Happy Halloween!

I will be busy today getting ready for Trunk or Treat at our church so here's a special poem I wrote a few years ago to celebrate this special day. Have a good, safe time tonight!

Howl and scream, it's Halloween
Craziest night I've ever seen
Ghosts of white and witches green
Let's get ready for Halloween

Pumpkins orange and cats of black
Decorate your goodie sack
Light your way with Lantern Jack
Hope you find your way back

Paint your face and dye your hair
Friends and neighbors hope to scare
Knock on that door if you dare
The house is haunted, have a care

Monster mask and witches hat
Hey, there goes a vampire bat
Looks just like a flying rat
Maybe I'll go get my cat

We'll have fun with friends we meet
As we hollar, "Trick or Treat"
See what goodies we can eat
Getting candy sure is neat

Bob for apples, that's so fun
Candy corn for everyone
Cotton candy by the ton
Belly aches when we get done

Tell ghost stories in the dark
By the fire in Moonbeam Park
Hear that werewolf howl and bark
Think I'll feed him my friend Clark

Mummies rap and gargoyles play
'Round the fields and bales of hay
Come out at night but not by day
The sun returns, they run away

I hope you pick a costume soon
I started mine the 6th of June
I'm going as a grisly goon
Hope I don't look like a loon

Midnight tolls and Halloween's through
No more bats or ghosts that "Boo"
Costumes gone and candy too
Til next year when Halloween's new

Copyright 2005 Marty Gordon

Halloween Countdown: Halloween Jesus

I just finished this collage the other day and since it's appropriate for the holiday I thought I'd share it. As always, you can view more of my art here.
Don't hate me because I'm irreverent.

Halloween Countdown: More Costume Nonsense

This top pic is from another Halloween party where we all went to the mall and walked around in our costumes. I don't know why we did that. In the second pic you can see me in my alien costume with Todd as an equestrian and LaDonna as Cleopatra. Other notable costumes that year were Butch and Cindy as the Blues Brothers, Karen as a molar, and my cousin Jane as a Jack O'Lantern.

Halloween Countdown: Freddie vs Tina

After seeing The Nightmare on Elm Street, I made this glove. I used it to torment my friend Karen on numerous occasions. I even went as far as tacking a Freddie poster to the ceiling over her bed. I'll never forget her screaming down the hall, "Marty, come get this damn thing off my ceiling!" Good times.
This pic is from a Halloween party at my house in Pensacola on Blackwell Lane. I am posing with my friend Susan who is dressed up as Tina Turner. With all the various remakes and such of movies starring Freddie, Jason and Michael Myers, it might be time for Freddie and Tina to duke it out. Why not? It couldn't be any worse than the others.

Halloween Countdown: Gordon Gourd Art

Here's an extra entry for ya, free of charge. Sarah brought home a bunch of baby pumpkins that will be used to decorate Trunk or Treat on Friday. While watching TV, we sketched faces on these little guys. Some are cute, some are scary and some are just what were you smokin' to come up with that? Pick your favorite or guess who drew which ones.

Halloween Countdown: Costumes from the Past

Yep, this one is embarrassing too. Me, Andrea, Todd and Karen attended a party as the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs. My wolf is rather 80's looking. I don't know what I was thinking. I did, however, make the wolf head, gloves and feet and they looked pretty good. We got a good laugh at Todd's expense (and that never, ever happened) because instead of buying a pig nose he bought a gorilla nose. He said it looked like a hog's nose. That was freakin' funny.

Halloween Countdown: Shameless Self Promotion

Today I thought I'd post a Halloween related collage I did a while back. I've also posted it on my art site. If you're not familiar with my art, check it out. I put a new image up every Monday. I also participate in the collage website Scrapiteria which has a Halloween theme running this week. I hope to get a collage done for that site in the next day or so.

Halloween Countdown: Schuh Farms II

Halloween Countdown: Schuh Farms

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Sarah and I stopped by Schuh's Farm on our way back from Friday Harbor. It's a very fun place that does Halloween up right. I wish we had time to go back and do the corn maze and see it lit up at night but we just don't have the time. I do, however, want to share some of my pics with you. Today I'm going to concentrate on one area of the farm.
To one side of the barn, there was an area dedicated to the Wizard of Oz. There was a yellow brick road of sorts that you could follow and, on the way, you were met by some of the characters. At the end of the trail there was a playground for the kiddies with a rainbow gated entrance. Sarah and I thought it was pretty cheesy but fun. Most the characters looked okay although the Cowardly Lion looked a bit mangy. We both agreed that the Tin Man was the most fun. I'm sure the kids love it.

Booklist

The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes
The story revolves around magician Edward Moon and his partner, the giant mute called the Somnambulist. In post-Victorian England, Moon is called upon to help solve the mystery surrounding several strange murders.
This book started with much promise and, by the end, devolved into a great big mess. I read to the last page and I still don't know what happened and I really don't care. Barnes is obviously a very creative fellow but let's at least have a plot that goes somewhere and makes a bit of sense. Just tossing weird creativity around willy-nilly doesn't do it for me. Unfortunately I have read quite a few books that are like this. I guess some people don't need a plot. They just need weirdness. To each his own. I would have at least liked an explanation of who or what the Somnambulist was. It is the the title of the freakin' book!

Halloween Countdown: Eek Harmony

Since my wife and I met on Eharmony I thought this was pretty funny. I got this off of the Shoebox Blog. I visit there almost every day for a laugh or two. Check it out.

Halloween Countdown: Haunted Attractions

I've spent my fair share of time exploring haunted attractions as I've had the opportunity. I've been to the Haunted Mansion at Disneyworld. I've been to many, many local haunted houses in the various places I've lived. I've been on the haunted rides at the many carnivals and fairs I've attended over the years. In fact, one of the most memorable times I had in one was when me and two buddies made friends with one of the guys working in one of them. We were wandering thru, being smart asses, going where we weren't supposed to go, scaring people and this guy asks us if he can bum a cigarette. He was a little person which we thought was way cool. We hung out with him for a bit before he had to go back to work and then we went on our way.
The pictures are from the Haunted Castle at Miracle Strip Amusement Park in Panama City, FL. The youth group from church made a trip there probably around 1978. I remember it being a fun day and the first time I ever rode a roller coaster. I've been hooked ever since. I don't remember much about the Haunted Castle beyond these pics. I do remember a ride called the Abominable Snowman that was really great. Like I said, fun day.
I wish I had pics from other attractions. I remember a haunted house at Six Flags Over Georgia where they had a spider pit. There were voices crying out, "Go back. Go back. The spider's will get you." As you can see that made a pretty big impression on me as a kid. I've thought about taking in one of the local haunted houses but I find that they aren't worth the money. If I could visit one like the one in that video I posted a couple of days back about High Tech Haunted Houses, sign me up. But usually the local houses are pretty lame. Anybody ever been to the one in Seattle that can give me a review?

Halloween Countdown: Munsters Original Pilot

I loved the Munsters as a kid. What's not to love. A family comprised of the movie monsters. Heaven for a kid. Nowadays, I appreciate the Addams Family alot more than I did in my younger days. The humor was over my head back then. And the Munsters, well, little wonder a kid preferred them over the Addams's. Their humor was corny, slapstick and easy to catch. Plus the visuals were more in your face than the much more subtle Addams's.
So, for your viewing pleasure here is a pilot episode for the Munsters. Actually, it's just part 1 but if you want part 2 you can find it on YouTube. They sure did a lot of tweaking after that pilot episode. Good thing, too. Lily looks a bit too much like Morticia.

Halloween Countdown: Random Decapitation

Of all the haunted houses and such I've ever done over the years, this picture is the only one I could find. I set this up in my friend's garage and the party was in the house. Isn't it just so gory and scary. Ooooooh!
I am totally mourning the loss of all the pictures I used to have of the haunted house I did as a senior in high school. To this day I have no idea what happened to those pictures. I had 2 albums of pictures from my high school/early college years that lived in my parent's attic. When my parents moved, I cleaned all that stuff out and never found those albums. It's a mystery and a real loss to me.
Bummer.

Halloween Countdown: High Tech Haunted Houses