62 Days 'til Halloween: PETCO for Props

I've learned over the years that great props can be found in the most unexpected places. I'm not talking about garage sales and dumpsters, I'm talking about stores you've driven by hundreds of times but never once thought to look in.

PETCO (or any pet store for that matter) is one such place. Aquarium decorations have come a long way since those tiny bubbling deep sea divers and treasure chests. Here are some cool ones I just saw that are great for Halloween. They're not the cheapest things in the world, but the sculpt and paint on them are fantastic. And if incorporated into a lawn display, since made for underwater use, you know they'll hold up well outdoors year after year. Any one of these alone are great additions to a curiosity cabinet.

Please excuse being poor camera phone images.

I can't stop imagining these with rings in their
mouths as cauldron handles for a cannibal island theme.

That large one is a Hippo skull. I want to slap a "Prehistoric Saber Toothed Rat"
label on it and hope none of my Trick or Treaters are Paleontologists.

They also have rigid plastic grass tufts and plants, great for tombstone base detailing etc. that would last for more than a few years.

 
I was surprised to discover a whole aisle full Halloween themed pet toys. Made me smile.