Pumpkin Pals

 Spotted at  Party @ Display & Costume over Labor Day weekend.

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.]

A busy October - Part 1

Last year, I was able to post just about every day, since, y'know, Covid. I didn't have anywhere to be (I work from home), and only went out occasionally. I didn't really have many autumn/Halloween plans.

This year's obviously different, and while it's not exactly back to normal (and what does "normal" even mean, anyway?), I've been pretty damned busy. This trip to Connecticut has been a whirlwind. Which is both good and not-so-good.

The not-so-good things were mainly tech issues, schedule conflicts, work miscommunications, and generally not enough time to do everything I wanted to do. I feel like I barely got to do anything despite being here for over 3 weeks. 

But the stuff I did get to do has been great. 

I got to spend the day in New Bedford & Fall River, MA where I toured the Whaling Museum and experienced a haunted house called the Factory of Terror. 

I had brunch with my Mom a couple of times.

I went for a few walks at some of my favorite spots.

 

Got to spend some quality time with one of my favorite beings.

 

 

Went to Spirit Halloween and Party City with my BFF

 Went to The Big E, for like, 5 minutes.

 

 

Went to a fantastic immersive theater experience, where Beetlejuice was our tour guide.

Celebrated my birthday with a hot buttered lobster roll and a visit to a local autumn craft fair. 

 

Saw about a zillion jack o'lanterns.

 

 

Put up some Halloween decorations.

 

 

Went to a local winery with some friends & fam.

 

Met a friend's new kitty.

Danced at my baby brother's wedding.

 

 

Drove around with the BFF to look at Halloween lights.

 

I leave Connecticut today to return to Washington state, where I will resume my October adventures. See you on the other side!

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!

2021 playlist cover art announcement

Yesterday, I announced that my 2021 Halloween mixtape is under construction, so today I figured I'd leak the album cover:

 👀👀👀

 

Home Depot Halloween 2021

YouTube knows me well enough that it recommended this video today, and I have to say - I am seriously impressed with Home Depot's animatronic offerings for Halloween for 2021. Here are some of my favorites --

 

This guy is 12 ft tall!

 

Home Depot really seem to be stepping up their game, and honestly these ones rival Spirit Halloween's stuff, which I've found has been pretty ho-hum over the past couple years. 

It looks like many of these are already back ordered! A lot of people are going to have pretty epic home haunts this year, I bet. 

Maybe someday, when I'm not living in an apartment, I will too. A ghoul can dream...

Preview video can be seen in full below!