Costumes / Ghosts

Gaggle of Ghouls

Timothy Price61 Comments

There are no bones about it. Home Depot rules when it comes to Halloween props displays.

I had to go to Home Depot to get a hose coupler Lowe’s* doesn’t carry and was greeted by a massive display of Halloween props. When it comes to skeletons, they a well-stocked.

While I was photographing this display, a man walked up and said his wife looked like the witch. I told him not to let her hear that. He said no, seriously, they really look like each other. It’s probably good to have a prop as a doppelgänger. As the prop is less likely to get you in trouble.

The Mash Monster is bizarre.

I’m not sure what the black skeletons with the bat or cat ears are.

Costco’s Halloween selection is lame, with a scrawny mummy. Costco has Christmas stuff already.

I found this guy to be the scariest of all. Imagine him going medieval on your nuts!

*I don’t prefer Lowe’s over Home Depot. Lowe’s is more convenient.

61 thoughts on “Gaggle of Ghouls”

  1. The mash monster is cool! What a great selection of costumes! I don’t think there is anywhere in my town except Walmart that has costumes. They’re lame! 🤣

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    • It’s supposed to be scary and horrifying. Back in the day, when people celebrated Samhain- which is where Halloween comes from – they wore scary masks to ward off evil spirits and bad luck. Then it was turned into some cutesy gothic party type of holiday. Which is nothing wrong of course, to each their own. I love Halloween. 🎃🙂

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    • I’m surprised it’s such a big deal. We never did anything for Halloween when I was growing up. Houses were too spread out to trick or treat, and there was no one around to see anyone in costumes. So we didn’t bother. I think Halloween’s rise popularity is part of a greater secularization of society. Thanks, Liz.

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    • It’s all there waiting for you. Like JYP said, who would think HD would be the go to for Halloween props? Thanks, Ace.

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  6. Oh boy… I was trying to enjoy my first morning espresso and suddenly I was in a dark Twilight Zone scene…

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    • It’s like having one foot on a banana peal and the other in the Twilight Zone (“Life Sucks Then You Die” by the Fools), either way, you’re going down. Speaking of banana peals do you know the Russian group Little Big? https://youtu.be/ieumolVsiWI Thanks, Herman. BTW, how’s Jimi?

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      • Hahaha… that’s a funny video, never thought I would see something funny from Russians these days… 😉
        Jimi is ok, his birthday is coming up soon so I better post something about him asap!

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        • Little Big is really contrary to the rigime. I’m surprised they have survived after what Putin did to Pussy Riot. They have a lot of good, biting videos going back years.

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    • 72 shopping days left until Halloween. 127 shopping days left until Christmas. Not much time. Not much time at all. Thanks, Shey.

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      • I know. It is the same here. Not so excessively re Halloween… it never was. I remember enjoying seeing the stuff in Florida one year in October. But yes there’s aisles..half of it looks like it nevver sold last year. And yes Christmas is there too, sneaking in by the day

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  9. This is a great review of Halloween decoration merchandising at various stores. Who knew Home Depot was the place to go?

    I hope that guy doesn’t get in trouble with his witchy wife and that the giant nutcracker doesn’t go medieval on your nuts!

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    • I did not see said guy with a woman, so I couldn’t judge witchiness of mentioned wife. I try to avoid nutcrackers. Thanks, JYP.

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  10. That is quite the selection of skeletons! Better to find them at Home Depot than in your closet. 🙂 I didn’t realize they have such a selection of Halloween props.

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  11. Thanks, Tim for asking how the book is coming? I’m at he Midpoint in the story, a crucial point has to be brought up, and going on to Bad Guys Close in (at Woodstock) and after that, All Is Lost in reference to Elizabeth’s downfall at the concert. Her dream died to be a rock star. And at the same time her physician husband working at the Da Nang hospital in Vietnam, gets seriously injured. Love writing this. It’s like I’ m there! 🎶📚 Christine

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      • I was in my late 20s and I remember too. But, I had two kids and was a hospital night nurse and a private nurse during the day. No time for a peace & love music festival! Wish I coulda gone! But, I’m making up some good stuff as if I was there. 📚🎶 Christine

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        • Are you going to include any of Pete Townsend’s out bursts and knocking Abby Hoffman of the stage after Hoffman interrupted the Who to protest John Sinclair of the White Panther Party being thrown in jail? It was pretty colorful stuff and it inspired the song “We Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

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          • WOW! Thanks for the reminder, Tim. I just printed it out from the internet source. I have the WHO and Janis Joplin and a few others listed to write about on day 2 of the festival. Yep, it’s a great incident. I’ ll have to put you in my Acknowledgement note at the back of the book. 📚🎶 Christine

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            • What an honor. Better than being on the cover of The Rolling Stone. Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit performance is famous. I think I mentioned my boss went to Woodstock. I don’t think he has any out-of-the-ordinary happened to him there.

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              • Thanks again, Tim. I’ll check on Jefferson Airplane too. The more personal incidents the better. And how Elizabeth reacts to them. It’s all about her dream to be a Rock n’ roll star and get out of nursing. Her best friend died. And she’s now the director of the ER Emergency Services, taking over her job. It’s paperwork up to her eyeballs and she’s lost her love of nursing. 📚🎶

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                  • Tim, I can understand why in today’s nursing. Back in the 50s we had hands on care of patients. The doc’s counted on us to be their eyes on the patients progress daily. They trusted us. They taught us about medical problems on the unit, specific for each patient. Back rubs for patients were in the treatment plan! In my OR rotation in nursing school, I assisted the surgeon on procedures like hip replacements and suturing wounds. Never happen today. How nursing has changed! Maybe if Laurie’s brother got into a specialty, as a certified nurse he could concentrate on that part of nursing that he liked. 📚🎶

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                    • He’s certified. Hes been through a lot of departments and specialties. He worked at the VA for awhile. Now he is in rheumatology, I believe. It’s more the the bureaucracy and bad management that drives him crazy. All the nurses get frustrated that they don’t get pay raises, while all the new hires start at higher salaries. It’s pretty common practice to go to another hospital or clinic at a higher wage and then get hired back to the same position at an even higher wage a few months later. It would cost the hospitals a lot less to simply give their nurses raises.

                    • I get it. Sounds as if salary increases are not union controlled. When I was a nurse manager/nurse practitioner in a hospital, we had to negotiate with the union. Nurses and nurse practitioner wages increased every time. Apparently not so for Laurie’s brother. That’s a shame. He’s trying so hard to get into a department that treats nurses fairly! 😟

  14. I have also seen the displays at Home Depot… and they are indeed scary for Halloween!
    So the guy is still married to his wife that looks like the witch? Hmmm…

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    • The witch has a pretty face, so he’s not really insulting his wife other than saying any woman looks like a witch, pretty or not, is an insult. Thanks, Nancy.

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  15. I’ve stopped doing business with Lowe’s for a long while. My parents had bought themselves one of those French door fridges. They bought the fridge after their Amana quit after 20 years. Went to Lowe’s because they had a kitchen appliance sale going at the time. They bought a Maytag French door fridge with an extended warranty. If, for any reason, it doesn’t work according to spec we, Lowe’s, will give you a new fridge at no cost. The thing didn’t work. The icemaker. Sending cold air from the freezer section into the fridge section. They had the factory repairman out 3-4 times to replace the cold air transfer part. One more time, Lowe’s said before we give you a new one per the extended warranty. My mom said no. Give me a new fridge now, or give me a refund. The store manager was willing to do anything to keep a customer happy. Lowe’s didn’t. Mom got her refund. From that point on, no more business with Lowe’s … which I have gladly carried on. The poor repairman, he didn’t see why they didn’t honor the warranty. He replaced that part 3 times, a fourth time wasn’t going to work either.

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    • Refunds seem to be more common than replacements. If the refrigerator was on sale for a great price, that meant it was a one-and-only, and no replacement was available. A refund was the only option. Thanks, Danzig.

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  16. Home Depot’s Halloween stocker ROCKS! As you know, I am a bit of a Halloween aficionado and outside of maybe a big Spirit storefront, HD is at the top of the home haunts list. Their in-store stuff is usually pretty good, but their online stuff is much more expansive. Now, with that said, I am not sure what kind of shrooms the designer was on when they came up with The Mash Monster ..just saying! Long live the Orange and Black!

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