Spook Spotter: Vintage Blow Mold Style Black Cat at Michael’s

Posted on July 24, 2019 by The Big Scare

Available now at Michael’s, what is sure to be one of the best finds of the Halloween 2019 season, this hard plastic black cat, designed to look like a vintage blow mold.

Black Cat Blow Mold Michael’s

The cat, like a traditional blow mold, is hollow, but the plastic is thick and there is no place for a light even if you were to consider lighting it. That being said, the design and paint is downright gorgeous, hearkening back to the decorations of Halloweens past. The black cat is an original design that incorporates a rather familiar face. The jack-o’-lantern on which the cat sits is the same face sculpt as the old Empire “Hobo Jack-o’-Lantern” blow mold. This one of a kind, 15″ throwback decoration is available at Michael’s stores now for the price of $18.00.

The Greatest Halloween Packaging of All Time

Posted on October 28, 2016 by The Big Scare

In the history of mass-produced Halloween decorations, there have been many remarkable boxes and packages that have housed decorations both stellar and less-than-stellar. However, there is no artwork that matches this beautifully macabre scene.

SONY DSC

Behold the morbid and the macabre! What sort of heinous decoration could be housed in such a gruesome box? There are bats, skeletons, zombie hands, graves, mausoleums, and spider webs… and this is only the bottom of the box!

Gruesome Ghoul Artwork

Gah! Look at that drooling ghoul in his eternal shroud! And what is that, a toppled cross below him? This must really be some sort of sick and demented decoration. But wait! There’s more!

Gruesome Ghoul Artwork

This must be the grimmest of reapers! Look at that snake protruding from his eye socket! He’s even wearing another serpent as a scarf! Could whatever is inside this box be as terrifying as this? Could it ever live up to the utter fear that this image inspires?

Believe it or not, this packaging is from a company called Funny Toys. Funny Toys. There doesn’t seem to be anything funny about this box. Perhaps they should’ve called themselves “Great Packaging” instead. Okay. Okay. You have waited long enough. Here’s the big reveal, the “funny toy” that was inside of this petrifying packaging…

1990 Funny Toys “Spooky Coffin” Animated Figure

Behold the Spooky Coffin, released in 1990! For 1990, this probably was a pretty gruesome Halloween decoration: a miniature coffin, a vampire rising from it, creepy creaking sounds, menacing music playing, and evil laughter. Taking all that into consideration, it was pretty advanced for its time. One thing is for certain, they don’t make ’em like they used to… And that includes the packaging!

Halloween Highlights: Vintage Vampires

Posted on October 14, 2016 by The Big Scare

There are few monsters more closely associated with Halloween than the Vampire. Vampires have been haunting our nightmares even before Bram Stoker unleashed Dracula upon the world in 1897. Since the first printing of the famous vampire novel, Dracula has been haunting our nightmares for over a century. Most famously portrayed by Bela Lugosi in the 1931 screen adaptation, Dracula is the quintessential creature of the night. Featured today are two vintage Halloween decorations featuring the undead count.

First is a vintage Halloween cutout of Bela Lugosi in his most famous role. This Halloween decoration was released by the C.A. Reed Company in the early 1980s.

Bela Lugosi Dracula Cardboard Cutout

Next up is a large, jointed Dracula from Eureka, originally marketed as “The Count – 55″ Jointed Halloween Decoration.” This cutout was released in the late 1970s.

Eureka “The Count” Jointed Cutout

Haunted HomeGoods

Posted on October 10, 2016 by The Big Scare

One of the best retailers to find menacing merchandise is HomeGoods, part of the TJX chain of stores which also includes TJ Maxx and Marhsall’s. This year, HomeGoods has a few items that will be sure to satisfy even the most savvy of home haunters.

First is this fantastic vintage-style Halloween bucket fashioned in the shape of a black cat’s head. This fiendish feline is extremely reminiscent of the papier mache Halloween treat pails from the early 20th century.

Vintage Style Black Cat Treat Bucket from HomeGoods

In addition to some vintage-style decor, HomeGoods is also offering a variety of boo-tiful busts and statues. One of the most popular is the Headless Horseman statue. This year, the Horseman comes in two colors (silver or black) as well as two sizes. The smaller one is perfect for a book shelf, while the larger one would be great for an entryway.

Headless Horseman Statue from HomeGoods

Halloween Cardboard Die-Cut Gallery: Creatures of the Night

Posted on October 29, 2015 by The Big Scare

The Big Scare is proud to announce the final installment of this year’s Halloween Cardboard Die-Cut Gallery. We hope you have enjoyed all of the frightening images you have seen here. We will be back with even more images next year. Until then, take in the terror-ific sights of these Halloween frights. We’ll be back in two days with another post.

Eureka Vampier

Beistle Grim Reaper

Beistle Vampire

Glow-in-the-Dark Skeleton

Beistle Flying Dracula

Beistle Werewolf

Owl and Moon

Skeleton in Window

Jointed Skeleton

Halloween Cardboard Die-Cut Gallery: Jack-O’-Lanterns

Posted on October 25, 2015 by The Big Scare

Greetings, Boils and Ghouls! Today we continue our series on The Big Scare featuring images that will bring the Halloweens of Yesteryear to electric life! Today, we highlight the magic of the Jack-O’-Lantern. Enjoy these boo-tiful creations.

Beistle Scarecrow Head

Beistle Jack-O’-Lantern

Eureka Skeleton, Bat, and Pumpkin

Jack-O’-Lantern

Happy Halloween Sign

Halloween Cardboard Die-Cut Gallery: Witches

Posted on October 23, 2015 by The Big Scare

They call it the season of the witch, so what better Halloween character to feature in today’s gallery than that of the Wicked Witch!

Evil Green Witch

Today’s gallery features depictions of the craftiest old crones in the history of Halloween. The images seen here were produced from the early 20th century through the 1980s by a variety of manufacturers. There are certain traits that most of the witches share. Green complexions, long noses, warts, and capes appear on several of the witches in the gallery, and nearly all of them are seen riding brooms. (The association between witches and brooms stretches back the Dark Ages where the first images of witches riding brooms were depicted on elaborately illustrated manuscripts.) And while the broom is but one of a series of similarities, there’s really only one thing that all of the images truly have in common: the tall, pointy hat. That conical hat was first associated with witches in the early 18th century; it became popular in Victorian storybooks, was donned by the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, and, as such, has remained a staple of the witch’s wardrobe ever since.

Now that you have been educated on the origins of these witches’ outfits, feel free to delight in the devilment of the delightful die-cut art!

Beistle Witch and Moon

Eureka Witch

Eureka Witch and Moon

Witch and Moon

Witch and Cauldron

Beistle Green Witch

Spook Spotter: Masks and Vintage Decorations

Posted on October 7, 2015 by The Big Scare

Big Scare spook spotter

Halloween 2015 is brimming with creepy creations in all sections of the retail market. From kooky candy to dastardly decorations, there is a lot to track down. That’s why we’re here: to make the whole process scarily simple.

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

Monstrous Masks

Over the past few years, Trick or Treat Studios has gone from a relatively unknown mask maker to Halloween royalty. They have been able to secure deals with major property-holders, unleashing latex creations beyond imagination. From Bela Lugosi’s Dracula to Michael Myers to King Kong, Trick or Treat has captured a significant corner of the Halloween market. Three of the most exciting masks they are offering up are the Halloween III masks, pictured below. As you can see, the Pumpkin, Witch, and Skull look nearly identical to the Don Post counterparts as they appeared in the original film. Check out the complete 2015 catalog of creeps on the Trick or Treat website.

Halloween III Masks from Trick or Treat Studios

Beastly Beistle

Another giant of the Halloween season, Beistle, is finding new life in its century-old library of Halloween art. It is re-releasing several of its old Halloween cutout and die-cut decorations. From honeycombs to cardboard wall-art, Beistle hasseveral vintage reproduction decorations on its website. You may want to check it out, especially if you are planning a vintage-themed Halloween happening.

Beistle Reproduction

Halloween Cardboard Die-Cut Gallery: Bats and Ghosts

Posted on October 5, 2015 by The Big Scare

Welcome back, foolish mortals, to our haunted mansion of the macabre! Today we continue with our series on vintage Halloween decorations! Our ghastly line-up today features die-cut images of bats and ghosts!

Beistle Ghost

Halloween cardboard cutouts reached peak popularity in the second half of the 20th century. There are a few companies that were quite well-known for manufacturing these paper masterpieces. The most renowned of these is The Beistle Company. Beistle was founded in 1900 and, since then, has produced some of the most iconic images of the Halloween season. Beistle is still in business today, and remains a giant in the party products industry, but the company’s current output pails in comparison to what was produced in the last century. That being said, they offer a limited line of vintage reproduction products called “Vintage Beistle”. The line-up is rather small and doesn’t delve too deeply into the massive catalog of products released from the 1920s through the 1980s.

Beistle Flying Bat

Eureka Haunted House

Pumpkin Ghost

Another manufacturer of macabre images is Eureka! Eureka created dozens of die-cuts that defined October in the 1970s and 1980s. Enjoy today’s images, many of which are of Beistle and Eureka products, and stay tuned for more devilishly delightful die-cut art!

Ghosts, Bats, and Pumpkin

Ghost and Haunted Tree

Ghost and Tombstone

Ghost Reading with Black Cat

Ghost and Cat

Ghosts and Haunted House

Halloween Cardboard Die-Cut Gallery: Black Cats

Posted on October 3, 2015 by The Big Scare

Greetings, Boils and Ghouls! Today we begin a new series on The Big Scare featuring images that will bring the Halloweens of Yesteryear to electric life!

Beistle Jointed Black Cat

We have created several galleries of vintage Halloween cardboard die cut decorations for your booing pleasure. In the 20th century, these paper cutouts adorned windows and walls in homes and schools during the month of October. The earliest ones started appearing in the 1920s. By the 1950s, they were staples of the season. Nowadays, there aren’t that many being produced, and the ones that are being created are nearly all computer-generated. Fortunately, we have nearly 100 years of cardboard die-cuts to draw from for our galleries. What’s more, every die-cut that will be featured in our galleries is hand-illustrated, designed by an artist or team of artists who captured the spirit of the season with old-fashioned ink and paint.

We launch our Halloween die-cut gallery series with images of one of Halloween’s foremost icons: the black cat! Enjoy! And come back in two days for more devilishly delightful die-cut art!