As I was going through old blog posts for a feature I’m launching this Friday called “From the Archives” I came across a brief post I wrote back in 2008 when Google launched a Halloween Doodle designed by Wes Craven. Google Doodles, as they’ve come to be known, are the modified logos that appear at the top of Google’s search engine on holidays and special events. In the early days, they look like nothing more than some clipart stacked on top of the Google logo, but in more recent years they have gone on to be more intricate and in some instances animated. Since Google archives all of these I figured I’d take a trip down memory lane and share some of my favorites from over the years.
Halloween 2008
The 2008 doodle by Wes Craven is still one of my favorites. Of all the doodles over the years it is still probably one of the darkest and for me truly captures the spooky vibe of Halloween.
Halloween 2013
In 2013 Google created a fully interactive Doodle for Halloween. Starring a witch reading from a Google spellbook, users could help create the witches brew by adding a combination of ingredients to her cauldron. Each combination would result in the witch being overtaken by smoke and when it cleared a mini-game was revealed. The below image doesn’t capture the full experience, but you can still play the doodle here.
Halloween 2010
If it weren’t for the interactive element of the 2013 Doodle, this would have been my second choice. I grew up on Scooby Doo and when he made it into a web-comic-like Doodle in 2010 I was stoked. The five panel Doodle follows Scooby and the gang as they try and solve the mystery of the weird Cheshire Cat-looking ghost. In the original Doodle, you could advance each panel manually from the Google homepage.
Bram Stoker’s 165th Birthday
Created by Doodler, Sophia Foster-Dimino, this particular Doodle was one where I loved the styling of the artwork. Influenced by the works of Edward Gorey and Aubrey Beardsley, Foster-Dimino gave a nod to each of the major characters in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, “I invite our users to see if they can identify 7 protagonists, 4 antagonists, and 1 who falls somewhere in-between,” wrote Foster-Dimino when the Doodle was released.
Halloween 2016 & Halloween 2017
I share these together because the two are a complete story. In 2016 Google introduced us to the character Momo, a black cat on a mission to rescue her school, the Magic Cat Academy. The doodle was the first that I recall having a story element along with a game element. In the game, Momo faces off against a clan of mischievous ghosts across five levels set in the Magic Cat Academy: the library, cafeteria, classroom, gym, and the school’s rooftop. You can play the Doodle here.
In 2017 the story of Momo continued with the video Doodle Jinx’s Night Out. In it, we’re introduced to Jinx, a lonely ghost who was nothing like the mischieve making ghosts of 2016 who just wants to fit in with Momo and his friends. You can watch the video Doodle below, but if you want to explore some fun behind the scenes info on the Doodle check out the Doodle’s page on Google.
Charles Addams’ 100th Birthday
Fans of the Addams Family will appreciate this Doodle from 2012 that featured our favorite creepy and cooky family in honor of Charles Addams’ 100th birthday. The Doodle features the Addams Family in their classic styling, the same styling being leveraged in the upcoming Addams Family animated film.
Halloween 2015
If you enjoyed the Momo Doodles you have the 2015 Doodle the “Global Candy Cup” to thank for them. Google’s 2015 Halloween Doodle was a worldwide game where searchers could play as one of four witches in an effort to capture the most candy in hopes that their team would take home the Candy Cup. In the end, the yellow witch, a lover of cats, would win the cup and her black cat would act as the starting point for the Momo Doodles. And despite the yellow witch winning, you can still play the Doodle as any of the four witches on the Global Candy Cup Doodle page.
You can view all of Google’s Halloween Doodles from over the years, here or browse their entire archive of Doodles at google.com/doodles/ Do you have a favorite Doodle? Share yours in the comments or let me know on social media!
