I was 12 when my uncle and aunt took me and my almost four year old cousin (who back in the day loved all things Ghostbusters, I’m sure because of me) to see Ghostbusters II on November 3, 1989. Unless it was always a misconception to me, Ghostbusters II was not playing in northeast New Jersey that past June 16. Pre-internet I followed Ghostbusters II debuting in nearby theaters as close as possible. I had this sticker/scrap book where as far as the “scrap booking” aspect went I’d cut out Ghostbusters II printed material (mainly from our state newspaper) and place it in this once keepsake I’m pretty sure I no longer have. As November 3, 1989 got closer the countdown (daily the paper’s ad would read something like four days until…) was on until the movie premiered, at least in Nutley, NJ.

If you’ve read any number of my Kenner The Real Ghostbusters pages you already knew I was moving beyond the toy lines. As my then young cousin had some Kenner toys I didn’t have (ie: Police Academy) and Ecto-1A I could enjoy them when we’d go to there house. As we inch closer to the 25 anniversary of Ghostbusters II their are a handful of related items I can share through Ectocontainment.

I don’t remember if my cousin’s Ecto-1A (which I helped “assembled”) had this insert. Twenty two years later when I bought what I probably thought was a MIB Ecto-1A, this Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II VHS ad insert was included with the toy, instructions, and decals. I knew I wanted to share this, it seemed miscellaneous when the second update was about the toy instructions. Then I was thinking I can share it on November 3 along with the NOW Comics The Real Ghostbusters Starring in Ghostbusters II PDFs. As you probably also know, the original comics needed to be rescanned and restored. Then their was that whole site moving thing.

Yesterday Matthew Jordan posted to the Ghostbusters Wiki Facebook page an ad for when retailers could order, sell and/or rent Ghostbusters II on Beta (of course Sony) and VHS. After the related Ghostbusters II and Ectocontainment set backs, real life, already posted Together For The First Time I finally knew I could share this Ghostbusters II VHS Insert.

I never had the Ghostbusters™ movies in the classic black, red, and white with “no ghost” logo slip covers. That’s what they were called right? My family would rent the original (as seen above) all the time from our local video store. Like other ghostheads I had recorded Ghostbusters from ABC. Up into adulthood I may never have owned an official VHS copy. With Ghostbusters II it was on PPV I believe on or around Thanksgiving 1990. Naturally I recorded it. It wasn’t until sometime in the ’90s I bought a gold clamshell copy of Ghostbusters II in the mostly defunct Suncoast. We were still years away from the 1999 DVD release and I wanted the classic Ghostbusters VHS. I don’t remember when I first knew there was a gift set. By that ad, apparently 1989 I think which I would forget about. As it would come to pass I was on vacation in Atlantic City. Before the Ocean One Mall was totally transformed into a place for the wealthy there was a store (don’t remember if it was Suncoast, Sam Goody, or something else) I found the classic black, red, and possibly white box with I’m sure “no ghost” logo on it. This library had both Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II as pictured in the ad. I think I bought it for around $35. I watched both tapes, taking care of the set, possibly displaying it in my room.

This would be the perfect time to show you a picture. I can’t because I did something really dumb. I let another ghosthead who I didn’t really know borrow them. I was getting to know his friend some as we were in my defunct franchise. I didn’t feel really right about it, mistakenly gave the benefit of the doubt and I suppose wanted to show trust. This was past 1999, new transfers of both films were available on VHS and DVD. I would ask and mostly get avoided, my gift set was never returned. Maybe about 7 years ago I was able to track down the “friend of the friend” and if it was true told me something like it was packed away because he was moving. Long before then his friend and I had lost touch, that kind of thing. I knew for sure once I heard that I’d never see them again. In those years I’ve gone through different feelings over it. Of course there have been more important priorities. I have seen these (not mine) on eBay. If I ever buy them again, it would be for the positive memories and collectibility. I still have all of my other Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II VHS copies, DVDs, and more. 🙂 8)