Elgin’s “Nightmare on Chicago Street” 2016!

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There was still sunlight when I arrived at the Elgin Safe Zone for their annual Nightmare on Chicago Street this past Saturday evening. This year I’d be attending alone as most of my friends were back home watching the Chicago Cubs play in a historic baseball game that would see them heading to the World Series for the first time in over seventy years. Under those circumstances, their absence was understandable…and what better reason to skip a zombie Apocalypse than for the possibility of watching Hell freeze over instead? In my world, however, the Nightmare on Chicago Street IS the World Series and there was no place I’d rather be.

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Chicago Botanic Garden’s Unforgettable “Night of 1,000 Jack-O’-Lanterns!”

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During a recent visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden, my friend Elizabeth and I noticed they were planning a special Halloween attraction that neither of us wanted to miss out on. Their “Night of a 1,000 Jack O’ Lanterns” promised guests a cornucopia of expertly carved pumpkins they could peruse after hours during one very special weekend. It was their first year doing something like this and Elizabeth was immediately captivated while I (having attended Roger Williams Park Zoo’s amazing Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular) remained cautiously optimistic. After all, New England’s premier Halloween event is unlike anything I’d ever seen in the Midwest (or anywhere else for that matter) before and I’d praised its grandeur on both this site as well as a 2012 issue of Scary Monsters Magazine.  Sadly, my chances of seeing it again and somewhere between slim and none. The other Terror Dave works there and as his responsibilities around that event increased, my October visits came to an end. For the last several years my admiration of JOLS has been relegated to cell phone pictures he’ll send me every once in awhile. Needless to say, the notion that Chicago was now doing something like this seemed too much to hope for.

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Great America Kicks Off Fright Fest!

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An old friend of the Terror Daves offered us a sneak peek at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. I’ve never done it before and had always wanted to see what the fuss was about it. Needless to say, I couldn’t refuse her offer.  We arrived around 6:30pm on a Thursday night and the sun was just starting to set. After ninety minutes on the road we saw the park’s familiar sky tower, clutched by King Kong.

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Svengoolie Returns to J.J. Blinkers!

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It was a beautiful sunny day this past Sunday and not unlike the last time Svengoolie visited J.J. Blinkers in Antioch, Illinois. In fact, it was just over five years ago when the national TV horror host descended upon the trick shop like an atomic rubber chicken; blasting all turnout expectations in an unforgettable visit the locals still talk about to this day. Mere minutes from the Wisconsin border, Antioch would be inundated with fans while providing them with fun embellishments such as complimentary gift bags and Svengoolie-style treats. By the time it was all over, the village wouldn’t know what hit them and Rich Koz would prove himself to be one broadcasting legend whose popularity only seemed to grow stronger with age. The question surrounding his latest appearance wasn’t if he’d bring in the crowds but how the store was prepared to handle them all?

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HALLOWEEN NOVELTY SONGS: Music To Die For! Volume 6

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Welcome to yet another edition in our very popular series, Music To Die For! Each entry covers an assortment of audio cd’s specializing in music to help get you in the mood for the Halloween season. This is actually the sixth entry and features 8 new cd’s (and a surprise bonus track available for download) that I came across that I recommend for all Halloween music libraries! I initially started this series in September of 2011 (see original post HERE) and it is nice to see that five years later there is still enough material out there for new editions! As of this writing all of these discs are available for purchase on Amazon!

THE BEST OF HORROR

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This first entry is definitely a great starter collection with 75 songs on three cd’s. There is enough music here, all by original artists, to keep a Halloween party rocking well into the midnight hour! Most of these songs can be found on other releases but this collection, by IMS Distribution, is perfect if you are just getting into Halloween-themed songs.

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Remco’s Dracula Is Back…In Art Form!!!

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In early 2015, I wrote a blog on Remco Toys, emphasizing their 9″ monster toys of the early 80’s (see original piece HERE). This piece was also our introduction to artist Kris Mobley, a fan of these toys with the plan of immortalizing them in art form. Later in the year he introduced to the world the first in the series, an art print of the Creature From The Black Lagoon (see piece HERE). Kris is now back to announce the 2nd print in the series is almost ready to go. This time he is offering up Dracula.

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