How old are you? I was born in 1985, smack in the middle of a decade when horror was huge in American pop culture. Most people know the '80s are the golden age of scary movies, but what really wild is how much creepy stuff was actually everywhere. From epic dark fantasy films and campy TV horror shows to gleefully grotesque children's franchises like Beetlejuice and Ghostbusters, growing up in the '80s and early '90s was a truly spooktacular experience. Here are just a few old gems I’ve been reminiscing with lately.

The Black Dress seducing Lili in Legend

Has anyone watched this lately? I recently rediscovered this scene and was totally floored. All I remember about this movie is that it’s got unicorns, goblins, Tom Cruise, and Tim Curry playing a magnificent Lord of Darkness who falls in love with this girl Lili. In this scene, she finally gives in to the allure of his gifts and transforms into a fabulous goth princess. This all sounds pretty hot now that I think about it. Who’s up for a rewatch?

The Cryptkeeper

Tales From the Crypt was a horror anthology TV series on HBO. I've never seen an episode, but there was a time when the show's puppet host—a smartass rotting corpse known as the Cryptkeeper—was everywhere. Seriously, there were even Cryptkeeper toys and merch marketed to kids. Like, literal action figures and dolls of this shriveled, foul-mouthed zombie thing. This is what I'm talking about with the ‘80s! What the hell was in the water back then? (And can we bring it back?)

Gruesome Beetlejuice Toys

Speaking of the “anything can be a children’s franchise” trend, this commercial mesmerized me as a kid and it mesmerizes me now. Is there anything remotely like this on the toy market today? I’d love to know. The 1989 Beetlejuice film helped set Tim Burton up for his legendary streak of brilliance in the early ‘90s—so while I'm at it, let me sneak Catwoman's transformation in Batman Returns (1992) onto this list. I could watch it every single day!

Garbage Pail Kids

Every time I try to make sense of the Garbage Pail Kids I fail. This trading card-based franchise was conceived as a satire of the Cabbage Patch Kids, which might make you think, “Oh, satire! That means it was for adults!” Incredibly, you’d be wrong. This franchise was for kids.

Yes, this franchise…

…was marketed to kids.

I’m serious. Here’s a quote from Bob Hathcock, who directed the animated series, in 1987: “We visited Arthur Shorin at Topps’s headquarters in Brooklyn and they said they had hired child psychologists who assured them that the content was similar to old fairy tales in that it gave children a face for their fears—not getting to the toilet on time, being maimed, etc.” Sure, Bob!

Enjoy more of the above here, or read a fascinating oral history of the Garbage Pail Kids here. Spoiler alert: You’ll still be left wondering how the hell this happened.

The Unsolved Mysteries intro theme

Every episode of this documentary TV show presented three real-life mysteries ranging from the criminal to the supernatural. It was a weird mix of actual news footage and re-enactments of paranormal encounters, complete with bad acting and special effects. Since it wasn’t advertised as a scary show, plenty of kids watched with their parents. In retrospect, that weird swirling of fact and fiction seems perfectly designed to wreak havoc on our little minds. But it’s the eerie opening theme that looms largest in our memories. Still slays, honestly.

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark

I saved the best for last. All rise for the Queen of Halloween.

Elvira represents everything that was glorious about horror pop culture in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. It’s hard to capture just how huge she was back then! As the host of another late night horror TV show, she almost instantly became a household name with her bonkers blend of goth pageantry, camp comedy, and epic boobage. Deals with big brands like Coors Light and Mug root beer meant she was all over TV commercials during Spooky Season, and every supermarket had a life-sized cardboard cutout of her somewhere.

Still, a lot of people don’t realize just how awesome and unique a character Elvira is. She’s an absolute badass self-made show biz legend and LGBTQ icon who’s done things 100% her own way, and she’s still slaying at age 69! Look at this!

If you want to know more about Elvira, check out this podcast episode about her life and career. It’s a wild ride. I love her so much! You may have heard that my ultimate writer goal is to become the Elvira of Queer Romance. But really, I should be so blessed as to become like Elvira in any way, to any degree. I love you, Elvira!

What are your favorite spooky throwbacks?

What era of Halloween did you grow up in, or wish you had? What creepy stuff makes you nostalgic? I’d love to hear. Comment or hit the Twitter thread to share!