Welcome to 2026's 31 Days of Heistoween, a daily dose of spooky icons, spine-tingling oddities, and — most harrowing of all — memes. Check back every day from now through October 31 for each daily entry!
The Paul Lynde Halloween Special was inevitable.
After debuting in his scene-stealing role as Arthur (the first-ever sitcom guncle) on Bewitched in 1965, ABC locked Paul Lynde into a contract that would guarantee him the lead roles he so craved. Lynde, a theatrically-trained Broadway veteran with a fearless and razor sharp wit, was tired of being relegated to perpetual guest star status (The Munsters, I Dream of Jeannie, and That Girl all got a shot of Lynde's lovely venom). He'd landed a regular role on the daily game show Hollywood Squares, where his weekday afternoon antics delighted housewives, sick kids, and retirees alike, but that wasn't acting.
Lynde wanted to be a leading man. So, ABC's contract happened, as did 1972's The Paul Lynde Show. ABC didn't count on one thing: maybe America wasn't ready for an aggressively bitchy homosexual to play a family man in a traditional sitcom. They wanted him in a cage, the center square, where he could fling zingers. Everything ABC tried with Lynde failed, and after another sitcom crashed, ABC pivoted to giving Lynde a series of variety shows where his unique personality could be broken up into 5-minute sketches and diluted via big name guests and musical acts.
Thus, the Paul Lynde Halloween Special happened in 1976. Oh, it happened all right.
Flanked by a pair of witches, one eternal (the OG Wicked Witch of the West) and one incredibly specific (I'm an elder millennial and even I struggle to place Witchiepoo), Lynde hams it up through a number of sketches that were definitely pulled from Donny and Marie Osmond's trash can. And then Betty White is there, for a second, to neg Lynde. Then KISS shows up, making their television debut! And then ... Peter Criss performs "Beth," which doesn't match the vibe. That's okay, though, because Florence Henderson (yes, Carol Brady) is here to belt out a sultry number and then dance alongside Lynde and the witches to an incredibly suggestive disco number. And once you know the context, that the Halloween special was ABC running out the clock on Lynde, it makes all the self-deprecating humor (and there is a lot of it) really sting. Especially the last, heartbreaking line of the special.
It's fantastic.
By that I mean it's terrible, but it's also just fantastic — watching The Paul Lynde Halloween Special feels like being a pop culture archaeologist, and your pick axe hits something that's big, orange, and sparkly. This is what television was. This is what celebrity was. This is how we spent our nights, because there wasn't anything else to do. And, without social media or the internet, "events" like The Paul Lynde Halloween Special would dissolve into memory. Like, in 1986, there were definitely lunch break convos in offices across the country wherein people tried to convince coworkers that this happened, that Paul Lynde seduced Pinky Tuscadero while dressed as "the Rhinestone Trucker."
I love this special. I have watched this special every single Halloween for at least 15 years, if not longer. It never gets old. If someone could diagnose my mental illness, a major symptom would have to be the fact that when I watch this special, I feel a yearning in my soul wishing that I could be Paul Lynde in this trainwreck. That is what is wrong with me.
So, we're going to watch it again! A Paul Lynde Halloween Special watch-along will take place on Wednesday, October 21, starting at 9 p.m. ET, only on Bluesky. Join us by hitting "play" on the YouTube video below at 9 p.m. ET, and using the hashtag #HEISTOWEEN.
We're gonna have fun — at least 10 times more fun than KISS is having in this special.
Come knock on our door tomorrow for even more 31 Days of Heistoween treats.
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