Well Gang....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Once the final bell tolls at midnight tonight, it shall becken all the shadows to dissapear, all the undead to return to their graves and all the ghosts and goblins to slink back to whatever netherworld they originate from. The passageway between the worlds of the living and the dead shall close for yet another year. We get another eleven month reprieve until the end of September comes once again to usher in the season of the dead and another wonderful, magical and creepy Halloween season. I can't friggin wait!!!

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"Be Spiderwebbed and glazed in frost,
She wears death beautifully.
More stunning now than in her life,
On a bed of autumn leaves.
Into her eyes and quite surprised,
I whisper, 'Don't you leave.'
Sing macabre songs and we'll dance 'till dawn,
On All Hallow's Eve."
From Type-O-Negative's, "All Hallow's Eve" from the "World Coming Down" CD.

Nursing a cold.... OF THE DEAD!

I have to drop a line here and mention that I had one of the best Halloween times that I've had all season yesterday! Went over to my sister's and brother-in-law's yesterday and helped set up a little graveyard haunt for their neighborhood's Trick-or-Treat.

What they do is the neighborhood association chooses about three to four streets that are in a row and then close them off to traffic so that neighborhood kids can Trick-or-Treat safely and at night, like the good old days.

The weather was pefect, not too cold, yet not unseasonably warm. And the tree colors were at their peak with more than enough on the ground to help cover up our light up cadaver coming up from the grave.

It turned out to be a real festive atmosphere as a huge amount of families and kids tore around the streets scaring eachother, getting candy and enjoying the many Halloween decorations that a lot of the homes put up. Our graveyard wasn't huge, but it had a heck of a lot of detail put into it.

On top of that my bro-in-law dressed as the grim reaper and would scare a lot of the kids and parents alike. He pulled the ol', patented "stand in the yard pretending to be a maniquin until people come close enough and then spook 'em" trick. It worked quite well. I think there was only one lady who was being a bit of a party pooper about it and gave him a dirty look and mumbled something under her breath. Yo, beeeeeeeeeoooootch! It's Halloween! Lighten the frell up or stay at home and sulk! If you don't have the Halloween spirit, you have no spirit at all! That's my motto!

After the Trick-or-Treat escapades, we ajourned inside to eat drink and be merry and now I'm paying for it today with a touch of a cold and a slight spec of indigestion (you don't wanna use my bathroom for a while, trust me.)

Well, I'm off to watch some TV and have a little breakfast. Enjoy the rest of your Halloween season!!!

P.S. Don't forget about what comes out on DVD this Tuesday!

P.P.S. This just in! Sad news for die hard Star Wars fans as news of character actor, William Hootkin's passing hits the net. Porkins will live forever!!

Zangz.

The End is Nigh...

Here we are in what is sadly the last week of the season of the dead (aka: Halloween season). We only have a few more days to see the oddities and mysterious happenings that suround us in the month of October.

That pumpkin carving party I attended Sunday night went fine even though there was a constant, cold and chilly rain that evening. We still managed to carve up quite a small colection of orange colored characters. Someone even gave one of their pumpkins a carved mullet, official hair style of all NASCAR fans worldwide.

I'm also almost done with both the books I've been reading for the last six months, so expect a review on both of them soon!

I know this has been a quicky blog. So as not to leave you utterly disapointed, here's another edition of.....

ZANGZ'S BLOG OF GEEKDOM'S WEBSITE OF THE MOMENT:

Milwaukee TV History Hosts of Horror

This website is not only spooky fun, it's also informational. Here you can find out anything you'd want to know about the local horror flick movie hosts from both the past and present. The one I remember watching as a kid was Shock Theater's TooLoose NoNeck who came on every Saturday afternoon (when there was no sports on) right after Saturday morning cartoons. He would show old black and white horror movies that were mostly Japanese Godzilla flicks and other movies that had giant monsters in them. At least those are the ones I remember him showing. Now we have Dr. Destruction's Crimson Theater on access cable. The Doctor knows his stuff and it's obvious he's a big fan of classic horror movies.

That's all for today. If you haven't yet, make sure you do something to celebrate the holiday. Even if it's just carving a Jack-O-Lantern and putting it in your window.

Talk to you all before the holiday is over.

Zangz.

Enter The Darkness....

The light rain finally stops pattering against the car's windshield. The dark skies start to open up revealing a golden, orange sunset symbolizing a chance for hope. Yet, there is one portion of the skies that not only stay clouded, they also seem to be getting even darker as we drive closer to them. They seem to mark our destination. A place simply known as The Darkness.

The night blacks out any remaining reminant of sunset or hope as the drive seems to drag. The curve filled, hilly back country road seems to be endless. Through quaint small towns, passing abandoned gas stations we grow ever so closer to The Darkness.

There is an old legend tied to this ungodly place that revolves around a being known as The Angel of Death, a once loving woman who lost everything and vowed revenge. We did not know if this was true or not, but we were evidently going to find out.

We finally reach the location of The Darkness. We park our car and follow the path of torches that light the way to what appears to be a large crypt-like structure. The door is open and we slowly enter. An old hag ushers us in and welcomes us into this plane of existence where the would of the living meets the land of the dead. She points us on our way down the dark, musty stone passageway. Sounds of screams and wails come from the passageway in the direction we are forced to head. There is no other way out.

Upon our travels within The Darkness we saw things and beings that man was not meant to see. The dead roamed freely and thousands of corpses reached out for us to join them in eternal damnation. We finally found our way out of the realms of the dead and we were finally able to breath in the fresh night air. We survived the night in The Darkness, but we are sure that many that have ventured in are still trapped there, perhaps for an eternity.

So we then went out for a beer...

But seriously folks, last night I was able to muster up three of my friends and drag them down to a local haunted attraction known as The Angel of Death's Darkness. A few of us went to this one last year and both years it's been pretty good. It has a very gothic / crypt-like theme. This year they changed some things around to not be too repetitive from last year. It took about 15 minutes to go through. Could have a been a bit longer. The actors and actresses were really into their roles and kept in character throughout our whole visit. The tableaus and sets were pretty much the same as last year, but when you run a pre-made haunt (The Darkness was built and created by hauntrepener, Leonard Pickle, founder and creator of Haunted Attraction magazine. It was then sold to the people who run The Darkness.) it can be very hard to differentiate the look and feel from year to year. There were some darn good scares though! I know I jumped more than once.

The only thing that really bothered me was the whole "pre-show". After you got your ticket, you went into this in-the-round auditorium (the haunt was located on a small fair grounds). In the center was a stage with huge manequin of these very cool demonic creatures. But, they didn't do anything, they just stood there. There was a guy in a doctor's outfit announcing what groups of patrons could move on into the haunt. I don't know why he was in a doctor's outfit and what role he played in the whole Darkness motif, but he more than once told the same lame joke within a 15 minute period. Outside of being very organized in leading people into the wait area and out to the Haunt, I didn't see the point in this character. Now if you had a spooky looking ghoul telling patrons the legend of The Angel of Death and The Darkness, that would make sense!!! Aiding the doctor in "rousing" the crowd was... a vampire? No. A creepy ghoul? No. Something really spooky that would have really made patrons nervous and building up their fear prior to going into the Haunt? No. It was a friggin' clown. And not a creepy one at that. It was one of those annoying "Yuk, Yuk" clowns. She spooked some people, but annoyed most of us. So the whole preshow antics weren't at all creepy or scary (with the exception of the two demonic figures that just stood on the stage doing nothing), but were kind of uncomfortable. It was the kind of discomfort you feel when you watch a stand up comedian bomb live on stage.

All in all, The Darkness was definitely a quality Haunt with a few big scares, but at the same time, may not be able to grow or change that much from year to year. And the preshow / wait was really not in the same vein as the haunt. Even though I made it to only one haunt this year, I'm still glad some friends caved in and came with me.

Looks like the Packers are currently frelling up the field over in Minnesota. The Pack had the lead for most of the game and are now handing it over to the Vikings. Way to go Pack, way to go!

I did get to go hike at that nature preserve I like going to every fall. The colors were beautiful!

Well, I'm done for today. This upcoming week I'll be looking forward to helping my brother-in-law put together a little graveyard tableau for the Trick-or-Treaters. Tonight I'm going to a pumpkin carving party. See ya.

Zangz.

What makes a good, Haunt, Zangz?

I'm glad you asked! I'm a big Haunted Attraction fan and enthusiest and I've been to quite a few of these macabre events the last decade or two of past Halloweens in my time. I've seen both "INCREDIBLE!" and "Jeez, is that all there is?"

I'm not going to make this a big critique on various local haunts, but, I will tell you what I've been most impressed with and what was a big let down (not naming any names, just examples).

Here are some things that I look for in a Haunt.....

• The duration of the attraction being more than 10 to 15 minutes to go through. At least 20, for crissakes! And I mean at VERY LEAST!!!!!
  
• Some really good sets, motifs and themes that give me the willies. I want to get the feeling that I'm somewhat transported from nomal, mundane life and smack-dab in the middle of some place quite foreboding.
• Great actors portraying the creeps and ghouls inhabiting the Haunt.
• Some excellent effects, whether pneumatic or hydrolic. I love to be caught off guard and jump out of my skin as a mechanical corpse pops out from behind a gravestone.
• A "kick-A" facade to the front of the attraction certainly doesn't hurt. It gives off that scence of dread that rippens us patrons and gets us mentally right where the haunters want us, in a state of worry.
• A Haunt with a cool back story can be really cool, yet not really required. But it does help with that whole sence of forboding us patrons need before we go in.

Those are some of the things I like about my favorite haunts of past and present, and I've rarely been let down. However, here are some of the reasons I have been let down....

• The quickie "Let's make a quick buck." haunts that take less than 10 minutes to go through. If I'm paying under $5 to get in, it's not that big of an issue. If I'm paying around $10 or over, then I'm chessed!
• Moderate to lame actors working in the haunt (usually uninspired teeny-boppers that have all the fear factor of a ingrown toe nail).
• The Haunt that hardly has any sets or tableaus and relies heavily on pitch black mazes for patrons to waddle thier way through. I'm not paying to be blinded! If they want to have a few dark mazes throughout the Haunt, fine. Just give me an equal amount of scares that I can see and gawk at and enjoy!

Now you may want to ask, "Zangz, what are some of the most incredible Haunts you've gone to and/or heard of?"

Well, the one I talked about in a recent past blog, Terror on Rural Street (that's sadly clossed this season) is my personal favorite. It's been very rare that I've been more impressed with another Haunt. TORS has always been the one Iv'e rated others against. Every year I was more than impressed! They knew how to make old effects new again and always had a cool facade and tableaus in it! Hope it's back next year!

I visited the Bear Den Haunted Woods and Trail for the first time last year and was blown away. The fact that it's a mixture of wooded trail and spooky, musty shacks that you have to traverse through while freaky zombies and inbread mad men pop out at every turn make it quite frightning. The hearse ride to the actual trail is a nice touch too. Hopefuly it'll be dry enough for us to go tomorrow night. But it looks like rain and we may have to change our plans to an indoor Haunt.

A group used to revamp the historical Pabst Mansion every Halloween and recreate it as a haunted attraction. Not a lot of special effects, but loads of props and victorian embiance really helped this Haunt out. The place has a built in creepiness to it since it is a old, Victorian mansion to begin with. They put this together for quite a few years back in the late 80's/early 90's, but they stopped with the haunted attraction years ago and in its place have a special Victorian funeral exhibit there durring Halloween season. It's pretty creepy.

Of course I gotta put a shout out to Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion! If it weren't for the success of this Haunt, I'm not sure if many others would exist. Thoug,t it's a ride and not a walkthrough and there are no live actors in it, just a meriad of animatronics, it's still has a wonderful charm to it. I do have to tuck away one of my rules of a "good Haunt" as it only takes 7 to 8 minutes to ride through. There's boat-loads to see in that 8 minutes, though.

Now, here are a few that I've only heard of or visited on the web that sound absolutley phenominal! Frack, I'd love to visit these!!!!!!!

Years and years ago I saw a news snippet on TV about one out of state Haunt that had a theme of a chemical spill at a millitary base that turned everybody into zombies. The whole Haunt was set up in these man made tunnels and bunkers. It also had a crashed helicopter at the entrance that spewed up smoke and fire. I guess the local fire department was getting called every 5 minutes from passengers driving by on the freeway. Now that's over the top!! Wish I knew where it was and what it was called. I doubt that it's still open.

There's one in Texas called Thrillvainia which is not one but a few Haunts at a haunted theme park. This park has a whole story behind it involving the vampyric owner of the land Baron Verdun and his Verdun Manor. There's the haunted house, haunted maze, haunted trail and haunted magic shows all ready to spook the frell out of visitors. Sadly, the creator of the Haunt passed away a few years ago, but it looks as though the Haunt still goes on!

Every October Universal Studios Theme Parks in both Florida and California revamp their entire parks at night and put on Halloween Horror Nights. Every year is a new theme and as you walk through the parks many undead and evil creatures come after you live and in person. There's usually at least 7 to 10 increadibly impressive Haunted Attractions to go through also. Let's hope hurricane Wilma doesn't defunct the whole Orlando shindig! Beeooootch!

As for others, my mind is drawing a blank right now. Perhaps I'll regale you with more of Haunts I like to, or want to visit before the Halloween season is over. Let's hope I can get to a Haunt tomorrow night so I can have my local Haunt fix for the year. Fer cryin' out loud, I went to 8 of them last year! I'm friggin' due!!!

Zangz.

Still in that Halloween Mood

The last couple of days have proven to be quite busy! But, I'm still into that whole Halloween season vibe. The whole atmosphere of this past weekend was quite magical. The temperature was very comfortable, the wind was strong enough to blow the leaves out of the trees so they would slowly fall to the ground and the moon blazed over the night's sky illuminating odd shadows that would seemingly creep about the neighborhood. Wonderfully eerie.

I also got a visit from my good buddy, Goof. I bought him some lunch and we enjoyed the colors of the trees and some darn fine conversation. More on him later.

I'm still working on getting a group of fellow haunt enthusiasts to join me in a trip to a local haunted attraction. We may visit the best one we went to last year, The Bear Den Haunted Woods. The title is kinda lame, but the show they put on last year was phenomenal! Whether it was iintended or not, it had a real Texas Chainsaw Massaqacre feel to it. It was a mixture of hiking through a wooded area illuminated by bon fires and wandering our way through rustic dark shacks with plenty of undead surprises popping up from time to time. We'll see what the weather brings this weekend. We may have to make an alternative trip if it rains. Stay tuned.

Back to Goof. You all have him to thank for this install ment of...

ZANGZ'S BLOG OF GEEKDOM'S WEBSITE OF THE MOMENT

EXTREME PUMPKINS
I don't usually have my Website of the Moment feature in back-to-back blogs due to possible sensory overload for some of you (admit it, this is way too much excitement to handle). But, my buddy, Goof, sent this link to me and I found it not only seasonal, but amusing as well. So if you've run out of ideas for your Jack-O-Lantern, look no further. I'm sure you'll be inspired by those on display on this website!

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Now on to the geek stuff.....

My friend, Goof, found offense at the fact that I didn't mention the fact that the late Star Trek actor, James "Scotty" Doohan, will be having his ashes sent into space per his last requests. A story I admittedly missed due to my obsession with Halloween. So. I apologize to those outraged readers who got all prickly about the horrific omission.

It was finalized this weekend, actor Daniel Craig will be the next James Bond in the clusterfrack of a movie project that the people at Eon Productions have been messing about with for some time now. Actually, I'm waiting to see how this Craig guy is going to do before I pass judgment. So from here on in I'll give the whole project the benefit of the doubt until it's released... whenever it's supposed to be released. Until then, I shall try and make no more comments about what a unimaginably bad idea it was to get rid of Brosnan, who was the best Bond since Sean Connery. I shall not utter a word on how ridiculously unjust and all out dumb that decision was until I see how "Casino Royale" is with my own two eyes. (yes, my fingers are crossed. Why do you ask?)

That's it for today. I gotta get some food in me before I hit the pillows. More spooky stuff coming to you very soon.

Zangz.

Season of the Dead Progressing Nicely...

Can you believe that we're nearly at the half-way mark of October / Halloween season? I can't. Goes too frellin' fast! Once the month is over we go directly into the season of snow, cold, muck and holidays that are too friggin' expensive to deal with and remind you of how lonely life can be. Blech, Blech and double Blech. But I'll get more into my Grinch mode as that lame holiday rears it's butt-ugly head. But for right now we're full tilt into the greatest holiday known to mankind. So let's revere it here in my blog of geekdom!!!!

Halloween started as a celebration of the bountiful harvest that the early peoples of the world were so thankful for. It was also a window of time that was believed to be when the planes of the living and the dead were at their closest. Very cool indeed. Of course more fanatical religions continue to try and outlaw and censor it due to the fact that it is based on ancient religions that were conceived long before more popular religions came into power. But let's not get into any of the social implications of religious fanaticism. Lets see what cool as frell Halloween websites are out there to visit in another edition of.....

ZANGZ'S BLOG OF GEEKDOM'S WEBSITE OF THE MOMENT:

Hauntfreaks.com
This website is created from fans of Haunted Attractions located on the East Coast. It is put together quite well and has the distinction of being the most visually stunning website put together by haunted attraction fans that I have seen to date. They really go out of their way to visit and report on many haunts that are not only located on the East Coast, but also cover some of the big theme parks that dress up their parks for Halloween (Knotts Scary Farms, Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights). The only downer about this site is that they seemed to go into hibernation in the middle of last year's haunt season. No updates past October 15th of 2004. But, what coverage they do have there is pretty cool. So check it out. Maybe the hits will bring them back to life!

On that note, I'm still trying to put something together for next weekend and visiting a local haunt or two. I'll let you all know what goes down. I'm going through haunt withdrawal and am foaming at the mouth for a smell of that fog machine and plywood smell that I crave this time of year!!! Gotta get me some scares going here. I'll let you all know what haunt(s) I visit and what I think of them.

In other stuff....

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My best buddy, Goof is coming into town this weekend. He's the only one of you who will actually reply to my posts. He must feel sorry for me. He's coming into town to do a little "I.T." work for his parents. Hopefully it will be a quick job and we'll be able to do some form of hanging out. Sadly his beautiful wife won't be joining us. She's a hoot. But since she won't be there, I guess we'll have to do the traditional "Let's pick up some whores" night. Cest le vie. (just kiddin'!)

Can anyone tell me who the frell Daniel Craig is. 'Cause he's supposedly the new James Bond. Every news outlet is proclaiming him to be the successor to unceremoniously 86'd Pierce Brosnan (who, anybody with a soul and a brain, would tell you should have been kept on to do at least one more Bond film). I've seen a picture of Craig and he looks about as much as the character of James Bond as Billy Dee Williams would. This guy has made a few independent / foreign films and seems to have a decent set of acting chops. But, he'll have to fill the shoes of a very beloved and popular actor who had a name before he took on the role of Bond. Nothing is official yet. But, I wish this Craig guy the best. He'll need it to win over us already cheesed off, die hard Bond fans who are still sour about how Wilson and Broccoli have frelled up the movie series by ousting Brosnan. I don't think that this poor sod has any clue as to what he's stumbled into. I cross my fingers for him. Poor sod.

Shoot! Gotta go. The Apprentice is on and as I've said before, I love watching greedy yuppies tear each other apart.

Zangz.

100th Post.......of the DEAD!

Yep. We're at #100. One hundred posts written by yours truly. One hundred posts completely ignored by friends and family. Can you feel the love? If you do, can you send some my way.

Let's briefly talk about good Halloween mood music, shall we? A lot of you may be asking yourselves, "Gee, I wonder what kind of Halloween mood music Zangz likes to listen to during this time of season of the undead?"

Well, there are two bands that I feel really bring out the Autumnal / Halloween feel in their music. One would be a two man group called Midnight Syndicate. These guys specialize is synthesized, orchestra, instrumental melodies of the netherworld. Their music is custom made for haunted houses, Halloween parties, horror role playing games and yard haunts. They've got quite a few under their belt with each having a different theme. One has a ghost type theme, one has a spooky old castle feel to it, one is dedicated to vampires, another has a musical story of an old insane asylum and their latest is a haunted house theme.

The other band is a group I've lauded time and time again on both my blog and website. The band would be Brooklyn born Type-O-Negative. Granted, they're not the most PC band on the planet, but that's the way they like it. If you took the Beatles and mixed them with a good dose of Black Sabbath with a dash of Goth and a sprinkle of bitterness, you'd have their vibe. When it comes to the real themes and feelings of Autumn and Halloween, I think that two of their CD's really hit the spot, October Rust and World Coming Down. Not all of the songs are lyrically dedicated to fall, but outside of the title of the album, October Rust's music seems to remind of the trees changing color and the leaves slowly falling tot he ground. World Coming Down is a whole other story. Two songs on this CD are aimed smack dab at us Halloween fans, Creepy Green Light and All Hallows Eve. They're great songs and I can't get through a Halloween season without hearing them an unhealthy number of times.

In other spooky stuff....

We have the first week of Halloween season under our belt now. The Z.V.O.G. Headquarters have more than a few jack-o-lanterns peering out its windows in the evenings as well as an odd creature or two lurking about the apartment. Later today I'll be joining my sister and brother-in-law to in a search to seek out more haunting props to give us some ideas as to what we're going to do for their house during trick-or-treat this year. It's leaning more and more towards a graveyard type setting. I have a few old, Styrofoam headstones I made years ago, back when I lived at home and would do up my family's front yard for trick-or-treat. Sadly, most of the props are long gone due to the downsizing in general crap I had when I moved from home to a smaller apartment. So we may have to stock up or create our own. I'll let you all know how things progress. One last thing, since we're talking about Halloween yard displays. It's time for another segment of.....

ZANGZ'S VAULT OF GEEKDOM'S WEBSITE OF THE MOMENT

The Hallowed Haunting Grounds

You think that putting a few Styrofoam gravestones in your front yard constitutes as a yard haunt (well.... I do)? After viewing this site, you'll think differently. For several years a group of Halloween fans in Studio City, California have put together the ultimate in Halloween displays! Focusing on a real creepy atmosphere rather than blood and gore, their extravaganza has been a huge success where fans have traveled far and wide to get a glimpse at the macabre presentation. Sadly, all good things... yadda, yadda, yadda. This will be the last year that it's on display. So if you can't get out there this year, check out this website. It gives you a very good idea of what they do. Probably the most extravagant an eerie display known to man.

That's all for today, enjoy your Sunday.

Zangz.

More Tales from Beyond!

First of all, I was forced to do some tweaking on yesterday's blog due to Blogger tossing me out so they could do some impromptu work on their server. Just a few snips there and a few twists here and I got it where I want it.

But, I totally forgot to tell you two more tales of ghostly happenings.

These were told to me by my friend, Carlo. And they're the frellin' creepiest of the bunch! Carlo doesn't remember this happening, but his mother told him this story years after it took place. When Carlo was a very young child, he would join his cousin in playing up in the attic of his family's newly bought house. One time, his mother called them down to the kitchen for supper. When they arrived his mother asked him what they were doing up there. "We were playing with George, the nice guy who lives in the attic." replied Carlo. His mother thought this to be an imaginary friend of theirs and thought nothing of it. There were a few more times young Carlo talked about his friend, George, to his parents. Then one day when his parents were cleaning up the attic, they came upon an old, rusty hammer laying in a crevice of a corner of the attic. Written on the handle of the very old hammer was the name "George". Keep in mind, Carlo was far too young to read at the time. Could it have been a departed owner of the house who was looking for his hammer in the attic who would play with Carlo and his cousin? Only the dead know for sure. Bwahahahahahahahaha....

Several years later some of Carlo's friends went on a trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to see the famous Civil War battlefield. They took some walking tours of the vast battlefield and lost track of time. Once dusk hit they decided to head back to their car. Along the wooded path they came across a young man dressed in full Union soldier garb coming toward them. Thinking him to be a Civil War reenactor, they nodded to him as they passed. He nodded back and continued off in the opposite direction behind them. Not two seconds after the encounter, one of the friends turned around to call to the "costumed" man and ask him if there was a Battle of Gettysburg reenactment going on nearby. But the soldier had disappeared completely. There was nowhere this person could have run off and hid to within the time that they turned around. Was he a very stealthy reenactor, or was he a tortured spirit from beyond who lost his life in the great battle that turned the tides of the Civil War some 140+ years ago? Only the dead know for sure. Bwahahahahahahaha...... That's all the spookiness I have for now. On to geekiness......

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Last night's episode of "Lost" (no, I'm not gunna link it this time) was a pretty intense one. I like the way we keep gettin more questions upon questions. I just hope this is one of those shows that actually answers them sometime before the very final episode of the series and won't end up like The X-Files where we were all left with more questions.

I'm trying a lot of Octoberfests this season and not sticking to just Sammy A. But, so far Sammy A. has been my favorite. You know, Mother Nature's teet and all! Well, on that note, I'm gunna get me some grub. More Halloween fun real soon!

Zangz.

True Ghost Stories....

One thing that I love about the Halloween season is the true ghost stories that tend to pop up in the media at this time of year. Whether it's a haunt special on one of the cable channels (A&E, Discovery, TLC, Travel) or it's a local news story about a local resuraunt or building that has had some paranormal events take place, or just a group of friends telling stories around a bon fire to keep the fall chill away, a good spook story is always a important part to getting in the mood for a decent Halloween season!

Now you may be asking yourself, "Zangz, do you have any stories of the unknown and mysterious that have happened to you personally?"

I wish I did. But as interested in the paranormal as I am, I have never had anything worth noting happen to me personally. But I do have a coupleof stories that have been told to me by close freinds and family members....

I used to go to high school with this kid who always ended up in my gym classes throughout my high school years. His name was Chris, and according to him, his uncle owned an old lighthouse somewhere on the East Coast. There was a upstairs bedroom that was used as a guest room where there is a rocking chair just oposit the bed. People who have used that room have had one of either tow experiences. Some go to sleep and wake to hear the creaking of the rocking chair. When they look at it, it is rocking by itself as though someone is in the chair. The other experience is far more terrorfying. Some people have woken to actuall see the aparition of a spooky old hag rocking in the chair, staring at them intently. Suposedly this haunted light house story ended up on an old episode of the "Real People" tv show.

A friend of my mom's who lived in a large house in a nice suburb would get mysterious phone calls when she was home alone. The phone would ring, she'd answer it, and most of the time nobody would respond. At times she'd thought she'd hear someone mumble something on the other end and then dead silence. She'd hang up the phone, annoyed. The really creepy thing was that everytime this happened she'd find that one of the other phones in the house was always off the hook even though she was the only one at home at the time. After quite a few phone calls from the netherworld, she decided to get her house blessed by a preist. He came over, said some prayers, sprinkled holy water on the phones and ever since there were no more disturbences. Her family moved out long ago. Who knows who's there recieving calls from beyond now?

About 16 years ago a freind of mine suddenly and unexpectedly lost her mom to a stroke. She had a hard time dealing with it and had difficult time getting to sleep at night. One night, after tossing and turning, she got out of bed and decided to go down to the kitchen a have a glass of milk. When she got down there she found her mom sitting at the kitchen table waiting for her. Her mother told her that she was in a far better place and that everyting was going to be alright. The mother then faded away. Was this a dream, a psychological way to deal with the loss of a loved one or a spectral visit from beyond? Your guess is a good as mine. But I know what is far more fun to believe!

Well, that's the spook show for today. On to other stuff....

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"Lost" is on tonight and though last weeks episode was a bit of a breather from the usual high end craziness that it presents, this week we get to take a look at these, "the others" and see what their story is. Can't wait.

Since I have Friday off, I think I may take in a showing of Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride". Wasn't a huge fan of "Nightmare Before Christmas" since they mixed Halloween and Xmas together. But, "Bride" looks to be all spooksville.

Oh, hey! I almost forgot! The band Fear Factory came out with a new CD recently. It's called "Transgression". It's a damn fine peice of work, espicially if you like speed metal with actual melody and a good dose of techno mixed in.

Ok, My "Ghost Hunters" show starts in 10 minutes, so I gotta motor. More Halloween fun coming your way.

Zangz.

Lamentation of a Haunted Attraction

Being such a big fan of haunted attractions that pop up around this time of year, I've tried to hit as many as I realistically can each Halloween season. No matter how many I visited, I always made it a point to visit one north of my town called Terror on Rural Street. Why? Because this mother always delivered in every way, shape and form a haunted attraction could!

This was the one that I would usually judge others up against. It really had everything! Wonderfully creepy tableaus, pop-out scares timed just right, a cool as frell facade and a myriad of wonderful effects and actors and actresses were always the order of the day, served with a side order of blood, screams and howls every year. Each year they'd have a different theme and always do it up big time! When I first started going, it had a medieval theme with a huge, working draw bridge as part of the entrance. Then one year it was a creepy mortuary / coffin company. The less extravagant facade revealed a VERY creepy atmosphere. Last year they had a sci-fi theme reminiscent of video games such as Resident Evil and Doom. It was one of the haunt's best years yet!

If the pictures on their website were any indication, it looked like this year (2005) was going to hearken back to a more creepy and spooky theme with a haunted house type of facade. It looked it was going to be another banner year for Terror on Rural Street.

That is why most of us local haunt enthusiasts were shocked and saddened when it was announced by organizers that Terror on Rural Street would be shut down for the 2005 season and possibly for some time there after. With what little info I could muster from the Haunted Wisconsin.com message board on its closing, I could only surmise that it was due to a severe breakdown of communication and a few egos that got a bit out of hand within the Terror on Rural Street camp. Now the whole thing is frelled up for everyone, both those who work on it and those who attend it every year. This haunt has been open 7 years and it's quite saddening to see it go out this way.

Though organizers are being quite cryptic about its future, I'm really hoping that it will open for the 2006 season! It'd be such a shame to allow a few dunder-heads to ruin something so creatively magnificent a staple of the Halloween season!


In other otherworldly exploits, I'm trying to put a group together to go to at least one haunt this year. I know it's a bit of a downgrade from the 8 haunted attractions I visited last year, but beggars can't be choosers. So I'll let you all know what goes on and give whatever haunt I visit a review here on my Blog of Geekdom.

Though we're having a bit of a warm spell here right now (80's), it is expected to get a bit more fall-like latter in the week. I'm actually looking forward to it (I won't have to worry about the out of control humidity in my little humidor where my cigars lay snug). I'm also seeing a lot of yards and homes with Halloween decorations up already. I have my Jack-O-Lanterns in the windows of Zangz's Geekdom National Headquarters for passers by to get a small kick out of. So whoopee for that.

I'm done for now. I'm sure I'll have a lot more spookiness and creepiosity to dig up real soon. So stay tuned. Zangz.

The Season of the Dead has ARRIVED!!!!

"Into the flames and without shame, Consumed with howls and screams, Pumpkins Grin in their despair, On All Hallows Eve."

From Type-O-Negative's "All Hallows Eve"

It is the 1st of October. Some people are under the impression that Halloween is to be celebrated on only the 31st. But, as you can see by the dead things that have started to occupy my Blog of Geekdom, Halloween shall be celebrated throughout the entire month of October here.

The Halloween season is the most magical time of the year. It is also the most mysterious. As the tree's lose their leaves, the wind starts to chill and the darkness ends the days sooner, our minds tend to play slight tricks on us... or are they just tricks?

The shadows grow darker and seem to take on form. There is a smoky cent that permeates the air at nightfall. We seem more susceptible to see movements out of the corner of our eyes when nobody else is in the room. We think we hear faint cries in the night as we take an evening stroll. The graveyards and abandoned buildings seem to give off a strange energy of those who were once here and are now in the beyond.... or do they return during this season?

For the entire month of October and the Halloween season I'll be waxing poetic on all things creepy, spooky and undead here in my Blog of Geekdom.

So lets welcome these strange beings from beyond with something I haven't done in a while. And that would be another....

ZANGZ'S BLOG OF GEEKDOM'S WEBSITE OF THE MOMENT:

Haunted Wisconsin

This website is my absolute favorite this time of year! I know, I already have it as one of my permanent links here on the Blog of Geekdom, but I think it needs special accolades. This site is in it's fifth year and is a wonderful resource for everything that's going on in the Wisconsin area that's Halloween or Haunted Attraction related. Want to go to a local haunt but, don't know how the get there? Are you trying to figure out if a particular haunt is appropriate for your kids? Do you want to find a haunt that's nearby? Do you want to know if a specific haunt is up to your standards of scare? Do you have to many frelling questions about haunted attractions in Wisconsin? Then this is most definitely the place for you! This site has message boards, reviews, information and links to many of the local haunts that pop up this time of year. It's a well rounded resource for those of us who like to get are spook going!

Well, I gotta get started sprucing up my den of geekdom with Halloween decor. So I'll talk to you again real soon! Have a Happy beginning to the Halloween season.

Zangz.