On Set - Hubie Halloween

The new Adam Sandler movie, Hubie Halloween, premieres today on Netflix. Back in the halcyon days of July 2019, I got to visit one of the shooting locations. I didn't win a contest or anything cool like that, I just happen to live in the area!

I haven't watched the movie yet but from what I've seen and heard, it takes place in Salem and they actually did do some shooting on location. They also used some neighboring cities like Danvers, which is where Hubie's street "set" was located.

They weren't shooting when I went so there were no celeb sightings. But it's a very cool thing to drive into a whole street that is decked out for Halloween in July!

Since it was July, these color changing trees were obviously brought in make it look more like Autumn. I really like the boarded up windows on this house too.

I knew next to nothing about the movie back then but it was pretty obvious this was the main house because it was practically vomiting out Halloween!

There is a big tree in the front yard that sort of splits the view. Here's the right side of the yard with a neighborhood block's worth of decorations!

This house is a little more "normal". I really like it when people do a theme for their decorations.

More ghosts! Using the plant hangers to make it look like the ghosts are flying is a cool idea. Not sure what happened to the two in the bottom left. Flying while drunk?

A death themed yard.

There were a lot more houses on the street that were decorated to some degree. I wonder what it was like for the people that actually live there. I hope they like Halloween! If you do watch the movie, keep an eye out for these houses. Obviously, Hubie's won't be hard to miss.

After filming, some of the decorations were donated to Salem's Witch City Consignment shop to sell. They always have a great Halloween window display.

Be sure to visit all the other houses with their lights on for you by clicking below.

Halloween 2020 LEGO

 One of my favorite things about the Halloween season is checking out the LEGO store to see what new pieces they have at the Build-A-Minifig station for the holiday. Sadly, that's another thing that's fallen victim to COVID this year. You can't very well have people pawing around in bins of figure parts, can you?

At least there's still the annual Halloween building sets! 

That's right, I said sets, plural!

For whatever reason, LEGO doesn't like to put names on the boxes for these holiday sets so I'm going with Haunted Hayride. You've got a tractor and hay, bam!

The set comes with three minifigs. First we have the tractor driver and if I'm being honest, he looks more like the bad guy from a Scooby-Doo episode than anything. He's got this weird forced smile on his face like he would rather be anywhere other than driving some kids around a field.

I was surprised to find a sticker sheet when laying out all the parts. I don't buy a lot of LEGO so this was a new thing for me. The tractor and cart graphics are stickers. Those yellow bricks in the cart are supposed to be hay bales.

Here's the other half of the set, the Gateway to Dooooom! Or maybe it just goes into a field? The little girl is cute with her skeleton shirt and she has a reversible face (see below). The graphics on the banner are more stickers which is a great way to add more visuals to regular bricks.

And here's the whole thing together. Well, except for the driver. The skeleton has taken over while he sneaks a beer behind the barn.

I did mention there were multiple sets this year. I only picked up the Hayride one. The other set is a pair of Halloween ornaments.

The ornaments themselves didn't really do it for me but I did consider picking it up just for the box art.

While not Halloween specific, a Frankenstein BrickHeadz was also released. I'm hoping they make their way through all the Universal Monsters so I can get a Creature from the Black Lagoon!

Click the image below to see all the participating Countdown bloggers!

Halloween Web - Naila Moon

 As promised, our second interview victim is one of your new co-hosts for the Countdown to Halloween! You can see our other host, Michael May, here.

Thanks for joining us. Please introduce yourself for our readers.

My name is Michelle Hudson aka Naila Moon. By trade, I am a social media marketer and consultant for authors and I also sell jewelry. I have several personal blogs that I write. My most recent acquisition is writer and co-head Master Crypt Keeper for the Halloween Countdown. My own blog for Halloween is Zombie Crossings. A few years ago I co-wrote a book: Tortured Souls: The House on Wellfleet Bluffs.

What was Halloween like for you growing up?

Halloween for me was all about having fun. My Mother let us dress up and trick or treat in the neighborhood (as it was safe then) and we would go to my grandparents as well. Our church had a "haunted" house with treats in each room. I remember my mom teasing my hair and I went as Brunhilda, the witch!  Halloween has always been about the fun side, not the gore. Back then, we also could take our candy bags and have them x-rayed at the local hospital. The worst we had to worry about was blades in apples.

Any fun Halloween stories you can share with us?

Well, we moved from where I grew up a little north just about 45 minutes from St. Louis. At that time the town we lived in was still small town. We also lived on a corner lot of an emergency route. I was then a teen and my Dad and I decided to decorate the front porch on Halloween day-nothing big but we had a strobe. LOL We of course dressed up. It was different every year. My Dad would run around the yard not in costume and scare the kids that came from all over the place. He had this way that he could walk that was creepy.

One year he sat in the middle of a table with this black wig on (he was bald) we put a turkey pan around his head with candy and then covered his head. My Mom and I would direct the kids (and adults) to the table and say nothing else. They would lift the pan and my Dad would scream. LOL Some kids went flying out of our house. They would tell other kids that place was scary. My niece came one time and cried so hard that my Dad had to calm her inside the house. (She is 30 now.) The next day after Halloween, the house always looked normal. We always had 100+ kids come from all over.

Funny thing: I actually often had my kids go trick or treating just to have more candy for the other kids. My kids thought that was fun and always donated their stash!

Do you have any particularly favorite costumes?

All of my "costumes' are my favorites. I often would try on goofy hats or put something together. Halloween can be a lifestyle! lol Oh, I wish that I had some from the time when I was a kid and teen.

How do you celebrate today?

Dressing up and going to a Halloween party at my Mom's place. Decorating for the season. When I lived in Denver, it used to be going to the Halloween Ball and Zombie Crawl. I also blog yearly on one to two blogs during the month of October. I only read Halloween books and review them.

Do you have any movies you like to watch during the season?

I like Casper the Friendly Ghost movie, Hocus Pocus...okay all of the ABC Family Halloween Countdown. I love "Practical Magic". I also like old film noir movies. I tend not to like overly gory movies but I have watched a few.

Why do you think Halloween stays with us as we get older?

I am not getting older! Seriously, I think it is the memory of having fun. I think it is being something you really are not or cannot be. In truth, I think older adults are keeping the Halloween spirit alive as other things are going away. Our newer generations are not getting to do the things we did. I think it is sad really. All I remember is the fun. It used to be a family affair too.

Inside the Spookster's Studio

The worst thing to get trick or treating: Hmm...one piece of candy? Oh yeah, candy corn...I hate it!

My favorite thing to get was Snickers and Bubble gum

My favorite monster cereal is Wow, I don't eat it but I would have to go with all of them, I like the boxes. LOL

Where can people find you online?

There's the Countdown to Halloween, my blog Zombie Crossings (also on Facebook), and Instagram.

Thanks for joining in, hope it was fun for you.  

Oh yes! Just know, I tend to rope anyone I can into my fun. Family, friends, and co-workers and complete strangers! If they will let me photograph them, even better. I used to be a thrift store employee and was always wearing something to make everyone laugh. Halloween was a trip!

Be sure to visit all the other houses with their lights on for you by clicking below.