Better late than never, the second part of my interview with My Friend Chris about his recent stay at the Villisca Murder House in Villisca, Iowa. If you haven’t read Part I, you’ll find it here.
Continue reading Halloween Hangover: Welcome To Murder House Part II
You know how some people get really excited to see the new Hallmark ornaments for Christmas or a new design of the crystal ball that drops in Times Square for New Years or even the new toys in the latest movie-themed Happy Meal? I feel the same way about waiting to see what the Today Show cast dresses up as for Halloween. Because it is always so degrading and yet they act like they are having the time of their lives. This year they had Matt Lauer dressed as… well, I think Clark Kent but the overall affect was more Inspector Gadget. His part was taped because he had to dash off to interview George W. Bush, the lamest of all excuses to miss Halloween.
Continue reading 12 Days of Halloween: Today Show Costume Crush
Happy Friday! Since I just watched the abomination that is the annual Today Show Halloween costume reveal, I thought I’d start out the weekend by sharing one of my favorite videos. Last year’s Today Show debacle with some naughty, costumed Ewoks. Oh, they also might be drunk. Enjoy!
What would a holiday be without a heartfelt story, even Halloween? So consider this the softer, gentler side of my “12 Days Of Halloween.”
I just (as in minutes ago) found out about a five-year-old named Aiden who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. His parents are trying to pay for his treatment and care and they’ve come up with a unique way to do it.
Aiden loves monsters and loves drawing them. So his parents set up an etsy shop called Aidan’s Monsters to sell prints of his monster drawings in order to fundraise for his medical bills. Yes, folks, this is the reality that we live in today.
So if you love monsters and love drawings of monsters (and, like me, maybe you have no kids to draw things for you that you can then put on your refrigerator or frame) and would like to help the cause, browse the shop for drawings of Gill-man, Wolf Man and Scary Clowns. Prints are $12 each and there seems to be a bit of a shipping backlog right now due to response. Which is a good thing!
If you’re not up for a monster drawing (or buttons! check them out), you can make a donation through the Aid For Aiden blog.
Want to see what I bought? Nosferatu (the best of all of them, in my humble opinion) and Scary Clown No. 2.
My friend Chris recently spent the night at the Villisca Axe Murder House in Villisca, Iowa. In 1912, somebody bludgeoned to death the entire family of Josiah Moore and two overnight guests. Two adults (the mom and dad), their four kids and two neighbor kids. After the bludgeoning, there was some axing for good measure.
No one was ever convicted of the murders, despite some prime suspects. You can read all about the crime on the house’s official website.
Here is Part 1 of Chris’s account of his stay in the house with two of his bestest friends and his sister. The house is operated as a kind of tourist/hotel destination. The cost to stay in the Murder House is now $400 per night. So, yes, the owners are making quite a bit of money from the place and they do have a vested interest in people remaining interested and scared. That being said, people do feel and experience strange things in the house.
Continue reading 12 Days of Halloween: Welcome To Murder House Part I
This doesn’t really need any commentary, unless you haven’t seen the original video (it follows below)… “You are really dumb, for real.”
(Photo by Stacie Joy on Gothamist)
It’s getting down to the wire for Halloween costumes and once, again, I have nothing planned.
With my love of clothes and thrifting, you would not think this would be the case. You would think I would have something easily in hand by October 1st. But you would be wrong.
Part of the reason for this is that I never have big plans for Halloween, ever. Much like New Year’s Eve, I take a “wait and see” attitude and then usually end up doing something along the lines of watching a movie while eating M&Ms.
I know, I’m cra-a-zy.
An ongoing list of brilliant Halloween activities that aren’t boring and don’t involve Valleyscare. Or haunted hay rides. And probably don’t involve drinking apple cider but hopefully do involve eating candy, popcorn, drinking beer or perhaps taking a tug of whiskey from a flask. Also, may involve costumes but probably not “sexy” costumes, like Sexy Nurse, Sexy CPA, Sexy Kitty, et al.
The Parkway Theater in Minneapolis is showing the original 3D print of Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) on October 29-31. This came out of the Universal vault, people, and if the Disney vault is any example, you know it’s hard to get shit out of there. All seats for all shows are $7.50. On Friday, Oct. 29 it screens at 9:55 p.m. On Saturday, Oct. 30 it screens at 2, 3:45 & 5:30. On Sunday, Oct. 31 it screens at 2, 3:45, 5:30, 7:30 and 9:15.
From today’s Star Tribune article about paranormal investigator Chad Lewis , here are his five top haunted places in the Twin Cities:
Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul: The vengeful spirit of a woman put to death continues to wander her final (un)resting place. [She said she wanted to be cremated and have her ashes scattered at Sea World, dammit.]
Landmark Center in St. Paul: Visitors to this historic site report that it is plagued by the ghost of an old gangster who still walks the building and makes himself known during weddings. [Who doesn’t like a party?]
First Avenue nightclub in Minneapolis: Visitors to this landmark building report seeing the ghost of a young woman who likes to frequent the women’s bathroom. [Really? She wants to be in there? Must really have to pee. Or do some more acid. “Holy shit! I can, like, totally see through my hands!” Or maybe it’s a ghost of a woman who committed suicide after that depressing Low Christmas show five years ago. I sort of lost my will to live after that, too.]
Wabasha Street Caves in St. Paul: Haunted by several victims of a card game gone awry. Others see the ghostly image off an old flapper girl roaming the caves. [ Still others see an old prospector with a pick and a sifting pan, Bette Davis and The Creeper from Scooby Doo.]
Forepaugh’s restaurant in St. Paul: The spirit of Joseph Forepaugh roams his former residence along with his former mistress, Molly, who met her fate in the home. [Hot ghost sex! Ghostie grab ass!]
As I flipped through City Pages yesterday I saw an ad for a shop called Eye Of Horus in Minneapolis. They were advertising, “Over 300 kinds of incense and sage,” which is cool. I mean, the incense part. There are times when one needs to get chill and burn some ‘cense!
But this whole sage thing has always puzzled me. I know some people who burned sage in every room of their house before they moved in. OK, whatever makes you feel good. I wish the people who had owned our house before us had cleaned out the garage before they left. Other people want to get rid of pesky spirits hanging around before they decide where to put the rug.
But the ad then showcases this: “a blend of sweetgrass, sage and cedar, now in a SMOKELESS SPRAY for a quick, easy energy-cleansing almost anywhere!”
You know, for all those times when burning a bundle of sage just isn’t practical.
Continue reading 12 Days Of Halloween: Spirit Cleansing To Go
It should.
Sometimes the most freaky, scary and disturbing stuff are the things that go on around us everyday. Like the stuff they put out there to “entertain” us. Exhibit A: 9-year-old Willow Smith (yeah, of that Smith family) and her new “song.”
I think the lyrics, other than the oft-repeated “I Whip My Hair Back And Forth,” are lines like, “Don’t tell me nothin’ cuz I don’t care. Just wanna have fun so let’s keep the party going.” Which party would that be? The apple juice party? The “Stick Jewels On Your Lips” party? The “I Just Peed In My Sleeping Bag” party?
If you can watch this entire video, congrats, you have been sufficiently numbed to pop culture. It really freaks me out, more than ghosts, witches and goblins. OK, except for one witch – Christine O’Donnell did not know that the U.S. Constitution separates church and state.