Spidey D takes over Salem Dunkin!

It's fair to say Salem is like a circus in October. 

The downtown Dunkin took that to heart this year!

  

This same store got taken over by Spidey D (Dunkin's Spider Donut mascot) last year but it was nowhere near this level! The line last year was just as long so I didn't go in but this time we stuck it out because I really wanted to see the inside.

 

Below where it says Step Rite Up is one of those big spinning wheels where someone gets strapped in and spun around while a performer throws sharp objects at them. This one doesn't move but it does have handholds to pose for a photo op.

 

 Here's the other side of the building. To the right is normally a chain link fence where the dumpsters are hidden away.

 

 But even that area got a make over with a faux fence and midway style posters.

The line actually moved fairly quick but I wouldn't recommend going inside if you're any kind of claustrophobic!

Salem Haunted Happenings Parade 2026

 The first Thursday in October, unofficially kicks off the Halloween season (tourists start coming in early September!) in Salem with the 29th Annual Haunted Happenings Parade.And not only is it the parade's 29th but this year is also Salem's 400th anniversary!

 

As I do every year, I got there a little early to walk the staging area and get some "behind the scenes" photos of everyone getting ready. The theme this year was Old School Halloween and some of the costumes and floats certainly tuned into that.

 

 One of the high school marching bands went all in on Marvel. I think the trombone player in the green sweater is supposed to be Stan Lee with his gray hair.

  

The "Haunted Warren Museum" recently opened in downtown Salem and their float has this giant Megabelle version of the Annabelle doll.

 

 I don't know who the sponsor was for this one but they won the night for me. If you grew up in the Boston area in the 70s/80s, you probably spent Saturday afternoons watching channel 56's Creature Double Feature and it's definitely where I cut my teeth on classic horror. 

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! 

 

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 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.

 

Around Salem 2025

 

Salem celebrates Halloween all month long starting with the annual Haunted Happenings parade and there are all sorts of events for the rest of the month which you can peruse here. Every weekend there is a street fair downtown with dozens of vendors selling all sorts of art, jewelry, clothing, and more. It's so much fun just walking around and taking it all in...even if it is a bit crowded.

 

 So crowded that some of the downtown area streets have to be closed to traffic! If you look down to the right of the street signs, you can see the TV Land statue of Samantha from Bewitched. This line of people going across the street are waiting to get a photo with her. Most of the shops and restaurants have lines to get in this time of year because so many come to visit.

 

 This is a shot from the Essex St. pedestrian mall. This area is super crowded every weekend with all kinds of shops along both sides. If you venture away to explore the city, the crowds are much more do-able. 

 

I didn't even notice when I took the photo but I captured a local celebrity! On the left, you'll see Landon in a white hoodie who's holding Lucipurr the black cat. It's not uncommon to run into them around town.

  

 Along the pedestrian mall, there are a variety of buskers in costume ranging from pop culture icons to original characters. They take tips in exchange for photos. This is J. Lantern, the Dapper Pumpkin. Not only does he look snazzy, but the head is designed to pull off the stem and he has a little stash of candy in their for the kids!

 

 This guy sits patiently until someone approaches.

 

I don't know if there's anywhere else where you might find an evil clown playing violin to Abba's Dancing Queen! 

 

 The Salem Dunkin' got a spooky makeover to promote their spider donut. The inside has more decoration but the line was out the door and across the parking lot! When photos started showing up in Salem Facebook groups, a lot of people thought it was just AI generated which I totally see. It looks weird even in person.

 

I've got a lot more pics but I feel like this post is going long already so if you want to take a virtual walk around town, flip through the album below or visit it on Flickr. I think it's worth mentioning, this is just the downtown area where most of the tourist action is. There's a lot more to Salem!

  

 

 Click below to see the full list of Countdown to Halloween blogs!