Merry Creepmas from Blackcraft Salem

Blackcraft in Salem is one part Goth gift shop, one part coffee house, and one part haunted attraction. I caught wind that Krampus would be there and was bringing along some seasonal specialty drinks so we just had to visit for a dose of Creepmas.

 

 

 

 Blackcraft has been in Salem for about three years and despite me always seeing stuff about them on social media, I've never visited.

 

They have the distinction of having the largest witch statue in town, which you can see hanging from the ceiling here. The store is huge and there's a lot of fun stuff to see. In addition to the clothing (they have their own brand!), coffee, and other ghoulish gifts, they go all out decorating for the spooky holiday vibe.

 

 Blackcraft is in what used to be a bank. The former teller windows have had the glass removed and serve as the checkout counter. An employee told us of  a particular spot at the counter where the floor dips slightly from people standing at the teller window over the decades. Here you can see the vaults.

  

 This life-size (not made of) gingerbread house has got a lot going on. There's some gingerbread punks running along the top and gingerbread bats hanging from the roof.

  

 I mentioned earlier, Blackcraft is also one part haunted attraction! During the off season, you can do a walk through and take all the photos you want. During Halloween season, it gets a little more intense by turning down the lights and adding scare actors. Definitely need to check both versions out when I have time.

 

 In the back corner of the store is Blackcraft Coffee that has a witch's cottage design aesthetic. They offer the usual coffee house drinks but also have a variety of other offerings, even a couple inspired by local personalities like the Good Witch of Salem and Borah. Aside from that, they also have seasonal specialties like gingerbread lattes and some Krampus themed hot cocoa.

 

 They have candy and treats for sale too including these Movie S'mores with some creative name/flavor combos.

 

 I went with "Black Christmas" which is hot cocoa with toasted marshmallows, whipped cream, and a chocolate lump of coal. It was delicious! The cocoa was really good on its own. I hate when you get it somewhere and it just doesn't give you that joy of hot cocoa.

 

 And then we got a photo with Krampus because how do you not? He was definitely a more beastly Krampus that didn't speak and communicated in loud grunts and howls. While we were waiting for our drink orders, he stormed up to the register, grunted something, and the cashier told him they were out then he got mad and stomped away.

 

 As usual, I've got more pics on Flickr if you want to have a look.

 

 

 Merry Creepmas! 

 

Monthly Media Recap - November 2025

Got a few Halloween leftovers for November and they're not the kind you want to serve up again. Linked titles will take you to a trailer.

 

  

Gatchaman Progress

Episodes watched this month: 2 

Currently up to: 65

 

Streaming

 

LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy - Pieces of the Past (Disney+)

Don't know why they couldn't have called this season 2 but here we are. Just like the first season, there's plenty to enjoy for fans of all ages. Kids will like the funny LEGO characters and action while older fans will get a kick out of the inside jokes and seeing "what if" versions of popular characters. And you get LEGO Jaxxon! IYKYK.

 

Movies

 

;

 

They See You (2021, Amazon)

I'm a sucker for movies featuring an amusement park or board games. Had I watched the trailer, I probably would have passed on this. The thing that's supposed to make you want to watch the movie isn't even that interesting. The board game is just a different way to summon the bad thing instead of the usual evil book. If you're going to have a board game, there should be some kind of game element to getting rid of them. It's a little uneven in that sometimes it feels like Goosebumps and sometimes you get gore that's definitely not in that age range. If this hasn't sold you so far, there's an extremely awkward teen make out scene that made me uncomfortable to watch.

 

Rating: 3/10 

 

Rhode Island Comic Con 2025 - Odds & Ends

 Wrapping up RICC week with miscellaneous stuff from around the con.

  

We'll start it off with a little time travel...

 

 There was a separate area for The Blockbuster Experience where they assembled fixtures that were used in actual stores. Instead of renting videos, you could buy any of them for $5. They had quite an assortment of VHS, DVD, and BluRay. When you go in, you can put on a vest which is why it looks like there's so many "employees" standing around. The best part was them handing out freshly made popcorn. 

 

 On the other side of the con (not so far, far away) was my happy place where Droid Builders, The New England Rebel Legion, and the 501st gathered to raise money by donations. There were several scenes setup and a variety of members in costume available for free photo ops. Yes, that is a Dunkin' inspired mouse droid in front.

 

 The droid area always had at least one astromech rolling around and interacting with folks.

 

 I've never seen 4-LOM and Zuckuss done as costumes. They looked amazing!

 

I'll finish things off with this nostalgia shot from a vendor booth. There's so much good stuff to see here, if you want to get a better look, check out the photo on Flickr.

 

Speaking of Flickr, you can also view my full album of 100 RICC pics there too. 

Rhode Island Comic Con 2025 - Cosplay

Day 2 of my RICC adventures is all about costumes. If you missed the first post about RICC, check it out here.

 

 What would a Comic Con be without people dressing up as their favorite pop culture characters? Pretty boring, I'd say! I'm just going to highlight a few of my favorites here but you can check out all my RICC pics over on Flickr.

 

 Hands down, one of my top favorites from the whole weekend. Granny from Looney Tunes is not a cosplay I've ever seen done before and she nailed it. Speaking of classic cartoons...

 

The Great Gazoo! I'm always amazed at the stuff people can make.

 

 And of course, you could find plenty of K-Pop Demon Hunter cosplayers.

  

I'm guessing no one had Venomized Pikachu on their cosplay bingo card! If you look inside it's mouth, you can see the person's head with a Venom mask on.

 

 We ran into this Art the Clown furry in the parking garage.

 

Over the weekend, they had scheduled cosplayer meetups for different properties. It was a lot of fun to see them all gathered but the real reason for the meetup was so the con photographers could get pics for their socials. It was kind of annoying for those of us that also wanted pictures because they were in front (in the way) and constantly telling us to step back.

 

 This Carnage was pretty impressive but I don't know how they managed to walk around.

  

Two of my favorite Spider-Verse characters: Spider-Ham and Spider Punk. The Were-verine was pretty awesome in person. They had a speaker rigged up so they could make snarling sounds.

 

 Here's an Avengers only group shot. The Thor on the left had electronics in the hammer that made it look like there was lightning inside it and check out the tiny Black Widow in the bottom right.

 

 Closing out the con on Sunday was a cosplay contest. There was one just for kids and then there was a competition in novice, intermediate, and expert levels.

 

 This is the winner of the kid's competition. The suit has lights in the arc reactor, hands and all the jets. It's impressive but I feel like it's kind of cheating for him to be in the kid's part even if he is just a kid because of how well done the suit is.

 

 Here's another pic to give you an idea how big the suit is.

 

 This Doomslayer (Doom: The Dark Ages video game) took Best in Show in the main competition. I wish I'd gotten better pics of him because it's amazing head to toe. He's also carrying a rifle behind the shield.

 

 Finally, this Assassin's Creed costume took first in the expert category and there's a lot of intricate detail you can't see here. Prior to the contest, the judges meet with each contestant to get an up close look at their work. They're looking at details as well as craftsmanship. Contestants have to submit a build sheet or book that outlines basically how they made the costume and any props.

 

That's a wrap on day 2, tune in on Friday for the final post!

If you want a sneak peek at what's coming up, you can check out my photo gallery on Flickr.  

Rhode Island ComicCon 2025 - Celeb Sightings

Welcome to Rhode Island Comic Con week!

 

  

Last weekend, Mrs Dex and I went to RICC. Usually, when these things come around, we go just on Saturday and end up waiting in lines most of the day for autographs and photo ops. This time, we went for the whole 3 day weekend and it was a much better experience. If you've never gone to a con on a Friday, I highly recommend it! It's easier to get around without huge crowds to battle and there's a lot less waiting in lines. 

 

Shortly after we got checked in, I ran into John Kotrides (aka GenxJono) who I didn't know was going to be there. John is a...I'm not sure what the word would be. I hate to use "influencer" because I tend to think of that as a negative, maybe content creator? Anyway, his posts are Gen X-centric! It was a little odd at first seeing someone in real life that you only know from a screen. If you're of a certain age, you should definitely check him out on Threads and TikTok.

 

 I hadn't even planned on getting Brian O'Halloran's autograph but he was generous with his time and fun to talk to. We got in early and there was no one at his booth. We love The Floor and ended up talking to him about his appearance on the show last season for a good 20-25 minutes. 

 

  

He was more than happy to chat with us and get into some behind the scenes info on how the show is put together. Did you know they film in Ireland? Once you're eliminated, you're on your way to the airport to go home!

 

  

The biggest reason behind us going to the con was to meet some of the stars on the show Psych. Unfortunately, due to the current state of air travel, Maggie Lawson cancelled last minute. When we got Tim Omundson's autograph, he had a little fun at her expense (above). We also met Kurt Fuller and Corbin Bernsen. 

 

 

We got to attend a live recording of the Psychologists are In (A Psych Rewatch) podcast, with Corbin subbing in for Maggie.

 

I also got to meetup with some friends from my childhood: Will and Holly from Land of the Lost! They had a panel where they talked about their experiences on the show and they led the audience in a sing-along of the show's theme song. So now I can say that I've sung the Land of the Lost theme with them. They were so much fun to listen and talk to. On the far right is Sid Krofft.

 

  

We chatted with him briefly as well while getting his autograph to tell him how much we still love these shows that were part of our childhood. He was really appreciative to hear it! He said it's been quite the thing for him to be on the road and hear the nice things people say after all this time.

 

 Here's some other panels we saw.

 

 The Mallrats 30th anniversary panel. There is a script for Mallrats 2 but after Shannen Doherty passed away, Kevin Smith put it on hold. Jason Lee was late to the panel because he had a long line of autographs to finish up.

 

 Pretty in Pink with Andrew McCarthy, Jon Cryer, and Molly Ringwald. 

 

 

RICC is Jon's first con appearance and he was loving it. He donated his signing proceeds to The Trevor Project for LGBTQ+ youth and raised $86k over the weekend!

 

Lastly, a Supernatural panel with Kathryn Newton, Richard Speight Jr, Rob Benedict, and Misha Collins. Kathryn was really funny. I think she qualifies as a modern day scream queen and I really should have gotten an autograph.

 

There were a more celebs there than I can remember but some I do recall are Charlie Cox, Michael Rooker, Katee Sackhoff, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jason Mewes (Kevin Smith cancelled) and a whole lot more. There's a pretty complete list posted here.

 

That's all for today but stay tuned for more this week!

If you want a sneak peek at what's coming up, you can check out my photo gallery on Flickr. 

Halloween 2025 Wrap-Up

Because I'm not ready to let it go just yet, here's a little coda to my Halloween experience.

 

 As is tradition, I make up goodie bags in the morning while watching YouTube compilations of Halloween TV ads from the 70s-90s. I changed it up for candy this year. Usually I get one bag of chocolate something and a second bag of non-chocolate candy. This year, I picked up some candy jewelry at Dollar Tree, Blow Pops, and a mixed bag of chocolate and other candy.

 

Last year, I picked up a bunch of the Halloween "fun size" Pez dispensers at post-holiday discount. I tossed those in the bags with candy and a plastic ring. I like giving the kids something extra other than candy. Their candy may be around for another week or two, but I like to think I'm giving them something to remind them of Halloween beyond that. This year, a lot of the kids were super excited that we were handing out goodie bags! I always hope that's the reaction when they empty out their haul later so it was nice to actually see their reaction.

 

 Once darkness arrived, it was time to head into Salem. Don't worry, I left stuff on the porch for any kids that may come by.

 

 Last year, it was a balmy 70 degrees at night! This year it was mid-50s, not "cold" by New England standards but we had quite a wind which made it a bit colder and also provided for good dramatic cape billowing as I walked around.

 

  

I have a spot that I go to outside the Peabody Essex Museum (fantastic place, a must see if you're visiting) and just hang out. For the most part, I stand still and watch people as say to their friends "is that a real guy?" Sometimes I'll move my head to follow them walking by and nod or wave.

 

A lot of folks stop to take a pic with me, which I take as a great compliment. I posted to a Salem Facebook group asking if anyone had pics with me because I rarely get to see them and this is one of the replies I got.

 

One of the best parts of the night was having a little kid, that couldn't have been more than five or six, in a full body Huggy Wuggy costume want to take a pic with me and then giving me a hug. There are adults that will actively avoid me and this kid had zero fear.

 

Another fun thing that happened was when someone dressed as Freddie Mercury (jeans, white tank top, and 'stache) walked by with a rolling suitcase that had a sound system inside blasting We Are the Champions. And just like that, a lot of the surrounding crowd just started singing along. It was kind of a magical, uplifting thing to hear so many people join in and have fun.

 

Monthly Media Recap - October 2025

Here we are, HALLOWEEN! 

 

Earlier in the week it was looking like I was going to get rained out today but things are looking good for a dry, blustery autumn night! In case you're looking for something to watch (or not watch), here's what I took in this month. 

Linked titles will take you to trailers. 

 

  

Gatchaman Progress

Episodes watched this month: 0, had to cram in as much spooky as possible! 

Currently up to: 62

  

Streaming 

 

Over the Garden Wall (Hulu)

I started watching this when it originally aired and for some reason, never finished it. It's such a weird and wonderful show. It's fun and cozy but there's also an almost ever-present dread lurking. Perfect for Halloween time viewing. Rock facts! 

 

Movies

 

Weapons (2025, HBO Max)

So, so, so good! It's a modern movie but was giving very 70s witchcraft vibes. Love the way they told it by jumping around to different characters perspectives. I need a sequel that shows the community reaction/news coverage after the movie ends. Totally did not recognize young Han Solo as the porn stache cop.

 

Rating: 8/10 

 

  

V/H/S Halloween (2025, Shudder)

This is my favorite VHS yet! It's Halloween-centric, fun, creepy, and a bit more gory than I remember previous installments being. It may be stretching the found footage premise but I don't really mind because I was thoroughly entertained. I didn't feel there was one bad segment but there were definitely two that were better for me ("Fun Size" & "Home Haunt").

 

Rating: 8/10 

 

Halloween Hot Wheels 2025 - Diesel Duty

 We've come to the finish line for the Hot Wheels of Halloween 2025. Call shotgun one last time as we hop into Diesel Duty.

 

 This one is certainly an eyeful, ain't it? Ol' DD has been around since 2011 and this is only the 10th release for it. I don't know why it's got a sort of shark fin on it but it's cool. This is the only Halloween 2025 vehicle with glow in the dark tires.

 

 The bed has got some interesting detail in it. I'm not going to pretend like I know what any of it is supposed to be but there's a couple of big gears and a horseshoe hitch.

 

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