Pumpkin Seeds

Hey all, Ernie here with a piece from David Buck! He’s here to talk about the most tedious holiday, depending on how you hold it: Halloween. (It’s so tedious that we wrote about it late.)

Today’s GIF comes from a piece of classic cheese involving the late Tim Curry, one of the best to ever do it. More about that below.

Cryptids are the cream of the Halloween crop

Halloween isn’t complete without monsters. I’ve read about them, played TTRPG’s that feature them, and even drawn a few, like that mushroom bit baba yaga-style house above.

A few years ago, I was an avid viewer of Dr. Emily Zarka’s Monstrum. It’s a show about the monsters of cultures all around the world. She’s covered by the headless horseman (so have we!), King Kong, and cryptids from around the world.

Monsters are always a fascinating topic, particularly lycanthropes. But we got to thinking more about local cryptids. That is, cryptids specific to a certain area. You know, like the Jersey Devil. Only they’re not limited to the United States. These cryptids and stories about them have traveled across the world.

Cryptids have long been a fascinating subject for us, so we did a little roundup of the four of the most interesting local cryptids we came across.

My criteria for these was a) I think they’re interesting and b) I can draw them. You’ll see why that’s important in a moment.

If your favorite cryptid isn’t here, I apologize. They’re all great. These just happen to be the ones I like the most right now.

Grafton Monster: Grafton, WV. Ah, West Virginia, home to the original sightings of Mothman. The state has another cryptid in its history: the Grafton Monster. It’s supposed to be a tall and pale humanoid creature that may or may not be headless. Oh, and it makes a creepy (sometimes described as “unusual” whistle sound.

Just like our good buddy Mothman up there, sightings of the Grafton Monster began around 1964. Journalist Robert Cockrell described the monster as roughly 7 to 9 feet tall. He also said it looked kind of like a seal but it had no head. I imagine it looks a little something like my drawing above (it’s not to scale).

Dover Demon: Dover, MA. The east coast seems to be awash in cryptids. Massachusetts has the Dover Demon. This one is pretty odd. In 1977, a creature with glowing orange eyes that was only four feet tall was spotted on a broken stone wall. 17-year old Bill Bartlett drew a sketch

Over the next few nights, more sightings were reported. What the kids described sounded like a gray alien right out of Area 51.

What they might have actually seen was a baby moose or a snow owl. Either way, it’s a bizarre local cryptid story and has become legendary around that area of Massachusetts.

Tommyknocker: Georgetown, Colorado. Did you know that Tommyknockers are a real Colorado cryptid? No, these aren’t Stephen King’s Tommyknockers. Instead, these guys are like Colorado leprechauns.

They knock on things from inside a mine. You can’t see them, but they’re there, warning of impending cave-ins or helping miners out.

Sometimes, they’re friendly or described as tricksters. But they’re a Colorado legend, right along with the Yeti’s in Vail, those pesky vampires in Lafayette, and that silly little hotel that inspired The Shining in Estes Park.

Bunyip: Australia. The U.S. has its fair share of local cryptids, but you should see some of the ones from around the world. Take the bunyip, for example. This thing is scary. It’s from aboriginal culture, originally, and is said to resemble a hippo. Or a manatee. Or something with an elongated neck.

Either way, it’s an incredibly deadly creature lurking in a swamp in the inner part of the continent. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, its origin might be related to the rare appearances of seals upstream in Australia. I suppose that makes sense, but imagine running into one of these things in the wild.

Cryptids often seem to be based on things that really do exist, but the way we imagine or interact with them is what creates the idea of a monster. The human imagination really is a powerful thing, isn’t it?

Those homebrew NES games Spirit Halloween sells? Surprisingly good

In last year’s NES roundup, I briefly mentioned how Spirit Halloween was selling NES carts containing the homebrew title Haunted: Halloween ‘86: The Curse of Possum Hollow. What I didn’t talk about is just how freaking amazing this game series is.
That’s one of three games in the series, alongside Haunted: Halloween ‘85, and Haunted: Halloween‘87: Year of the Witch.

You can pick the games up on Steam or Itch.Io, from the folks who made it, Retrotainment Games LLC. All their stuff is great. There are also physical cartridges on their official website, if you’re into that sort of thing.

These games are standouts among NES homebrew titles; they have a Double Dragon and Mighty Final Fight feel to them. However, the stories are more developed, you can switch characters, there are extra move sets (which is not typical in most NES games), and I had a ton of fun playing through them.

So let’s look at the trilogy. I only own the first two games (purchased directly from Itch.Io)

I haven’t had the opportunity to play Haunted: Halloween ‘87 yet, but if it’s anything like the first two (and particularly, like ‘86), I know I’m going to love it.

I think the first two are definitely standout titles and I recommend them for some 8-bit Halloween fun.

As far as NES Homebrew goes, I’m still pretty enthusiastic about it, all these years later.