2017 Halloween Mood Display

The last three weeks have really put a damper on my Halloween enjoyment due to the stress of not knowing if I would have a job come the end of October. At the end of last week though, that stress finally went away as I was offered a new position in my current department and it would be considered a promotion. That instantly helped my mood and this weekend I've felt like I can finally get back to my Halloween enjoyment ... and with that enjoyment comes the annual Halloween Mood Display!

If you've been following this blog for any amount of time, you know how this works. Every year I take the mantle between my living room and kitchen and load it up with miscellaneous Halloween/fall stuff. It really helps lift my spirits (no pun intended) when I've had a long day a work or if I just need something to stare at blankly for a few minutes. This year I went for a simplistic theme, completely different from the pop culture-esque stuff from years past.

Here it is ...

Behold! This year's Halloween Mood Display! Let's explore from left to right ...

First, we have a partially burnt Trick or Treat flavored (is that even the right word?) candle from Yankee Candle. The smell of candy corn and buttercream is completely gone but the ambience when it's burning and the lights are off is really cool. Plus, how can you not have a candle with the name "Trick or Treat" in a Halloween display?

Next is the Mysterious Mansion from this year's Lemax Spooky Town collection. I bought this piece at an early fall season sale at Michaels when they were running a 40% off promotion back in mid-August. I wasn't too impressed with the selection this year but this was the best of the lot. Plus, the damn thing makes noise!!

The orange trees, bone bridge, and creepy road sign were picked up at Michaels last year and are just little accent pieces to accompany the larger buildings. I've deemed this light up pumpkin simply "Great Pumpkin".

Here's last year's major addition, the Spooky Town Gas N' Ghoul. While it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of its counterpart, it's still a very fine piece because of all the detail involved.

Finally, we have another buttercream candle from Bed, Bath, and Beyond in an awesome black jar that says "Eat, Drink & Be Scary". Certainly those are great words to live by during the Halloween season. Also, there's a Zombie Kenny Funko figure and a Charlie Brown Halloween themed piece.

So, there you have it, this year's Halloween Mood Display. I challenge you to build your own and get out there and make it the best Halloween season you can!

The 2011 Halloween Special

The 2011 Halloween Special!

This special is absolutely crazy and probably one of the best ones we ever did ... there's a lab experiment, Tim reviewing a DOS PC game called "Hugo's House of Horrors", all kinds of different candy, props, decorations, and readings of Halloween poetry and fan fiction. Enjoy!

The 2009 Halloween Special

The 2009 Halloween Special!

This particular special happens to be one of my favorites we ever did. Everything seemed to click perfectly and we had great stuff to review. In this special, Brian hangs out in downtown Indianapolis, Tim bakes Rice Krispie treats, and there's a cameo by Tim's friend Joseph. All in all, a great hour of Halloween fun! Enjoy everyone!

The Most Amazing Halloween Aisle Ever

This caused quite the stir on my Twitter page over the weekend. Of all the retail establishments I've been to so far this season, this one aisle at my local grocery store is by far the absolute best of all of them. As I said on Twitter, this aisle take me right back to a 1992, perhaps somewhere in a corner drug store. This particular grocery store looks like it hasn't been updated since then either, with outdated lettering atop all the different departments and old tile floors that seem to be the original floor. This was the only good picture I could get as the store was busy and I had to take this somewhat sneakily so the guy at the meat counter wouldn't give me a suspicious look. Anyway, let's take a look at some of the highlights of this ...

This is one of the best M&M displays I've ever seen with Red dressed as a vampire and surrounded by mountains and mountains of M&Ms. I would wager a guess that when the store is closed he swims in these bags like Scrooge McDuck swims in money. I mean, just look at the mounds and mounds of candy that surrounds him, wouldn't you be in heaven too? Also, not to be forgotten in this shot are the giant cauldrons, presumably to be used for some sort of witchcraft shenanigans or to be used as a Halloween candy bowl. The possibilities are endless!

Towards the back of the display, we have a scarecrow and a crazy tree sprouting all sorts of candy. The scarecrow is your typical cutesy fall fare for those who want to play it straight. That's not really my style. I like the crazy Halloween candy tree. Also, if you look very closely in the back you can see  part of an old school circular department store rack covered with costumes. Very 1980s-ish.

These look like they're supposed to be ghosts. I'm down with that. What is the white stuff they put on them, was it paint of some sort? This looks like a crazy high school arts and crafts project and I can so dig that.

It's the trick or treat monster and he's coming to steal all your candy! Not really, but this sign is really, really cool. The monster kind of that that reaction like Tweek on South Park does, like he's perpetually petrified. Also, what is that coming out of his left side? Is it a bolt? An arm?

You can't have a retail Halloween display without and inflatable graveyard scene that nearly touches the ceiling.

There are more inflatables and a lamp post that I very nearly bought as it was listed at 20% off the sticker price. Also, any store that has so much Halloween candy that they have to sort it into big bags and monster bags, is tops in my book.

The thing that makes it for me is while this aisle may look clean, it's also meant to be messy, which brings me back to my drug store analogy as all drug store Halloween aisles were always a bit unkempt. This one aisle takes everything that is awesome about the Halloween season and packages it neatly in one semi-neat ball that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Thank you grocery story Halloween aisle. Thank you for being you.