This time last year, I was prepping something I’ve never done before.
For the month of October, I blogged every single day of the month. The catch was, I blogged about a specific topic for that entire month. Since Halloween is my favorite time of year, I chose to write about that. It was all part of this blog link network and it was a lot of fun to be honest.
Since my blog hits for last year’s Halloween posts are increasing by the day right now, my favorite time of year is upon us again. Aside from the ghosts, ghouls, tricks, and treats, that also means the time is upon us for me to prep on my month-long blog-a-thon.
The only question is, what should I write about this month. Here’s where you come in. If you have an idea that you’d like me to write about, feel free to chime in. Otherwise, I’m gonna pick something myself. Should I write about books? Movies? Recipes? Writing? Social Media? Music? Pop Culture? The sky’s the limit. Chime in if you have an opinion in the comments below!
Day Thirty: New Devil’s Night Traditions (and a free Batman pumpkin stencil or two)
Tonight is the night before Halloween, which is also affectionately known as Devil’s Night (or Angel’s Night in the Detroit area). Up until tonight, most of my thoughts of Devil’s Night revolve around mischief-making, The Crow, and Detroit burning itself down. That’s not a very positive way to think of an evening (well, The Crow is a good graphic novel/movie), so this year, I decided to make Devil’s Night something new. Now, for our family, Devil’s Night will include cupcakes, pumpkin carving (and if I have my way, Chinese food).
First, we have the cupcake eating…
Mmmm, this is a yummy new tradition.
Then, we have the pumpkin scooping…
Scoopin' out the pumpkins with Momma.
Momma's pumpkin gut bowl is fuller than mine.
Now, we apply the stencil on the pumpkin…
Daddy, I think you're doing it all wrong.
Then, we have the final product…
La La La La Elmo's World...
The new Dynamic Duo...all lit up!
If you’re interested in the Batman pumpkin stencil, follow the break where I’ll post the link to that stencil (and some of Joker and Catwoman as well).
We’re getting closer and closer to Halloween. My wife and I took our daughter to an event at the mall today to let the kids trick-or-treat. She’s been a bit under the weather, so we thought this would be a good way to lift her spirits. At first, she was a bit overwhelmed, but she got the hang of it and put a smile on her face. But, the older kids (and crazy parents) were treating the event like it was kill-or-be-killed-zombie-armageddon-we-need-the-candy-to-live. In the process, we all got bumped and shoved. I couldn’t believe how people were acting – it was a free candy feeding frenzy. So, since no one cared about the well-being of a 21-month-old cutie dressed up as a monkey, I thought it was time to drop some safety tips. And, if you don’t follow the rules and traditions of Halloween, all you have to do is look to the movie Trick ‘r Treat to see what happens when you break the rules.
To help you with the rest of the safety tips and rules, here are some cheesy safety videos I found on YouTube.
Sadly, we only have two days left. Tomorrow will be a post about Devil’s Night, and Monday will be a Halloween post. My wife also mentioned today she was bummed I didn’t do a post about fun sitcom Halloween episodes, so if I can squeeze a double post in, I might just do that. Have a great night!
I’m 28 days into my 31 day challenge and I just realized I haven’t covered much Hijinks during my Halloween Hijinks series. While I enjoy the treats and the dressing up and the feeling of getting scared during the Halloween season, I also like the mischief involved as well. While I’m not condoning the mean-spirited pranks that happen on Devil’s Night (especially in the Detroi area), there’s definitely no harm in a little bit of Halloween mischief (or hijinks) amongst friends. In fact, one of my favorite Halloweens ever (until I got to share the holiday with my daughter that is) had to be the year I dressed up as the T-800 (battle damage and everything). I looked all over the house and I couldn’t find it. I promise though, when I do – even if it’s not the Halloween season – it will be on this blog. Anyway, that Halloween. My friends and I decided that instead of Trick or Treating, we were going to create a haunted house in one of our front yards and scare all the younger kids. One of us climbed up a tree and jumped down every time a group of kids came, one of us acted like a scarecrow on the porch, and I hid inside a wooden box. We had so much fun popping up and scaring everyone – it was great.
It’s with that spirit of Halloween and the “trick” part of Trick or Treat do I give you the following YouTube videos.
Also, if you want to pull a few pranks of your own, you’ll find three oldies but goodies (two featuring Linda Blair from her role in The Exorcist) after the break.
Day Twenty Five: Healthy Pumpkin Spice Muffin Recipe
I’m going to say you’re welcome now, because after you try these Pumpkin Spice Muffins, you’ll be thanking me. Not only are they super easy to make, they’re healthy and damn tasty. My wife and I got the recipe from her Aunt, and since October is a month where pumpkins are in the forefront, I just had to share these instant Fall classics with all of you.
Day Twenty Four: LMFAO Halloween Party Rock Anthem House
I had another blog planned tonight, but after seeing this video, I needed to make sure you all got a chance to see it. While the first thing I thought after seeing it was “man, this person has too much time on their hands,” after seeing it all the way through, all I can do is rave about how catchy and awesome it is.
The video shows a house’s Halloween decorations that just happen to be timed and choreographed to LMFAO’s “Party Rock.” If you’re like me, not only do you hate the “Party Rock” song, but you hate it because it’s so damn catchy. My wife showed me this video earlier today and since then it’s gone everywhere. Please…enjoy, pass it on, and come back tomorrow for a ghost picture tutorial.
Also, as a bonus, here’s another video of a Halloween decoration gone wild (seriously – how do these people have the patience to do this?)
If you’re like me, now that we’re a little more than a week away from Halloween, you’re thinking about how to decorate the pumpkins on your porch before the squirrels get them. This year, I have an added complication though – my daughter who isn’t quite two-years-old yet. To be honest, I haven’t bought a pumpkin yet, but today at Target (while picking up a pair of fancy Missoni shoes for my wife), my daughter and I took a peek in the Halloween section…mostly because I think the way she says pumpkin is so damn cute. We bought her a Jack-o-Lantern pail for her trick-or-treating, but we haven’t actually bought the pumpkin yet.
Well, while we were looking at pumpkins, my daughter also said “Elmo.” Looking around, I saw this…
It was a Polyurethane pumpkin with Elmo pieces pushed into it. Target also had a few other designs (Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Mr. Potato Head) as well. I’m not quite sure what ones we’ll pick up, but I think the Polyurethane pumpkins and pumpkin push ins are perfect for families who aren’t ready to use carving tools with their little ones.
Example of one of the Target craft pumpkins
Also, here are some of the fun pumpkin push in sets I was able to find on the ‘net. Some of these were also at Target. Seriously though, just google “pumpkin push ins” and you’ll see lots of licensed and non-licensed ideas.
Mr. Potato Head Skeleton
Pirate Potato Head
Spider-Pumpkin
I also found this blog that talks about pumpkin push ins. It’s a year old, but still has some good ideas/designs.
Hopefully this blog helps out the families with young children as they prep for Halloween.
When this movie first came out in the theatres, it didn’t even hit my radar. Most modern American horror flicks these days (and back then) have all either been crap remakes, torture porn, or so by the numbers that it hasn’t been worth my time to even care. After finally seeing The Strangers on DVD a year or so ago, I’m glad I didn’t see it in the theatre. Not because it was crap and a waste of money, but because I would have embarrassed myself in front of a packed theatre because this movie scared the H-E-double hockey sticks out of me.
The movie starts off innocently enough: a couple heads to their vacation house in the middle of the night after attending a wedding. James (Scott Speedman) is also planning to propose to Kristen (Liv Tyler) that evening. Shortly after their arrival, they get a knock on the door by a blonde woman asking for someone. Kristen and James let them know she has the wrong house and go about their night. When James leaves to get Kristen cigarettes, the blonde woman comes back and starts to bang on the front door. Kristen tries to call James, but all the phones are dead. While Kristen is home alone, three masked people harass and intimidate her until James gets home.
The masked home invaders
From there, things go from bad to worse. The three masked assailants begin to terrorize Kristen and James (and even one of their friends who shows up about part way through the movie). I don’t want to say much more because I don’t want to ruin the movie, but just be ready to be completely scared, uncomfortable, and anxious while watching everything unravel for Kristen, James, and Mike. No lie, my wife and I watched this movie in the middle of the day, and I kept leaving her alone in the room to distract myself (I am ashamed to admit this, but it’s true – this movie scared me so much, I left my wife to fend for herself). Looking back on it, I don’t think the actual movie is scary, but the scenario and situations are scary and uncomfortable. The real horror lied in the complete and utter helplessness Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman portrayed with their characters. I just kept hoping they would persevere, but as the movie continued, I just didn’t know if they would/could (did they or didn’t they? watch the movie to find out).
So, it’s Friday and we’re getting close to Halloween. In most of the country it’s chilly, wet, and rainy, which means it’s the perfect time to bundle up in some blankets and scare the crap out of yourself. If that sounds like a good plan, I recommend the movie you watch to scare the crap out of yourself be The Strangers.
I’m 31 now and I’ve listened to GWAR for the last 19-20 years. That’s probably something my friends and family didn’t want me to admit, but I haven’t listened to any other band for as long, or as consistently, as GWAR. Here I was, an impressionable Catholic School kid going to public school for the first time before I headed overseas to live in France for a few years. I made a friend (who will remain nameless) who introduced me to Pearl Jam. One night, we had a sleepover and he wanted to know if I wanted to see something absolutely crazy. Sure, why not. He showed me one of his older brother’s VHS tapes of a band called GWAR. I didn’t know what to think. They were absolutely insane. I didn’t quite understand them, but the first thing I thought to myself is how does a horror junkie like myself not know about this band?
At that point, I did whatever I could to get my hands on all of their music – even suckered one of my family members (again, remaining nameless) into buying me Scumdogs of the Universe. I was hooked. Sure most people think they suck, but you have to admit, they have staying power and longevity.
When the Internet came along, I was able to find pictures of all the members without their costumes; what their real names were; and the fact that most of them were art students. I even did a project on GWAR my senior year of high school. I also got the chance to interview the lead singer when I was writing regularly for a few music magazines. That was a very entertaining (and interesting to say the least) interview. With bands like GWAR, the mythos built around their personas are much more dastardly than the real thing once you get to thinking about it. Hell, lead singer Oderus Urungus used to have a guest spot on a show on Fox News and is now writing a football column for a hard rock website.
GWAR is definitely an acquired taste and you really need to appreciate the shock and theatrics involved with their music. If you’re not, they’re probably not going to be your cup of tea. I think it’s also a must to not take them too seriously, because when it all boils down to it, they’re a bunch of art students in costumes playing heavy metal music. They found something that makes them stick out and makes them marketable and they stuck with it.
So, why am I posting about GWAR on my Halloween blog? Well, besides the fact that they look like extras in a B-movie horror flick, they always tour around Halloween and always make a stop at one of the worst clubs in Detroit every year without fail. When October rolls around, I start thinking about Halloween, which eventually segways into thinking about GWAR. It’s been ten years since I’ve seen them live. I’m hoping to break that dry spell this year. We’ll see. Happy Halloween!
My shirt from the last GWAR show I went to - I even met Oderus!
As a kid, I used to love haunted houses. Well, at least the idea of haunted houses. All of my friends would always go to the Wiard’s Orchard Haunted Barn around this time of year and I would go with them I talked a big game, but ultimately, I was nervous about going into the attraction. Aren’t most people? I found myself turning into a cocky jerk to make it through. If I spent my time making fun of all the spooks in the haunted house, it would be okay. Sure, there were times when they legitimately got me, but I don’t like to surrender control, so I spent most of my time through the haunted house trying to predict the scares. Doing this made it less scary.
If you live in Michigan, here's the haunted house I would go to as a kid.
As I got older, I realized that I didn’t really have a good reason to go to haunted houses. I could control my exposure and environment more with books and movies, so I gravitated more and more towards horror flicks and novels and less towards haunted attractions.
Since I’ve been with my wife (dated and marriage), I think we’ve only been to two haunted houses together and one of them was filled with her schoolmates as the spooks – so the scares were non-existent with that one.
I wouldn’t mind checking out a haunted corn maze or haunted hayride though – that way I have a little more control and less scare exposure. Does that defeat the purpose though?
So, my question to you is this: what is it about haunted houses that intrigue you? Do you like them or not?
I’m on the fence with them, but I’d prefer a good scary movie over a trip through a haunted house any day. I think it could be fun to be one of the spooks though.
If you’re not 100% convinced that haunted houses are bad news, check this Flickr stream out –