Haddonfield Halloween Night Thrills – By Baron Craze

Author’s Note: This article was originally intended for publication on November 7, 2023 however, I was sent a cease/ stoppage letter from a vendor that will remain nameless as they stated the representative on site was not permitted to speak to press on behalf of the actual vendor, and deemed all pictures and communications are void. Therefore, a lengthy meeting with legal representatives for both personal and of this site, there’s not much that ‘one’ could do to stop me because of the Freedom of Press and it was held on a public street open to the public; nevertheless, it was deemed why have push back/ bad press from ‘one individual’ that could ruin the good work for others. We did reach out to vendor to attempt to resolve the matter it only led to more implied problems, hence all of it was removed. We apologized for the delay in publishing this article.

On October 27, in the wonderful historic town of Haddonfield, NJ it truly came alive with macabre joy in the air, from the numerous vendors set-up on Kings Highway, open to only foot traffic and thoroughly organized, and stretching down through Kings Court it was a paradise for the oddities, mystical and just pure horror fans to enjoy. It was considered an experimental venture by the event commission of the town, though it proved to be an incredible success as the brick-n-mortar storefronts equally joined in on the festivities seeing the vast amount of foot-traffic. The film Beetlejuice [1988] was set up to play with limited seating available, the police were present, but it was all friendly and afterwards many visitors walked up the heavily decorated Washington Avenue to enjoy the phenomenal decorations for Halloween, truly the holiday had become a town-wide sprawling thrill. For those unaware this town holds significance for many horror fans, Debra Hill one of the writers behind the legendary horror film Halloween [1978] was from this great town and even babysat when she lived there, hence it holds importance to the legion of fans. In addition, the town itself just embraces these events from antique car shows, Food Truck adventures to Autumn festivals and of course Christmas, but now the embrace of Halloween adds new haunting chapter to lore of Haddonfield.

The vendors were greatly varied in their wares, from clothing lines, to curiosities, with numerous artists on hand showcasing their talents, it extended to clothing and temporary tattoos as well even more unique interests the event range for four and half hours, plenty of time to visit with the vendors, which is what I did and even saw friends and business associates, let’s see who some of them were.

Tapes from the Crypt

First, up was the very popular booth of Tapes from the Crypt which showcased tees sizes up for 5X, hats, and flags and plenty of great swag/promo items such as Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors [1987] hat and Brainscan [1994] Brain Stress Ball, simply their merchandise was spectacular as they were very rare items and reasonably priced. The representative for the booth was well-versed with the horror films, knowing their individual popularity and also understood a now crowded field of competition among them Fright Rags and Cavity Colors in the clothing market, it’s always great for the vast diversity in the styles of titles. As I proceeded onward, a very curious vendor called Pixing3D, his merchandise was different, 3D printed toys namely dragons, and then a few skeletal hands, what made the hands most interesting the boney figures would actual bend just like a human hand – creepy fun, I had to purchase one. They had them in assorted colors, I naturally choose ‘bone’ however learned that they create their products on their website as ‘on-demand’ such as skull and spine available an assortment of colors. I overheard some patrons asking about custom creations unsure of the answer as the conversation moved off to the side for a perhaps a private chat/inquiry.

Then a brief stop at the Mystical Blossoms which was heavily inundated with visitors, they, Jody and Michaline had a friendly interactive personality to their customers and took the time to explain their products which are hand-made embodied the natural elements for the mind, body and soul to use in an united means for overcoming negativity that sometimes bombards the person. An interesting tidbit, they own a storefront in Medford, NJ. I left the main strip of Kings Highway to venture down Kings Court finding even more vendors and more patrons took the time to dress more colorfully for the event, a festive moon for everyone, even the dogs had costumes.

The first vendor that captured my attention was an artist named Dave Dick who is a freelance illustrator, a vastly talented individual whose works comes from his nightmares he endured as a child, the work does show how freaky the monsters plagued him were, they obviously crept out from under his bed and the closet to terrorize his world.

As I continued one store had opened their door to the public, inviting the curious into their establishment, it intrigued me for the primary reason that no store seemed to be presented on the building, it was the Book Restoration Bindery. Is this a typical used bookstore store? No this is for primarily classic works, housed in exquisite methods, rarity of printed works, as well as offering service to restore books to their esteemed quality and to repair Family Bibles; for those unaware this is a craft that is dwindling with each passing year, it’s a skilled position and noted for the absolute trust and fine detail of preservation. After reaching the end of the Court I looped around to venture back to Kings Highway, and then met with Brad, a manager at the wonderful shop Patricia of Mullica Hill, many custom-made and antique furniture pieces, which I have purchased from over the years, it was great to see him out enjoying the festivities, he knows what I do for a living, a great moment.

However, I was there to cover the event there would be time to meet-up afterwards, it was amazing how the time flew by, everything appeared to run smoothly, though some wished there was a few trucks present at least to latter portion of Kings Highway away from the vendors, but it overall pleasant enough time for everyone. I headed to another very popular vendor called Am’s Wonderland that was on-point with the theme of the night as its merchandise was focused both Halloween and Horror Films, they truly had many wonderful items, my girl even bought a pair of skull earrings what was really capturing much of the attention was Light Up Door Hangers namely Scream – Ghostface and Jason Voorhees which were 3D and 15-inch diameter.

The final vendor I visited was Painted Deer, which had an abundance of Skulls, all sizes, colors, and pheromonal quality the prices had an incredible range too, from the low-end of $20 for Citrine Skull – Travel Buddy measuring 1.25-inches to others such as Rhodonite Skull (for emotional healing / anger calming) that sold for $200 that measured at 3.75 x 3-inches. The artist responsible for these creations is Heather D’Amico who is also a Crystal Therapist achieved through her Crystal Skulls and Shaman among many other skill sets and for unaware this particular form of therapy is in-touch with holistic and the crystal skull representing the symbol of life represent wisdom, communication, power, and knowledge, these were a well-known practice back in the early 19th century and perhaps further, as it focuses on high-vibrational healing energy provides protection and guidance. Nevertheless, they do look very cool! The artist encouraged the interested buyer to hold the skull and focus themselves to see if they felt more drawn to one or another as the colors of each had different healing qualities.

Painted Deer

As I heading back to my car, I met with Brad again and had brief discussion on horror films, but my night was not over in Haddonfield, it was time for me to venture to the ultimate street that embraces Halloween, Washington Avenue aka Victorian Road, that is because there are many, many that have that rich gothic look, synonymous with horror tales and many of the homeowners take part in elaborate decorations for the holiday. The standouts that garnished the most attention was the Witches Theme home, which had animatronics of witches speaking and casting kooky invites another was a circus/clown theme with that had an elephant statue that one person as I stop to look thought it was a dinosaur (quiet laugh) the street had many visitors, who stood on the public sidewalk to observe not daring to cross the threshold of the property. However unbeknownst to them, this was the one time of the year that it is encourage to walk up the front sidewalk to enjoy everything on display; that circus house turned their open front porch into a freakshow of frights, the screams and laughter of folks embracing the fun enjoyed the thrills, especially with Pennywise and Art the Clown appearing in the windows on the second floor. Yes, these homes incorporate the sides of their homes, the front yards and upper floors; too. Other homes paid homage to Hitchcock with his famous profile look illuminated in a window and a flock of birds nestled all over the property, on the roofline everywhere and had the squawking sound of them too; another had a Dead and Breakfast Inn theme.

Some did the simple harvest/autumn themes or scattered the property with skeletons and winged demons. For the curious on the day of Halloween the police shut/barricade the street so no vehicles can drive on it, as it is flooded with trick-or-treaters, and the treats on that street and out-of-control warm popcorn, hotdogs, big candy treats, it is what every horror/Halloween lover wants in their own neighbors a whole to get in the spirit is one-thing, but a whole street encompassing about 5-blocks and both sides of the street. Some neighbors encourage donations of canned foods for South Jersey food pantries, but the night had dazzling displays of lights and music, and shrieks!

Therefore, make sure to always keep Haddonfield, New Jersey on your festive treat of adventures or just a bucket-list item for 2024, regardless of whether there is another Halloween Night or not for vendors on this street will always deliver a haunting good time.