Old stomping grounds

I'm glad to be back in Connecticut for awhile. One of the things I've missed most is going out for walks in my neighborhood. I must have covered these grounds a zillion times over the years but there's always something a little new to see, changes here and there, taking detours down different side streets occasionally. 

It goes without saying that my favorite time to be out here is during the Fall.

I mean, it's obvious why, right -- around these parts, lots of us take Halloween very seriously.

Great to see some old friends again.

 

 

Can't wait to get back out there!

 

Getting freaky in Fall River & New Bedford

 This past Saturday was Halloween daytrip #1 for the 2021 season. Whenever I travel back east for Autumn, I get together with the usual suspects and plan at least one entire day outing which always ends in a haunted house-related event. This year's adventure was planned around Factory of Terror in Fall River, MA. 

It's absolutely true that New England in general is haunted af. Coastal towns like Fall River are even more fucking amplified. It's pleasant and charming enough on a sunny, balmy day, like this past Saturday, but don't let that fool you.

We got to town around noon and our first stop was at a flea market that had advertised itself as a Fall craft fair. Hmm, not so much, although a couple of the vendors had some Halloween/horror related stuff, including this shop, Wicked Weird.

 
The weather was perfect when we arrived, but by the time we left the flea market for our next destination, it was beginning to cloud over. Not surprising for this time of year. 

 

When we had first booked our tickets to Factory of Terror, I noticed that Fall River was just a stone's throw from New Bedford, wherein is located the New Bedford Whaling Museum, a bucket-list destination of mine since I first read (and became obsessed with) the novel Moby-Dick. So I convinced everyone to check out the museum with me.

I imagine New Bedford to be especially especially haunted as fuck, considering its violent past as one of the most important whaling ports in history. The ghosts of dead whales must lurk up and down every corridor, in between the crags of every cobblestone here. That's not even counting the other restless souls who probably linger nearby: widows pining for their husbands lost at sea; Indigenous ancestors betrayed by colonists; sailors who never made it back alive.

And as an animal lover who is particularly fond of whales, I'm not really sure why I also love the novel that is entirely focused on the hunting, brutalizing, and slaughtering of them. Fortunately, the museum devotes a lot of attention to the conservation of whales, not just the history of hunting them for oil.

The main entrance and lobby area displays some impressive, imposing life-size models of whales, and their giant skeletons hovering eerily from the rafters overhead. 

 

Glass cases present an array of other gruesome and fascinating objects: whale fetuses, teeth, brain models, vials of oil, and, yes, a whale penis.

 

Yes, that vertical object on the right is a genuine huge-ass whale penis.

 

In other rooms, there are boats, harpoons and hunting equipment, giant tree-trunk size lengths of rope, massive iron cauldrons, photos, clothing, paintings, and thousands of other whaling and maritime artifacts.

In this room, there is a scale model of a typical whaling vessel. Also, during our visit, there was weirdly a wedding party about to take place. According to the friendly gift shop attendant, the museum is a popular event space - who knew? Well, we do now!

 Across the street, more or less, is a microbrewery named after that infamous white whale, Moby Dick Brewing Company. We ventured out into the rainy afternoon for dinner there before heading to the haunt. Food was great and the beers were pretty damn good too, though I don't partake of it often.

They had these cute "tiki" style glasses too for fancy rum drinks.

As we walked back to the parking garage, night was beginning to set in. Despite it being a Saturday night, New Bedford and Fall River seem to be the sort of towns that just shut down almost completely by darkfall. Both are fairly large metro areas, with populations of roughly 100k people each. But here we were, the sun had barely set and there was practically nobody out and about.

There's all sorts of unsettling/creepy vibes here, from the old architecture, to historical buildings with dubious backstories, to the cobblestone streets, to the empty alleyways and the punched-in LCD screens in lobbies, to unpleasant looking figures in murals. 

 

I don't mean any of this in a critical or derogatory way at all, I honestly love the energy of these places.

Finally, it was about time for us to arrive at our main attraction, the infamous Factory of Terror.

 

A couple of the friends who came along had been to this one years ago, but it was my first time. I'd heard some things about a change in ownership that had a positive impact on the Factory, which had been getting a reputation as lackluster for a few years in a row. None in our squad knew what to expect.
 

Fortunately we didn't have to wait very long at all to get in. We had timed tickets and there was practically no line, which made us wonder if this haunt wouldn't be very good.

I have to say though, that I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. I won't give too much away, but here are some of its positive aspects:

• It looked to me as if the vast majority of the props and animatronics were home made, not in a negative way. Whoever puts this together didn't just throw a bunch of money down at Spirit Halloween and call it good. These sets were made by experienced DIY haunters. 
• It didn't use any licensed characters or franchises (not that I noticed, anyway). Yes, to me that is a plus. I don't mind seeing famous movie baddies occasionally in haunts, but it's sort of being done to death in regards to everything else related to Halloween and I'm frankly really fucking tired of it. Of course I have my horror movie favorites, but their overuse makes them not scary anymore. (Familiarity can truly breed contempt -- or at least, boredom.)
  
• The use of lighting, sound effects, and fog machine were great, and the actors were pretty energetic & enthusiastic.
• The murals -- THE MURALS in this haunt -- those blew my mind. All were done in neon paints in great details - screaming skulls, flames, eyes, and other horror motifs, distributed along blacklight-lit corridors in one section of the haunt. They were fantastic, and combined with the sets in somewhat unconventional ways that I hadn't seen before in neon-themed haunts. I wish I knew the artist because I'd love to follow their work. The murals were, to me, worth the cost of admission. (Tangent: Haunted houses/yard haunts/etc. are a seriously underrated form of "outsider"/installation art -- but that topic is for another post)
• There was a gift shop at the end with Factory of Terror tees and hats, plus "oddities" like preserved bat skeletons, crystals, incense, etc. Shut up and take some of my Spacebuxx.
• The overall vibe of this haunt made me pretty damn nostalgic for the ones I used to adore back in the mid to late 90s. Huge, huge plus for me.
  

A few other details:

• This is an indoor-only haunt, so inclement weather is not an issue. However, covid-safety might be an issue for some for this reason. Masks were not mandatory, but we wore them by choice.
• Photos inside the main part of the haunt aren't allowed, which is pretty standard, but there is a photo op spot right when you first enter. One of the hosts will take a pic of your group & text it to you for free.
• The walk itself wasn't too challenging. It's not fully accessible, but anyone who can walk shouldn't have much issue. It's dark in there of course, but the floor is mostly even and if you go take your time going thru the haunt, you will be alright. There's lots to see all around you so why rush, anyway.
• Our whole experience from entry to leaving the parking lot took about an hour & a half. We arrived and parked around 7:30, our timed admission was for 8pm. By the time we got through the haunt, went to the gift shop, and hit the road, it was about 9pm. Of course, your experience may vary; as Halloween gets closer, wait times are likely to increase.
  

I recommend this haunt and give it 7 out of 10 jackos.
[🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃_ _ _ ]

And on the way out of town, don't forget to appreciate the creepy looking buildings in the city. Industrial areas like this always make me feel some type of way. A creeped-out-but-I-don't-know-why way.

 Preeeeeetty sure I saw this shit in a nightmare at some point in my life.

And that's how I spent my first Halloween day trip in 2021! More adventures coming up soon.

Cheapie Halloween trinkets

Yesterday I had to stop at the pharmacy, so while I was there I decided to check out the seasonal offerings there, and at Dollar Tree next door.

Still slim picking everywhere in my area. Stores seem to be at 50% of their normal Halloween capacity, at best. Anyway, here's a few things I picked up.

From Dollar Tree I got the Halloween bone beads (left), the pumpkin truck socks, and the LED projector light. (I also got a hanging ghost, a red felt autumn leaf placemat, and a fuzzy web wreath with a pink glittery spider in the center, not pictured).

From Rite Aid I got the bat and stripey socks and the festive napkins. I mean, look at these. The artwork is so great.

I've never seen pumpkin trucks socks before. Hey, the more Halloween socks, the merrier.

Here's the Dollar Tree projector in action, it's not bad for a buck, might look pretty cool overlapped with one of those fire/ice projectors.

 

That's all for now! I am currently packing for my red-eye flight out of Seattle tonight. My next post will be in Connecticut, flight schedules willing!

Signs of Autumn's arrival

I've been meaning to update more, but life has had other plans getting in my way: work, prepping for my upcoming trip to Connecticut, and some stressful personal issues.

But I got to see a really beautiful pumpkin patch yesterday and I wanted to share it here. This is McMillin Farm in Puyallup, WA.

Not much in the way of colorful foliage out here yet, other than little hints of it.

Click the photo above for a 2021 Fall Foliage Prediction map for the US! According to the site, foliage will peak in CT around 4-11 October, and in WA around 11-18 October. 

(photo by Petrichor & Pumpkins/ Nebulosus Severine/ CMPauluh 2021)

Weekend plans

I've had a pretty busy week and have a busy weekend ahead of me, too. I'm leaving next Thursday evening to spend another few weeks in CT, so there's lots to get done before then. One of my weekend goals is to get a few Halloween decorations up. I thought about this for a moment the other day and then realized that I don't have to put any pressure on myself to do so, because Halloween decorating is an all year thing.

I can put up a few more/new things of course, but I always have a bunch of stuff out all year, anyway. That said, I am hopefully going to at least put up a string of purple and/or orange lights outside on the porch, and maybe browse a few places to hunt for Halloween things. Happy weekend!

(animated gif by Petrichor & Pumpkins/Nebulosus Severine/CMPauluh 2021)

DIY Jackos

Youtube has learned that I enjoy jack o'lanterns, so it recommended this video to me by the INCREDIBLE Halloween artist, Cathy LeBeau. I first saw her work before on her Instagram page, which shows off some of her amazing creations. 

As far as iconic Halloween artists go, I'd say she rivals even the illustrious Pumpkinrot. She deserves to be at least as well-known as he is among the Halloween/haunt community. I mean, maybe she already is and I'm just late to the party! Enjoy this tutorial and then watch this one, a detailed walkthrough of her most recent home haunt in 2019:

 

It seems that she has retired from haunting, but not from her art itself. Her social media channels have been quiet for awhile, although she did post an small update to her Instagram in early September. Let's hope she posts some more of her autumn activities this year!

From family-friendly to horror

Remember the trend of making fake movie trailers by remixing footage to give them a whole new genre and an entirely different vibe?

Here are two of my favorites -- Mary Poppins and Little House on the Prairie as horror films:

The Little House on the Prairie one looks genuinely freaky and if I knew nothing about the show I would totally believe it was legit a horror film. 😂

The chair that came back

I had just been writing another post but had to stop and begin this one instead, because one of the weirdest experiences of my life just happened. It's about, of all things, a broken chair.

We used to have a pair of kitchen chairs that my partner had had forever before dating me. They served us well but started to get a bit old, and were starting to fall apart; the fasteners that held them together were getting loose and we didn't know how to fix them. One almost fell out from under my partner one night as we were sitting down to dinner, so we then decided it was time to let them go. They weren't completely trashed, we figured someone who had a workshop could fix them up, so we left them by the side of the road with a sign that said "Free" on them. They were gone the next day and they faded into memory. This happened probably at least two years ago. 

I had no reason to think of them again until last night, when I was looking through old photos for something else, and in the same batch of pics I was looking through, an older pic of our kitchen popped up, taken around the time we did some rearranging & cleaning.

I scrolled past the pic, a few of my brain cells firing on "Huh, oh yeah, those old chairs. I remember them." This photo was taken on 6th September, 2017. I acknowledged the memory, and then I moved on to whatever else I was doing.

And here, now, less than 24 hours later...

About half an hour ago, my partner came back in from taking out the trash to find that one of the chairs, one of THOSE chairs, had....returned. 

To the same spot we had left it by the road a couple years ago in front of our apartment.

With a sign on it saying "Free." In different handwriting.

I had made no mention of the photo of the chairs that I had literally just found the night before.

I asked my partner to bring it up to our porch, because I had to see it to believe it.

I mean, I haven't thought about these chairs in years. And less than 24 hours after seeing that old photo above, this just SHOWS UP.

Fucking HELL.

And the weird thing is?

It appears to be intact -- was it repaired?? 
Who the fuck would have done it - chair elves??

I don't even know how to wrap my head around this one.

There's gotta be an explanation for this, right?

I swear to Christ I am not making any of this up. 

Maybe someone in my partner's family did this? I don't know. They are not the practical joking type. We're going to ask my partner's dad, our landlord, if he can watch the security cam footage. I kinda hope there's NOT a logical explanation for this. It CAN'T be one of those same chairs, can it??

Music Monday - New Iron Maiden album

Iron Maiden's latest album, Senjutsu, was released on 3rd September! I'm digging it so far.

Yes, during my teen years I was a bit of a metalhead, surprise surprise. I still have a soft spot for a lot of the bands I listened to back in Ye Olde Days. Maiden is one of those bands that still fucking shreds as hard as they ever have. Click the album cover below to listen:

Forest Bathing

I got some much needed time outdoors in nature today. Today's hike was at Nolte State Park in Enumclaw, WA.

(Note: This park requires a Discover Pass for admission except on state park free days)

There is a definite chill in the air and it smells like autumn. The leaves are just starting to turn here, but it's obvious that summer has passed.

It was mostly overcast today into the late afternoon. Perfect conditions for a walk around the lake and to partake in some forest bathing, ..."the practice of immersing yourself in nature in a mindful way, using your senses to derive a whole range of benefits for your physical, mental, emotional, and social health." (source)

We were lucky, it was mostly quiet and hardly anyone else there, just a few folks out for an afternoon stroll, walking their dogs and whatnot. 

It had rained a bit earlier, so everything was damp, cool, and green in that pleasant Pacific Northwest kind of way. Quite a few slugs, snails, caterpillars, squirrels, birds, and other sweet creatures going about their business.

 

This park is home to some pretty impressively massive trees, too. Pics don't do much to give a sense of scale.

So many tiny treasures and details to discover along the way: ferns, moss, berries, spiderwebs, sunbeams, and other magic. And the calming scents of the forest and the earth hanging in the air.

Today's small adventure was good for my entire being, body, mind, & soul. I'm really stoked about this autumn and look forward to enjoying it as much as I possibly can.

I recommend this park for almost anyone, it's a beautiful quiet place that seems most visited by the locals. The hike around the lake is only about 1.4 miles with fairly even terrain and only a couple of hills, which aren't very steep. It looks like boating, fishing, and even swimming are other activities one might want to do here. There are quite a few benches along the way for peaceful pondering, and picnic tables & a couple of event spaces that can be reserved for a fee. 

Even the drive out here was pleasant, scenic and pretty. On the way home, the sun came out a bit so we were able to enjoy the Golden Hour from the road.

(All photos and content by Petrichor & Pumpkins/Nebulosus Severine/CMPauluh 2021)