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.