It Came From The Attic: Part II

 Darkwing Duck Pizza Hut Box

Well, here we go again! Staying with my Mom at my childhood home for a few weeks brought back a ton of memories and nostalgia, but looking through all the totes of stuff I own that have been stored in her attic really kicked those feelings into high gear. Today I will share a few of these items I have saved for decades with you. First is this Darkwing Duck Pizza Hut Personal Pizza Box. These came out in the early 90s and you not only got this cool box with your Darkwing Duck feast, but it also came with a cool collectors cup and an official Crime fighter Kit! I still have both of those stashed somewhere, but all I could find was this box to stir up those memories of Disney Afternoon glory!

"Neighborhood Watch" Drawing

It's no secret that I love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but in the 90s I was a fan of a lot of independent comic book characters. This drawing I did showcases some of those faves like Usagi Yojimbo, Shi, Cerebus, The Tick, Flaming Carrot, Bone and Scud. Man, I wish I still had time to draw. I guess I will just have to find that time!

Freddy Krueger Squish'em

This officially licensed Freddy Krueger toy was released by LJN in 1989. I wish I could say that was when I got him, but it wasn't until the mid 2000s when Freddy would join my collection. At that time I was working at an auto glass shop as an installer in Morristown, NJ and this little Freddy character was uncovered during a slow day when we had to clean up the shop. He was under our tool bench in a cabinet and I am glad I found him before anyone else could scoop up this Nightmare from Elm Street!

Keith Hernandez Autographed Baseball

I was born an huge New York Mets fan and some day in the distant future I hope to be buried in my Mets hat! So, when my Dad found out that this 1st base playing MVP, Gold Glove and World Series winner would be at a local sports store called Rich's World of Sports in Blairstown, NJ, we had to go! I got to meet the Met & Seinfeld legend that day in 1989 and it was the thrill of a lifetime. He was really nice and chatted with us about baseball for a few minutes. After our chat he signed a ball for me and my brother and a 1987 Topps card for me! I love this ball and the memories that come with it!

Ghostbusters Cereal Box Cards

Ghostbusters cereal was produced by Ralston from about 1985 to 1990 and in that time they had some awesome premiums in their boxes. Glow in the dark flying discs, holograms and of course these nice cards you could cut out from the back of the box. These babies glow in the dark and showcase some pretty cool artwork. Anything Ghostbusters back in the day was like gold to me and these cards are no exception. I just wish that I would have kept the whole box!

Thundercats: Cats Lair

This was the toy of all toys back around the Christmas of 1986! That year was also the year The Real Ghostbusters toys came out and I asked for both at Christmas. Well, the big day finally came around and I have to say I was very disappointed with the outcome. I even wrote a whole article about it a few years ago. If you want to relive one of the worst holidays I ever had, you can read it by clicking HERE!  I still have my Cats Lair and despite not being in the picture, he does still have his head somewhere. This was a great toy and it makes me happy to know my Mom has not thrown it out! Check out it's greatness in the commercial below and be ready to have your mind blown!

Things that scared me as a kid!

The 80s were a great time to grow up! We had incredible toys, entertaining cartoons and some of the best movies ever were created during this time. Also, this was a time where studios could get away with marketing mass murderers, movie maniacs and nightmare creatures to kids under the age of 10! These horror icons were so well know on the schoolyard that you could just mention a first name and people instantly knew who you were talking about. Jason, Freddy, Egon. These were all popular figures of the time. With so much scary stuff integrated into an 80s child's life, you would think it would have desensitized us a little, right? Even though these characters lost their edge when they began to appear as dolls, yo-yos and even on their own records, there were still some things that scared the hell out of me when I was young. Here are 3 of those things that made it hard for me to sleep at night!

Stephen King & Berni Wrightson's Cycle of the Werewolf

My dad was a huge fan of Stephen King and anytime his books would come out, he would pick it up. The covers of the majority of these books were visually striking and I would look at them with wonder. Wondering what the story was about on the inside. I was still into books that contained lots of pictures in them, so a King novel with 300 pages of words didn't really interest me. Then my dad bought Cycle of the Werewolf!

This was a Stephen King book with freakin pictures! I did not have to wonder about what happened in this book because the beautifully horrific pictures by Wrightson told me all the gory details I needed to know. These pictures were terrifying to me. Never before had I seen so much horror in one image. It really stuck with me, but I never actually read the book. It is now on my must read list!

FLEER Grossville High Cards

These cards didn't really scare as much as gross me out as a kid. I really liked Garbage Pail Kids and collected the hell out of them when I was younger, but for some reason the grotesque artwork on these FLEER produced cards really creeped me out. I remember putting these stickers onto some of the things around mine and my brothers room when we got them just like we did with our GPK collection. Then one night I was tired of looking at them and got out of bed specifically to tear them off our stuff. I mean, these cards are no worse than GPK but the artwork just seems a little too out there for me. Check em' out for yourself and be the judge.

Pretty crazy right? Now when I look back at them they aren't really that terrible, but things look a lot different when you're 8 years old! There is a reason though, why Garbage Pail Kids are seen as great nostalgia and no one really remembers Grossville High.

The Taxi Driver Ghost from Ghostbusters

Iloved the Ghostbusters movie when it came out, but there was always one scene that made me close my eyes. That scene was with the Taxi Driver Ghost! For some reason, none of the other supernatural beings in this classic movie scared me at all. The drooling, snarling, sharp toothed terror dogs? Nope! The crazy, floating, purple Library Ghost? Nope! The freakin' taxi driver ghost that is on screen for about one second? YUP! 

The Sea Snakes from Majora's Mask

This game came out in 2000. I was still a teenager and had played survival horror games like Resident Evil, Parasite Eve and Silent Hill by this time with no problems at all. I even enjoyed them, but there was something about these giant, glowing eyed sea snakes from Majora's Mask that gave me the chills. Maybe it is the dark underwater setting or maybe it's the way they jump out at you. Whatever it was it kept me from completing this classic entry in the Legend of Zelda library.

 We all have differing opinions on what is scary, creepy or even terrifying. So, what kind of things scared you as a kid? Let me know in the comments below. And if you want some more creepy Halloween content, check out this post I wrote about a few more things that kept me from sleeping at night including Freddy, Aliens and that damn Tarman!

Pop Culture Challenge: Are You Scared?

Throwback Jam of the Week: 10/1/18

It's that time of the week again here at 20 Years Before 2000...It's time for the THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK! These are the jams currently on my trusty Creative ZEN MP3 player and they encompass everything from Motown R&B classics to hip-hop and rap from the 90s! I would like to share them with you in the hopes that they can get you on your feet and bring back some sweet nostalgic memories! So throw on your Hockey Mask, cut your hair in the fresh Psycho style and slip on your knife fingered glove as we take you back! Without further ado, here is the Halloween Edition of the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...

Artist: The Fat Boys

Song: Are You Ready For Freddy

Album: Coming Back Hard Again (Released 1988)

Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: N/A

Bonus Fun Fact: Robert Englund raps as Freddy Krueger on this cut! This song was the theme song for A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master!