Remember card stores? I mean, I know they're still out there, but they seemed to be everywhere back in the 80s. One in every strip mall. These places were gold mines for Halloween decorations and an assortment of spooky sound effects tapes. I remember buying a roll of orange Halloween crepe paper once just because I thought it was neat. Never opened it. Those shops were probably the prelude to how so many of us Halloween folk love to go Halloween shopping in all the big stores come the season. As I can recall having that same feeling of looking around and then spotting the bright orange colors of paper decorations and darting off in that direction.
The audio cassettes were usually up near the register, and they rarely offered clues as to what you would be hearing on them. Though they were priced perfectly for the risk of not knowing. And they never disappointed.
My friend Wren sent me the below and it was an odd experience listening to it, as I was familiar with each segment as though I had listened to this exact tape back in the late 80s over and over again. I knew what was coming up next, having not heard a single second of this SINCE the 80s. I find that a little peculiar.
Click below for Hallmark's love letter to Old School Halloween. Thanks, Wren, for the nostalgia. And for helping me realize I had issues.
