Rattlesnake Eggs!

The classic gag, available for sale from Adams--an envelope of "rattle-snake eggs":

You wind up the washer on the rubber band (in this version, the wand that holds the rubber band even looks a little snake-like), carefully place into the envelope, and hand to someone to inspect. When the envelope is opened, the washer, powered by the rubber-band, spins against the paper, making a loud rattle that should scare the bejezus out of the victim.

This clip-art detail from the packaging provides a close approximation of the victim's reaction:

The one pictured here was purchased at Disneyland for only three bucks. Who says you can't find a cheap souvenir at Disneyland anymore?

And if you don't want to part with three bucks, you can make the gag yourself with a pair of paper clips and a rubber band. Here's the directions, courtesy of "Spooky Stuff" (1979, Shari Lewis), a children's book of Halloween party hints and tips.

The author is former TV-kids show host and Lamb Chop puppeteer Shari Lewis. Shari recommends inserting a rattler gag with each party invitation you send out. Nice. I'll be revisiting "Spooky Stuff" in later posts.

The Mummy's Finger

On my first day of grade school, some kid played this trick on me. It didn't scare me, but I was creeped out for a good 5 to 10 seconds. It's "The Mummy's Finger".

You can read about that and other gags in Spooky Tricks (Scholastic Book Services, 1968).