THE BEST HOLIDAY JUNK FOOD 2024!

Welcome to this year's festival of festive face-stuffing! Pull up a chair as I systematically sacrifice my blood sugar levels to bring you reviews of the season's most intriguing holiday treats. Consider this my gift to you – a thoroughly researched (and thoroughly digested) guide to what's worth the calories and what deserves coal in its stocking. Also, make sure to check back regularly for updates of limited edition holiday snacks that marketing departments have convinced themselves we need.

REESE'S SUGAR COOKIE BIG CUP

Here’s the thing, I love a new take on a classic. Unfortunately for the Reese’s Sugar Cookie Big Cup, ambition has exceeded execution. Reese's attempted to cram the delicate essence of a sugar cookie into their already perfect peanut butter cup. The result? Imagine inviting a ballet dancer to perform at a heavy metal concert – the subtle notes never stood a chance. What we got instead is essentially a Reese's cup that hit the gym and ghosted its sugar cookie personality. It's still chocolate and peanut butter, just... more of it with a bit of a texture variation. Thanks for playing, sugar cookie flavor. We hardly knew ye. 3/10

TWIZZLERS MERRY BERRY PUNCH

Someone at Twizzlers HQ said, "What if we made licorice that looks like we mugged a Christmas tree?" And thus, these festive green twigs were born. The flavor is supposedly blueberry and blue raspberry, but as a certified '90s kid who practically mainlined blue raspberry everything, I can tell you the blue raspberry is super muted. What I’m getting instead is a surprisingly decent blueberry pie filling vibe that somehow got lost on its way to an actual pie. Props for the color though. 6/10

TOASTY HOLIDAY PEANUT M&MS

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner. These aren't just M&Ms; they're M&Ms that went to finishing school and came back with a monocle. The packaging is saying "department store Christmas display circa 1952," and I'm here for it. The peanuts taste like they just came from a fancy toasting spa retreat, and the chocolate seems to have gotten the memo about being part of something special. Every bite feels like you should be wearing a smoking jacket and discussing the stock market. It's so sophisticated, I've started calling my cat "Sir Whiskers" and speaking with a vaguely British accent. 10/10

PILLSBURY GRINCH COOKIES

Somewhere in Whoville, someone's getting fired. These cookies, which were meant to capture the essence of everyone's favorite green Christmas killjoy, instead look like what you'd get if an alien tried to recreate cat paw prints based on a blurry photograph. I assumed after baking, the promises of the Grinch's head and his growing heart would present themselves but, again, what you’re left with looks more like evidence from an extraterrestrial veterinary clinic. Taste-wise, it's the same sugar cookie that gets a costume change for every holiday – ghost shape for Halloween, shamrock for St. Patrick's, and now... space toe beans for Christmas. How the Grinch Stole Cookie Originality. 6/10

PLANTERS TOASTED MARSHMALLOW HOT CHOCOLATE CASHEWS

Now this is what happens when snack development goes right! These cashews went to a fancy college and came back with a sophistication that makes regular nuts feel inadequate. The flavor profile is like a s'more got a PhD – toasty, cocoa-rich, with just enough marshmallow to remind you of camp, but not enough to remind you of that time you tried to eat six jumbo marshmallows at once. The crunch factor is reminiscent of grape nuts, but unlike grape nuts, these won't make you question your life choices. An elegant 8/10

7UP SHIRLEY TEMPLE SODA

After a quest worthy of Lord of the Rings (minus the ring, plus several disappointed trips to Walmart), I finally found this elusive beverage! The color is what I imagine fairy champagne looks like – a delicate pink that makes you feel fancy even when drinking it in your pajamas. The taste is like 7UP went to charm school – light, sophisticated, with just enough cherry and pomegranate to make it interesting. Bonus points for keeping it caffeine-free, because some of us prefer our heart palpitations to come from holiday stress, not our beverages. 9.5/10

CINNAMON SWIRL LINDT LINDOR TRUFFLE

Oh, Lindt. Lindt, Lindt, Lindt. I drove 73 miles (1 hour and 27 minutes of my life I'll never get back) for what I thought would be the Rolls-Royce of cinnamon roll experiences. Instead, I got what tastes like white chocolate that once heard someone whisper the word "cinnamon" from across a crowded room. These truffles are sweeter than a Disney movie marathon, and about as true to cinnamon rolls as I am to my New Year's resolutions. The only silver lining is that they're so far away from my house, I couldn't get more even if I wanted to. Which I don't. Because of the overwhelming sweetness and lack of cinnamon bun essence, I can’t go higher than a 1/10

TROLLI ABOMINABLE SNOWMEN

Imagine if the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man had tiny, sparkly backup dancers… that’s these guys. Now, a tale of three flavors, ranked in order of how likely they are to make you believe in yeti:

1. Mango passion fruit: The king of the mountain

2. Blue raspberry guava: A solid second, like a yeti's smaller, cooler cousin

3. Strawberry lime: Tastes like someone mixed fruit punch with what I imagine Mr. Clean's cologne would taste like. But here's the thing – I'm the type of person who finds the smell of cleaning products oddly appetizing, so this is actually a compliment.

Overall, I’m giving these a 7.5/10. I get weird when we mix fruit flavors with Christmas when they feel better placed in the warmer months.

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.

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!