Tomorrow is the first day of October, and as such, it’s about time to start getting in the mood for Halloween. Of course, I realize that most retailers have had their Halloween stuff out since June, but for those of us who like to keep the holiday seasons relatively intact, it makes more sense to at least wait until a holiday is less than a month away to start celebrating.

Our video tonight is one created a few years ago by yours truly and his wife. Recorded May 30, 2015 at WonderFest USA in Louisville, Kentucky. The above video was shot by Melanie Larch and edited by your PopCulteer.

The PopCult and Radio Free Charleston crew stumbled onto this incredible collection of delightfully cheesy, vintage Ben Cooper Halloween Costumes, tucked away in a little room just off from the main hallway at WonderFest USA, the annual fantasy and SF modelers convention.

Presented by a die-hard collector named Jeff, this was a fun and surprising little diversion to find just as we were on the way out the door to come home. We didn’t get much information about Jeff’s collection, but it sure looks cool and has lots of very rare items. This incredible collection of delightfully cheesy, vintage Ben Cooper Halloween Costumes, was tucked away in a little room just off from the main hallway at WonderFest USA, the fantasy and SF modelers convention.  We were actually alerted to this treasure by our friends from JoeLanta, who were also at WonderFest, taking in all the coolness.

As for Ben Cooper Inc., the costume-maker struggled through a few bankruptcies and other setbacks before shutting down over twenty-five years ago. Last year the descendants of the original owners seemed to be staging a comeback, licensing their designs to folks like Retro-A-Go Go (who have just relased a new series of their oversized Ben Cooper mask wall hangings), but they haven’t posted anything to their Facebook page since last December, and their website is currently down. Let’s hope this is just a blip in their comeback.

But we do have this video valentine to Halloween to get you in the holiday spirit.