Welcome to day five of Daily Dead’s 2013 Holiday Gift Guide! What better way to get ready for a holiday weekend than more horror-themed gift ideas for all the genre-lovers in your life (including yourself of course!)? For today’s choices, we have something from Ghostbusters for the ladies, some awesomely wacky Cthulhu choices, a book to celebrate Doctor Who’s recent 50th Anniversary and of all things- a Nightmare on Elm Street toaster.
Just in time to make a dent on your Christmas list, Daily Dead is bringing you some of our very favorite gift ideas perfect for any horror and/or sci-fi fan, so you’ll definitely want to keep checking back all next week for more items sure tickle any horror fans’ fancy. We’ll also be launching our Holiday Giveaway contest later this month, so you definitely won’t want to miss that either!
Music: For today’s music selection, I went with the impressive new run of “The X-Files Volume Two: Limited Edition 4-CD set” which contains all the original scores from composer Mark Snow. La-La Land Records and Twentieth Century Fox put this latest set out to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the beloved television series and it includes more than five hours of incredible X-Files music, complied from many of the series’ landmark episodes.
Volume One sold out on its first run and Volume Two will only be around for so long as this run has been set at only 3,000 copies. Each set features a 40-Page CD booklet which contains exclusive, in-depth liner notes from film music writer Randall Larson and comments from show creator Chris Carter and writer/producers Frank Spotnitz, Glen Morgan and James Wong. This is absolutely a great buy for any X-Phile out there. Buy it HERE.
Apparel: Alright, this one is for the ladies- usually I see the really awesome (and fun) Ghostbusters t-shirts for guys that are made to like the iconic jumpsuits the guys wore in the 1984 film. I always thought were great, but just not “lady-like” enough. Thankfully, someone righted that wrong as I recently discovered a new Ghostbusters tank dress I thought was ridiculously cute and perfect for any gals out there looking to mix up their closets a bit. You can check it out HERE.
Something else that I thought would make for a really fun holiday gift was this hand-knit Cthulhu ski mask that is just as ridiculous as it is cool. Seriously- who wouldn’t want a mask full of knit tentacles to keep them warm this winter? Check it out HERE.
Books: I’m not a huge Doctor Who fan by any means (just something that’s escaped me over the years), but I know when something’s been around for 50 years, it must have a fan or two (million). That’s why I put the recent compendium, “Doctor Who: The Vault: Treasures from the First 50 Years”, on our holiday gift guide simply because- it seems like any Doctor Who fan needs to own this book. If the first 20 or so pages managed to keep me riveted, fans out there will undoubtedly want to get their hands on this for sure.
“The Vault” offers up the full and official story of Doctor Who, from the show's first pre-production memos in 1963 to behind-the-scenes material from the latest season, including interviews with key cast and crew members as well as scores of prop photos, design sketches and details on tons of other collectible memorabilia. Pretty much everything you’ve ever wanted to know or read about Doctor Who is in this book and with the show’s recent landmark anniversary, the timing couldn’t be better to grab a copy. Buy it HERE.
Collectibles: Okay, so for today’s collectibles we have some really random items. First up, since I was in a Cthulhu-y mood already, I happened to find this Inflatable Cthulhu Arm because…why not? If you’ve ever wanted to rock some tentacles and do some Lovecraftian cosplay, here’s your chance kids. Buy it HERE.
Another item I found isn’t necessarily a household necessity, but is still pretty badass- over at House of Mysterious Secrets, I happened to find a Nightmare on Elm Street Toaster that imprints Freddy Krueger onto each slice of bread. AMAZING. I honestly don’t know how bread could get more exciting than this. Check it out HERE.
Finally, the last item I wanted to profile was another toy set I discovered while perusing Cartoon Network one weekend- the “Monster 500 Toxic Terror Trap Playset.” The Monster 500 series are basically a mash-up of Hot Wheels and our beloved classic horror monsters, but with a bit of attitude thrown in for good measure.
So basically, here’s another toy I really wish existed when I was as a kid because the “Terror Trap Playset” looks like a ton of fun for youngsters- it features scary sounds, a mutant controlling the elevator and both a toxic monster and mutant gator that you have to navigate your car around. The playset normally runs about $40 but right now, I noticed Toys “R” Us has it on sale for $24 which could save you some major bucks. Also worth noting that the “Monster 500” toys also have their own app that makes their toy line interactive in an entirely new way as well. Buy it HERE.
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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