HALLOWEEN STINKS!

'Tis the season for haunted house tours. While they've been around for years, the technology put into these attractions has increased tremendously. From stuffed and stationary zombies to animatronic creatures of every type, the industry is becoming something of a monster itself -- and the rising ticket prices reflects this, sometimes costing upwards of $50.

One of the more recent innovations is the addition of ambient odors to "enhance" the experience. AromaPrime, a UK company, specializes in the development and distribution of "immersive themed scents" to haunted attraction entrepreneurs with aromas like Burning Witch, Blocked Urinal, Sewer and Rotting Flesh, all designed to be delivered through special pumps, just like your household air freshener except with a little kick.

This article from the WALL STREET JOURNAL explains further:

And if you thought your Halloween candy cost a little more this year . . .

SVENGOOLIE IS FRONT PAGE NEWS!

Move over Elvira, there's a new horror host in the spotlight. That's right, Chicago's Svengoolie has found himself on the front page of none other than the Wall Street Journal! And it's not just a puff-piece -- the article goes a little into depth on Sven's popularity with not only "regular" fans, but celebrities such as Joe Mantegna, Annette O'Toole and -- wait for it -- Lady Gaga!

The article is under the fold, but when's the last time you saw something like this in a major newspaper?

HOW MUCH IS THAT MONSTER MAG IN THE WINDOW?

HOWL STREET - With over 60,000 current registered users, NOSTOMANIA is an influential force in the still-strong collector's market. The website is open to both buyers and sellers and is helpful as a research tool, as well. The HOWL STREET JOURNAL reports that their "100 Most Valuable Magazines" reveal an interesting trend in monster magazines -- over 50% of the list are horror film magazines and about half of the hundred are Warren publications.

Pricing seems to be on the high end, but many premium items are being "slabbed" by companies like CGC, who some years ago started their own industry in grading and preserving comic books, magazines, and other paper ephemera.

Here is NOSTOMANIA'S Top 100 list, with a description of the grading structure: 

"With each pricing update we compute and show here the 100 most valuable magazines. We chose NM 9.4 as a "baseline" grade for comparison. Clearly, some of these items may not, and probably do not exist in that grade. Also, the magazines database is still in its relative infancy, so there are certainly many items not yet in the database which will join this list when they are entered."