HALLOWEEN HIGHLIGHTS 2024!

Welcome to Leftover Pizzas 2024 Halloween Highlights! Check back frequently from now up until the big day for bite-sized entries and updates of spooky findings!

10/31 - A Halloween Reflection - GRIMEY

Dear fellow haunters,

I’m posting this a day in advance fully knowing how tight time will be during Halloween proper. First and foremost, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Second, I owe you all an apology for my unexpected vanishing act as the season drew to a close. Between the chaos of daily life and putting together the final podcast episodes of the season, time has slipped through my fingers like autumn leaves in the wind. But before the witching hour ends, I wanted to share a glimpse of this year's haunt with you.

This season, I found myself channeling my inner Pumpkin Rot, embracing nature's raw materials—sticks and rope replacing the usual clean-cut lumber and conspicuous zip ties. The scarecrow trio received their annual makeover, with one requiring complete repositioning, fresh shrink wrap, and multiple layers of paint and dry brushing. To those master craftsmen out there creating these nightmarish figures from paper mache: I bow before your artistry. This year's iteration of my three silent sentinels has finally reached a point where I can look upon them with genuine pride. While I'd planned to keep things minimal with just the scarecrows amid the corn stalks, my girlfriend's insistence on balancing the yard with our trusty graveyard proved to be hauntingly right.

An unexpected emergency brought our old friend Jonely Bonely from his usual perch in my car to the display proper. When one of his plastic legs decided to give out, necessity became the mother of invention. Stripped of his lower half, he was transformed into a ground breaker, complete with spray foam accents. What should have been a quick build stretched into a week-long endeavor between podcast duties and website maintenance, but somehow we pulled it off.

The annual pumpkin-carving ritual played out as it always does—I prep a small army of gourds, my girlfriend contributes a face or two before retiring, and I'm left alone with my thoughts and the remaining pumpkins in the quiet hours of night. Truth be told, it's become my favorite Halloween tradition. Just me, a mountain of pumpkin innards, and the endless loop of Monster Mash and Thriller creating the perfect soundtrack to this solitary celebration. The timing dance is always delicate—carving late enough to preserve their glory for the big night, but not so early that they collapse into orange puddles after a fortnight of decay.

Like a spectral visitation, the Halloween season always appears and vanishes in what feels like a heartbeat, despite being the longest and biggest celebrated holiday in this nostalgia circle. As I write this, tomorrow's forecast already hints at turkey dinners, Grandma Arbuckle's split-second cranberry sauce, and the first whispers of Christmas carols.

So here we are, standing in the twilight of another Halloween season. The jack-o'-lanterns' grins will soon fade, and the carefully crafted displays will return to their slumber in attics and basements across the world. But there's something beautiful in it’s ending—knowing that these fleeting moments of magic we create together will live on in memories and photographs, waiting to inspire next year's haunts. For now, savor these final precious hours: indulge in that candy, wear your mask with pride, get one more Great Pumpkin watch in and let your jack-o'-lanterns burn bright against the gathering darkness. After all, the best haunts are the ones that leave you wanting just one more night.

Happy Halloween, everyone. Until next year's shadows call us home.

10/15 (Almost) Halfway There - DEREK

Hello, pleasantries, reciprocating the pleasantries, a remark about how time is flying by. Okay, we’re up to speed!

So, just like last year I’ve been making an effort to get out and see some local yard haunts. Unlike last year, I’ve been making a real effort to document the outings so I can share my favorite displays with all of you. A big theme I’m seeing across the city is skeletons in wacky situations. Like…lots of them. But I’m not complaining! They’re classic, and it’s fun to see how creative people are getting with something seemingly so mundane. My favorite of the bunch is certainly the pirate house (partially pictured above) - it feels like we’ve got the Pirates of the Caribbean ride here at home!

What would Halloween be without a Whopper dressed in a colorful bun? Sad. It’d be really sad.

This Addams Family meal came out of nowhere, if I’m being perfectly honest. I don’t really even know how they managed to settle on this iteration of the Addams Family - we aren’t expecting a third animated movie any time soon and it’s been three years since the last one released. I figure they probably went after the Wednesday Netflix show license, got shot down by Jenna Ortega and then scrambled to save the promo because they had already ordered 2 million purple buns.

Either way, I’m glad we got it if only for Gomez’s churro fries. These things are absolutely incredible and I’m upset that I won’t be able to order them on a regular basis. That’s probably the best for my health, however.

Terrifier 3 certainly was a Terrifier movie. Yep. I really don’t know what to say about this one, other than I watched it and it was probably the best out of the series so far. Still not really my jam, but I suppose I should parrot everyone else on the internet in conceding that it’s a win for both the horror genre and indie filmmakers. Kudos are in order.

But like next time, can we get a tight 90 minutes? In no world do I need Art & co. to occupy the screen for an Avengers length of time. Hell, I don’t even need the Avengers to occupy an Avengers length of time.

Lastly, I picked up this special little Svengoolie 45th anniversary comic! If you guessed that I haven’t sat down to read it yet, you’d be right! Man, I really need to go and get another adderall prescription. Ya boy’s attention span is basically non-existent!

10/2 Catching Up - DEREK

Holy crap, it’s October! That sure happened quick, didn’t it? Its weird, man…I thought I hadn’t been doing enough spooky shit and then I looked back at my phone’s camera roll. I guess there’s more catching up than I thought. Let’s get into it.

When I last wrote you all, it was a few days before the official start of Autumn - a time of year my middle-school friends and I jokingly refer to as CKY season. If you’re out of the loop, CKY has an album called Infiltrate Destroy Rebuild, and we all consider it to be a perfect Falloween album. So needless to say, we took the joke more seriously than ever this year!

To ring in the new season, we listened to the album in full, watched CKY2K, drank some pumpkin ciders and sat by the fire. Have to say, this was a lovely new tradition that I’m already looking forward to repeating next year!

Next up, let’s talk groceries. A mundane topic for some, but for all of us at Halloween it might as well be our super bowl. I was lucky enough to find the new Hostess FrankenCakes (before Grimey even, which never happens. Was that a pig that just flew past my window?)

I’ve heard some complaints about these not pushing the Frankenstein theme far enough, but at the end of the day I really don’t care. The green icing is lovely and I will always welcome a vanilla counterpart to the classic chocolate ScaryCake. I also had a stroke of genuis (in my opinion) - you ever have one of those horrible days at work, and just need something to take the edge off when you walk through the door at home? Well…

Did I already refer to myself as a genius? I did? Well how about just one more time then.

Speaking of groceries: here’s a weird orange colored, vanilla flavored milk that I found but did not buy.

I’m still having trouble wrapping my mind around everything about this one. While technically festive, the color is just truly off-putting. I can’t imagine pouring a glass of this and trying to get my brain to register that what I’m about to drink isn’t orange juice. Also, the name…Boo Struck? It’s not even a pun! Idk Hood, points for trying I guess but this one just seems off to me.

Next up, I made a bit more progress on my yard haunt. All the tombstones are in place, and we even have lights!

The bit I’m most proud of this year is something that I can’t believe I’ve never thought of before: using craft pumpkins to hide the light fixtures at the front of the yard. Simple and effective, the lights are 100% hidden when looking dead on, and still disguised fairly well from either side. Still haven’t decided if I’ll carve designs into them, but I’m leaning towards doing it. All that’s left now is adding in all my static figures, which will happen closer to Halloween itself in an effort to keep them out of the elements as long as I can.

Speaking of yards, I visited my first of many! This one featured quite a few of those giant Home Depot skeletons, except these ones were all gussied up.

Not pictured are the giant Beetlejuice & Lydia off to the right of Deadpool, Wolverine and Hagrid (?). Side note: I know, I need to get better about taking more pictures!

I got out to the movies as well and ended up checking out The Substance by myself on a slow Sunday afternoon.

Holy shit. Movie of the year. No, the decade! Wow. This is one that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since I walked out of that theater, and it’s been nearly two weeks! I heard a couple guys behind me cackling like mad throughout the last half hour of the run time, so when it was over I met their eyes and said “holy shit, right??” to which one of them replied “I was way too high for that.” I felt that, and I was sober!

Lastly we got out to check out Oddfest - a mini oddities show/convention/gathering. There sure was a lot of taxidermy! I have to admit, my favorite part of the whole experience was the wood paneling…just look at it!

Okay, I think we’re all caught up. I’d love to keep writing, but I’ve got lots of podcasts to prep for. Talk soon!

9/19 Meet the Press - DEREK

In the words of legendary news anchor Ron Burgundy, I’m kind of a big deal.

Or at least that’s what I’m going to keep telling myself. Since starting DemBoys all those years ago, a major goal of mine has been to be viewed as “legitimate” (whatever that means). I guess being granted my very first press pass counts! I really tried to play it cool all weekend as a guest at Silver Scream Con III, but if I’m being honest, I felt like a kid at Christmas.

It’s been a few years since a major horror convention came to my town, the last being Rock & Shock in 2019, aka the horror convention of my youth. I must say, Silver Scream managed to capture all those same warm & fuzzy pre-Halloween memories from my middle school years, and I was flabbergasted at the huge crowd it drew in all weekend. Horror is so back!

Gosh I mean, where do I even start? There was SO much to do and see. I suppose I’ll start here at the panels which were plentiful (thirteen by my count) but I’ll keep things brief and mention my three favorites. First up on Friday night, in between meeting & greeting our many peers I found some time to pop into the Friday the 13th panel featuring series’ creator Sean S. Cunningham, Warrington Gillette (Part 2 Jason) and Derek Mears (2009 F13 reboot Jason).

Jumping ahead to Saturday I got a chance to check out back to back panels; first up, a 25th Idle Hands panel featuring Devon Sawa and Elden Henson:

As well as a Halloween panel featuring Nick Castle (Michael in the OG), PJ Soles, John Michael Graham and James Jude Courtney (Michael in the Blumhouse trilogy, not pictured). While all three of these panels were interesting and informative, I have to say that the person who truly blew me away was James Jude Courtney. It’s safe to say that I’m not the biggest fan of the last three movies, but hearing how he approached the role with such reverence absolutely gave me a newfound appreciation for his take on the character, if nothing else. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard someone who’s had so much respect for a character they’ve played. Give this guy a podcast, stat!

Finally, I caught up with some really great folks on the show floor. I’m sure I’ll go into a bit more detail later on in the season, but for now I suggest that you check out these people if you’re at all into horror: Weirdo Wonderland, JR’s Spooky Shack, John Campopiano, Braindead Customs, Theater of Creeps and Modern Wickcraft.

There were so many other vendors in attendance with some of the coolest shit I’ve ever seen! Get a load of these life-sized figures from Count Orlok’s Nightmare Gallery Monster Museum:

And I know it’s a little early, but check out this Grinch created by Creatures of the Night:

I wish I had been a little bit better about taking photos, but if I’m being honest, that’s always a struggle for me. I get so caught up in the moment, it’s not until things are over that I realize I should’ve been better about documentation. Darn my ADD-Riddled brain! Oh well, there’s always next year…

That’ll do it for this check in, and now I’m off to watch my new (to me) Bone Chillers tape!

9/17 It’s Been Quiet - GRIMEY

Holy shit, we're already halfway through September? Time's slipping through my fingers like it always does. I’ve only made one measly entry so far this month - pathetic. But don't think for a second I've been slacking. Between the avalanche of content headed for the site and the endless podcast editing hellscape, I've barely had time to breathe, let alone chronicle my descent into madness.

But in those precious moments when I'm not chained to my desk? Oh, you better believe I've been up to no good. At the moment, I’m just doing a few minor enhancements to what I already have going on yearly. My scarecrows didn’t feel as natural as I’d like them to so I robbed a forest of its finest debris. Here’s a little sneak peak of what I have going on. What was originally clean cut 2 x 4’s are now branches from trees tied together all eerily. The skeletons and jack-o’-lanterns themselves will be repainted. I’m borrowing inspiration heavily from Pumpkinrot as I have done often the last few years. If you have no clue who that is, make sure to check them out. He’s a PA native and all round awesome artist of all things creepy.

Anyways, that’s it for now. I’ll be sure to have a few more entries soon. Back to it!

9/9 Beetlejuice, A Book Fair & Yard Haunting - DEREK

Guys…I think I may have just had the strongest Halloween kick-off weekend of my life. Seriously. On Friday night, I started off strong with a showing of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice on the biggest screen I could find near me. I adored it, and I think that I can say as of this writing, it’s my new favorite ‘legacy sequel’, beating out 2021’s Candyman by a sliver. It’s everything a sequel should be, in my opinion - moving the story along naturally, building upon, and even strengthening the original material at times. Consider me a big fan, and I know it’ll make it’s way into my regular seasonal viewing for years to come. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of the poster at the theater, so you can have this photo of the original movie on 4K and my empty Black & White Kit-Kat wrapper (specifically saved for this movie) instead.

On Saturday I took a drive out to the Spooktastic Book Fair in Framingham, Mass!

Like most of you reading, the Scholastic Book Fair was an integral part of my childhood. Some of my best elementary school memories involved anxiously waiting for my class to be called down to those mobile bookshelves so I could buy a couple of Goosebumps books and some novelty erasers that never actually worked. So when I found out there was going to be a Halloween & horror themed book fair that anyone could attend, you bet your ass I marked it down on my calendar!

There was a truly overwhelming amount of authors, vendors and books! I walked away with some really great finds including a personalized copy of Playground by Aron Beauregard, some new beans to support my coffee addiction from Doomed Coffee (can coffee get any fresher than that, btw?) and a sick new print from Taft Street Studios to hang above my java station. Overall I was really impressed with the event and I will absolutely be attending again next year.

Finally, we arrive at Sunday. Normally the idea of manual labor makes me shudder, but when it comes to putting up Halloween decorations I miraculously find the strength of a thousand men. Admittedly, it’s been a few year’s since I’ve been able to go all out with my yard haunt but that changes this season.

I figured if we got an early start this year, I’d have plenty of time to get things just right and then still have enough time to admire my work once everything is set in place. This journal also helps to keep me motivated, because now I have to keep updating all of you with progress shots for the next two months!

I’ll leave you all with this photo of my parent’s dog Molly enjoying a chew on one of the branches from our evil tree. It’ll be her first season experiencing our graveyard, so more updates to come when she inevitably gets confused by all the tombstones in her yard.

9/4 My Grandmother - DEREK

I’ve been debating for a few days now whether I wanted to make such a somber post in a thread that’s all about the celebration of our favorite holiday. After much consideration, I think it’s a fitting place to remember my grandmother, Nanny. A little over a week ago, after a short period of declining health, my family lost our last matriarch. It’s a weird feeling being without grandparents, especially being lucky having had them into the beginning of my thirties. Not many folks get the chance to know their elders for such a long time!

While going through photos of Nanny last week, my Dad stumbled across this picture of her in the late 1990s:

As you can see, she’s sitting on our living room couch, completely swathed in my Universal Monsters plushies. What a good sport.

Throughout my childhood, all of my grandparents played a hand in showing me support for my love of Halloween. My Mother’s Father helped me build a “cemetery fence” & tombstones for my first home haunt (that are still in use) and my grandmother (Mom’s Mom) bought me my first costume for home haunting (a Leatherface ensemble, complete with chainsaw). My other grandfather (Dad’s Dad) helped me set up my Halloween decorations until he physically couldn’t anymore. Then there was Nanny, who opened her home (& front yard) and cooked us dinner on countless Halloween nights before sending me out into the cold to scare off all her trick or treaters. I remember her telling me every year, with a great big grin on her face, that for weeks after Halloween she’d have neighbors remarking how well we’d scared their grandkids.

A scene from one of my first yard haunts at Nanny's house in 2007.

So, as I let my last grandparent go, I look back not in sadness but in appreciation for all the support they showed me. It would’ve been easy for any one of them to discourage my little obsession with monsters, but instead they all helped in their own way to see to it that I was supported, and more importantly, loved because of it. Without their encouragement, there’s a very real chance that I would not be doing what Grimey and I do today.

Thanks Nanny.

9/3 Return of the Living Frostys! - GRIMEY

Procured a few Boo Books from Wendy’s today! While the masses are in a tizzy over the recently announced promo toys (myself included, of course), I've been busy investigating the truly pressing matters: this year's Boo Books design.

I'm pleased to report that this batch of Boo Books is marginally less disappointing than last year's DC comics debacle. Progress, I suppose. The "Frosty Frights" collection includes such luminaries as Frosty Bite, Franken Frosty, Brrr Beast, Cold Spell, and Coolie Ghoulie!

In a completely rational and well-adjusted decision, I've declared these miniature monstrosities my new family. My second and third cousins have been notified of their replacement via a tersely worded email.

9/3 - STARTING THE SEASON OFF WITH A BANG! - DEREK

I don’t want to say I got a late start to the season this year as Grimey and I have been in Halloween mode for the better part of two months now, BUT the first weekend in September is when I finally kicked things into high gear! For starters, yesterday morning I made the impromptu decision to get out and see Coraline on the big screen for it’s 15th anniversary. While I’ve seen the movie many times before, it was my first time getting to see it in 3D. I have to say, that added dimension made a huge difference in how you experience the film. I know it sounds corny, but the whole experience was so much more immersive with that added depth. If you’re able, you should check it out before it’s gone again!

When I returned home from the theater, this little hell spawn was waiting for me on my porch…

I had completely forgotten that I pre-ordered this evil talking Krusty doll many months ago, so it was a total surprise when I opened up that box and saw his menacing little face staring back at me. Talk about starting off the Halloween season on the right foot!

Later on, I decided it was only right to make my first (of many) apple based desserts of the season.

I decided on an apple tart, my first time trying out what is essentially a topless pie. I liked it! And I have to give credit to the ridiculous amount of Jacques Pepin videos that I’ve been watching. If you’ve never indulged yourself, you must.

I also finished a big personal project of mine that I’ve been working on quietly all Summer. It’s really only relevant to people in Central Massachusetts, but I figured I’d document it here anyways because you never know who might be reading! Click here to check out my Central Mass Halloween Guide.

To cap this first entry off, Grimey asked us all in the Facebook group what we would create if we had the ability to make a new Monster cereal. I thought about it hard (for about 5 minutes) and then proceeded to use an entire lunch break at work creating this:

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you…the CRUNCHBACK.

The truth is I put way more effort into this than I needed to, but at the same time, my little hunchback deserved every ounce of love I poured into his creation. I finally know the joys of parenthood, and I have his glorious purple humped-back to thank. Why purple, you may ask? Well truthfully, that was one of the only colors left after taking all the other monsters into account! But I truly wouldn’t change a thing, my little boy is perfect the way he is, oversized eye and all.

That’s it for my first entry, catch you all real soon. I have lots on my calendar this year that I’ll need to document!

8/28 - The Triumphant Return of Ghoul-Aid! - GRIMEY

Ghoul-Aid's back from the dead! After two years haunting our dreams with empty store shelves during the Halloween season, this revamped design (which was leaked 2 years ago) has finally arrived!

8/23 New Episode Alert! - GRIMEY

Kid Friendly Horror Pt. 2!

Derek & Grimey have joined forces to talk about eight more childhood horrors! Ranging from horror toys (Attack of the Killer Tomatoes) & shows (Tales from the Cryptkeeper) specifically marketed to kids, to things that Shouldn’t have been scary, but were (Ernie & Bert exploring a pyramid); there’s a little bit of something for everyone! So curl up with your emotional support blanket and join us on this terrifying journey through our irrational fears and favorite spooky memories. Click here for Spotify and here for Apple Podcast.

8/21 - The Juice is Loose! - GRIMEY

Just a quick update today. Louie (Haunted Hangover Podcast) invited me to try the new Beetlejuice Fanta for your viewing pleasure!

8/14 - IT’S SHOWTIME!!! - GRIMEY

Walmart came through with the goods. The star of the show! BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE HAUNTED APPLE FANTA! It's green, it's probably terrible for me - but I’ll tell you, there are very few things in Walmart that have the potential to make me this ridiculously excited. I can’t imagine being born any other era than now. Usually, Sheetz is my go-to for the first spooky sodas of the season, but renovations have shuttered my local spot until October (ugh). Fingers crossed Walmart keeps the Halloween spirit flowing with Voodew 2024 in September!

Next, a fucking mountain of Monster Cereal! (The retro vibes are alive and kicking!) Carmella's back, baby and, this time, in a retro-style box looking like a snack. As you all know from last year, Carmella had me head over heels. I scooped Carmella and the Frightful Friends box to hold me over for now. The more I look at the "Frightful Friends" thing, the more I'm my thoughts shift from “weird” to "yeah, okay, that's kinda cool."

8/8 - Attic Archaeology - GRIMEY

Happened upon an absolute treasure trove of Halloween goodies in the attic which we’ve never explored since we moved in about 7 years ago. Enjoy this little sneak peak of the goods before I get the ambition to finish the bigger article.

8/4 - Junk Food Jackpot - GRIMEY

Hit the Halloween snack motherlode! Scored Reese's Werewolf Tracks, Ghost Toast KitKats, Beetlejuice^2 Fudge Stripes, Spooky Nerds Clusters, Pumpkin Pie M&Ms, and... Halloween Tic Tacs? (Because nothing says "spooky" like fresh breath.) Though my pantry is screaming, the hunt continues!

8/3 - First Spirit Trip 2024 - GRIMEY

Abandoned all adulting to sprint to Spirit Halloween's soft opening. Mostly déjà vu (a ton of expected repeats), but two newbies caught my eye: a Halloween II VHS pumpkin light and a Tales from the Crypt bust. I see a lot of people oozing about these online. They’re cool, but not "empty my wallet" cool.