Celebrating Halloween All Month Long

Is it possible to make every day of October spooky? Or will we crash from all the candy?

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 31. Out with a whimper...

When I first began this 31 Days of Halloween, my boss, Keith, asked me what we were going to do for the big day. Of course, this would be have to be the most epic, the grand finale of Halloween.

Instead, I went out with a whimper, not a bang.

The doctor said I would feel better by the next day, but I felt worse. I couldn't stay awake for more than 2 hours at a time. So what did I do to celebrate Halloween?

Yep, Tom and I watched SCREAM 2. And ate a shit ton of candy. Then I fell asleep.

I can't even begin to express how disappointed I was not to celebrate Halloween. Not to wear the costumes we spent so much time planning. And I felt even worse that Tom sacrificed his Halloween to stay in with me.  Maybe this is a lesson that one day of Halloween in one city is enough. Maybe I need to learn my limits. 

On the plus side, the 28 days we did celebrate were great. We did things we wouldn't normally do. We spent time with friends we don't get to see as much as we like. And we have the whole experience, day for day, recorded here for us to go back to.

So maybe it was worth it after all. 

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 30. Halloween Fail #2

As I mentioned in my last post, my day started with a trip to the doctor, who diagnosed me with bronchitis. He prescribed me several medications and a round of steroids. He told me my body was run down. I needed rest.

Turns out rest was all I could do. I lacked the energy for anything else. Tom's flight landed around 2pm that day and I wasn't sure I even had the energy to battle LA traffic to pick him up. But I did. After that, I didn't leave the apartment for five days. I ended up back at the doctor yesterday for a second round of steroids. Now I'm finally feeling better.

I suppose I can tell you now what Tom and I were going to go as for Halloween. The costumes we picked out that we didn't end up wearing. I told him to go out and party without me, but Tom stuck by my side. Our couple costume was Wreck It Ralph and Fix It Felix. I planned to be Ralph. Our group costume with Lisa and the gang was going to be ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK theme, with me as Pennsatucky and Tom as Piper's fiancee. 

I don't think we even watched a movie or ate any candy on the 30th. After I picked up Tom, I was so exhausted from the drive and the lack of sleep from the night before that I passed out upon returning home. 

And that was my day 30 of 31. 

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 29. Frightmare at Magic Castle

I fell behind again, but this time I can't say I managed to celebrate Halloween everyday. Just as I neared the end of my 31 day experiment, I collapsed. My body failed me. 

Or maybe, I failed my body. As the doctor later told me, I was run down. And thus was the end of Halloween.

But let me start where I left off.

As I mentioned previously, I had a cold. My friend, Lisa, invited me to the Magic Castle's Halloween celebration the Tuesday after I returned to Los Angeles. Lisa's boyfriend, Chris, takes classes there, so he got us an invitation to the exclusive magic venue. For Halloween, Magic Castle hosts FRIGHTMARE, a carnival themed magical experience. 

Since I was still fighting a cold, I used the hours leading up to that night to rest, hoping that would prevent my cold from getting worse. It didn't work.

I pulled last year's Oswin Oswald costume from my closet, even though I didn't have my trusty Doctor by my side, and met Lisa, Chris, Chris's parents, Amanda and some others at the Magic Castle at 8pm. 

In the lobby, a candy filled coffin greeted us. As Amanda and I stuffed our purses with Skittles and chocolate, a hand reached through the coffin and grabbed us by the wrists! We screamed and laughed, as we continued to fill our bag. 

After we left the lobby, I wasn't allowed to take anymore photos due to the Magic Castle's level of secrecy. 

We ate dinner before the main show and were waited on a man dressed as a ghoulish carnival worker. I stayed away from any alcohol, but I could feel the cold worsening despite my efforts. My head was in a fish bowl and it began to throb. It was hard to follow the conversation around me. I knew I getting worse, but damnit, this was the 31 Days of Halloween! Suck it up, woman!

Chris's parents kindly paid for dinner, then we went downstairs for the main show. We still had half an hour, so we went to the basement to watch some card tricks. We watched the close up illusionist and Lisa made requests until he literally shoo-ed us away to the main show.

I'm a big fan of comedy and magic mingling, and the main show did just that. Two odd-couple brothers, the elder a dry, sarcastic one-man performer, and the younger an energetic goofball with a sexy assistant, performed "seances," slight of hand, and mind-boggling box tricks. Usually, I can figure out how a magician pulls of their trick, but I still don't know the answer to their box tricks. Magic, I suppose?

By the end of the show, my discomfort was so high I excused myself as Lisa and the gang headed to the next show. At home, I hoped to rest off the cold before tomorrow, but the pain was so great that I ended up marathoning BROADCHURCH all night. I went to the doctor first thing in the morning and discovered I had bronchitis.

Two days away from the end of Halloween and it was over for me.  

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 28. Chocolate Spider Cookies

Wanting to stay in and fight my cold, I decided to do a Halloween craft. I remembered Target having some pretty decent craft kits, like the Haunted Cookie House. So I braved LA rush hour traffic and picked up this:

As I mentioned before, I hate baking. Unfortunately, this craft required a lot of it. Like whisking and shit. I was pretty-sort of-sure that I owned an electric mixer... possibly.

Sure enough, I found the box for the electric mixer. It was missing one thing: the beaters.

I hate baking.

I mixed the cookie dough, milk and eggs by hand, then set it aside in the fridge while the oven preheated. As I hand-mixed the frosting, I scoured my cabinets for another mixing bowl. Since I rarely bake, I never remember where I keep that stuff.

By the time I found another mixing bowl, my shirt was covered in powdered sugar from hand mixing the frosting. And what was inside that mixing bowl I found? An electric mixer complete with beaters.

Sigh.

I used it to finish off the frosting. With the oven preheated, I distributed the cookie batter on the baking sheets. The box said I could bake 24 cookies, but I opted for 16 instead. I didn't know what I was going to do with eight cookie spiders, let alone twelve.

I let them bake for ten minutes, then set them aside to cool.

Next, I smothered the frosting between the cookies. The frosting is very, very sweet. Too sweet to eat, IMO.

I used scissors to cut the licorice strands into 8 tiny legs.

Then added the eyeballs and PRESTO!

Chocolate Spider Cookies. 

Now I just need Tom to come home and try one...

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 27. Monsters University and Scream

After our Halloween fail the day before, I woke up Sunday morning with a cold. It was also raining outside. And I was leaving Tom to return to LA alone. Talk about a dreary morning. 

Of course, the reason I had to fly back early was a good one. Erica and I had an important interview Monday morning. It was still sad to leave Houston when I just arrived. 

After popping some Tylenol Cold & Sinus and lots of vitamins (I was determined to get well before our interview, or at the very least, not get worse), Tom and I grabbed lunch with his dad. Then, they dropped me at the airport. 

I knew it would be a movie day as far as Halloween stuff went, since I was sick and needed to prepare for Monday. I packed a few movies to bring on the plane, but it turned out I didn't need to. Because they showed a new-ish movie I still hadn't seen:

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie. It wasn't as funny as MONSTERS, INC., but it was more endearing. I may have also related to the short guy that had to work really, really hard to make his dream a reality. 

Since I didn't know if MONSTERS UNIVERSITY counted as Halloween exactly (despite being about Monsters), I spent the evening watching my favorite Halloween movie:

SCREAM is my favorite because it successfully satirizes the horror movie genre while still being scary. It's a nice mix of humor and scares. After all these years, it still holds up.

Now it's Day 28 of Halloween and I'm still not sure what to do. Tom isn't back until Wednesday and I'm still sick. Since I'm hoping to get better by Thursday (for Day 31 and other reasons), I'll probably keep it low-key. I just don't want to do another movie night. 

First world problems, I know. 

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 26. Halloween Fail.

It happened. We didn't celebrate Halloween. And we were so close to the finish line!

After the party crashing adventure, Tom woke up feeling worse than he had the day before thanks to lack of sleep and excessive drinking while already sick. We ate an early breakfast with his mom, then she drove us to his aunt's place to visit her and the cousins. After, she, Tom, his youngest cousin and I travelled to the Four Seasons downtown. Yep, it was the day of the wedding.

After we checked in, Tom and I ate lunch with his mom and little cousin at the Hard Rock Cafe. We hoped to attend Boo at the Zoo, but it seemed like Tom and I were the only ones interested. After a failed attempt to visit the aquarium, we ended up at Hard Rock and ate. Well, everyone ate but Tom, who was still too sick. 

The wedding started at 6. By the time we returned to the hotel, there was just enough time to get ready. Also, I didn't want to force the Halloween issue with a sick boo. 

Most of the wedding attendees stayed at the Four Seasons, just a mile from the wedding venue. Tom and I met up with his friend Chris and we travelled to the wedding together. 

The wedding was beautiful. The ceremony took place outdoors and the reception was inside a library. Two of Tom's friends brew their own beer, which was served. Their red IPA was so good that I wish I could purchase it in stores, but at the moment their operation is only from their garage. 

Anyway, the wedding celebration went very late. It was fun, but we never found the time to celebrate Halloween. The closest we got was a candy table at the reception:

It's a bummer to make it 26 days out of 31 and fail. I questioned whether it was worth it to keep going, since we couldn't achieve the 31 days in October. But, I decided to keep truckin'. Mostly because I can't let go of things. But also because I love Halloween.

And I still have Dias de Los Muertos in November! 

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 25. Houston Party Crashers.

We woke up early Friday morning. It was time to fly to Texas! When we landed in Houston that afternoon, we still had no clue WHAT we were doing for Halloween, or HOW we'd get there. Unlike our Florida stay, we had no car. So we'd have to rely on other people to drive us.

Unfortunately, Houston is very spread out and our first hotel wasn't near any of Tom's friends. Tom had found a haunted forest in Houston, but we'd need to rely on his friends, Brian and Genevieve, to drive us. Two problems:

1. They lived an hour from our hotel

2. The forest was then another 45 minute drive

3. Genevieve is not a fan of haunted things (totally understandable)

Our odds of going were not good. Luckily, Genevieve was nearby(ish) getting dinner with her parents, so she picked us up from the hotel and drove us to their place downtown. 

Brian was still at an improv show when we got there, so we drank some pumpkin ale while we formed a plan. Tom's friend, Sanjay, was at a Halloween party hosted by his friends at law school. They had exclusively rented a bar called Lucky's Pub. Sanjay told us there was NO WAY we could get in because it was law school only and we didn't have costumes.

Luckily, Brian arrived and unveiled his costume closet. Yes.

Costume. Closet.

With that, we suited up to crash the party. 

We took a cab to the bar. We knew we were in the right place when we saw a line of costumed people waiting out front. We hopped in line like we belonged and handed our IDs to the bouncers once we got to the door. He pointed us to the direction of a wooden table, where law students waited to get drink tickets and sign in. "Check in there," he said.

We smiled and nodded, but stealthily walked past the crowded table and into the bar. 

At the bar patio in the back, we ran into Sanjay and his fiancee, Melissa. Melissa looked adorable as a Grecian lady. Sanjay looked hilarious in a green body suit with the words "Hakuna Matata" plastered on the front. He seemed surprised we got in. It seems everyone else paid a $100 cover.

:shrug:

That's how we roll. 

Tom wasn't feeling great, so we stayed off the dance floor. Instead, we occupied ourselves with a drinking game called "slutty costume." Anytime we saw a girl in a "slutty ____" costume we drank. There was a catch, of course. The costume couldn't be slutty itself, it had to be a slutty version of something. For example, Poison Ivy is a slutty costume, but it's not worthy of a drink because her outfit IS slutty. Another example: one girl wore a Statue of Liberty costume that showed some leg. Even though it was less slutty than the Poison Ivy costume, it earned a drink, because it was a sluttier VERSION of the Statue of Liberty. It's all about changing the intent of the costume. A thing that is not inherently or intended to be slutty becomes slutty for Halloween. Costumes that night include:

1. slutty Orange is the New Black

2. slutty cop

3. slutty Mary Poppins

4. slutty panda, as seen here:

Near the end of the night, we even scored some free drink tickets (although, Houston drink prices compared to LA drink prices already seem free). This party was successfully crashed. We even got in some time on the dance floor.

Brian and Genevieve then drove us all the way back to our hotel at the end of the night, because they are very kind people. 

We never made it to the haunted forest, but this law school Halloween party was way better. Sometimes, it's great when things don't go according to plan. 

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 24. Halloween Costumes at the Lake Mary Historical Society

Growing up in Greater Orlando, I didn't spend much time in the town of Lake Mary. If someone told me ten years ago I'd take my boyfriend, Tom, to the Lake Mary Historical exhibit, I would have said, "What's that? Who's Tom?"

But that's where I found myself on Oct 24. I'd read about the Lake Mary Ghost Walks, but we'd just missed the dates. Instead, we settled for some "Costumes and Memorabilia from the 1920s and 1930s" at the Lake Mary Historical Museum.

We arrived a half hour before closing. The museum was a one room house, formerly a rec center before the town was modernized. Only two people were in the building and one was on the way out. The remaining person ran the museum (we later learned her name is Sue... or something like that). I worried that she'd resent us coming in so late, when she could have closed shop early. 

We signed the guest book when we entered. Sue immediately perked up upon realizing we were from Los Angeles. Clearly, she didn't meet many "city folk." She seemed flattered that people from the big city stopped by her small museum. So, she gave us a personal and informative tour.

We learned the history of Lake Mary, how the town got its name (after some dude's third or fourth wife), when it was incorporated, etc. But the interesting part was the thing we came to see:

The costumes.

Those clown costumes were worn by the family who established the museum. They date back to the 1920s. Dude, do they look creepy. I mean, look at this kid:

This is the oldest costume, a pirate which dates to the 1880s:

These were recently found in a trunk. I have a feeling it was used for Thanksgiving school plays rather than Halloween:

 And here's a few more things on display:

There's something perverted happening here and I can't look away:

The exhibit was small but impressive. A great, low key evening to the raging from the night prior. 

That's thanks, mostly, to the museum lady, Sue.

(... I think that's her name.)

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 23. Orlando Zombie Ball @ Firestone

Day 23 definitely tops anything we've done so far.

When researching Halloween things in Orlando, I came across a Halloween party at Firestone called Zombie Ball. I immediately knew we'd attend. 

In college, Firestone was THE club in downtown Orlando to party. This two-story club featured great music, cheap drinks and a fun vibe lacking in pretension. I didn't know if the atmosphere had changed since I moved to LA, but for nostalgia purposes I was willing to risk it.

Plus, we got free tickets.

The party was costume mandatory with a prize for best costume. While Tom and I put a lot of thought into our Halloween costumes, we had no intention of traveling them across the country. We figured we'd piecemeal something together from my parent's house.

Kim, on the other hand, was determined to win the costume contest. She spent a lot of time replicating her:

(That's Michonne from WALKING DEAD, for those that don't know... like me.)

Aaron complimented her outfit by dressing like a zombie hunter. All together, we looked pretty fierce:

I know, I know. My costume is the SEXIEST lion you've ever seen. 

Oh, you thought I was a bear? So did everyone else.

Firestone offered free drinks from 8p-9p, so we arrived shortly after 8. We were surprised to find a long line that wrapped around the corner. Turns out, there was a haunted maze everyone had to go through before entering the venue. Small groups were sent in intervals. The maze was presented by the Petrified Forest, which we attended the Saturday before. I expected something terrifying, because employees at the venue distributed these warnings while we waited in line:

I've only heard of waivers distributed before mazes where the scare-ers can touch you. I fully anticipated some goblin to jump from a dark corner and shake me like a baby in those "Never Never Never Shake a Baby" ads.

It didn't happen. Once we entered the club, we were lead upstairs into a room with a green laser light that obstructed our view of the floor. Green vines clung to the ceiling in an attempt to emulate a swamp. Despite their efforts, the swamp scare-ers were clearly visible under the fog and laser light. Still, I screamed when they jumped at me because I didn't want to be a party pooper. No one likes party poopers. I also appreciated the effort. How many clubs offer a maze?

The maze dumped us on the overcrowded outside patio. The free drinks were served at a small bar in the center, forcing me through a wall of people to get to. The inside bar was closed for some reason, until the impending fire hazard grew and the good people at Firestone FINALLY opened the door. Tom and I beelined to the opposite end of the club so we could escape the zombie throng and sip on Halloween themed beverages:

I recommend the Zombie Punch.  

When I turned to the dance floor, I was happy to discover Firestone still knows how to through a party. Overhead, gymnasts hung from ribbons.

Fire dancers and fire eaters performed on the main stage, where a DJ spun music.

At one point, a flash mob broke out to Thriller and the Monster Mash. We danced, drank and posed for photos with our favorite costumes.

Sadly, Kim did not win the costume competition, but we did get our photos in the Orlando Weekly. We're so famous!!

We left around 11, because Kim had to work the next day. Tom, Aaron and I continued to party at Independent Bar. At 2am, as we rode a pedicab back to our cars, I got a potentially life-changing call from Erica. Life-changing in a good way, not a bad way. But it meant I had to be back in LA by Sunday. My trip to Texas would be cut short. At the very least, I could still attend Tom's friend's wedding.

All in all, Day 23 of Halloween was a night to remember. 

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 22. Corpse Bride

I am soooo far behind on my posts. And sick. Last time I posted, I thought I'd catch up...

HAHAHAHAHAHA

Didn't happen. Clearly. So now, I'm going to post almost a week's worth of posts in one sitting. 

Here

I 

Go:

Day 22.

It was a Tuesday. Tom and I began our day by eating lunch with my Nana. She's Cuban, so I hoped she'd recommend some baller Cuban restaurant in the area. Instead, we went to a Mexican restaurant called Tijuana Flats. 

:shrug:

Tijuana Flats was founded by a UCF grad and started with one location in Winter Park. Now it's a small chain in Orlando. You can probably buy their "Smack My Ass and Call Me Sally" hot sauce at your grocery store. And I do suggest you buy it. It's tasty.

Anyway, lunch led to a stop at Nana's, then a drop by my mother's (who quickly put Tom to work hanging things in the house), then a trip to Winter Park to meet up with my friends Rebecca.

By the end of the day, we were exhausted. We intended to watch for the Oviedo Lights that night, but it was 45 minutes in the opposite direction. Did I mention we were exhausted?

We decided to go home and watch:

Tom found the DVD in the $5 bin at Walmart. He'd never seen it. I saw it years ago at the midnight showing at AMC Citywalk. My friend, Ana, and I were the only ones in the theater NOT dressed like a zombie attending a wedding. I didn't mention to Tom that I think the movie is boring because 

1. I wanted him to form his own opinion 

and

2. Maybe it would be better the second time around. 

It wasn't. Tom agreed. 

That was our lackluster 22 Day of Halloween. I wish we'd seen the Oviedo Lights. 

Now, on to Day 23. 

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 21. Carrie and Cocktails

Only two days behind on my posts! Woo hoo!

Maybe I can catch up. 

Monday morning we woke up bright and early to go to Islands of Adventure. It's the only park out here with a Harry Potter world and Jurassic Park themed island. Tom made his decision with the word "dinosaur." 

After a day of wizards, butterbeer, dinos, Dudley Do-Right and Dr. Suess, we walked over to City Walk to see...

CARRIE.

Our timing was perfect, having arrived 5 minutes before the movie was scheduled to start. Even better was that the AMC City Walk had a bar with "Carrie" themed cocktails:

I ordered the Telekinesis and Tom drank the Pigs Blood. And we got City Walk souvenir glasses which will probably gather dust in the closet of my brother's town home for the next five plus years. 

Now, neither Tom or I have read the books, but I've seen the original "Carrie" with Sissy Spacek. I hate it. I think that movie is so boring and didn't live up to all the hype. That's how Tom felt about this adaptation. I, on the other hand, enjoyed it. Sure, it has it's flaws. It's hard to believe Chloe Moretz's Carrie is a social outcast. It's also a bit of a stretch that the kids at her school are that cruel to her, when she's done nothing to them. The movie still isn't scary, but since I knew what to expect, I wasn't disappointed. To me, it was more entertaining than the 1970s version. It's like "Mean Girls" with human slaughter. 

If you live in Orlando and like "Mean Girls," pigs blood and themed cocktails, see "Carrie" at the AMC City Walk.

If you don't like any of these things, then see... something else? 

:shrug:

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 20. Finger Food with Mama

Okay, I bought myself a few minutes before meeting with the fam. 

I'll make this quick.

On Sunday, my brother held a BBQ at his place for the family. Tom and I decided to make some Halloween themed "finger" food using this recipe and this recipe. My brother was recently diagnosed with diabetes, so we kept it healthy, sans sugar. 

First, we stopped at the Walmart Neighborhood Market to purchase the ingredients.

We subbed the jelly and chocolate chips with peanut butter and raisins:

And used almond slices instead of green peppers, because, why the hell not?

The cheese fingers were the biggest hit with the parents, until the hamburgers, grilled shrimp and hot dogs stole the show.

While we prepared the snacks, we watched the movie "Mama." None of us had seen it.

A few thoughts about the film:

1. Jamie Lannister mysteriously regrew his hand and he has a twin brother! Cersei will be happily surprised.

2. It's not very scary but still enjoyable.

3. Jessica Chastain's wig was clearly a wig. Better hairdresser, please!

4. The ending is weird. What's with the butterfly??

Our day 20 was pretty low-key, but organically incorporated into the day's events. That makes it a success!

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 19. Haunted Laser Tag at The Petrified Forest

Three days behind. Yikes! I hate slacking, but I haven't found the time to write and the time to spend with my Florida friends and family. 

Thankfully, I have found the time for Halloween!

On Saturday night, Tom and I picked up my friends Kim and Aaron from Kim's place downtown. I've known Aaron (AJ) since fourth grade, when I was the new kid in town and he had an eye tooth (that's when I learned about eye teeth). 

Kim and I became friends in high school, when the three of us competed in acting competitions as Thespian Troupe 4564.

Yea, we were cool. And we still are.

After college, Kim roomed with me in Los Angeles for about a year, before returning to Orlando. She and Aaron had never met Tom. What's a better way to make friends than a laser maze?

Altamonte hosts a Petrified Forest  with laser tag, laser maze, and scare trail. The laser tag and laser maze were the cheapest at $7. The description of the laser maze was such:

"All NEW this year! Attempt to retrieve stolen artifacts for the Museum of Mayhem. As you enter into a secret vault, laser beams are waiting you to trip up and set off the alarms. Gather all the items on your list without breaking one of the beams, bring them out safely, and you win!"

Weary of typical haunted mazes, Tom and I imagined an Indiana Jones-esque maze, with booby traps and a haunted relic to retrieve. But, instead of something like this:

We got this:

Yep. 

I couldn't pick up the lasers on my camera, but they're there. Basically, we were brought back into a small room with lasers criss-crossing it. The Petrified Forest worker read three items off a list that, one at a time, we find to find in three minutes without touching the lasers. If we crossed the beam, the worker buzzed a doorbell and we had to start from the beginning. Each person had to find three different items. Kim made a record by finding her three items in 30 seconds (she'd make an excellent cat burglar). 

Despite reality not meeting our expectations, we had fun. I think that has more to do with the company than the event, though.

After, the three of us grabbed a drink at Redlight Redlight. Tom ordered a Pizza Beer, which tasted like pizza flavored Goldfish (read = disgusting). Then Tom and I went to Eden Bar. 

Now, I must go help my Nana and mother with a few things. Hopefully, I can update Day 20 later today.

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 18. Florida bound with Tales From The Crypt.

The morning after our Last Bookstore event, my alarm buzzed me awake at 7am with a bad hangover and the taste of lingering garlic. I wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but I had shit to do. That shit was flying to Florida.

Our flight didn't depart until 1:45, but I had to drive my hungover self to UPS in Chinatown and pick up my costume pieces I'd ordered off Amazon. It seems the delivery guy couldn't get into our building. But before I could leave, I had to finish packing. And wake up an even more desperately hungover Tomek, who needed to do laundry.

I'm gonna skip all the boring details of my UPS adventure, but we arrived at the airport at noon. While we waited in line to check our bags, Tom asked, "So what's our activity today?" We really only had one option: scary movie.

I brought two in my backpack:

When I relayed my movie choices to Tom, he asked, "Do you really want to watch Final Destination on an airplane??"

Oh shit. Good point. No, I do not. 

Luckily, the plane streamed live TV, so we watched a couple episodes of Ghost Hunters instead. That show is stupid. 

Tom felt he same way about "Tales From The Crypt," which I can understand even though I enjoyed it. The tone was all over the place, unsure if it wanted to be comedic, dramatic or scary. There were three short films on the DVD and each was too long. I'm not sure if it's a sign of the time, with my generation used to YouTube length videos, not 15 minute shorts. That said, the cast was amazing, with Kirk Douglas, Erik Douglas, Dan Akroyd, John Lithgow and Humphrey Bogart (sort of). 

The shorts were "All Through The Night," "Yellow," and "You, Murderer." "All Through the Night" was our favorite. I have to give "You, Murderer" a mention because of it's POV filming and overall campiness. Oh, and for Humphrey Bogart (sort of). Tom didn't like that one.

You'll have to watch and decide for yourself. 

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 17. Spooky Storytelling at The Last Bookstore

Sorry this is so late. On Friday, we travelled to Orlando (which was a hectic day). I attempted to blog Saturday morning, but Tumblr was down. I didn't have time the rest of the day, being it was the first day with the Orlando fam. 

So now it's Sunday, almost 2pm Orlando time and I'm writing about last Thursday in LA. 

This past week was a real challenge to find Halloween activities. After much browsing online, I discovered that The Last Bookstore in downtown LA was hosting a Spooky Storytelling event. One of the readers was the voice of this guy:

So at 6pm on Thursday, Jeremy, Tom and I rode the metro to Pershing Square for story time. We arrived a half hour early, so we sampled some beer at Buzz across the street. 

I recommend the Cigar City Gentleman's Club. If you can find it. Seems they only brewed a limited number of bottles.

After we were appropriately "buzzed," (cue sad trombone) we entered The Last Bookstore:

This place is breathtaking.

Formerly a bank, the vaults are still in tact. 

On the second floor is the Labyrinth, an appropriately named fantastical maze of books.

We returned downstairs for the main event: Spooky Storytelling! Each speaker had no more than 5 minutes to tell his/her story. Speakers read shorts by other novelists, excerpts from their own novels or sang Halloween songs. The best was Jeffrey Wylie who read Ray Bradbury's "The October Game."

Overall the whole event was...

Very boring. 

After the fourth speaker, we decided to leave. We calculated that the Oogie Boogie would be on at 9, so we planned to come back then. So we went to a bar next door for a drink. And we drank. A lot. 

My friend TJ joined us and Tom ran into his friend there. Just as we headed out the door to return to the show, Jeremy ordered a round of shots for us all. We never made it out the door.

(Except for Jeremy, who somehow snuck past us and saw the Oogie Boogie guy. I think it was a set up.)

What started as our most boring Halloween activity ended as our most drunken so far. I tasted my first pickleback, caught up with a good friend, argued about Defamer (that's a story for another time) and ate french fries covered in garlic.

But I didn't meet the voice of Oogie Boogie. 

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 16. The Nightmare Before Christmas at the El Capitan.

I was especially excited for this event. Every October, El Capitan shows "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in "spine tingling" 4D. No, time doesn't stop. Not that kind of 4D. This isn't Doctor Who.

The Walt Disney Company owns El Capitan. It's two train stops away, in the center of Hollywood: the dirty, tourist trap we call Hollywood and Highland. 

The El Capitan opened in the 1920s as a theater for stage plays. "Citizen Kane" premiered there and after that, it became a movie theater. The building changed ownership and names multiple times over the years, until Disney purchased and refurbished it in the late '80s, returning it to the El Capitan.

And there's your history lesson for the day. 

I've seen "Nightmare" at El Cap before, but this was extra special for a number of reasons:

1. It's the 20th anniversary. Don't you feel old?

2. This time, we got VIP tickets. Better seats, a drink and a specialty tub of popcorn (which I kept).

3. Tom and Lisa haven't seen "Nightmare" at El Cap.

4. In fact, this was Lisa's first time at the theater! I popped her El Capitan cherry. 

El Capitan is a beautiful piece of architecture and Disney plus-ed it for the film:

The movie experience was very interactive, with on-screen commands to clap, bark like Zero and scream. Ghosts flew up the walls, electricity bolts zapped, Christmas lights twinkled and snow fell from the ceiling. 

There was only one downside. Before the film began, a cast member (that's the name for Disney employees) told the audience there may be footage from the q&a the day before. We tried to get tickets to that, but they were sold out, so the possibility of seeing some footage was exciting. Weirdly, the footage was never shown and it wasn't mentioned again. 

We took our broken hearts downstairs to the museum. It was the same exhibit I'd seen two years before, but I'm still impressed by how large the set pieces are:

They're taller than me! Then again, most things are.

Tonight we're attending a scary story-telling at The Last Bookstore. The voice of Ooogie Boogie is supposed to read. With "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and Oogie Boogie ghosts stories, it's a boo-tiful send off to Florida.

Speaking of which, I really need to pack. 

[thirtyonedaysofhalloween]

Halloween: Day 15. Bonfire and Scary Stories

Honestly, yesterday's activity was a last minute go-to. Originally, we planned a haunted laser-tag zombie hunt at Hollywood Park, only to discover that's only on weekends. Clearly, that didn't work with us leaving town Friday. In fact, there wasn't much Halloween related going-ons this past Tuesday. We finally settled on a picnic at the Hollywood Murder Mansion. 

Then Tuesday morning arrived. As we started our day, Tom's mother called to say his aunt just arrived in Lake Arrowhead. Tom's mom and sister just got a lake-view home. We knew his aunt would arrive first to open up the place, but we didn't know it would be that day. So we changed plans and headed north to help her settle in.

I'd never been to Lake Arrowhead and I was surprised by a few things:

1. Twin Peaks is real!!

2. It's known as "The Rim of the World," which just made me think of RJs.

3. It's freaking beautiful. 

I love love love the house where his family is staying. It's huge, with a breathtaking view and cathedral ceilings perfect for a giant Christmas tree. After we moved a few things in, Tom and I went into town to grab lunch while his aunt waited for the cable guy.

And of course, we found pumpkins:

Large pumpkins next to small pumpkins:

Inflatable pumpkins:

Happy pumpkins:

And sad pumpkins:

After we moved his aunt's things inside, we drove back to Los Angeles. It was 5pm by the time we got home and we needed to meet with James to give him our extra keys. He's cat sitting while we're away. So yea, we didn't have much time left in the day for Halloween. 

Good thing all the spooky stuff happens at night! 

Tom suggested we go to Dockweiler Beach, build a bonfire and tell scary stories. The perfect Halloween after dark activity. I downloaded a book of short stories cuz who has the time to write their own?

At the beach, Tom built the fire:

I captured fire spirits:

So scared!

Then we took turns reading stories by fire/iPad light:

At one point, we realized we were the only two left on the beach. The other fires were extinguished, except ours. All we could hear were are own voices and the waves. And maybe... sea ghosts??

Maybe not. But it was still creepy.

Not a bad night for something thrown together last minute. Not bad at all.