TV
After He Stole Christmas, The Grinch Stole Halloween in Forgotten “Halloween is Grinch Night” Special
He may be synonymous with Christmas, but The Grinch totally hates Halloween too.
There are few pop culture curmudgeons more iconic than the Grinch, a Dr. Seuss creation who has come to life in the form of a children’s book, an animated special, a live-action movie and a Broadway musical, with a brand new animated film headed our way this November. With his termite smile and trademark green fur, the Grinch is essentially a kid-friendly Krampus, an anti-Claus who wants nothing more than to spoil the joy of the holiday season. For you. For me. For everyone. But particularly, for all those adorable Whos down in Whoville.
Introduced in 1957 and brought to life in 1966’s animated special (where he was voiced by horror icon Boris Karloff), the Grinch is of course most known for stealing Christmas, a holiday that he’s become as synonymous with as Santa Claus himself. But there’s a noteworthy part of the Grinch’s history that time has largely forgotten. And though red and green are the colors he’s most often paired with, one mustn’t forget that he also tangled with orange and black.
Yes, the Grinch and his dog Max once upon a time starred in their very own Halloween special, which aired on October 29th of 1977!
The first Dr. Seuss special to air on ABC, Halloween is Grinch Night served as an 11-years-later sequel to the How the Grinch Stole Christmas! animated special, and in it the Grinch once again set his sights on ruining the holidays for the Whos.
Though the word Halloween is never mentioned in the special – which is probably why it was re-titled Grinch Night on home video – it’s immediately clear that ‘Grinch Night’ is the term used in place of Halloween, in the land of Whoville. On this night, a sour/sweet wind marks the impending arrival of the Grinch, who comes down from his mountaintop abode to wreak havoc on the otherwise peaceful Whoville.
An obvious attempt to capitalize on the massive success of the Grinch’s Christmas special, his Halloween special also featured a giant carriage that Max is forced to pull up a steep hill, with the sleigh this time around being replaced with what’s referred to as the “paraphernalia wagon.” Rather than being full of stolen presents, the wagon is essentially a Pandora’s Box of evil shit, loaded with monstrous entities that the Grinch aims on unleashing into Whoville.
If you saw this special as a kid and still have nightmares about that hellscape, I don’t blame you.
After being swept up in the harsh Autumn winds on a trip to the outhouse, it’s up to young Euchariah to prevent the Grinch from carrying out his sinister plan and save the day.
Does the Grinch’s small heart grow three sizes on Grinch Night, as it did on Christmas? Does Euchariah save Whoville, before it’s too late? You’ll have to watch this trippy and oftentimes nightmarish animated special to find out.
Check out Halloween is Grinch Night below, a forgotten piece of history that’s just begging to be rediscovered. If you’re not in the Halloween spirit after these 26 minutes are up, then I’m afraid there’s just no hope for you…
*A version of this article was originally published on Halloween Love*
Not even death can slow Chucky in “There Will Be Blood,” the penultimate episode of “Chucky” Season 3. With the killer receiving a mortal blow in the last episode, Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) can now take full advantage of the White House’s bizarre supernatural purgatory, leaving him free to continue his current reign of terror as a ghost. While that spells trouble for Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur), Devon (Bjorgvin Arnarson), and Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind), it makes for an outrageously satisfying bloodbath heading into next week’s finale.
“There Will Be Blood” covers a lot of ground in short order, with Charles Lee Ray confronting his maker over his failures before he can continue his current path of destruction. Lexy, Jake, and Devon continue their desperate bid to find Lexy’s sister, which means seeking answers from the afterlife. They’re in luck, considering Warren Pryce (Gil Bellows) enlists the help of parapsychologists to solve the White House’s pesky paranormal problem. Of course, Warren also has unfinished business with the surviving First Family members, including the President’s assigned body double, Randall Jenkins (Devon Sawa). Then there’s Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly), who’s feeling the immense weight of her looming execution.
CHUCKY — “There Will Be Blood” Episode 307 — Pictured in this screengrab: (l-r) Brad Dourif as Charles Lee Ray, Chucky — (Photo by: SYFY)
Arguably, the most impressive aspect of “Chucky” is how series creator Don Mancini and his fantastic team of writers consistently swing for the fences. That constant “anything goes” spirit pervades the entire season, but especially this episode. Lexy’s new beau, Grant (Jackson Kelly), exemplifies this; he’s refreshingly quick to accept even the most outlandish concepts – namely, the White House as a paranormal hub and that his little brother’s doll happens to be inhabited by a serial killer.
But it’s also in the way that “There Will Be Blood” goes for broke in ensuring it’s the bloodiest episode of the series to date. Considering how over-the-top and grisly Chucky’s kills can be, that’s saying a lot. Mancini and crew pay tribute to The Shining in inspired ways, and that only hints at a fraction of the bloodletting in this week’s new episode.
CHUCKY — “There Will Be Blood” Episode 307 — Pictured in this screengrab: Brad Dourif as Charles Lee Ray — (Photo by: SYFY)
“Chucky” can get away with splattering an insane amount of blood on the small screen because it’s counterbalanced with a wry sense of humor and campy narrative turns that are just as endearing and fun as the SFX. Moreover, it’s the fantastic cast that sells it all. In an episode where Brad Dourif makes a rare appearance on screen, cutting loose and having a blast in Chucky’s incorporeal form, his mischievous turn is matched by Tiffany facing her own mortality and Nica Pierce’s (Fiona Dourif) emotionally charged confrontation with her former captor.
There’s also Devon Sawa, who amusingly continues to land in Chucky’s crosshairs no matter the character. Season 3 began with Sawa as the deeply haunted but kind President Collins, and Sawa upstages himself as the unflappably upbeat and eager-to-please doppelganger Randall Jenkins. That this episode gives Sawa plenty to do on the horror front while playing his most likable character yet on the series makes for one of the episode’s bigger surprises.
The penultimate episode of “Chucky” Season 3 unleashes an epic bloodbath. It delivers scares, gore, and franchise fan service in spades, anchored by an appropriate scene-chewing turn by Dourif. That alone makes this episode a series highlight. But the episode also neatly ties together its characters and plot threads to pave the way for the finale. No matter how this season wraps up, it’s been an absolute pleasure watching Chucky destroy the White House from the inside.
“Chucky” Season 3: Part 2 airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on USA & SYFY.
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