When I was a little kid, around ten years old, I made a Molotov cocktail. I didn’t know that’s what I had made. I didn’t know that’s what it was called. I just knew I wanted to make something explosive. My parents thought I was too young for fireworks, so one Fourth of July I decided to make my own. (I always was a mischievous, curious, potentially dangerous child.) I knew I needed a fuel source, something combustible. Gasoline! That’d do the trick! I went and got the gas can they kept filled with gas for the lawn mower, filled a glass bottle about halfway, stuffed a piece of string inside for a fuse and sealed it with duct tape. Fortunately my mother caught me before I had a chance to immolate myself or set fire to the woods.
That story really has nothing to do with Horror, except were one to contemplate what COULD have happened had my mom not come outside when she did–but today is the Fourth of July and I thought you all might enjoy the story. As far as Horror goes, check out these Horror-themed fireworks. As with the porn industry, copyright infringement of pop culture fixtures is the norm. Hey, as long as you don’t call the IT flaming-balls-shooter an IT flaming-balls-shooter, you can slap Pennywise’s face on it and benefit from the brand recognizability. I actually remember buying the Godzilla firework, which actually DOES bear Big G’s name on it. Maybe ToHo’s lawyers aren’t as trigger-happy as Stephen King’s?