Little Spooks Join My Haunted Home

The moment the calendar flips to October,

My hutch starts calling for a little mischief.

I unpack box after box,

of ghoulish goodies

until the whole hutch is 

bursting at the seams with delightful oddities

and this year, a few irresistible Target

finds have joined the haunted collection.

This year, I've added a new little 

character beside my

Haunted House Cookie Jar:

a 4¾'' tall pumpkin man 

I found at Target

get one here

for just $5.00!! WHAT?

I must admit, he looks as though

he was made for that house. The ghosts 

are certainly happy to have him as a guest!

He's reminiscent of the pumpkin men 

you'd find on those odd vintage 

Hallowe'en greeting cards,

only a bit less disturbing.

He needed a bit of a boost to reach

the height of the molding around the hutch,

so I improvised will a pill bottle.

Over in the hall bathroom, I added 

another Target find.

You'll spot him next to the 

Bathing Witch picture:

a little skeleton holding a raven.

He was another of Target's five dollar 

Halloween figurines.

I have to laugh at the way his leg bones 

seem to go straight up into his rib cage!?!

Anatomy wasn't necessarily a priority

in the skeleton department.

get one here

Still, I thought he'd be right at home here, 

especially since the raven he's holding

matches the one in the Bathing Witch picture.

Remember, it's all about coordinating the décor, 

even in the afterlife

My next Target treasure has found a home

on a shelf in the family room.

This time, it's a black cat perched atop

 a jack-o'-lantern.

I've placed her in front of my 

Beistle die-cut witch house,

and I think her colors compliment this 

modern reproduction beautifully.

get one here

who's a precious kitty?

The last of my new characters is 

this sweet little ghost holding a pumpkin.

get one here

He looks right at home beneath my 

Jack's Pumpkins, Pick-Your-Own sign.

And wouldn't you know it?

He's picked the perfect pumpkin,

 just his size!

Those are all the characters I brought home, 

but they're certainly not all the 

Halloween goodies Target has to offer.

Take this Grim Reaper, for instance.

get one here

He looks downright grim,

as any respectable Grim Reaper should!

Then there's this spooky pair of ghosts 

peeking out from behind a gravestone.

Whatever they're up to, I'm not sure 

I want to know!

Target also offers mini Halloween 

figurine sets for five dollars,

get one here
along with an small line of fall-themed 

figurines at the same price!

How cool it that?

I'm wanting to fill a few more shelves.

get on here

So, keep this in mind:

 a quick trip to Target can score you a 

plethora of Halloween gewgaws to fill 

those nooks and crannies in your 

haunted home.

At five dollars apiece, it's awfully 

tempting to bring a few little spooks

home with you!

Thanks for stopping by 

and happy haunting!

Retro Halloween M&M's Again for 2026

Halloween M&M's are back,

and have stayed

retro again this year with traditional

black & orange.

Which is wonderful, don't get me wrong,

but why not return to the Cool Ghoul's Mix from years ago?

With the 4 terror-iffic colors of 

black, orange, slime green, and purple, sure to 

brighten up any Halloween candy bowl.

I even noticed Forrest Mars & Bruce Murrie,

(or maybe their ad department) used the missing Halloween 

colors in the background of their ads this year.

So you know they like the colors!

Let's try putting them in the candy next year!

Okay, petty rant over.

I do accept Black & Orange as 

acceptable Halloween colors,

source

Heck, Stephen Brown (owner of Glitterville)

Is famous for his Black & Orange Halloween Ball.

Maybe he has sway over decisions at M&M?

It's just that the other colors are great too!

Thanks for stopping by

and Happy Haunting!

Come to the Island

Come to the island!

Which island, you ask? 

I don't know–just pick one.

Just make sure it's tropical.

The other day I added this charming tropical 

couple to the Ozark collection: 

eBay pic

Island Dancers, made by W. Goebel-Hummelwerk, 

source

the company best known for its Hummel Figurines.

source

The pair was introduced in 1968 – "Created For The Island"

eBay pic

It even says so on the bottom of each figure.

eBay image

I tried to pin down exactly which island 

Goebel had in mind, but, couldn't find any 

definitive information.  My best guess? They 

weren't intended to represent one specific 

island at all.  

After World War II, Americans became 

fascinated with tropical destinations like 

Hawaii and the Caribbean. In response,

European and American designers created

figurines, artwork, and exotic home décor

that blended influences from Polynesia, Hawaii,

Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other island

cultures into one romanticized vision of paradise.

Goebel's Island Dancers fit that mold perfectly.

They're a cheerful tropical couple whose

clothing, guitar, conga drum, tropical plant, and

overall styling feel much more West Indian

than Hawaiian or Polynesian.

Ironically, I found them completely by

accident.

I was actually searching for a entirely

different figurine.

A while back, I bought two framed

vintage reproduction travel posters

of the Caribbean:

"Fly to the Caribbean by Clipper"

by Pan American World Airways

and "Caribbean" by British West Indian 

Airways–The airline of the Caribbean.

I was especially intrigued by the girl 

doing the limbo on the B.W.I.A. poster.

As it turns out, she was BWIA's 

advertising mascot.

source

Her name was Vicki Viscount,

eBay image

and she appeared in 

magazine advertisements,

eBay images

matchbooks,

travel brochures,

and other promotional items.

source

source

Eventually I stumbled across a photo of an

adorable promotional Vicki Viscount figurine. 

Naturally, I thought "How hard could it be to 

find one?"

Not easy, as it turns out.

source

A Google image search came up nearly empty.  

I found only a single photograph and 

no examples for sale.

However, Google suggested a few similar-looking

figurines– and that's when I 

discovered my Caribbean couple. 

The price was $49, plus tax and shipping, 

bringing the total to $65.60. 

I have to admit, a couple of the other 

figures that appeared were tempting as 

well. One represented a Trinidad and Tobago 

couple, while another had no specific island 

identified. 

Unfortunately, both were just a little beyond my budget.

To display my Tropical finds,

 I picked up a wall shelf from Hobby Lobby.

It has a fun Caribbean feel–or at least

that's what I tell myself–

and quickly filled it with my 

growing collection of island treasures.

including my Quon Quon 

toucan pitcher from eBay,

and my Nautilus tiki mug 

from Trader Sam's Grog Grotto,

A gift from my ol' buddy Alex, 

A few years ago, he was on assignment in Florida 

working on a Muppet project,

where he was responsible for keeping the Muppet's 

costumes in good repair.

and sometimes the Muppet's themselves.

He stopped in at Trader Sam's and went through the ritual

to get a Nautilus Tiki Mug just for me!

What a Pal!! 

But I digress.

  My Caribbean couple 

may not be Vicki Viscount,

but they capture exactly 

the carefree

Caribbean atmosphere 

I was hoping to find.

Still... I might keep looking for Vicki.

Thanks for stopping by,

and happy hunting!