Category Archives: Horror Nostalgia

Horror Nostalgia

[Video] The 1981 NBC Premiere Broadcast Of John Carpenter’s “Halloween” Complete With Commercials!

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[Video] The 1981 NBC Premiere Broadcast Of John Carpenter's "Halloween"!

October 30th, 1981, lives in infamy with HALLOWEEN fans as one of the greatest days the franchise has ever seen. All Hallow’s Eve ’81 not only saw the theatrical debut of the highly anticipated HALLOWEEN II but also the world premiere of John Carpenter’s 1978 “immortal classic,” HALLOWEEN.

And I got the embedded video right here, complete with commercials as it once aired for all our gluttonous entertainment for horror movie tracking nostalgia!

Horrors of Halloween

But first, a little background because I need to fill the page up here.

Upon the major success of the independent film with audiences, NBC Universal bought the television rights for HALLOWEEN for a whopping (at the time) 3 million bucks. It was eager to be the first to air it for the Samhain season. However, the FCC being what it is, wanted NBC to censor some of the film’s scenes, which ultimately led to the standard practice of editing down the movie for sensitive viewers but in the same act, shortening the allotted running time for said time slot.

That being the case and after much debate with Debra Hill and Carpenter, Carpenter agreed to shoot extra scenes for the televised version to appease the corporate Gods; and wasn’t that much of an inconvenience for them considering they were shot during the filming of HALLOWEEN II. This brings a very interesting point to these now-infamous scenes as the movie and extra footage were being shot simultaneously, it better ratifies the sister films together; especially with the bonus scenes of a young Myers staring out a window (of which a snippet actually makes it into the theatrical cut of HALLOWEEN II via Laurie’s dream) and the extra scenes with Dr. Loomis. One of which, offers a more detailed description of how Myers escaped that night along with shots of his trashed room and scribblings on the door that say, “SISTER”. I’m assuming that was thrown in there purposely for the sibling plot twist element revealed in the sequel.

I want to make it a point to mention a rather ironically pointless note that since most of us are hip to the fact Jamie Lee Curtis had adopted her signature short haircut by 1980, her additional scene filmed at the Strode home with PJ Soles begging to borrow that notorious “expensive blouse” is shot entirely with a towel on her head. Presumably to hide her pixie-ish cut underneath.

It’s a small thing, but I always think about it when watching this version.

In 1981, I never got to witness this monumental night of new and altered versions of Halloween sister films, as I was a mere fetus in my birth mother’s belly and wouldn’t be born until the Summer of 1982. However, the ripple effects of notoriety from this televised version trickled over for years to come as I finally got to watch this edited treasure via my local Vegas horror TV horror movie host of the early 90s, Count Cool Rider-who is essentially Danny Koker of Counting Cars for you History TV and auto buffs. YouTuber Darth Awesome has re-uploaded this treasure that was once available on the platform but disappeared for a while. So kudos for making it available once again!

Welp. Enough rambling. Happy Halloween, nuggets!

Horror Nostalgia

Celebrate the Season With These “Halloween 4” Ambiance Ghoul Log Videos!

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Celebrate the Season With This "Halloween 4" Neighborhood Ambience Ghoul Log Video!

Time to saturate my blog with yet another Halloween post, and no fucks are given at this point — especially when it comes to HALLOWEEN 4.

In the spirit of the spooky season, Halloween “ghoul logs” have become a popular ambiance effect added to our seasonal mood-enhancing routines, modeled after the infamous Yule Log. Horror’s favorite channel Shudder recognized this need with their new addition to the Ghoul Log to the site’s streaming service; adding several options with a typical scary Jack-O, and the Trick R Treat effect. However, YouTube offers other options for those who choose to go another direction, like Brandon Tobatto or Sinister, who has uploaded a couple of glorious pieces of ambiance you can stream directly to your computer or TV via the YouTube app. And yep, you guessed it- It’s all about HALLOWEEN 4.

I’ve gone off numerous times about how much I enjoy the sinister ambiance of The Return of Michael Myers, and I’m just glad someone who feels the same way I do, decided to put this beautiful hour-and-thirty-three-minute long neighborhood and opener mood setting from the film into a Ghoul Log of its own. The windy streets, subtle hues of black and blue, along with all the houses Rachel and Jamie encountered on their fateful night of trick or treating are all featured in a continuous slide show of peaceful yet sinister Halloween nostalgia in one. The other is that GORGEOUS Halloween opener that gives off that perfect feeling of an eerie countryside Halloween vibe that I, and many others, are completely obsessed with. Both are winners, here. And so are we for having them.

Enjoy, or I don’t want to know you!

Editorials, Horror Nostalgia

Let’s Watch The Lost Unsolved Mysteries Halloween Special from 1988!

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I don’t think I’m alone here when I claim there was nothing scarier on Prime-time TV than the glorious sounds and visuals of Unsolved Mysteries. Tuesday nights were always reserved for Robert Stack with me and my grandmother, and it was around the age of 7 when I had first laid my peelers on the majestic stance of the Stack and felt such excitement along with being scared shitless. Upon each week’s new episode of thrills, murder, and the paranormal after a fresh viewing, I would feel a sense of paranoia thinking escaped murderers were lurking in my backyard bushes. But, that was the magic of Unsolved Mysteries, and watching it again with adult eyes thanks to the likes of FilmRise and other streaming apps, only validates it’s just as creepy now as it was over 35 years ago.

Each featured case was substantially creepy on its own, however, one, in particular, stood out to me in memory, and it has been cut and lost as the syndication gods butchered the episode, (and in truth-many others as well); compiling the segments into other episodes. Which totally fucks with my OCD and my memory. But hey, they released most of the episodes, and they are readily available to watch. I’m trying to keep in mind, a few years ago, it was nearly impossible to find any. So I’ll keep my bitching to a minimum. Anyways, we’re talking about the episode that aired October 26th, 1988- THE UNSOLVED MYSTERIES HALLOWEEN GHOST SPECIAL! Or Spooktacular- I prefer the latter.

Now… Join me.

GHOSTS OF THE QUEEN MARY

We all know the legendary Queen Mary is an infamous supernatural ship. However, Unsolved goes balls deep, probably for the first time ever, on network television with eyewitness reports from employees and guests of the Mary ranging from weird noises to a woman saying she saw the ghost of an old lady diving into the ship’s swimming pool.

The Tallman’s Ghost!

The Tallman’s Ghost segment lives in infamy in the minds of every 80s kid who watched this episode, and we’ve never been the same since. Listen, every episode of UM is sufficiently creepy on its own- but this one, however, scared the ever-loving piss out of me- and it seems like everyone else too. A family picks up a wooden bunk bed that is well — apparently haunted as the family’s children begin experiencing severe illness, whisperings of death threats from beyond the grave, and visions of arson to their own home… all wonderful things that come along with a demonic bunk bed from Hell.

The General Wayne Inn

Spirits from the 1800s seem to genuinely love this restaurant and Inn-including some famous ones like Edgar Allen Poe who had reportedly stayed there at one point. I wonder what’s on the menu… oh, that’s right, DECAPITATED HEADS! Yummo.

 The Tatum House

Lastly, we have the adorable Florida retired couple who harbor a ghostly roommate in their home,  Jim and Kay Tatum. Occurrences of sounds of coins falling in a bowl, a mechanic drill turning on by themselves, and the ringing of bells throughout the house had Kay, specifically, believing their Floridian dwelling contained some sort of entity.

Was it just paranoia? Or was it ghooOOOosts? Either way, they’re a cute couple, so I couldn’t care less if they’re making up stories. You decide. Let’s watch the full episode in its entirety, thanks to the Internet Archive!