Halloween Adventures 2017 with Awaken Haunted Attraction

Any great holiday deserves a little adventure, an event that helps us bust out of our standard routines. Appropriately all of the late year celebrations offer plenty of opportunities for such outings be they intentional or not and wouldn't ya know that yours truly was lucky enough to bookend an otherwise standard work weekend with two such trips. So if you're in the mood for tales of back roads scenery, spooky attractions, and celebrity tombstones then please read on.

Waking up on Friday I had no major plans other than a quick trip to Lansing in order to hunt down a few items and fix a mistaken charge from Barnes and Noble. The initial portion of the trip worked out largely fine with even the disappointments (Target being out of heavy resin tombstones) being made up for in other departments (Target's Stranger Things box set). After a few stops we took in delicious Turkish food at a placed called, Chupli where lamb kofta and bulgur wheat renewed my energy.

It was the next choice that changed the course of the night as my brother wanted to visit Whole Foods, a store that not only makes me shudder but exits on the other side of MSU which unbeknownst to us was kickstarting homecoming that night making for a deliriously complicated trip. Whole Foods was as usual a thorn in my side made up for slightly by the presence of Boo-Dah Gouda Halloween cheese. While hardly a slam dunk of a find and overpriced at that, I'll take victories where I can find them. Leaving the realm of man-buns behind we ventured forth to the Okemos Kroger and Target which I found to both be significantly lamer than their West Lansing counterparts.

Having endured enough traffic for the time being we set for home via the back roads. It was a beautiful evening with gloaming light granting a spooky atmosphere for country homes and farm land. Eventually our route was disrupted by a downed bridge, forcing us to improves and become briefly lost among farmers working night harvests, the lights of their combines adding another interesting touch to our travels.

As we lurched home I couldn't help but realize the good number of country dwellers who really go all out decorating. Some of these people could put me to shame and I'm working for a fanbase of eager trick-or-treaters, these folks barely have neighbors which means they're doing it largely for themselves. I salute you fine scary folk.

Arriving back in town in need of hydration for the upcoming workdays we came across a blockade for a fatal accident, forcing us back down more back roads to finally reach the comforts of home where we found most everyone to be in remarkably high spirits. To go from such a serious scene to a jovial one was odd but no one could be blamed as it was a gorgeous night.

After a couple mornings of dull work with a creamy middle of horror flicks and Halloween specials, it was time for a trek to a haunted attraction. Last year had provided quite the find in Awaken located in the small town of Leslie, Michigan. Eager to return and see their improvements this year my brother-in-law and I set forth down another set of byways.

Knowing in advance that we'd be returning I made sure to encourage an extra stop that we'd failed to make last year. Within the city limits lies Woodlawn cemetery, a peaceful rest spot with a tiny car dealership across the street. This hallowed ground plays host to a small celebrity named Frank L. White. While that name may not jump out at you most likely know his face.

The quick story is that Frank was born in Barbados, immigrated to the states, and became a moderately famous chef who once modeled for a breakfast item called Cream of Wheat. That's right, we took a few minutes to visit the Cream of Wheat guy. While not a fan of the product baring his likeness, I am intrigued how a mans life took him from the islands to cooking in Chicago before finishing out his life in a tiny town south of Lansing.

If you're ever in the area and wish to pay respects, Frank's not very hard to find. There are two main entrances into Woodlawn, one paved, the other dirt. Take the dirt path, head right at the first fork and there he is. Currently he's the first stone on the right with a planter making his marker more visible.

We looked around the cemetery a little longer, reading the historical marker for the towns first settler who was both an atheist and spiritualist, and I even took the time to climb to the top of the nearest crypt. No disrespect intended, fairly sure it was empty. Just felt like the thing to do.

Our graveside visitation complete we worked our way through the town which has once again allowed people to decorate the light posts for a Halloween competition. Some were simple and whimsical while others such as a giant pumpkin faced scarecrow or a Ghostbuster themed display were positively outstanding. Leslie really is a very small town but they endeavor to do something more and have their own little charm thanks to locations like Spanky Clean Coin Laundry.

At last we arrived at Awaken just a few minutes past opening. A good move as people soon filed in behind us. The word seems to have gotten out and brought in far more business than what they had in their first year. I'd like to think this is all thanks to the CosmicSparky bump though my lacking ego knows that to be a lie. Once again it was a mere twenty bucks to get in (cheap for a haunted house) and from what I knew, they'd expanded this year.

Right from the start I was reminded of one of the most unique features of this particular spot, the lighting. Most haunted attractions I've visited are crazy dark affairs to the extent that walking can be a little dangerous. There's been such an effort to create scenes and atmosphere here that everything is dim but still light enough for visitors to take in the craftsmanship without losing the spooky feeling. There was a proper mixture of quiet and loud moments combined with misdirection and a good combo of both props and actors. At one point I heard a loud oncoming noise that I felt assured most be an animatronic until I turned to find an actor charging at us. I'll admit it got me good.

Even with the expansions, it's still not the longest spook house I've been to but the combo of value and quality can't be denied. However, I will say I'm not sure if it was as good as last year, mostly because the final wasn't as dramatic. Still ranks as one of my favorite haunts and I'd like to visit again, plus they gave us free hats. Have I ever mentioned I don't wear hats? Aw, hell, it's still nice to get one.

and mummies love em.

On the way home, something was missing. Any grand adventure should include a proper food stop, and so we found ourselves at New China Buffet in Eaton Rapids. Can't tell you how many times I've passed by this place without much thought but it turned out to be not so bad. Obviously it's Chinese buffet so there's enough sodium to drop a bull and no one would accuse it of being healthy. That being said it lasted longer than most buffet food, digested pretty well, and we had the lovely entertainment of the cooks yelling at each other in their native tongue.

The door to nowhere is a nice touch.

Now here we are just a week away from the big event. Currently I'm working in all manner of last minute projects and picking up discounted decorations to make sure we offer one hell of a show to the kiddies. There's also the chance of more fun at a local event as our historical courthouse is having a Halloween event lead by another holiday addict like myself who over the years has served as both an inspiration and a rival even if he doesn't know it. There's still time enough to get at least one more post up here before the month is out so look out for a a big post to send Halloween out in style.

Fright Crate September to Remember Unboxing

Frequent readers may recall that our previous unboxing didn't go so well. In fact, Cryptocurium's Parcel of Terror may have marked the only time when a mystery box left me in a state of irritated disbelief to the point that I wanted to take a break from mystery boxes. That wasn't an immediate option however as I already had another box on order from another service. After a series of delays due to hurricane season I finally have my first experience with Fright Crate. Does this service have what ti takes to wash away the disappointment of Cryptocurium? Let's find out.

Let's get the details outta the way first. Fright Crate is a horror themed monthly mystery box that in a welcome change of pace is not a subscription service. No sir, they simply make a certain number of boxes and you either buy it or you don't. Excess items are also made available on their store. The box comes in two versions, a twenty dollar 3-4 item option or the full 5-6 item thirty dollar version that I opted for. Note that price does not include shipping or the potential extra cost for larger t-shirts. When all was said and done my full crate with an XXL shirt cost $39. It's a pretty hefty price tag. It may actually be the most expensive box I've tried thus far. Lucky for them they had a couple of my favorite horror topics on offer, encouraging me to go through with a purchase.

On the matter of shipping and packaging they simply add some of their stickers with quotes from famous horror personalities (John Carpenter and Clive Barker in this case) to a USPS flat-rate box. The average mail-date is near the end of the month which means there's actually a chance of getting a box within the intended release month. Imagine that! Sadly all the hurricane activity in Florida during September lead to delays and this edition wasn't complete and mailed out until Friday October 13^th. Enough about logistics. Who wants to see what's in this thing?

First up we've got an exclusive shirt, my first in quite some time and an item type I've missed. Of all things this is based on the 2001 remake of Thirteen Ghosts which if I remember correctly was pretty terrible. People do vote for themes though, so this thing must have garnered some sort of following over the years. Shirt wise it's not so bad. A little odd, not based on a property I care about, but where else are you going to get a spooky shirt featuring the upper half of Tony Shalhoub's head? The material is a bit clingy at first though I imagine a little bit of wear will take care of that. Still curious if anyone will recognize these ghosts when I wear this out in public.

Next up is a resin bust of Deadite Ash from Evil Dead 2 made exclusively for the this box by Serial Resin Co. Once again I'm a bit surprised as this is a more dignified and series item than the usual Evil Dead fare. It's solid, well-built, and nicely painted. Beyond that it's a first for me as figures in these boxes are usually closer to a regular toy whereas this is my first ever bust. Currently it resides near my bed as the newest Halloween decoration.

Behind the bust is an art print for Night of Something Strange. Hadn't heard of the film before receiving this, apparently it's about an STD that turns folk into zombies. Sort of an over the top version of Shivers. From the trailer it doesn't look very good but ya never know. What makes this more than mere filler is that it's sighed by the writer/director Jonathan Straiton. I may not know his work but he joins the ranks of Derek Mears, the folks from that Third Day short I interviewed last year, and a seemingly legit James Garner in my small autograph collection.

Next we have an elusive pin of the new Pennywise from It. I have yet to see the new version, haven't seen something in the theater since early August actually. My point is that while I have no basis one way or another towards this clown, the pin is great. Good weight, nice sculpt, double clutch. Plus it inspires jealousy from both my sister and nephew which is always fun.

Now we move on to a crossover item. Cryptocurium created a wall plaque of the poster art for the original Fright Night. In all fairness they are playing to a weakness of mine since that movie is pure gold and it didn't take long before I hung it above my light switch. I love totally love this thing, got zero complaints about it. It's a reminder that for as poorly as I think of his subscription service, Jason Mckittrick makes some boss items. I only wish something like this could have come in his last parcel so I wouldn't have felt totally swindled by that 35 dollar magnet. Yes, I'm still bitter. Jason, you're capable of great work, let me know when you make a better service.

Since the horrid Florida weather delayed the box by weeks, an extra item was tossed in for fun. According to the inventory sheet some boxes simply received temporary tattoos, one in three however got some old school Nightmare on Elm Street stickers. I've seen many a retro bloggers write about these over the years as a prime example of a time when violent screen villains were readily marketed towards kids. Most of mine seem to originate from Freddy's Revenge, the black sheep second entry in the series though one I hold some affection due to it's unique approach to the format and awesome score by Christopher Young. The goofy thing about these stickers is that many of them serve as puzzle pieces meant to be put together within the matching sticker book. Without the matching pieces you end up with stickers of somebody's shirt or forehead. There's more entertainment on the back of each sticker where you'll find advertisements for posters, the board game, and the legendary Freddy's Greatest Hits tape.

Is Fright Crate an excellent offering in the overcrowded world of mystery boxes? Yes, yes it is. There was enough quality and such a wide spectrum of item types that I was was almost confused. With most boxes the format is between one and three cool things and then some junk to fill in the blanks. Here there was an honest attempt to make every item special. The only one that counted as traditional filler was an apology for late shipping, a phenomenon I've never encountered in this market before. Pretty much everything here will see usage. Even the heavier price point is alright since the value is immediately apparent. I'm satisfied, and those of you who read my unboxings know I'm not easily won over. I would buy another Fright Crate down the line. Almost bought the October edition as it is supposed to be bigger than usual. While I sort of regret skipping, this has been an expensive enough month that I'm happy to have saved the money.

That's a wrap for tonight, kids. This is gonna be an odd week for yours truly as I have more responsibilities than normal, basically have yet another job albeit temporally. At the same time I also have a couple nights completely cleared for me to vedge out with Boo Berry and horror flicks. If there's nothing more on here by the end of this week, then look forward to a report from the annual haunted house trip. Going back to Awaken in Leslie MI this year. If you're in the area I highly advise paying them a visit. If you're lucky you might hear me scream like a lady.

Book Sale 2017, October Fireworks, and Mystery Oreo.

Possibly more than anything else I adore how these final holiday laced months of the year allow us the opportunity to twist fairly mundane activities into something special. Watching a terrible movie in November for instance becomes a special cinematic turkey. In a similar fashion, the local library book sale can become a hunt for long forgotten horror literature which will give an additional chill to October nights. That exact book sale has been a part of my Halloween festivities for years now. Sometimes I bring home such a massive haul I can easily base a whole post on it. Other years however, it's tough to find even a few worthwhile titles. Add to that a missing in action mystery box, and I find myself at loss for good blog material this week. Still; when life gives you lemons, you hastily toss together a grab bag article and hope nobody minds.

Since the loss of our local used book store this past Summer cut off easy access to classic horror fiction, I entered this book sale with high hopes that I'd find some nice entries from Graham Masterton, Frank De Felitta, or hell, I'd even take Whitley Strieber in a pinch. Sadly despite the massive offering of books on display I hardly found anything of interest be it horror or otherwise. Suppose I shouldn't complain too much as I've still got novels from previous sales withering on the book shelf. Let's check out my slim pickings for this year.

Curfew: My first find of the night is the classic sort of oversized small town terror piece, complete with praise from Stephen King. Props should be given to whoever wrote the back jacket description as it was interesting enough to pull me in without giving offering a damn clue as to what it's about. Whole thing could be about man eating teddy bears for all I know. Looking it up online there seems to be some dribble about new-age mystics and evil spirits. Sounds good enough for me.

The Relic: Here's the one I'm most likely to read this month. I've watched the movie at least half-a-dozen times or so as I find it to be one of the more solid high-budget horror flicks of the 90's. From what I know, like most films based on books, the events on page are substantially different and potentially better. At least I know what I'm getting in to here.

Inheritance: All I've got to go on here is that it's some kind of revenge scheme thriller involving telekinetic children.

House of Menace: The description for this one is so vague that it may actually be a romance novel. It was late in the sale, and I was desperate. If nothing else the cover art makes for a good laugh. The house is so manacling it makes decent god-fearing folk gasp just by looking at it.

Scorpius: The only non-horror/thriller entry this year is one of the post Fleming, James Bind novels. I've never taken the time to read any Bond titles outside of the original series but I figured it's worth spending a quarter to find out if they're any good. I highly doubt this will provide as many eye-popping instances of misogyny and racism as the classic books so it probably won't read as much like a high class mad-lib.

While my poor luck at book hunting was a bit of a downer, there was something that capped of this week in style. As part of some initiative to inspire town pride and what not, the city decided to launch fireworks after the last home game of the season. Lucky for yours truly the football field is within my backyard skyline allowing a splendid opportunity to sit back with some hooch and watch the show without ever leaving the comfort of my pajamas. Props to the town on this show. While not a massive event, they put far more money and effort into the proceedings than I would have imagined. My vantage point added the bonuses of water reflections and terrified ducks fleeing for their lives. Fireworks aren't something regularly associated with this season but if the town decides to continue this display as a regular event, I'll gladly stock up on beer and light a fire in the backyard every autumn.

When not out looking for smelly books or viewing pyromania, I've been participating in viewing a horror flick every night. Can't recall how many years I've been doing this, though I will say there's no plan to stop anytime soon. Part of the fun of the horrorthon is balancing old standbys with new goodies and the occasional oddball title. For me that means there's a larger than normal amount of movies arriving in the mail, or simply nabbed off the cheap rack at Wal-Mart. Within the past couple of weeks I've inducted a spread of titles ranging from the newest Chucky to the lackluster virtual reality opus The Lawnmower Man. Really looking forward to showcasing the latter to my nephew so he might finally understand why I snort whenever people bring up the topic of VR.

Fueling those light night fright flicks are these new Mystery Flavor Oreo Cookies. Actually I feel fairly confident in knowing what the flavor is. I won't reveal it here so as not to color anyone's expectations. If you're on the fence I will let it be known that they're fruity, and honestly kinda awesome.

It's sort of odd that Nabisco chose October to release these cookies as there's nothing objectively spooky or festive about them in any way. They could just as easily brought them out in any other season without issue, though I'm happy to have one more treat to make this month special.

And let's call that and end to tonight's ramblings as I still have to still in for the customary viewing of a Friday the 13^th flick. Let's face it, the night just wouldn't be complete without watching a guy with a misshapen head terrorize the double-mint twins.  

CosmicSparky's Horror Soundtrack Stash.

As I've spent the first week of October up to my neck in decorations and novelties, I've begun to notice a change. Ever since becoming gainfully employed on a more steady basis, my stash of spooky décor has been enhanced to the point that I'm having to kick some of the old simple stuff out. On the one hand it's nice to be able to put out just a few nice items rather than an armada of junk but it does throw things for a loop and forces me to change a lot of usual tricks and patterns for decorating. Things change, that can't be avoided I guess. One change that I've fully embraced however is the option of scoring these spooky nights with fine music. Ever since getting into vinyl collecting, I made a point of getting some good horror soundtracks in advance so as to not murder my poor bank account. Seeing as it's to gross outside to place more tombstones, and that the mystery box I wanted to kick off this month with is running a week late, let's talk about horror soundtracks.

One of my must own titles for the collection from the start was The Fog. No doubt it is one of my top horror flicks, one I watch every year for it's atmosphere and simple campfire tale storytelling. It doesn't hurt that director, John Carpenter pumped out one of his best scores for this effort.

Death Waltz Records had already made a special release of this soundtrack several years ago which has become something of a pricey collectors item. Thankfully Silva Screen Records jumped in with their own double LP version. The presentation is quite nice with one green disc and one white. Most importantly the sound is rich and clear. If you've never heard the score before, it's best as an aftermath affair. Say you were out shopping or went to an event. When it's time to go home and settle down this is the music that perfectly fits the mood.

Much as I want to scream the merits of this release there is one issue. Not unlike most Carpenter film scores, this one is very repetitive to the point that listening to both LP's in a row is simply too much of a good thing. Taking in one LP or one side at a time is great, but going through it all in one sitting is a surefire way to overdo it.

The first horror soundtrack in my collection from a label I knew practically nothing about beforehand is The Fly. Varese Saranamde brought this little beauty out in a few different color variations of which I purchased the black and green mix from Collectors Choice Vinyl. That color choice perfectly captures the off-putting and grotesque nature of the film.

As for the music composer, Howard Shore crafted something a bit more lively and almost operatic here. It's definitely not something to come down on. No, this one works best for me come chore time. It's just far enough over the top that it can turn antics like folding cloths or cleaning the kitchen into manic and spooky affairs. Best of all, Varese releases tend to be a bit more affordable than titles from Mondo or Waxwork so this can be gotten for a decent price.

Another colored release from Varese Sarabande that I initially wasn't sure about buying is their new version of Christine. For as many times as I've seen the film, the score never stood out to me as much as other John Carpenter works. In part that's because it has more variety than his usual scores which in turn makes for a refreshing listening experience.

The score itself has a mix of melancholy and synth sounds that really make for grade-A rainy day music. It may not be Carpenter's most lauded work but in all honesty it stands on its own better than most of his other scores.

The artwork and coloration of the LP are outstanding but there is one thing that bothers me about Sarabande titles so far, and that's how flimsy the packaging feels. This one even more so than The Fly just feels pathetic and wimpy. I suppose that's the trade-off for being more affordable.

Now this one has a story behind it. In early August as I was looking to get The Fog, I visited the Silva Screen website for more info when I found that they had also released The Ninth Gate. Right then and there this thing shot to the front of the line. Not many people have seen the film, and even fewer actually enjoy it, but I'll bet even haters would be hard pressed to dislike the outstanding music. Little did I know it would take two months to finally lay my mitts on the thing.

Silva Screen made two different versions of this two LP release. One was all black, and the other had a red and orange fire color. The colored version suffered from pressing issues which messed with sound quality and makes it the cheaper of the two. Since I wanted the best sound I had to get the black version. Here's the problem; when I started to shop around, finding a copy available within the U.S. Was almost impossible. I did not cherish the notion of paying extra for international shipping only to be potentially disappointed (I'd revived two broken records in the mail that same month). For me it had to be domestic and finally I found one from an ebay store. So I sucked it up and payed the pretty hefty price tag. Time passed and I didn't receive anything. Turns out the initial order failed to process correctly and then the distributor took a massive amount of time to restock the store. In that time the owner gave me a refund and promised to inform me of new stock ahead of time. With his help I was finally able to hold and listen to this release in order to usher in the month of ghouls and ghosts.

Man was the wait ever worth it. This is classic horror music complete with chanting and harpsichords. It's the stuff you turn on when it's time to get a little classy, maybe drink a bit of brandy while wearing a cape. It's excellent, but also pretty damned expensive. Keep that in mind if you're a fan because this one will take a nice bite outta your paycheck.

Last but nowhere near least is C.H.U.D. From Waxwork records. These guys deal almost exclusively in horror soundtracks and man do they ever give em some love. Right of the bat the packaging is beautiful and sturdy. The LP is gorgeous and a weighty 180 gram pressing, there's even a director interview on the record sleeve. The only problem is that same sleeve is shitty paper that leaves debris on the LP. Oh how I wish companies would get away from these cheap sleeves.

On the music front this one may actually garner my highest recommendation, not for any level of emotional depth or complex notes. On the contrary, this is simplistic and largely cheesy. What makes it great though is both the variety of tracks and their short run times, making this the closest thing I have to an awesome spooky sounds album. If you're looking for a horror soundtrack for a party setting, this is one to get.

That's all I've got for today. Believe me, I'd love to have about a dozen more to show you like Insidious or the new Hellraiser release but I have more important AKA responsible things to spend money on. So tell me folks, what are your favorite horror soundtracks? Gimmie something nice to listen too while I puzzle out how to rewire the front lawn display. With any luck, I'll have to posts for you all next week.