TJ Maxx, HomeGoods and Ross… Oh My!

The discount stores are offering up a whole slew of creepy creeps this year, mostly in the form of decorative Halloween busts and statues.  Two of the best are the Headless Horseman statue and the Frankenstein’s Monster bust.

First up is the Headless Horseman statue.  Available at Ross, this beautiful statue is quite heavy and elegantly sculpted.  It has more detail than the Horseman statues released at HomeGoods several years ago, and it is also a bit bigger.  It also features a lighted pumpkin head.  Coming in at $14.99, it’s a real steal.

Headless Horseman Statue

 

Next up is the Frankenstein’s Monster bust sold at TJX stores.  Available at select HomeGoods, TJ Maxx, and Marshall’s stores, this Frankenstein bust is a re-release of a bust from last year, but it has an all-new paint job.  Bearing a strong resemblance to our favorite man-made monster from 1931, this bust features gruesome green paint and lighted LED eyes.  A bit more pricey than the Headless Horseman, the Monster bust is definitely heavy and quite worth the price of $34.99.

HomeGoods, TJ Maxx Frankenstein Bust

Headless Horseman Statue

 

Now it’s your turn.  Tell us what you have found at the discount stores this season!

Spook Spotter: The Best Halloween Decorations of 2015 II

Welcome, foolish mortals, to The Big Scare’s 2015 Countdown to Halloween.  Every other day, from now through October 31, we will be posting preposterously posthumous ponderings of the Halloween season.  We begin October with another installment of the Spook Spotter.

The following does not constitute an endorsement of any product or retailer.   It is for information purposes only.

World of Gods and Monsters

Last year, Cost Plus World Market debuted a line of officially licensed Universal Monsters dinnerware featuring The Frankenstein Monster and his Bride.  This year, they are expanding the line with all new platters, ceramic plates, and mugs.  World Market also carries vintage soda bottles featuring the creature and his mate, lollipops with The Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, as well as Bride of Frankenstein tote bags.  What’s really creepily cool is the fact that the ceramic plate of Frankenstein’s monster features an image of Glenn Strange in the role as opposed to Boris Karloff.  Glenn Strange as Frankenstein is more iconic and recognizable to Monster kids, as it was Strange, not Karloff, who was featured on the Monster Craze merchandise of the 1960s.  Hopefully we will see more Universal Monsters at World Market next year.  Perhaps they can cut a deal with Bela Lugosi, Jr. next year and do a Dracula line of dinnerware.  “I never drink…” wine glasses, anyone?

Bride of Frankenstein Plate (World Market)

More of the Night He Came Home

HomeGoods (A TJX Company) has come through again this year with some amazingly haunting display pieces for your home of horrors.  Take a look at this skull pumpkin, very reminiscent of the jack-o’-lantern featured in the opening sequence of John Carpenter’s Halloween II.  This terrifying display piece features a dramatic display of color-changing illumination.  Perfect for any fan of Halloween or Halloween.  Other pieces for sale at the TJX stores include spooky busts, haunted miniature hearses, snow globes, and glass pumpkin candle holders (pictured in the gallery at the end of our post).

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Mind-Blowing Blow Molds

The final item featured in our Spook Spotter today is a mind-blowing find – a vintage blow mold cat and jack-o’-lantern being carried at…  Wait for it…  Walmart.

The king of big box stores is carrying mass-produced reproduction vintage blow molds.  The first of these is the famous Hobo Jack-O’-Lantern.  The next is the cat with the jack-o’-lantern on its back (pictured here).

Vintage Reproduction Blow Mold (Walmart)

These blow molds have not been seen in dime stores in years, but now they are back.  Granted, they aren’t 10 cents anymore, but they are better than 99% of the other Halloween decorations out there and definitely worth the $9.00 price tag.

Now, check out other great finds from this season in our ghastly gallery…

Glenn Strange Frankenstein Plate (World Market)

Vintage Blow Mold Reproduction (Walmart)

Bride of Frankenstein Plate (World Market)

Lighted Owl Statue (Ross Dress for Less)

Glass Pumpkin Candle Holder (TJ Maxx)

Glass Pumpkin Candle Holder (TJ Maxx)

Lighted Owl Statue (Ross Dress for Less)

Spook Spotter: The Best Halloween Decorations of 2015

Ghastly Greetings, Boils and Ghouls!  The Big Scare is, once again, preparing for the Halloween season.  As such, we want to give you a creepy heads-up on all of the menacing merchandise on sale at retailers this year.  Here are some of the best products available for purchase this season and where to find them.

The following does not constitute an endorsement of any product or retailer.   It is for information purposes only.

Creepy Clings

We begin our first 2015 Spook Spotter post with not only one of the most affordable products out there this season, but also one of the best looking.  Behold, these wonderfully wicked window clings available for purchase at Winco Foods.  These beautifully illustrated clings appear to use hand-drawn artwork, something that has become impossible to find in this age of digitally-designed decorations.  Nearly all of the Halloween cutouts and window clings available in stores today have been created by someone behind a computer.  These clings harken back to the days when blood, sweat, and ink went into the creation of Halloween decorations.  Seeing these in the store should bring back a lot of memories for Halloween fans who grew up in the 20th century.  The clings are available for purchase for $0.98 and are produced by a company named Mello-Smello.

Illustrated Window Clings (Winco)

Scary Scarecrow

The next item featured in the Spook Spotter is a creepy, lighted scarecrow available for purchase at Ross Dress for Less stores.  This scarecrow is a large, almost life-sized hanging decoration.  When you first see it, it looks like a traditional scarecrow with straw hands and a tattered cap, but upon closer inspection, it is far more forbidding.  Beneath the cloth covering, you can see the scarecrow’s head is that of a skull.  What’s even more alarming is the fact that the skull illuminates!  The scary scarecrow has multiple lighting settings.  It can change colors, flash different colors, or remain a single color.  This prop is extremely effective and would make a great addition to any haunt.  It retails for $19.99 at Ross.

Creepy Lighted Scarecrow (Ross Dress for Less)

Raucous Ravens

Raven Candleholder (Michael’s)

The final item featured in our first Spook Spotter post of 2015 is an elaborately sculpted candle holder from Michael’s Arts and Crafts.

This beautiful black raven candle holder has an incredibly lifelike sculpt.  It is part of a new line of Halloween merchandise targeted at home haunters named Ravenshead Manor.  All of the products in the line are indoor pieces that can be used to build frighteningly fashionable interior displays.

This beautiful piece is highly-detailed and can hold either a taper candle or a pillar candle.  Michael’s is selling Halloween-themed LED taper candles this year that could probably be used with this product.  The raven candle holder is one of the most elegant and affordable pieces anywhere this season, coming in at $14.99.

Be sure to check out the gallery below for more photographs of all of the monstrous merchandise featured in today’s post, including a high-resolution image of this Ravenshead Manor piece.

Creepy Lighted Scarecrow (Ross Dress for Less)

Illustrated Window Clings (Winco)

Raven Candleholder (Michael’s)

We will be back October 1 with another installment of the Spook Spotter, followed by regularly scheduled postings every other day through October 31.  In the meantime, let us know what cool products you have found this year by leaving a message in the creepy Comments section below!

Finding the Best Halloween Deals

Any opinions expressed in the following article do not constitute an endorsement of any product or retailer.   The following is for information purposes only.

One of our newest features is called “Swoop’s Scoop,” brought to you by our new friend, Swoop the Bat.  Swoop’s Scoop lets you in on upcoming merchandise of interest to fans of Horror and Halloween, and also gives you the scoop on some of the most affordable finds of the Halloween season.  Look forward to this feature throughout the coming weeks.  Our first installment is a basic overview of where you can track down some really awesome Halloween deals.

Many people believe that the only time you can get great offers on Halloween merchandise is on November 1.  That thinking is flawed.  While that may be the case most of the time at the big box retailers, there are great Halloween deals all season long at discounters.

Ross and Tuesday Morning both offer high quality items at 50-70% off their original retail prices.  You can expect to find everything from snowglobes to vintage reproduction pieces at these “boo-tiques.”  In addition, these types of stores have been known to get shipments from mainstream manufacturers like Department 56 and Annalee.

In addition, Big Lots has its own unique lineup of Halloween merchandise, offering markdowns on items that are similar to those you would find at major retailers and specialty stores.  Looking for skull lights or pumpkin path finders?  What about spooky signs and yard decorations?  They have all of these items and more!

Another place to get great deals on Halloween is one you probably wouldn’t expect – the Halloween specialty store.  In larger cities, there are entire facilities dedicated to discounted Halloween costumes and decorations.  But if your city doesn’t have one of these haunts, you may want to check with the mainstream Halloween stores.  Many places, like Spirit, offer select merchandise from previous years at discounted rates, so it’s definitely worth asking one of the sales associates if  a discount section exists.

Well that covers our overview.  Swoop will be back with posts about great finds all season long, so bookmark us or subscribe!