Happy Halloween 2021!

Today is it, the high holiday. I had a low-key day, and while it wasn't the most exciting Halloween I've ever had, I pretty much got what I most needed: I got a little dressed up, spent some time outside walking thru leaf piles, then had pizza and watched a movie (Night of the Demons) and lit some electric candles for my ancestors. Might read some Tarot later.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! HAPPY SAMHAIN!

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

A busy October - part 2

 It's Cabbage Night -- the 30th of October, also known as Devil's Night, Mischief Night, or simply Halloween Eve. The post-Halloween funk is already creeping up on me. Despite all the stuff I got to do this year, especially compared to last year, I should feel super grateful -- and I do, I absolutely do. 

But, as every year, it seems like there is just never enough time to do all the things I want. And social media is a both good and bad for me, in that I get to see so many other people's Halloween experiences, projects, costumes, and events, while also suffering a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out).

I don't have a home that I can really decorate the way I'd like -- I live in a small apartment. We don't get trick-or-treaters here. I definitely can't do a home haunt. I've been so busy with various life things that I haven't even had a chance to carve a pumpkin yet.

But here are a few more cool things that happened this month:

-- My BFF, who I just spent 3 weeks with visiting in Connecticut, came out to WA to visit me! 

-- We paid a visit to Champion Party Supply in Seattle, an old-school party store that has tons of great Halloween stuff, semi-vintage and new:

 

-- We spent a little time exploring the small town of Wilkeson WA, which is rumored to be haunted. I'd been there before without knowing its reputation, which I learned about recently via a Pretty Gritty Tours video, and it definitely gave me the creeps even then.

 

 

(Click this link to watch a video by Pretty Gritty Tours about Wilkeson and another creepy Washington town, Bucoda) 

-- We went, on a very rainy weeknight, to Fright Factory, a haunted house in Buckley, WA. My partner and I went several years ago, but my BFF had never been so we decided to go again and drag her along. 

 

The main takeaways from this year's experience: 

1.) Weeknights will get you in the door quickly, especially when it's raining, but there won't be nearly as many actors. 2.) The actors, both this year and a few years ago, were overall top notch. 3.) The sets are creative and aesthetically pleasing, though a few seemed a bit lacking in lighting in areas that seemed like there should be more actors; wondering if those are different on busy nights? 4.) There are a lot of animatronics used pretty strategically that help make up for missing live actors. 5.) This haunt is LOUD. Lots of jump-scares based on sound alone. Might want to bring some ear plugs for this one if you're sensitive to loud sounds. Their use of music was a great touch though, I loved it. 6.) The final room was a maze, and got a little confusing. The room became a bit bottle-necked because people (including us) kept second-guessing the exit, which lead outside to seemingly nowhere, making us all wonder if we'd gone through an emergency exit. A slightly exasperated evil clown finally just told us that was it. Wish there had been even a simple sign saying "thank you for visiting" or something to indicate that it was the end of the haunt.

**Unfortunately, we had two minor injuries during our visit. An animatronic in the ceiling in one scene extended too low, and smacked my partner in the head, leaving a slight mark. This should not have happened, either the animatronic should have been up higher in the ceiling out of the way of customers' heads, or the area should have been blocked off to prevent this from happening. Also, on our way out, an actor with a chainsaw ran at my friend and didn't back off quickly enough, thus bumping her slightly, which left a slight bump/red mark where his chainsaw came in contact; when it happened, he muttered angrily and openly blamed her (???). My partner, my BFF, and I more or less shrugged off these incidents, realizing that they were just minor accidents, while at the same time acknowledging that someone could have been more seriously injured. Never in all my time of going to haunted attractions has something like this ever happened, and they should never happen in a haunt, pro or not. Although there's lots to like about Fright Factory, I'm not sure I'll ever go again because of this, which is a serious bummer. 

-- We paid a visit to the annual Dia de los Muertos exhibit at the Tacoma Art Museum, a beautiful and somber display featuring a massive sand painting, and an entire room full of community and personal ancestor altars, including ones dedicated to missing and murdered First Nations women and children.

 -- And, today, we finally got some sun after days and days of rain. 

 

Stay tuned for my Halloween 2021 wrap-up.

Tales From the Darkside - Trick or Treat

For some people, it's watching It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. For others, it's the Halloween film series, or A Nightmare Before Christmas. Every Halloween and horror enthusiast has their own favorite must-watch content that they simply have to see every October. For me, it's the pilot episode of Tales From the Darkside, a horror anthology series that aired in the US in the 1980s.

There are lots of great episodes of this show, but none can compare to this one, the pilot called Trick or Treat. It aired on 29 October 1983, about year before the series was actually picked up by CBS. From the Talesfromthedarkside wiki page:  

Gideon Hackles is an elderly miser who keeps the residents of his rural town mired in debt. As part of an annual Halloween "tradition", Gideon invites local trick-or-treaters to explore his house to search for their parents' hidden IOUs. The children who find the papers will have their parents' debts cancelled.

 Although it is filmed primarily indoors, the episode evokes vivid setting: a haunted rural countryside of barren fields and run-down old barns (things I saw a lot as a kid who grew up in New England) populated with poor farmers who are down on their luck. The haunt props in Gideon Hackles' home are clearly his own ingenious inventions, and some of his creations are truly creepy. Dude knows how to scare the crap out of kids. #goals 

Between the general spooky, claustrophobic mood of this film, and the cool haunted house contraptions, this short film was instrumental in solidifying my love of Halloween and home haunts.

I won't give away too much, but while there is that level of campy-ness commonly found in TV horror from the early 80s, there's also some great costume design and cinematography crammed into this 20+ minute feature.

Some fun facts: It was co-written by George Romero; it stars Barnard Hughes (who you might recognize as Grandpa from movie The Lost Boys); it includes an appearance by Max Wright (the dad from ALF); there is a rumor that the pirate laugh was provided by Tim Curry, although thus far I can't find any evidence to confirm.

The Internet Archive has the whole episode to watch below --

*** This version of the episode unfortunately does not have the original score. My guess is that this video was sourced from the DVD release of Tales From the Darkside, which changed some of the original scores used in the show. It's still a great episode and worth watching, but it's kinda like those editions of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark that replaced the iconic artwork by Stephen Gammell with illustrations by Brett Helquist - just ain't the same.

I like my pumpkins black, like I like my metal

When a Facebook friend posted a picture of a black pumpkin labeled as a rare heirloom variety, I was skeptical. Pfffft -- Photoshopped, I thought. But then, I had to look it up, and - THEY DO EXIST! This one's called Dark Knight (not to be confused with a Batman-themed jack o'lantern) .

(image source: https://www.kitchengardenseeds.com/pumpkin-dark-knight.html)

They're really more of a very dark green, but wow! They're fantastic. And this particular pumpkin isn't the only dark-hued variety. This article on the site Home for the Harvest has compiled a list of heirloom pumpkins with dark skins, including this striking variety (and continuing the Batman theme), the Batwing pumpkin:

 

 (image source: https://www.harrisseeds.com/products/12338-pumpkin-batwing-mix?variant=35441581228104BliOnm9gXXMIKoJoQ=s1247)

This one might be familiar - the kabocha, found pretty commonly in grocery stores, also called kabocha squash or Japanese pumpkin, another dark-green, almost black variety. They make fantastic eating, too; the texture of their cooked innards is more akin to a sweet potato.

(image source: https://www.westcoastseeds.com/products/kurinishiki-mini-kabocha)

The kabocha pumpkin is also beloved by superstar Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama, who has featured the pumpkin as a recurring theme in her works many times during her career, including one of her infinity mirror room installations titled All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins (2016). (Same, Ms. Kusama -- same.)

(image source: https://publicdelivery.org/yayoi-kusama-pumpkins/)

I don't have much of a green thumb, but if I had my own house & yard, I wouldn't mind taking a stab at growing some of these amazing looking pumpkins. Maybe someday!

Full Hunter's Moon

 The Full Hunter's Moon occurs today, Wednesday, 20th October, 2021 at 10:57 am EST.

Click the pic below for the seasonally appropriate new track by Ghost, was featured on the film soundtrack for Halloween Kills.

 

 

(Source photos: 1, 2)

Memories of Elm Knoll Farm

 Elm Knoll Farm, Somers, Connecticut, circa mid-2000s:
Memories of my favorite pumpkin patch ever.

 

Back in the 1990s til the mid-2000s or so, Elm Knoll Farm was THE area pumpkin patch destination. 

 

Everything essential to the feeling of autumn and Halloween in New England was concentrated here in rural Somers, CT in the month of October every year. 

 

This place has everything...

 

Here is a list of some of the things I loved most about Elm Knoll, with photos I took over the years:

1.) Pumpkins and gourds (obviously) -- you could choose your pumpkin from pre-picked ones, or take the hayride out to the fields to pick your own right from the vines. I always opted for the latter, which was a fairly long ride out to the scenic hills and fields.

 

 

2.) Hayrides -- The best kind where the benches are made of hay bales, and the floor is scattered with loose hay, in a rickety old wagon.

3.) A corn maze -- and acres and acres of golden cornstalks drying out in the shady autumn sun.

4.) Gorgeous views --  of the rolling hills, fields of wildflowers, and spooky forests at the edges of the farm, the perfect way to enjoy a brisk, overcast, moody autumn day.

5.) Farm animals --  geese, chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats, pigs, and puppies.

6.) Weekend entertainment -- which usually included live music, a kids' magician, and a mulled cider & hot chocolate stand.

7.) Scarecrows and other Halloween structures -- made out of cornstalks, hay, and wood; probably designed for children, but delightful to adults, too.

8.) Overgrown and dilapidated old stuff -- crumbling buildings, seemingly abandoned farm equipment, and various other signs of rural decay that make the countryside spooky AF.

 

 
9.) And: A fantastic haunted hayride on weekend nights in October. 

Picture this: A hayride through the aforementioned spooky rural woods, on the aforementioned rickety trailer full of sweet-smelling hay, which takes you to various spooky scenes along the journey. Best of all: the entire trail is lined on either side with carved, lit jack o'lanterns, literally miles of them. The moon is out, and you're huddled up with your friends, laughing and enjoying the whole sensory spectacle of the whole thing.

 

One of the most vivid and precious Halloween memories I have is of being on that hayride sometime in the mid to late 1990s, on a night when the moon was full or nearly so, dark clouds partially obscuring the moonlight as they passed, and the warm glow of jack o'lanterns all along the way; the smell of the hay and the forest, of earth and decaying leaves, of night air and fire and pumpkin guts. The props and scares were all home-made, as I recall; simple and effective. And, the farm itself already felt seriously haunted to begin with, day or night.

 

How I wish I had photos of those times I went. Those was pre-mobile phone days, and I didn't usually carry a camera. It would have been too dark then to capture anything well enough to do it any justice. Most of it was hidden away in the woods, but here and there around the farm, hints of it were visible, like this facade that was the official entrance to the haunted forest:

This haunt is on my top all-time favorite Halloween attractions: I rate it 10/10 Jackos.

[🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃]

The Demise of Elm Knoll

It seems as though things of this nature never last, and Elm Knoll was no exception. The haunted hayrides stopped sometime in the late 1990s, if I remember right. I imagine it must have been too much work and not enough people to do it. I can't even imagine how much it must have taken just to carve all those hundreds and hundreds of jack o'lanterns for the hayride path -- and to light them every night, on top of that! 

 

Around 2006, the elderly owner of Elm Knoll sold off the Somers property to his son, a sad and heartbreaking ending to the legacy of this wonderful place. You can read about it here, in an article from about 12 years ago, but fair warning: it's pretty dismal, with accounts of animal neglect, etc.

 

A farm by the name of Elm Knoll still exists, but on different land. It spent some time at a spot in Enfield, CT for a few years, and is currently located in Stafford Springs, CT. I have no idea how these iterations of Elm Knoll were/are connected to the old farm, and I haven't been to either location. They might be perfectly nice places, but I doubt they could ever compare to the sheer Halloween greatness that once existed at the old location.

[All photos and content by Petrichor & Pumpkins/ Nebulosus Severine/ CMPauluh, with the exception of the Stefon picture. Do not reuse without permission & credit.]