A NIGHT IN A GRAVEYARD.
Posted on October 1, 2026 Leave a Comment
Bells toll. Sudsy beers crack open. A slimy goo oozes out of a military storage container.
It could only mean one thing. It’s finally O C T O B E R and all is about to be right in the world. Down in the murky depths of Uncle TNUC’s basement, we’ve been testing each and every vintage Halloween cassette tape to find out which is the very best of the bunch. The only issue? THEY’RE ALL GOOD.
It’s not so easy of a task as it may sound. As classic and cherished as these tapes are, most of them are very similar and it becomes a challenge to see which differ from one another. If you ever played these out a window of your house on Halloween night, or took one up to a friend’s attic and listened with the lights off and a single burning candle – you know how effective they really are! One hour of shrieks, creaks, witches laughing, wolves howling, zombies gurgling, evil laughs and wind (SO MUCH WIND) can transform a mundane evening with a generic Halloween display into…something else.
They’re all goddamn winners in my book. However, listening back you start to realize the ones that pack more atmosphere and drama are the tapes that really stand out. “A Night In A Graveyard” from 1987 (above) is definitely a crowning achievement. Right from the start it’s bell tolls into a narrator with that signature-deadly-British tone. He tells the tale of an ancient graveyard and everything surrounding the village. The imaginative visuals he creates by just talking in that ghoulish ol’ voice creates the ideal setting. Much like the power of Vincent Price — this guy could narrate a laundry detergent commercial and it would somehow sound scary.
FREE DOWNLOAD – A Night In A Graveyard / A Night In A Haunted House (double feature!)
This October, try “using” one of these tape recordings to enhance whatever the hell it is your doing. But be warned. If the hair on the back of your neck is rising, don’t look back!
If you walk through witches’ wood, past the hanging tree
Then down dead man’s lane, over the wooden footbridge past creepy hollow.
You will come to an ancient graveyard…
Oh, what’s this? The TNUC Manimal has finally found his dream job – cemetery caretaker! It sure beats delivering pizzas around the ‘burbs in his shitkicker car every night. But working so many nights in isolation, under the moonlight, bats flying above, spirits of the deceased surrounding him…something happened. Something evil. Something undead.
Stay tuned for more.
CURSE IN THE TREES.
Posted on September 22, 2026 Leave a Comment
– The Evil Dead (1981)
The Halloween season arrives at different times and in different ways for everyone. For me personally, it used to be as soon as I started spotting candy on shelves, big box stores putting out their gigantic displays and of course the opening of Spirit Halloween.
As I get older and crustier, that stuff doesn’t draw my attention like it used to. Maybe it’s just the burnout factor from these places putting out Halloween junk when the air is still hot and the trees are green. It could also be just an over abundance and a little oversaturation. Something about it rubs me the wrong way, as if Halloween is getting too commercial or something. However…to each their own! I’m the last Uncle to spoil anyone’s good time. At the end of the day at least people are celebrating — which is all all that truly matters. Keep the spirit alive in your neighborhood and rock until you drop on Halloween night.
For the TNUC Lair, going forward I want Halloween to be as DIY as possible. It feels more wholesome and authentic to build a lumpy scarecrow out of your dad’s old pajamas or fill those giant pumpkin trash bags with leaves. Maybe put together a homemade, haphazard cemetery in the front yard. Even if it’s crudely done, all the better!
I’m lucky enough to live somewhere that leaves on trees change color and the chilly air arrives just as Fall unmasks. The weather and climate has become such an energy source for setting the table to the season of Autumn. I don’t know what I’d do without it!
Speaking of table setters and trees, it’s the perfect time for a musical offering to celebrate the best time of year which is just about to rear it’s head. The opening scene from Dario Argento’s 1985 movie, Phenomena (US title: Creepers) has always gone under my skin with its eerie music and close-up shots of trees shaking in the cold wind.
Bill Wyman, yes that Bill Wyman, bassist from The Rolling Stones, somehow got pulled into this zany Italian horror flick. This moody track has just the right amount of creepy-crawliness to give off feelings of being isolated in the mountains or deep in the forest. It’s beautiful but unsettling. That perfect marriage of dark and light. A proper slow lurk into the season.
Argento really pulled out all the stops when it came to music in Phenomena. The plot of the film itself might be wonky and not the most memorable but that’s all part of the experience when watching Argento movies. It’s certainly made up for by having Donald Pleasance, Jennifer Connolly, a few hundred bugs, one chimpanzee and a soundtrack that features everyone from Iron Maiden to Goblin to the bassist from The Stones.
NUOVO TESTAMENTO – 2 HEARTS [VIDEO]
Posted on July 30, 2026 1 Comment
Considering that at this very moment we’re smack dab in the middle of “carny season”, I can think of no better time to premiere a new TNUC video for a hot little number dedicated to all the summer lovers out there.
Nuovo Testamento are consistently making the best electronic dance music/disco on the scene. The song “2 Hearts” from the group’s most recent EP, Trouble, takes a slight detour into ballad territory but still remains danceable and alluring as ever. Singer Chelsea Crowley’s vocals are always so rich — the verses are like hummable choruses and the actual choruses are just out of this world catchy and infectious.
Just imagine Miami Sound Machine meets Depeche Mode at a carnival at night with Uncle T as the seasoned, veteran carny worker. Watch the video. I hope you enjoy.
Catch them on tour this summer!
www.NuovoTestamento.com
GO TO CAMP CRYSTAL LAKE.
Posted on June 17, 2026 1 Comment
Uncle TNUC has been fascinated with summer camp basically since he was in ALF underpants. Everyone reading this already knows this given the four camp mixtapes, merchandise, a music video and the nonstop dedication from day one around this place. It’s all thanks to movies — and the mightiest of the mighty is FRIDAY THE 13th from 1980. It needs no explanation because you’ve probably heard of the film? Jason Voorhees, teenagers, skinny joints, throat-ripping, neck-slashing, summer fun in the woods? That’s the one.
“Camp TNUC” wouldn’t have been possible without the obsession of Friday the 13th’s Camp Crystal Lake and everything that went with it. From deformed weirdos in the woods to panty raids, we cherish every single thing there is to do with summer camp.
In a small corner of Northwestern New Jersey lies the town of Hardwick, where the fine folks at Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco did a remarkable thing by opening their creaky gates some years ago to let Friday the 13th fans on guided tours of the original filming location! The real cabins. The real lake. It’s all here.
For years rabid fans would try and get close, or trespass onto the property to see what actually still existed, if anything. This woodsy wilderness has been operating as a boy scout’s camp since 1927 and continued through the 1980’s until today. It remains private property but Crystal Lake Tours offers tickets to fans for daytime, nighttime and even overnight tours. Plus celebrity events and even canoe excursions!
This is BIG. Uncle T had the privilege of visiting last weekend and needless to say, I had the time of my life. Have a look at our “1980 and now” findings below which also includes the neighboring town of Blairstown, NJ where other scenes from the movie were shot.
Bridge Street in Blairstown, NJ
Steve Christy’s Jeep? The “Strip Monopoly” game setup? The attention to detail throughout the tour was impeccable. Even small details like a rope hanging from a rafter that only the nerdiest diehard would ever notice. Or the coffee cans with correct labels. For the hardcores who know everything there is to know about Friday the 13th, this place is extremely impressive.
I’m always drawn to horror locations that have nature setting. Whether it be Creepshow, Pet Semetery, The Fog or Friday the 13th – there’s something about the steadiness and purity of an old cemetery or forbidden stretch of woods that refuses to change over time. It’s my comfort zone.
These photos are a good indication of what Crystal Lake Tours has to offer but they really don’t do it justice. Around every corner of this camp is something to marvel at if you’re a fan of Jason Voorhees and summer camp in general. For instance not shown here is the archery range or the canoe setup where little dead Jason popped out of the water! Also the merchandise in the gift shop. My God is that a work of art. You name it, they have everything imaginable. T-shirts, hats, pennants, flags, canteens, camping lights, paddles, Crystal Lake water, items made of wood from the original cabins, ponchos, blankets and so much more!
My advice is to book a tour and GO TO CAMP CRYSTAL LAKE.
RUNAWAY.
Posted on May 29, 2026 Leave a Comment
Surrounded by a thousand eyes, danger in the night
A city full of broken hearts, burning like white light
The streets are filled with promises you never get to keep
The streets are full of dreamers walking in their sleep
TAKE ME OUT TO THE RATT GAME.
Posted on May 22, 2026 3 Comments
For many of us, baseball is one of those sports that automatically makes you think of summertime. More specifically though, “America’s national pastime” means also the arrival of summer and everything that welcomes this time of year. Birds are chirping, the trees are lush, kids are out on their bikes and the ice cream man truck’s jingle can be heard in the distance. The crack of that wooden bat hitting the ball followed immediately by feet hitting the dusty infield.
Then suddenly, Ratt’s “Lay It Down” plays over the PA system!?
In 1985, iconic heavy metal vermin Ratt played a charity softball game in Tampa Bay against the radio station 95YNF. It pains me that I have to even say this but NO, these photos are NOT AI.
TNUC’s sources don’t provide stats or plays from the actual game, but based on images taken by photographer Christopher Helton, these Ratt ‘n Rollers were having a grand old time. Custom Team Ratt uniforms, ripping cigs in the dugout, drinking Bud heavy’s in the outfield and even singer Stephen Pearcy posed for a photo at the pitcher’s mound with his trusty inflatable rat.
“Take me out to the Ratt game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some Quaaludes and a fifth of Jack,
I don’t care if I never get back”
Here’s to summer days and double plays. I wonder if Ratt won the game and if they celebrated at Pizza Hut afterwards! Just the way God intended it…
Stephen Pearcy cruising the salad bar and smoking a cig. Warren DeMartini standing on a red checkered table playing a guitar solo. Robbin Crosby under the infamous Pizza Hut chandelier with a super supreme pan pizza. Juan Crucier practicing his stage moves by twirling around the brass railings. Bobby Blotzer in the bathroom the entire time after a bad decision to order that nuclear bowl of chili.
