On this special Halloween show, Tom Berges from www.igrewupstarwars.com joins us to revel in the spookiness of the scary urban legends we grew up with in Generation X! Everything from poisoned candy to LSD tattoos to Bloody Mary is fair game as we get ready for tricks and treats.
(07:14) We’re talking Halloween urban legends, and where better to start than the poisoned Halloween candy myth? We’ve all heard the legends about poisoned candy, but many Gen X kids may not realize that there were casualties… Melinda discusses the actual Halloween candy-related death of Timothy O’Bryan as well as the 1982 Chicago Tylenol poisonings which killed 7 people. These two real cases may have been the basis for our nation-side candy fear each year at Halloween.
The Cooper Family Falling Body Photo... a hoax, but sooo creepy.
(15:56) Poison aside, what’s Halloween without candy? Melinda reveals there is almost no candy she doesn’t love (except maybe black licorice) and Tom admits his love of peanut butter. Melinda reveals her insanely unhealthy diet as a kid, including monster cereals every day! Yes, you wanted to be her friend in elementary school!
(22:33) Fun myths including The Wig with Spiders, Have you checked the Children?, and “Humans can lick, too.” These were great slumber party scare stories. Melinda’s version of that 3rd story was actually called “Drip, drip, drip,” and it never failed to scare everyone at the party.
(29:25) Kids horror stories are different now due to exposure to Saw. What are the crew’s picks for scariest movies? Poltergeist and The Haunting are mentioned, neither of which show the monster (hint: that makes it scarier!!) We also discuss the Blair Witch and Cannibal Holocaust.
(32:32) Now we’re on to LSD Tattoos, Satanists killing cats (don’t worry, we don’t get graphic), Bloody Mary, what we do at slumber parties, and campfire recipes. It’s a slew of segues that finally ends with the timeless classic: Kidney Thieves.
The eerie ghost boy from Three Men and a Baby.
(52:01) Creepy photos – Aaron mentions the old-timey and photo known as the Family beheading photo, and Tom recalls the extremely creepy photo, “The Cooper Family Falling Body photo.” We end this line of questioning discussing the little ghost boy urban legend surrounding Three Men and a Baby.
(58:55) The Hook killer on Lover’s Lane is also a timeless classic creepy urban legend. It may have been inspired by the Texarkana Lover’s Lane Murders
(1:00:15) Tom’s story of how he survived a very unstructured haunted house in the early 80s, and Melinda talks about Hell Houses, those moralistic versions of haunted houses often sponsored by churches, which she remembers from her childhood in the deep South.
Remember: If YOU have a great story of how you survived your Generation X childhood, please send it to thedreamlandpodcast@gmail.com. We will read it on the air and will not reveal your name (plus we’ll give you an amazing celebrity pseudonym).
References:
The True Story of the Notorious Trick-or-Treat Murderer – Posted on Vice… you guys know how I love to reference Vice. This article has all the nitty gritty details of the killing of Timothy O'Bryan by his father with Pixy Stix.
The Horrifying True Story of the 1982 Chicago Tylenol Murders – A great overview of the (still unsolved) Tylenol killings of 1982.
Terrifying Page Turners: The Haunting Of Hill House – A link to a great review of the movie/story by Shirley Jackson.
MOGGY MURDERS Who is the M25 cat killer, whereabouts in London have pets been murdered and what is Snarl? – Melinda’s reference to the cat serial killer in London. Warning: this article references animal cruelty.
Campfire Cobbler – A great recipe, though not the exact one used by Aaron in the boy scouts.
Hanging Victim Prank Turns Into Real Thing, October 23, 1990
Behead of the Family, Snopes – The altered photo of a family made to look like the mother is beheaded (Hint: it’s a hoax)
The Cooper Family Falling Body Photo – an article about the photo mentioned by Tom, showing the creepy body behind the curtain.
'Three Men and a Baby'…and a ghost? Tom Selleck addresses classic movie urban legend
Phantom Killer: The Unsolved Mystery of the Texarkana Murders – The true origin story of the Killer with the Hook.