It's beginning to look a lot like --

 Not sure why, but that Halloween Feeling hasn't been hitting me as intensely this year -- which is why I haven't been updating this blog or my Instagram much. 

That didn't stop me from feeling absolutely delighted about exploring the selection I found at Nordstrom Rack this weekend, however:

I bought the fuzzy skull blanket -- I mean, who needs yet another Halloween-themed blankie? Me, that's who.

It seems like they were just beginning to put stuff out. Lots of fun bed & bath related decor.

Have you or any of your family ever seen a spook, spectre, or ghost?

I gotta be honest. I haven't seen it yet, but I have mixed feelings about Ghostbusters: Afterlife.  I loved the original film, but didn't care much for the others, not even Ghostbusters II, which I know has its devotees. 

Still, it was great to watch Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson reunite for this interview on Jimmy Fallon:

 I mean, I'll definitely watch this one and hope I will be pleasantly surprised. I suppose that means I ought to re-watch Ghostbusters II again, since it's been quite a few years since I last saw it.

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.

The best Beetlejuice t-shirt ever??

I will be attending a Beetlejuice-themed immersive theater event in a few weeks called The Netherworld Experience at the Curioporium in Hartford, CT. Beetlejuice has been one of my top favorite films since I first saw it on the big screen eons ago and I wanted to find a fitting shirt to wear for the evening. I searched and searched thru many many different styles on different online merchants and finally, I saw this and knew this was THE one I had to have, by NerdChamber on Etsy:

 
Click on the pic above to watch a movie clip!

Spirit 2021

I paid my first visit of the season to Spirit Halloween over the weekend. I didn't go at all in 2020 so I was really looking forward to it. 

 

 

As with so many Halloween retail locations around here, it's obvious they are lacking in stock. Lots of half-empty and sparse displays. Perhaps even more disappointing, hardly any of the animatronics were on display, maybe only 5 or 6. And of those that were out, some weren't even fully operational. There were several very conspicuously empty spots where more were supposed to be. 

 

From all the hype I had been seeing and hearing elsewhere online about Spirit's 2021 offerings, I was really bummed that so much of it was not available at the store I visited. Underwhelming. I don't know why our area is getting so screwed in regard to Halloween shipments this year. 

 

This ghost was pretty rad, though - genuinely spooky voice.

 

I'm pretty tired of the psycho clown thing for Halloween, but I like neon stuff so this guy gets a pass.

 

They had some pretty cool home decor type stuff this year, but I'm honestly getting tired of the oversaturation of licensed characters and franchises. I mean, I LOVE Beetlejuice, etc. but part of the reason I've been so drawn to the Halloween and horror aesthetic is that it is, or was, more subversive and off the beaten path of mainstream culture. Now a lot of it has, literally, become Disney-fied, and that doesn't sit well with me. I loathe the idea of Halloween becoming too watered down and "family-friendly". But, that's an entirely different conversation.

One thing I did love at Spirit this year, however, is the "Pumpkin Carv-O-Matic Factory" display - I consider this to be one of the most fun displays they've had in years.

I didn't end up buying anything except for a couple of "bleeding" black taper candles. I'll be visiting another Spirit in a few weeks when I go back to Connecticut for awhile, it will be interesting to compare the two stores.

Kohl's and Daiso Halloween 2021

I ran a few errands yesterday near the local mall. I stopped in at Kohl's to make a return and decided to see if they had any Halloweenie decor. These three pics pretty much show the extent of what I found, other than greeting cards, candles, and a couple of books andthings for kids, nothing worth noting.

 

The vintage Halloween look is a hit this year, and Kohl's is on the bandwagon. I liked these a lot, but we live in a small apartment and alas I have to limit my purchases.

I liked the wooden pumpkin face too but decided to pass for the time being. I did, however, get the grey blanket (middle row) with the costumed-kitty faces. I get a new Halloween blanket almost every year, I think.

 

After concluding my business at Kohl's, I decided to drive by the Daiso (everything there is mostly between $1.50 - $10, kinda like a Japanese Five Below) to see if they had any Halloween things out (their storefront is visible from the street), and sure enough I saw some orange so I went in. 

 Again, not too much out yet, some wall hangings and garlands. Lots of empty display space. The person working there said there would likely be a bit more in a couple of weeks. Sigh.

I did buy the witch-hatted jacko (above pic, on the left), and I am happy to report that its plastic frame glows in the dark.

 

 

And that's about all! Not sure if I will be back this season.

Ghost Towns of Washington state

Tonight I attended a virtual event hosted on YouTube by Pretty Gritty Tours, a Tacoma, WA area travel & tour guide organization. 

This presentation featured some of Washington state's many ghost towns, with lots of historical info, photos, video, and tourist tips. Some are more well-known and still function as towns with people living there (like Roslyn WA, which is best known to some as a central filming location for the 1990s TV series, Northern Exposure), and some have almost completely crumbled with time, long abandoned. In all, there can be found the beauty in decay, intriguing artifacts, quietude, and varying degrees of spookiness. 

I really enjoyed this video and I'm looking forward to future Pretty Gritty events!

Favorite childhood books - Spooky Tricks

Spooky Tricks is a magic book for kids with a Halloween/ghostly theme.

  

    Inside its pages are easy-to-make projects for illusions and tricks using common household items.

    The illustrations are great and I love the green and purple color scheme. This book is a little yellowed now, so the original print has faded a bit and the green is not as vibrant. 

There have been other editions of this book with different illustrations, but this one is my favorite.

Old ghosts

Flashback Friday / Storytime:

    
    During a recent visit to see friends & family in Connecticut, my mother showed me this old picture from our family home's front yard, circa mid to late 1990s.

    The old "ghosts circling a tree" thing was kind of a new Halloween decor idea then, and we loved it so we did our own version. We spent nothing to make these, just used old household junk: broken broom handles & busted tent stakes for the ghost bases; grocery store plastic bags stuffed with old newspapers for the heads, and old sheets for their flowy bodies. We joined their "hands" together with safety pins.

    Sadly, the ghosts kept disappearing from our front yard. First, one went missing, than another. We had no idea why anyone would want to vandalize or steal decorations that were made up of old junk and weren't worth anything.


    We liked to wonder, did the ghosts disappear by themselves, back to their ethereal realms...?

    I guess we will never know for sure... 👻👻👻⠀