The Rules.

The Rules of Halloween. 

DO not break them, or the spirits will get VERY angry.

#1 Wear a Costume

#2 Hand out TREATS

#3 Never, Ever, Blow out a Jack-O-Lantern

#4 Always check your candy.

Halloween Eve

The sun is slowly setting on my lovely home of Sin City as I write, and the smell of pumpkin is extremely strong in my house. Next to me is a wastebasket half filled with pumpkin guts from the 9 pumpkins I've gutted so far (7 are mine) and two more of my friends pumpkins sit on the porch waiting for the violence to come.

Protip: Walmart sold this pumpkin gutter drill bit for about 6 bucks, and it does a majority of the work in a quarter the time: blasted through the three largest pumpkins in about an hour, and the other 6 took an hour and a half total. Put that on your Day-After-Halloween shopping list. 

The dining room smells heavily of clover and cinnamon, and Witch Jars sit awaiting tea-lights.
Tonight I will carve, and sip sparkling Pumpkin Apple cider from Fresh N' Easy, and watch some old Vincent Price movies, some new Tim Burton Movies, and listen to lovely music such as the track from the video above. I will put the finishing touches on the display pre-setup, and on my costume pieces. I will prepare the treat bags for my few TOTs, Light Candles, and enjoy the holiday I'm known for.

I will post a few more times tonight, with pictures, and music, and other wonderful-ness, but tomorrow, might be barren and quiet. Or I'll be sharing everything under the sun.
Check Up with us tomorrow for a list of required viewing, a reminder of the rules, The reveal of the Hunter that most influenced this years display and their herb bottle in my HoF, and the first pictures of my display.

Now If you will excuse me, I hove more pumpkins to gut.

What Does Halloween Smell Like?

Found on Flickr, Image by Chris & Lara Pawluk

Clove, Cinnamon, Amber, Sandalwood, Patchouli, and Frankincense with a little of the dying flowery sweetness of Nag Champa.

Then add in the wonderful scent of candy, screams in the cold night, sweat, and burning jack-o-lantern.

Can I get that in a perfume?

PLEASE?

The Rejects

The benefit of pumpkin shopping 4 days before Halloween: The rejects are the only ones left. 

We got more freaks this year: warty, green, mis-shapen. 

And we have our monster: a 28 lb pumpkin. 

It does not have a name yet.

This is a light year, and we have 7 pumpkins. 

*sigh* We never do anything small.

Halloween Prep continues

Working on a Bunting and my Costume today.
Cheshire Cat has kind of been my totem for the past year, so I'm using him as Inspiration this year.
You know you are a nerd when you buy prosthetic pieces and are FORCED by sheer artistic integrity to "fix" them. I bought these really cheap pointed ear tips, and they are built to simply be placed over your ears: they look like S***. SO I am cutting them down, cleaning up and thinning the edges, and giving them a light coating of boa feathers to give them a furry feel.
All while working on Halloween.
I am SUCH a geek.

Halloween

Watching the Original masterpiece tonight on AMC with "Story Notes". 

Love it.

One Week.

On getting called pretty by a demonic Ring Master: Haunted Overload 2011

I got out of Haunted Overload about an hour ago, and the smile won't let up off my face. I immediately jumped on the bed here at the comfort inn in Dover and grabbed the lappy to make this post. 

I only took these photos in the front area of Haunted Overload, just because I wanted to respect the establishment, BUT show that yes,  Mr. and Mrs. Strublay was there tonight. 

It was wonderful, everything was hand made, there was not an over zealous glut of scare attempts, all the pumpkins were lit by real candles (the scent of which was delightful)  the coloring was wonderful, and the SOUNDS. OMG THE SOUNDS.

I had the husband stop the rental as we sat in the parking lot area, the screams filled the night, along with a rock-ish track and a couple of chain saws. In one area the sounds of growls made the scare, in another children and little girls laughing upped the creep factor.

I have never been so happy or impressed in my life. I want to do it again. Seriously.

There is this one section of the Haunt where you walk in to this really demented big top, and above you is a ring master. The ring master was screaming down at the girls two groups ahead that her UGG's are the dumbest shoes on earth and are UGLY. The next moment he noticed me and said (yelled? croaked?) sweetly, "Come in pretty one!" 

I was honestly flattered.

They got me a few minutes later, a pop out actor got me with a yell. It was one of two jumps I had through out the night (which is incredible: I have a tendency to be unshakable. My husband hid behind me.) 

Tomorrow is my last day in the North East, we are headed to Salem, MA. Then back to my home in Sin City, where my Halloween will take shape. I have a lot to do, and in one week!

10 days until the High Holiday!!!!

Where skeletons dance by the light of the moon.

Well our trip is almost at an end, and I am quickly getting in to the hard-core Halloween spirit. I've decided to share some of my un-edited images with all of you to keep you all entertained until the images from my Halloween display start filtering out this coming week. 

We had a bit of shop displays in Alexandria, nothing in DC, and nothing in Manhattan, and we did not stop enough in the residential areas of Brooklyn or Staten Island to get any photos. Now Mr. Strublay and I are in Lexington MA. 

The Rain yesterday made getting here miserable. How do you north-easterners DEAL with it? GAH!

Tomorrow night, the real fun begins. Haunted Overload baby, doing it, and doing it tomorrow night.  So freaking excited. 

Stay tuned, I might post a bit more tonight.

Finding this place was a nice surprise, the bucky in the window made me smile.

Miss Kitty here was cleaning herself, and did not wish to be disturbed. 

my favorite: freak pumpkins.

Alexandria, Virginia

Is a lovely little city. We're staying in the heart of Old Town, and I'm going out in the next day or so to get some pictures, but pumpkins are on a tonne of porches, and a few places are splendidly decked out for Halloween already. This a wonderful time of year to be here. They also have this apothecary museum... totally going there between the Smithsonian's....

Scary day

I'm cleaning *OVERLY DRAMATIC SCREAM HERE* after staying up all night to reset my clock too non-nocturnal time. Rough task.
Anyway I just wanted to write, because I got my Calling Cards in!

Image by Strublay

Picked them up from Vista Print, the free 200 thing they had going, It was the only design I even remotely liked, but I think it could have been better. They are good as a starter set of calling cards, to be used when we drive around the country and find something worthy of capturing for the blog. 

Also plugged Halloween Forum, cause I like them. 

Anyway, happy 150th post, and I hope you all have a great night!

I finally saw it!

Saw it on A&E this evening finally. Totally awesome.

The Costume Maker

Names of the family members have been withheld at the behest of their relatives.
Statement by Justin H. for the Clark County Sheriffs office, November 2010.

"Well I called (the mother) after work, around 6:30p, and asked her if she wanted to go out to get a drink. She declined as she had work to on her children's Halloween costumes before they got home from their Nana's house. She invited me to come over for some coffee and keep her company while she sewed. When I arrived at the condo, she let me in and we sat at her kitchen table sipping coffee and talked about the NIT funding crisis. She sat across from me hand-sewing a black cat costume for her littlest. The condo felt strange, a little oppressive. It might have been the storms outside, but it felt... different. Like something dark was in the house. It was markedly uncomfortable. I left around 8, just before the kids got home. I didn't know it would be the last time I, or anyone outside the family, saw her."

 Image by Strublay

 Image by Strublay

 Image by Strublay

Image by Strublay

 Image by Strublay

 Image by Strublay

 Image by Strublay

 Image by Strublay

 Image by Strublay

 Image by Strublay

Finally! I knew that a rainy day was coming, so I decided to wait until it came.
I hope you enjoy.

This story is a work of fiction, any similarities to actual events is purely coincidental. 
Clark County Sheriff and NIT are fictional entities.

Antiques from the Pit

Went out to a local Antique Mall today with Mr. Strublay, we were searching through the shops for anything awesomely creepy and old worthy of my haunt this year. We did not find anything of interest, except this single case filled with antique Halloween Masks and Vintage decor. Masks ranging from the 1940's through 1980's. Paper lanterns and "cooky" cutters from the 40's, and finally the most interesting item: a paper cat from 1937. I'm torn if I should purchase such a thing. Can I safely store it? I left the antique mall with nothing but some photographs for you. Enjoy.

Ps, totally posted this from Mr. Strublay's iCrack. Thank you blogger or making posting much easier for me.

Image by Strublay

Image by Strublay

Image by Strublay

Image by Strublay

Image by Strublay

What a Lovely night...

For haunting. It's raining off and on, there's lightning, and the occasional thunder. Welcome fall, I missed you.

Old Packaging

So, of course, the photo shoot is certainly not an easy venture, so I'm taking a bit more time than I originally intended. I'm a detail nut. 

Anyway! 

Look a can!

Found on Flickr, Image by Roadsidepictures

In my search for all things vintage Halloween I found this. It's a 1960's Licorice flavored soda. 

Epic! 

I love the typeface used, and the witch herself is really Witch Hazel-y to me... 

Love it.

13000??

I will hit 13000 views tonight. Mother of Pumpkin! That's a lot of clicks! I think, to celebrate, I'm going to do a random photo shoot.
Give me a few days, I have a lot to set up.

I think I'm in love

Image by Syfy Channel, Image taken from ghosttvblogs.com, found through Google.

I watched the show last week, I watched the show this week.

I am so hooked.

I don't care if its real or fake, this kind of beautiful storytelling is something I adore and is something I wish I could see more often.

It's so good Mr. Strublay is hooked too! Mr. Idontbelieveanyofthat was totally sitting forward on the bed watching this. It was epic to see. I'm in such an awesome mood right now because of this show. It's surreal.

I love this show. I love it. It comes out on DVD I'll own it. 

SO FREAKING GOOD.... 

Neo-retro?

Image by Strublay

Found this cool thing at Target, decided I had to have it and for around 4 bucks I think it was a good deal. Against the turquoise of my Kitchen wall it looks awesome... Might go pick up another to round the wall out... or my old paper skele will take up residence on the other side... 

I love the simplicity of it. Three colors, classic theme... its a better example of the neo-retro theme that's been going around lately.

Neo-retro? Retro Renaissance? Modern 50's? *shrug* what ever... I'm seeing a lot of new takes on older objects.

Totally just happened.

Image by Strublay

FINALLY!! 

I squee'd upon finding it.

I hate and love Target all at the same time.

The Goldfield Hotel

According to most legends of old-time Nevada, the Goldfield hotel in Goldfield Nevada is one of the most haunted spots in the state.  Opened in 1908, the Goldfield Hotel was the most spectacular hotel between San Francisco and Chicago, with 154 rooms, an elevator, crystal chandeliers, electric lighting, telephones, mahogany trim, and leather seating. Then the city of Goldfield died with the end of the short-lived Nevada gold rush and with it the last remnants of the splendor the hotel could have been. For 50 years now, the building has lain dormant, an abandoned shell of a building in the midst of the Nevada wasteland. It looms grimly over the other buildings in the town, the 4 story brick building dwarfing everything else within a good hundred miles.
The tales of the haunting are endless, and the legends surrounding the giant building never have truly added up. In 2004, a trio of UNLV film students and Ghost Hunters under the name Ghost Adventures created a documentary here that involved flying objects in the basement (including bricks), noises, and more. TAPS has visited the location, as have several other well publicized crews.
We visited the Goldfield hotel on our way up to Boise, and found that the fences that had been up 3 years ago have been taken down. The town was silent, and the hotel was in shadow. Talk about creepy.

Image by Strublay

Image by Strublay

Image by Strublay

Image by Strublay

Image by Strublay