure to watch John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN, definitely one of my Halloween night traditions! Also, if you plan on having a Halloween party, be sure to crank up Monster Spookshow Radio's Halloween Spooktacular!





Also, check out the John Carpenter Q&A panel which I had the pleasure of hosting at Spooky Empire's Ultimate Horror Weekend!

JOHN CARPENTER Q&A part one

JOHN CARPENTER Q&A part two

JOHN CARPENTER Q&A part three

JOHN CARPENTER Q&A part four

JOHN CARPENTER Q&A part five

HAPPY HALLOWEEN....AND HAPPY HAUNTING!

George Van Orsdel

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 30: It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Yep, that's right, the classic Peanuts cartoon, you better make sure you play this cartoon this Halloween season, or you'll end up just like Charlie Brown in this famous clip from It's The Great Pumkpin Charlie Brown!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEN Day 29: HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN CHAPMAN!

Ben Chapman, pictured with co-star Julie Adams, in a Halloween newspaper article from Oct. 24, 1953, promoting "The Creature From The Black Lagoon".

Ben Chapman, born October 29, 1928, was best known for playing the out-of-water Creature in the original Universal Studios classic The Creature From The Black Lagoon. Due to his large stature (Ben was 6'5" tall) he was the ideal size for playing the Creature in the land and out of water scenes, leaving all the underwater scenes to be played by Ricou Browning, an experienced underwater diver and stunt man. Ben sadly passed away shortly after midnight on February 21, 2008, from heart problems. Althouh Ben is gone, his Creature will live on forever in our hearts! Happy Birthday Ben!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 28: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELSA LANCHESTER!

Elsa Sullivan Lanchester, was born October 28, 1902, and went on to become a very accomplished and successful actress of theatre, film and television. Her most popular and endearing character, The Bride Of Frankenstein, will live on forever in film and horror history, with the iconic image of the Bride with her hair standing on end and the white stripe on the sides, as well as the woman who created her, Mary Shelley (also portrayed by Elsa in the same film.). Elsa had a very long and diverse film career, starring in over 66 films. Elsa passed away on December 26, 1986 of pneumonia at the age of 84. Happy Birthday to the original Bride!

Check out this cool video of clips from The Bride Of Frankenstein, set to Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 27: Universal Monsters

Here's a pretty cool video montage of some of Universal Studios legendary Monsters!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 26: Fangoria 2010 time machine

These guys in England really did a great job building a Time Machine/Haunted House attraction in their garage! A throwback to the H.G. Wells vision of a time machine, with elements of The First Men In The Moon craft, these guys really did a great job!! Check it out for yourselves!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 25: Milton The Monster

Here is an episode from the animated series Milton The Monster, which ran on ABC during the mid-sixties. Milton, who was a Frankenstein-type monster, would get into all kinds of wacky hijinks. Check out more episodes on YouTube if you enjoy this one!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 24: Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters

Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters was released by Rankin/Bass Studios in 1972, as an unofficial sequel to Mad Monster Party, featuring most of the same characters featured in Mad Monster Party, using traditional animation, as opposed to the stop-motion style used before. This was an entertaining cartoon, with fun characters and silly jokes. I hope you enjoy it!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 23: Bobby "Boris" Pickett - The Monster Mash

A cool little fan-made video for Bobby "Boris" Pickett's famous hit The Monster Mash,and the video truly is a Monster Mash! Enjoy!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 22: Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put A Spell On You

One of the greatest, wildest entertainers, singing his biggest hit! Long live Screamin' Jay Hawkins!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN day 21: HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUX INTERIOR - The Cramps - I Was A Teenage Werewolf

In honor of Lux Interior's birthday today (sadly Lux passed away on February 4, 2009 of aortic dissection), I am presenting to you a video of The Cramps performing "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" live in concert. Lux may be gone but his music will never die. Considered by many to be the forefather of Psychobilly music, Lux and The Cramps built themselves quite a fan base and have been associated with garage rock as well as horror since they first burst onto the music scene in 1976. I hope you enjoy this video!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 20: HAPPY BIRTHDAY BELA LUGOSI!

a portrait of Bela, by the brilliant Basil Gogos


me with the Bela Lugosi as Dracula wax figure at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, NYC

Born Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó on October 20, 1882, Bela Lugosi went on to become one of the most famous horror film actors in history. Bursting onto the screen as Dracula, Bela was an immediate star. Starring in over 100+ films, Bela has left a legacy behind for future generations to enjoy! As a treat I am posting a very nice fan-made tribute to Bela Lugosi. Happy Birthday Bela!!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 19: Trick R' Treat

I know I posted about this movie last Halloween season, but I honestly can't get enough of it. It is now my second favorite Halloween-themed movie, second only to John Carpenter's Halloween of course! A great movie, featuring cleverly written stories that are woven together by our little friend Sam Hain. Starring Anna Paquin (Miss Sookie Stackhouse herself), Brian Cox, Dylan Baker, and Quinn Lord as little Sam. If you've never seen it, treat yourself to a great film,...if you have seen it, don't deny yourself the pleasure of watching it again!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 18: Invasion of the Zombie Pumpkins!

Can't decide what your Jack-O-Lantern is going to be this year? Have no fear boils and ghouls, here is a website that offers AMAZING pumpkin carving patterns! The have THE COOLEST patterns I have ever seen!! Just click the image above and check out what Invasion Of The Zombie Pumpkins has to offer!!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 17: The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

Here is one of my personal favorite Halloween time cartoons to watch. It's the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, from Disney's 1949 film The Adventures Of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. This is Disney at it's spooky best!!! The embedding is disabled on these videos but click the links below and it will take you to the youtube pages.

THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW - PART ONE

THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW - PART TWO

THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW - PART THREE

THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW - PART FOUR

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 16: Happy Days - The Evil Eye

Here is another great Happy Days Halloween episode titled "The Evil Eye", which aired on October 31, 1978 (Halloween night!). In this one, Al is cowering in terror at the curse he believes he has received from an old lady, so on the suggestion of Fonzie, Richie, Ralph and Potsie arrange a mock 'exorcism' to banish Al's demons. Enjoy!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 15: Ghoultown - Mistress Of The Dark music video

Here is the video for Ghoultown's song "Mistress Of The Dark", featuring the Mistress herself, ELVIRA! The video was directed by Gris Grimly. Enjoy!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 14: Spook Show advertisements

In keeping with the theme of Spookshows, here are some vintage ads for some Midnite Spook Shows and Horror Shows. This is the kind of stuff I live for, too bad theaters don't do this kind of stuff anymore, I personally think they would go over great!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 13: Trick Or Treat (1952)

This classic Walt Disney cartoon features Donald Duck in his usual cranky mode, refusing to give treats to his nephews, instead playing tricks on them, until a friendly witch decides to show him a thing or two. One of my favorite Disney shorts. I hope you like it!

COUTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 12: Betty Boop's Hallowe'en Party (1933)

Today's treat is a little cartoon from 1933 from the Fleischer Studios, featuring Betty Boop. A gatecrashing gorilla tries to ruin Betty's Hallowe'en party, but Betty and her friends ruin his plans. I hope you like it!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 11: The Three Stooges - "The Ghost Talks" (1949)

Moe, Larry and Shemp are moving men assigned to the haunted Smorgasbord Castle. All goes well until a clanking suit of armor inhabited by the ghost of Peeping Tom (voiced by Phil Arnold) instructs the Stooges to leave him be. Shemp, Larry and Moe all take turns trying to move Tom but he spooks the Stooges away. After finally gaining their trust, Tom tells the trio the story of how he is waiting for Lady Godiva. Enjoy!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 10: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ED WOOD, JR.!

Ed Wood, Jr., born on October 10, 1924, is no doubt the king of the terribly awful but classic B-Movie. With cult classics such as Plan 9 From Outer Space, Bride Of The Monster and Night Of The Ghouls, Ed has become a legend. Today I offer you the trailer for his most famous film, Plan 9 From Outer Space. If you've never seen it, watch it, it's definitely worth a laugh!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 9: The Creature From The Black Lagoon

I figured today's treat would be a post of the original trailer for The Creature From The Black Lagoon, in honor of the Q&A I will be hosting today at Spooky Empire's Ultimate Horror Weekend. I have the privilege of hosting a Q&A panel with the one and only Ricou Browning, the actor who portrayed The Creature (in all the underwater scenes) not only in the original film, but it both of the sequels as well. If you've never seen this film (shame on you!), you owe it to yourself to watch it, it's definitely a treat for monster movie fans! And if you have seen it, treat yourself to it again! Check out the fantastic scene where the Creature swims unknowingly below Julie Adams in the famous scene, which clearly influenced Steven Spielberg when he filmed the opening scene from JAWS. Enjoy!!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 8: SPOOKY EMPIRE'S ULTIMATE HORROR WEEKEND BEGINS TONIGHT!

DON'T MISS IT!

For a complete list of guests and events, visit WWW.SPOOKYEMPIRE.COM

See ya there!!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 7: Vintage Halloween Greeting Cards

I hope you enjoy this blast from the past with these vintage Halloween Greeting Cards!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 6: HAPPY DAYS - Haunted (1974)

This is probably my all-time favorite episode of a show I still love to this day, I hope it becomes one of your favorites as well! Happy Haunting!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 5: HAPPY BIRTHDAY DONALD PLEASENCE!

DONALD PLEASENCE, born October 5, 1919, best remembered as the tenacious Dr. Loomis in the original HALLOWEEN series, was a prolific actor, whose career spanned 5 decades, in film and television, covering everything from drama, comedy, science fiction and of course horror. Sadly Donald passed away on February 2, 1995 from complications after heart valve replacement surgery. His talent is sorely missed, definitely by this fan. Happy Birthday Mr. Pleasence.

Update: Technical Difficulties Fixed.

Thanks to the folks who gave me a heads up regarding the new Spookshow not working. I was having server problems, but all is right in the world now and everything is fixed, so make sure you listen to the Monster Spookshow Radio Halloween Spooktacular 2010!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 4: Disney's HAUNTED HALLOWEEN

Here's a pretty cool educational video released by Walt Disney films in 1984. A nice little montage from classic Disney cartoons and shows. ENJOY!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 3: SCRAPPY'S GHOST STORY - 1935

Check out this neat little spooky cartoon by Charles Mintz, 1935!

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Day 2: SPOOKY EMPIRE'S ULTIMATE HORROR WEEKEND!

SPOOKY EMPIRE'S ULTIMATE HORROR WEEKEND is just a few short days away my fiends!!

From Spooky Empire's Official Press Release:

"You wanted the best, you got the best, the hottest event in the land, Spooky Empire's Ultimate Horror Weekend. This year we are ready to rock the doors off the Wyndham Orlando Resort with the best guest lineup they've had! This year's event returns to the Wyndham Orlando Resort on October 8-10, 2010. Spooky Empire's Ultimate Horror Weekend is fast becoming one of the most popular horror events in U.S. with fans coming from all over the world to attend. Last years show was monstrous, with the most fans in attendance so far, reaching record breaking numbers.
Spooky Empire is proud to announce the greatest gathering of horror icons to ever hit the state of Florida, including a "Nightmare on Elm Street" reunion featuring the gloved one himself, Robert Englund a/k/a Freddy Krueger, John Saxon, Heather Langenkamp, and Amanda Wyss, also in attendance will be the Master of Horror, Legendary Director John Carpenter - best known for his many horror/sci-fi films including "Halloween", "Christine", "The Fog", and "Escape From New York" and The Mistress of the Dark herself - Elvira.

Legendary guitarist, Ace Frehley, tops off this years' headliners.

But that's not all...also making appearances at this three-day fest will be Danny Trejo of "From Dusk Til Dawn", "Predator" and his just released film "Machete", Allan Hyde a/k/a Godrick of the HBO series "True Blood", Ogre, original member of the band Skinny Puppy who most recently played the part of "Pavi Largo" in the rock-opera "Repo:The Genetic Opera". Some returning guests are Kane Hodder "Friday the 13th VII & VIII", Ricou Browning the Original "Creature from the Black Lagoon", P.J. Soles of "Rock n Roll High School" and "Halloween" and paranormal favorites Steve Gonsalves, Dave Tango, and Amy Bruni from "GhostHunters" and "GhostHunters Academy". They will all be joining some already established guests including horror's favorite mother Betsy Palmer a/ka/ Mrs. Vorhees of "Friday the 13th", and a few "Lost Boys" including Brooke McCarter, Billy Wirth and songwriter G Tom Mac. It's a family affair with father and son duo Jake Busey "The Frighteners" and "Starship Troopers" who is making a return appearance, and his dad the legendary Gary Busey star of over a hundred films including "Point Break" and "Silver Bullet". Also on the guest list is a "Return of the Living Dead" reunion including Beverly Randolph, Thom Mathews, Brian Peck, Jewel Shepard, Don Calfa and John Philbin.

The weekend will be packed full of incredible events, kicked off by the annual Zombie Walk hosted by Uno's Chicago Grill, Film Festival, Tattooing, Celebrity Poker Tournament, Costume Contest, Live Bands featuring a KISS tribute band at Friday night's DeadBangers Ball.

Advance tickets for this ultimate event are available now! $50 gets you in for the whole weekend, that's all three days of horror mayhem! One day passes are just $30 and $35. Visit the website www.spookyempire.com

Join the legions of Spooky Empire fans on their Forum at www.spookyempire.com. Meet other fans, get answers to your questions, and find out the most recent updates on the show.

We'll See You There !!"


Oh yes my friends, you definitely will!

MONSTER SPOOKSHOW RADIO No.29, HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR 2010!

Hell-o there boils and ghouls!

Welcome to the

MONSTER SPOOKSHOW RADIO
HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR 2010!

Well my tender lumplings, October is here and the Halloween Season is finally upon us, and what better way to celebrate than with The Monster Spookshow Radio Halloween Spooktacular! And with this
installment we begin our annual countdown to the greatest holiday ever...HALLOWEEN!

This year's Spooktacular swingers are:

SO C'MON - The Horrorgans
KEEPIN' HALLOWEEN ALIVE - Alice Cooper
THE NIGHT BEFORE HALLOWEEN - Bill Buchanan
HALLOWEEN - Hellcat And The Prowl
MOSTLY GHOSTLY - Kid Stuff Repertory Company
TRICK OR TREAT - The Nekromantix
CHA-CHA WITH THE ZOMBIES - Upperclassmen
HALLOWEEN (SHE'S COMING) - The Dead Elvi
GRAVEYARD POLKA - Damn Laser Vampires
HONKY TONK HALLOWEEN - Captain Clegg and The Night Creatures
SEASN OF THE WITCH - Donovan
THE HALLOWEEN SONG - Al Dana
HALLOWEEN - The Coffinshakers
GRAVEYARD - The Blenders
MY HALLOWEEN - Ghoultown
HAUNTED HOUSE - Creed Taylor
HALLOWEEN-TIME ALL THE TIME - Pine Hill Haints
HALLOWEEN II - Cradle Of Filth
OMAR THE VAMPIRE - The Hamburger Brothers
HALLOWEEN TOWN - The Dead Vampires
THE PUMPKIN TELLS - Wade Denning and Kay Lande
THE SCREAM ON HALLOWEEN - The Browns
IT'S HALLOWEEN - The Shaggs
EVERYBODY SCREAM - Rob Zombie
DESPERATION SAMBA ( HALLOWEEN IN TIJUANA) - Jimmy Buffet
IT'S HALLOWEEN - Shadow Reichenstein
THAT HALLOWEEN NIGHT - Denis and The Double-Dates
JACK-O-LANTERNS - Murderland
EL MONSTRUO - Los Shains
ZOMBIE WANNABE - Kitty In A Casket


Just click on the image above to get the latest installment of

Make MONSTER SPOOKSHOW RADIO's
HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR 2010 your
official soundtrack for this Holiday Season!

Enjoy......Happy Haunting...and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

George Van Orsdel