VINTAGE HALLOWEEN TRICK-OR-TREAT BAGS PT. 2

We’re back with 5 more spooky trick or treat bags! If you missed part one, feel free to click here and catch up. If you’re ready for more, continue onward!

SNUGGLE BEAR 1986

First up, we have Snuggle Bear, the fabric softener mascot who apparently moonlights as a pumpkin patch creeper. At first glance, it's adorable. At second glance, it's a portal to your deepest, darkest fears.

Let's break down this fever dream, shall we?

1. The sky: A weird dull blue, because nothing says "spooky night" like a sky that can't commit to actually being night.

2. The background: Black and white - very “Twilight Zone” of them. 

3. Snuggle's eyes: Dead and grey - probably seen some shit. 

4. The pumpkins: Orange from bottom to stem with grey leaves. Wtf?

Congratulations, Snuggle Bear! You've transformed from cuddly mascot to the harbinger of a dystopian hellscape.

PEPSICO FRITO-LAY UNIVERSAL MONSTERS 1993

The unholy alliance of junk food and classic movie monsters. There’s nothing quite like the thought of Dracula double-fisting Pepsi while the Mummy goes to town on some Doritos. I love that Wolfman here, clearly embarrassed by this corporate sellout, has opted for a Hawaiian shirt. The real MVP. 

The bag is dated “91” but I’m almost positive this was from the 93 promo judging by the similar 3D art style on the boxes of that year. Side note: The Creature from the Black Lagoon was apparently too good for this party. Probably off doing indie films or something.

ORVILLE REDENBACHER 1982

If you caught the first batch of bags from part 1, you’ll remember I mentioned having 2 different Orville Halloween bags. So, here’s the other - this time with a lot more aliens!

I’ve been low key obsessed with the idea of including aliens in Halloween lore. They’re insanely underrepresented for the season but a house decked out like an alien invasion for Halloween is nothing to scoff at. Leave it to old man Redenbacher to include our extraterrestrial buddies in the festivities. Also, where can I purchase fist sized popcorn like he’s handing out?

MCDONALDS CANADA “MCBOO” 1990

Before McBoo made his way to pail form (unintended pun), he haunted many McDonalds items including Halloween certificates and trick-or-treat bags. For example, well… this bag right here. 

Making its way all the way from Canada, you’ll notice the Canadian leaf under the golden arches. While I do own a bunch of bags from the US, for some reason, the Canadian bags, unlike the US counterparts, also include a scene of the McDonald land gang on the back. In this case, we see them happily trick-or-treating with the Fry Kids. 

Notice how they’re all trick-or-treating as themselves? Such creativity. Much wow. Ronald McDonald: "I'm going as a terrifying clown who peddles unhealthy food to children!" Everyone else: "So... yourself?"

SCRUFF MCGRUFFS SAFETY BAG

I had almost forgotten about Scruff McGruff but when I tell you I was quoting his line “Scruff…. McGruff…. Chicago Illinois…. 60652!” almost the moment I remembered, you best believe it. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since. Send help. 

Yes, the condition suggests it's been through several wars but I have my reasons for showcasing here. This one was found among the great items left behind by the previous owners in the house I now live in. This was given away here in my town, Saint Mary’s PA from the local Jaycees. What's a Jaycees, you ask? Well, after extensive research, aside from learning that it’s short for “Junior Chamber of Commerce” I can confidently say... I have no idea. But I’m still jazzed the bag came from my town.

LINGERING THOUGHTS/CONCLUSION

1. Why don't the McDonald's characters dress up for Halloween? That comes much later in Happy Meal form.

2. What did the Snuggle Bear see? Things that would change you.

3. Is “Jaycee” really short for “Junior Chamber of Commerce?” Barely.

Thanks for reading! There may be one more part to come soon! Until then, keep it spooky!

THE LEFTOVER PIZZA HAUNTING SEASON STARTS NOW!

This morning, a delightful chill crept into the air, awakening my Autumnal soul with visions of grinning jack-o'-lanterns, mountains of candy corn, crunchy fallen leaves, and the smells of a thousand seasonably appropriate candles; the urge to hum a monstrous tune was irresistible - as if my inner werewolf was howling at the moon…. So what if it’s still hot enough to melt a witch by noon? There’s candy in orange and black boxes on store shelves! Folks, what I’m trying to say is the official Leftover Pizza Halloween Celebration is kicking off, and it's shaping up to be so spirited it may require an exorcist!

We've conjured up a few brand new Leftover Pizza Podcast episodes to start things off right – our first spine-chillers of 2024, for those who haven’t been keeping track – we’ve just unleashed Kid Friendly Horror Part 2! Last year's episode was such a hit that we decided to bring the topic back from the dead. Once you’re done there, check out the very first LEFTOVER PIZZA VIDEO episode! This will be a monthly series where you will join us, dear listener, at Leftover Pizza’s very own video rental shop, where together we’ll watch and review it’s extensive back catalog.  For our inaugural episode, we invited Louie from the Haunted Hangover to check out the…. interesting… Monster Mash: The Movie from 1995! We’ve also got one more bonus episode in us for August so stay tuned!

Next up, sink your fangs into this year's seasonal journal – Halloween Highlights! Think of it as a time capsule for the 2024 Halloween season, but without the risk of accidentally unleashing an ancient curse when you open it. Expect bite-sized entries and updates of spooky findings and happenings that might not be meaty enough for a full article, but together create a delightful chronicle of the season.

What other treats are lurking on the site? How about a nostalgic journey through a collection of vintage Halloween trick-or-treat bags? And because no Halloween is complete without a sugar rush (or three), I've gathered and reviewed as many of this season's Halloween Junk Food offerings as I’ve been able to find. The list will be updated as I find more, so check back frequently. My pancreas may never forgive me, but my taste buds are singing like a choir of banshees!

All that to start and it’s only just the beginning! We've got more shows, articles, goodies and surprises lined up for this season than ever before so you'll just have to stick around to see what materializes!

Lastly, a reminder, ghouls and goblins, Halloween is best enjoyed with an open mind and a sense of fun. The spooky season is precious, fleeting, and meant to be savored like a perfectly aged potion (or that forgotten candy bar from last year's trick-or-treat haul.) Embrace your inner child, let your imagination run wild, and remember – in the grand scheme of things, we're all just bags of bones trying to have a good time.

Happy haunting! May your nights be spooky, your candy be plentiful and your costumes itch-free.

THE BEST HALLOWEEN JUNK FOOD 2024

It wouldn’t quite be Halloween without engorging myself with a ton of the newest seasonal foodie delights. So, in this article, we will be treading through all of the ghoulish goodies I can manage to encounter. Check back frequently; the list will be updated as I find more offerings of the season!

Twizzlers Ghosts

Twizzlers; proving that sometimes the littlest effort can make the biggest difference. The classic Twizzlers taste you know and love, but now in adorably spooky ghost shapes. In person, these phantasmal gems are more pronounced than my subpar snapshots suggest. And the texture - that magical moment when a Twizzler has been warmed just enough, as if it's been nestled in your pocket for a few hours. It's that irresistible softness that makes you want to keep reaching for more. I’m picky about my licorice and hard licorice blows. These are just right.

Now, I can't say for certain if Twizzlers has ever ventured into the realm of shaped candies before, let alone Halloween-themed ones. And honestly? I don't want to know. In my book, Twizzlers Ghosts have set the bar so high that ignorance is bliss.

9/10

Nerds “Spooky” Gummy Clusters

Here’s the thing - a while ago, I declared Nerds Gummy Clusters to be one of the greatest forms of Nerds ever and possibly one of the greatest candies of all time. They’re soft, chewy, crunchy, sweet, tangy, tart…. perfect in every sense of the word and realistically there’s absolutely no way a Halloween makeover is going to diminish my feelings here. But, I will of course try to take this one as serious as possible.

The color scheme: A+. The flavor: not much different from the already available varieties but still…. A+. Nerds pretending to be witches and mysterious caped goofballs: do I really need to say it again?

10/10. If you’ve never had Nerds Gummy Clusters… run to the store now. Even if you hate Nerds by themselves, this is the end all be all way to consume them. I promise.

MTN DEW VOODEW 2024

The annual arrival of Voodew - a sure sign that we’re entering the part of the season where it’s acceptable to watch Hocus Pocus for the first time of the year. I’m never great at finding things super early but I managed this time 2 days before it’s release on 9/9 thanks to my buddy that had the connections (aka Andrew who stumbled into a random Scotto’s Pizza one night).

The sugar free version’s label is a little less appealing than the regular bottle but as long as it’s got that ethereal white haze, I’m diving in. Now, I’m about as good at guessing flavors as a fish is at climbing trees, but I’d be willing to bet whatever the flavor is there is strawberry involved. If you watched the taste test over at Haunted Hangover with Louie and I, you already know what I guessed. Even though they’ve already done Starbu….. I mean “Fruit Chew Candy", this tastes suspiciously like Pink Starburst. Louie was set in stone with Nerds which I could kinda see. I’m waiting for them to catch us all off guard and break the news that it’s actually those Christmasy strawberry candies you find at your grandmas place.

10/10! I enjoyed this years concoction - the Dew continues to outdo themselves!

GHOST TOAST KIT KATS

The pinnacle of confectionery innovation: a Kit Kat that tastes like toast. Okay - It’s not JUST toast, it’s toast with cinnamon. Huge difference. 

The packaging is so beautiful it might just bring a tear to your eye, if you're the type to cry over candy wrappers… and I am. The orange and deep blue swirly color scheme and adorable ghost fit for a McDonalds pail… absolutely breathtaking.

I guessed the flavor would resemble that of a Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal milk and, honestly, it’s not too far off. Crisp wafers covered in cinnamon toast flavored orange colored crème. It’s very reminiscent of the sweet cinnamon Kit Kats from a few Christmases ago which I loved. So it’s Christmas disguised as Halloween - the Spirit Halloween of KitKats. 

9.5 out of 10. I do wish the flavor was a little more pronounced but it’s ghoulish charm has me smitten.

REESES WEREWOLF TRACKS

The successor to “Frankencups”; I scratched my head at exactly what the gimmick was here. A few peeps have mentioned the “werewolf” gimmick comes from the white top of the Reese’s which may symbolize a full moon yada, yada, yada. I’ve never been the type to need a reason to eat a Reese’s and I’ve already got at least two. 1. It’s a Reese’s with a werewolf arm on the packaging. 2. It’s a Reese’s. 3. I don’t know…. repeat 1 and 2. 

Honestly, I can’t tell if it’s the freshness of the peanut butter and chocolate or if it’s the sweet vanilla top but this tastes so much like a handful of Reese’s Pieces without the candy shell. I wasn’t expecting much from these but color me blown away! This is a huge hit! To me, it doesn’t change anything so much that it becomes a different candy but rather enhances and intensifies what’s already great about a Reese’s. 

10 out of 10! What can I say? I’m an absolute wereslut for Reese’s. I saw the full moon and started howling.

TRICK OR TREAT TICTACS

Nothing says “Halloween candy” like spooky breath mints. I found these by complete surprise which was greatly appreciated. I feel like sometimes the items that haven’t been beaten to death on social media for months before their release leave the best impressions. I’m not saying that’s happening with Halloween TicTacs but by no means would I kick em out the bed for crackers.

We’ve got two different variations: Sour Cherry with a black cat theme and the typical orange flavor with, of course, a jack-o’-lantern. Simple. Elegant and other fun positive words that haven’t yet made it to my vocabulary. I kinda love these. I can’t remember back if they’ve ever done these before let alone a sour cherry flavor and I’m unwilling to dig back in the depths of the interwebs to find out. They’re new to me. That’s all that matters.

Orange is your typical orange Tictac of course. Sour Cherry to me is neither of those things unless you munch em up instead of savoring their flavor as intended.

7/10 not bad for candy pretending to be breath mints dressed up for Halloween.

MILK CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN PIE M&MS

This one is kind of a repeat but instead of white chocolate we have milk chocolate. If Werewolf Tracks Reese’s were enough difference from Frankencups, I’d say these deserve at least a quick mention. Though I’m not much of a white chocolate fan, I did enjoy that version as well. These feel like someone couldn’t decide between Halloween and Thanksgiving, so they just mashed them together like a toddler playing with Play-Doh. It’s a weird holiday candy baby and I absolutely need to be present at its mutant pumpkin spiced chocolatey baby shower. 

They’re interesting, no doubt. While they retain much of their regular M&Ms goodness, they taste like a confused Mexican hot chocolate that took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and ended up in a pumpkin patch.

8 out of 10. These are cozy and enjoyable. The best of Halloween and Thanksgiving without having to wear a costume or listen to your relatives argue.

NETFLIX WEDNESDAY CEREAL

If you’ve been following along, you know that Louie (Haunted Hangover) and I had taste tested this a while back after getting our hands on the Canadian version (thanks again to @cerealhookup on Instagram). At that point, we had no idea if this cereal was coming to the US. Lo and behold, the cereal gods have blessed America with goth cereal.

The cereal looks like the void and tastes like a sophisticated dark chocolate Cocoa Puffs with marshmallows which…. I really have no clue what they’re suppose to be shaped like. One might say coffins but they look more diamond shaped. Bonus points for making your milk look like an oil spill.

7.5/10. it’s a fun unexpected cereal that came way out of left field with a mesmerizing color and flavor perfect for when you want to feel classy while eating children's cereal. It’s a blatant reminder that we need more black cereal boxes on shelves during Halloween.

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE HAUNTED APPLE FANTA

Somehow, this beautiful movie marketing tie in had been on the hush up until almost the release date and my my my the stir it caused. The entire internet collectively lost their minds at the sight of green carbonated liquid fronted by Beetlejuice - myself included!

I saw a lot of people downright disgusted with the taste - I regret to inform all of you who share that experience that we have at least one less thing in common. I absolutely LOVE this shit and I’ll fight everyone. One may assume, by the color alone, that it would be green apple. This has such a baked goodie, almost warm caramel vibe to it. It’s like apple pie decided to become a liquid and join the circus. This tastes like Halloween.

If you haven’t checked out the live review over at Haunted Hangover by Louie and yours truly, I’ll let you know that I gave it a 10 out of 10. From the can/bottle designs to the color of the drink and flavor…. I couldn’t budge anywhere away from a 10. If you hated it, please don’t cancel me over soda.

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE KEEBLER FUDGE STRIPES COOKIES

Ernest J. Keebler's foray into the afterlife. I’m a huge fan of Mr. Ernest J. Keebler but I don’t know that I ever loved him more than now dressed up as the ghost with the most. Not to mention this beautiful all black foil bag that these little delights are housed in. *swoon*

Unfortunately, the flavor is super subtle. The cookies are playing hide and seek with my taste buds… and losing. I do get a hint of sweet vanilla and perhaps a minuscule hint of dark chocolate cookie but it’s so calm, it’s like the neighbors whispered “dark chocolate vanilla” and I just barely heard them.

6.5-7 out of 10. The packaging really saves these ones from being a few points lower. I refuse to give Erniejuice a lower score. Style over substance.

MONSTER CEREAL ASSORTMENT 2024

As much as I wanted to buy 5 boxes of cereal at once for their fun new….ish art work, we’ve all tasted these cereals 100 times over with the exception of Carmella. So, I decided to do the mildly responsible thing and only go home with my favs, 3 out of 5… not too bad!

While there are no new exciting flavors this year and we somehow still neglected Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy for a weird amalgamation of Frankenberry and Boo Berry in one box - aka the past 2 years Monster Mash cereal - we do have a fun attempt at retro boxes and a new….ish gimmick. Monsters Frightful Friends! MONSTERS AND THEIR MARSHMALLOW PETS in other words.

So, the lineup: Carmella and her snake “Scratch”, Frankenberry and his bat “Bennie”, Boo and his ghost cat “Meow Berry”, and finally The Count and his spider, a sort of returning character, named “Igor.” Then of course we have the newly revamped Monster Mash cereal - Monsters’ Frightful Friends.

I’m going 7/10 here. The gimmick isn’t insanely out of the box (I realize the pun) but we were gonna buy the cereal no matter what mildly interesting twist they gave it. I’m happy to see the return of Carmella and in her own retro style box to boot but not so happy about the Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy massacre.

CARAMEL APPLE STUFFED PUFFS

Caramel ✔️ Apple ✔️ Puff ✔️ Stuffed ✔️….. that was a checklist consisting of things I love. On paper, these seems like a sure win. NOT SO FAST - I said “seems.” Realistically, I was so bummed at how much I didn’t enjoy these.

With the combination of textures and flavors here, a lot gets lost in this marshmallowy sour green apple cloud. The isolated caramel itself is good and sweet but the sour green apple over powers it by so much. Plus, it kind of tastes like chemicals.

2/10 here. I can’t go higher on this one unfortunately.

BRACHS MELLOWCREME AUTUMN LEAVES

I know it’s mostly hated in the Halloween world but I’m a huge fan of candy corn and most other candy corn-esque candies from Brachs. I knew these would be a hit immediately. These feel like they should have been staples at grandmas house the past 4 decades for festive fall get-togethers like those strawberry candies during Christmas.

If you recall last years odd lineup - Fall Festival candy corn - which included the likes of cotton candy, strawberry funnel cake, lime snow cone…. To say I was confused about the flavor profiles would be an understatement. They hit the nail on the head this time. Simple fall leaf shapes and colors flavored not like leaves but caramel apple, pumpkin spice, sweet maple, salted butterscotch and spiced cider.

9/10 I won’t go through all the details here, just know that they all taste exactly what they’re suppose to but that spiced cider was a miss. Too much spice and not enough cider.

GHOUL AID SCARY BERRY

Finally, Ghoul Aid has re-entered the chat. No powdered Kool Aid this round but I’ll take it over the 2 year absence. We saw images of this batch teased a couple years ago just to be ghosted until now.

I don’t believe the flavor is different - blackberry - but what’s got me is the boxes says “Scary Berry” as per norm but the pouches say “Brew Berry” which is what the original teased image had on the boxes. I’m genuinely curious if something happened and they had to change the boxes and that’s why the absence happened? Were they in the mindset that the word “brew” would be too much for parents to handle?

Regardless. Taste 10/10. Box design 10/10. The Ghoul Aid man as a witch. 10/fucking 10. There’s a green “Kool-enstein” mask on the back….. 10/10. 

WELCH’S MONSTER SPLASH JUICEFULLS

Welch’s isn’t new to the haunted fruit snack gimmick but this is the first time they were filled with spooky fruit flavored juice.

What really got me on these was of course the box - I’m a sucker for duo tone spooky text flanked by ghosts, bats and an entire haunted house scene in the background. Throwing some juice filled snacks in was only the icing on the cake as far as I’m concerned. But you’re here for the food and unfortunately I’m not consuming a cardboard box. So, onto the fruit snacks. 

Things love about the snacks. They’re gummies, they’re filled with juice, they’re see through and finally they’re shaped like pumpkins, ghosts and skulls. On top of all that, they all taste pretty damn good. I didn’t even mention that they’re made from WHOLE FRUIT. We’re eating healthy here at Leftover Pizza and getting our A, C and E vitamins in.

8/10. I could eat these all day. In fact, I did. 

WEDNESDAY BLUEBERRY GRAPE DESPAIR GUSHERS

More Wednesday love - still depressing but this time fruity. I’m gonna cut to the chase on these John’s, I love these. All Gushers are good, I’ve eaten them all, but there’s never been one better than this.

From the box, to the color and flavor profile, to the Addams family tie in; this is definitely in my top three for the season. The perfect blend of grape and blueberry - perhaps slightly heavier on the blueberry side - and the only despair in sight is when the box empties.

9.5/10.

HOSTESS FRANKEN CAKES

The evolution of the “Monster Cake” continues with the new Franken Cake! They’re simple - vanilla cake and green vanilla frosting with a white swirl top all housed in a dark Halloweeny box. It’s a beautiful addition to the lineup of already established seasonal cakes like the Scary Cake and the Spooky Twinkie.

I didn’t eat any. I bought the box for the box and took the contents to work and they were devoured without seconds like a fresh pig dropped into a tank of piranhas.

8/10. 

FAST FOOD

I’m grouping these all together just to save some time. It’s been a crazy year for Halloween fast food and watching the war unfold was absolutely entertaining and a huge highlight of the season. We will be talking about the 2024 Halloween season for years to come.

In the year 2024, we had the Wendy’s Frightful Frosty Kids Meal, the McDonald’s Monster Pails, the Dunkin Munchkin Buckets, the Pizza Hut Your Haunt Box and finally, the Addams Family Burger King Meal. I know there are more but none of which I was able to get because of the lack of those restaurants in my area. 

They all did super well and I’m blown away by each but I have to give it to both Wendy’s and Burger King. Wendy’s I felt went above and beyond. They took a page out of the McNugget Buddies book, made little anthropomorphic figures of their iconic Frostys, threw some Halloween costumes on them and ran with it - not to mention they did an exclusive one off figure towards the end of the season. Then we have Burger King who gave us the Addams Family menu with the purple Wednesdays Whopper, Morticias Kooky Chocolate Shake, Things Rings and the best of the bunch, Gomez’s Churro Fries with chocolate dipping sauce.

It was nice to see Boo Pails come back for another round. It was also nice to see other places who don’t usually go as crazy for the season jump out of their typical antics and into something a little more fitting. It’s been one for the books.

As a whole - I’m going 10/10 for each.

THATS ALL OF EM! I hope you enjoyed the breakdown and got your hands on some of this stuff to sample for yourself. I can’t believe the sheer volume and variety we were offered this year. Certainly one for the books.

As always, thanks so much for reading!