Since 2002, the Rondos have been fandom’s only classic horror awards — decided by fans, for fans. I was fortunate enough to win this award in 2011 for a series I was doing for another website and now I am hungry to win it again with this site.
KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS: William Shatner Treks Through Tarantulas!
The 70’s were a special time for me. It was a great time to be a kid for so many reasons. I still vividly remember the cool toys like Micronauts and the 8″ Mego super-hero action figures (they are not dolls). Actually, pretty much any toy made by Mego at the time was cool! During this time there was also a constant availability of horror and monster movies to be seen on television.
This was also the time period that began my interest in entomology (the study of insects). Thanks to a Christmas gift of a kit for collecting butterflies and moths, I have had this interest ever since. Instead of actually collecting them now though, I am more into photography and conservation with them.
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CELEBRITY INTERVIEW: Author Mark Voger
For my first celebrity interview I would like to introduce Mark Voger, author of the book “Monster Mash: The Creepy, Kooky Monster Craze In America 1957-1972.” I recently reviewed this amazing book (see review HERE) and thought talking to the man who made it happen would be a great follow-up! If you haven’t read this book yet, I highly recommend it to every monster kid!
THE HALLOWEEN BOOMBOX: Seasonal Music To Die For Part 3
Welcome to part three of THE HALLOWEEN BOOMBOX, my ongoing series showcasing spooky tunes and scary melodies. So far, in the first two entries, I covered 45 cd compilations of Halloween novelty songs (you can see part one HERE and part two HERE)! This time, not only will I be featuring more cd compilations but digital downloads as well, 17 to be exact! These should be available either on iTunes or Amazon.
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THE BASEMENT BOOK SHELF: “Monster Mash: The Creepy, Kooky Monster Craze In America 1957-1972”
As I get older I find myself getting more nostalgic for things that I had or experienced as a child. It may be as simple as opening a new comic book, reading a book that has stayed with me or even any of the cool toys I had growing up.
When it came to toys I was very partial to the Mego toy lines with such great toys like Micronauts and the World’s Greatest Superheroes 8″ action figures. My favorite though was monsters. In fact, I would get monster toys from other lines just to incorporate them into playtime with the toys I already had.
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: James Lurgio of Count Orlok’s Nightmare Gallery
I have always been a fan of not only monsters but of Halloween. It was only natural for me that in 1985 I combined both loves into a small yard haunt. Each year the display got larger and it eventually got to a point where I had more than 30 people volunteering their time to make sure that my haunted yard (known as FRIGHT NIGHT since it was only open on Halloween night) went off without a hitch. It was at this time, in 1989, that I met James Lurgio, another resident of Jamestown, Rhode Island. Unbeknownst to me he was also a fan of monsters and Halloween and after one of my shows he called me. I invited him over to see my collection of masks, props and costumes and we have been friends ever since.
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TOYS WE GREW UP ON: Gre-Gory, Big Bad Vampire Bat!
Gre-Gory, the Big Bad Vampire Bat, by Mattel, is a toy that though I never owned personally, is one I always remembered! Being a monster fan as a child meant I was always on the lookout for the next cool monster toy. I remember when I first saw the commercials for this toy, wanting it immediately. This toy came out in 1978 and to this day I am surprised that it never made it under the tree on Christmas morning!
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THE HALLOWEEN BOOMBOX: Seasonal Music To Die For Part 2
Welcome to part two of THE HALLOWEEN BOOMBOX, my ongoing series showcasing spooky tunes and scary melodies. In the last entry (seen HERE) I highlighted 22 cd releases and this installment features 23 more! If someone had told me when I first started collecting these music compilations that there would be so many I would have said that they were crazy!
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WHAT THE FUG? Fugglers Taking Toy Industry By Storm!
Fugglers. Funny ugly monsters. Despite being a lover of bizarre toys I had never heard of these toys until they randomly came up as a recommendation on Amazon for me. I was instantly drawn to them, not knowing they were actually one of the projected “hot” toys for the 2018 Christmas season. Immediately I noticed two things on Amazon; there were quite a few varieties available and there was no consistency to the pricing. This was an easily recognizable example of price gouging by private sellers.
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