Halloween at Applebee’s?

Boy, it has been a busy few weeks. It’s a hell of the thing running a sales team, starting a  company, raising a zoo, traveling around the US and running a two month-long Halloween show. There are never enough minutes in the day but we must persevere anyway. I believe it was Matt from then X-Entertainment who said it best, “…Time wants to chop off my dick and feed it to Minutes the dog.”. I get that.

Now it’s on with the show.

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Last week I was cruising around the interwebs and noticed the restaurant chain Applebee’s was getting into the Halloween spirit by featuring a few spooky cocktails and even a $1.00 “Zombie” drink which turns out to be not worth the savings the next day. I coaxed a few friends to accompany me so I wouldn’t be the only one drinking four gigantic fishbowls full of Blue Curacao and telling the bartender my theories of Atlantis. Only in middle-age do I know thyself.

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Before I get into the Halloween cocktails I do need to address how awesome-ly retro and simplistic the Halloween decorations were there. Grilled chicken salads taste so much better under an orange and black streamer and I don’t think there is really anything better than a cozy bar on a chilly night this time of the season. It always made me wonder what the rush was to leave the Slaughtered Lamb?

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The first cocktail was the Cauldron Cocktail for only $5.00! It’s a mix of rum and fruit juices with a shot of Sprite for bubbly texture. Basically your average cocktail in a Florida beach resort but without having to sell your first-born to afford it. I wouldn’t say this is very spooky but I like the effort. Also, if Applebee’s was held at gunpoint this glass weighs about the same as a medium dog so it can double as a liquor/juice holder and a defensive weapon. IMG-7009

Next we tried the two premium cocktails; Dracula’s Juice and Boo Lagoon. Dracula’s Juice was actually pretty good because it had the added element of frozen lemonade which helps even out the super sweet Razzmatazz. I am not a huge Razzmatazz fan unless I am playing Scrabble.

Boo Lagoon is absolutely adorable in name only. Well, the name and the gummy shark. Blue Curacao and I parted ways years ago at Myrtle Beach. I won’t go into detail but let’s just say a certain someone is not invited back to a certain amusement ride.

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Now for the main event. Appleebee’s decided to go all in on a one dollar horror drink made from Bacardi Rum, passionfruit, cherry and a splash of Sprite but really the magic is the gummy brain resting on top. It’s made quite an impact around the web so I think this will be a big hit for 2018. Is it as cool as a Candy Corntini from Rockafellas in Salem, Massachusetts? No way but it is pretty good for a place that has a long list of banned patrons across the country. You haven’t lived unless you’ve retrieved your car the next day from an Applebee’s parking lot in the hopes no one recognizes you.

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These days I’m not really that big on the drinking during a weeknight but on certain of occasions, one has to make an exception. I always find these little trips are what makes the season memorable, even if it’s clouded with a massive liquor/sugar hangover the following day.

So, A+ for the Halloween effort, Applebee’s! The price is right for what you get and the gummy candy brains are a nice touch. I probably would have preferred something to remind me of the event like a Halloween mug or something but for a dollar, what am I complaining about?

You can watch the Periscope live event reviewing all of these in Applebee’s with my friends here. It gets stupid but what do you expect? It’s Applebee’s and booze!

Casserole of Disaster Visits: Eastern State Penitentiary

better eastern1 Welcome back to the Halloween Hell Show as we continue our journey through the spookiest season of the year. Speaking of journey, this week we will be traveling around the country and world to some of the weirdest and creepiest places I have visited. It’s a segment I will call “Casserole of Disaster Visits”. (I know it’s lame)

Tonight we start out with what is believed to be the most haunted establishment in not just America but the world. A penitentiary which housed some of the most famous criminals to include Al Capone and Willie Sutton and broke just about anyone who entered its massive doors. This place is this infamous Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Opened in 1829, Eastern State was the first of its kind to bring reform through physical, psychological and spiritual strain, using isolation as the main tool of choice. An imposing structure which was constructed like a wagon wheel where each of the long blocks met in the center, housing hundreds of small single person cells. From the outside it looks like a fortress with its massive high stone walls making it feel nothing less than medieval. This place was without hope by design.

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Many prisons of the late 1800’s through the mid-1900’s required hard labor in general population to serve out a sentence but not Eastern State. The method of reform and penance was to live with one’s self in total isolation away from everything in a cell so small, the bed would take up most of the floor space. Prisoners had no windows other than a small skylight to ensure that even a glance beyond the walls to civilization was impossible. If they misbehaved, torture methods like freezing exposure or loss of circulation tied to a chair was the preferred punishment. This was an institution of psychological pain which was then referred to as “reform”.

The prison was finally closed down in 1971 and was left vacant (other than cats) until 1996 when parts of the cell blocks were refurbished enough to allow people back in as a National Historic Landmark. Tours are daily with the help of an audio headset voiced by the actor Steve Buscemi which is narrated quite well. My friend and I stayed on track for as long as we could but with time constraints we hustled to get as much in as possible minus Steve.

Watch the video of me talking about the Eastern State Penitentiary and my theory of how freezing water-torture came about. I’m not saying it is historically accurate but I am pretty sure it was just as stupid.

The Hell Show continues! Don’t forget tonight I will be doing something live and announcing tomorrow’s #CODAMN! I hope you can be apart of the craziness.

Halloween Bratwurst, Beer and Hot Sauce

Oh World Market. How I love thee, especially during the Halloween season. Every year you bring out the strange and unusual and fill my Hell Show with content. I can’t say great content but nonetheless, content.

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Over the last couple of Halloween Hell Shows, World Market has been the place to be for rare Halloween sodas and adult beverages. Unfortunately, this year the pace of new flavors has slowed in those particular categories but that is not slowing anything down here! Tonight I am reviewing a few items I picked up over the past week and will give them a fair shake in the CoD HQ.

I also picked up a large amount of “horror” themed beer and wine but that will have to wait for the weekend. Lately, the week days have been pretty slammed with work issues so no time for a foggy head during the 9 to 5.

Come join me for Halloween Brats, Beer and Hot Sauce from one of my favorite retail chains; World Market. If you are asking yourself how I filled twelve minutes in a video review I will tell you I don’t know. I just don’t know. But come watch anyway. Or just play it as background noise for Jack-o-lantern carving. Either way.

What Are YOU Watching?

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If there is one thing I love about this season it is the fact that movies like Cabin In The Woods will be airing on random weekday mornings for the duration on October. Channels like AMC or Freeform (formerly ABC Family Channel) have their annual Halloween horror programing starting as early as the first of October. It’s such a treat to see what spooky films will share time slots with The View giving me a great excuse to work from home.

Thanks to the geniuses over at Nerd Much, we have gotten an early program guide for AMC, SYFY, Turner Classic Movies, and Freeform.  Sure, with subscriptions to Shudder, Netflix and Amazon Prime we can watch most of these without commercial interruptions and Reagan won’t be saying “your funting, daughter” but I think it’s a little more special to watch these scares on primetime with McDonald’s commercials every fifteen minutes.

Below are the scheduled times and dates (all Eastern Standard). So get your calendars out and start cancelling plans early because have horror movies to watch!

Monday: October 1st

  • Resident Evil (Syfy at 2:30PM)
  • ParaNorman (Freeform at 5PM)
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas (Freeform at 7:10PM)
  • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 8:50PM)
  • ParaNorman (Freeform at 12AM)
  • Tuesday: October 2nd

    • Sorority Row (Syfy at 1:30PM)
    • The Nightmare Before Christmas (Freeform at 5PM)
    • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 6:30PM)
    • Monster’s University (Freeform at 8:30PM)
    • Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971) (Freeform at 12AM)

    Wednesday: October 3rd

    • Silent House (Syfy at 1PM)
    • Willy Wonka (1971) (Freeform at 4PM)
    • Monsters University (Freeform at 6:30PM)
    • American Psycho (Syfy at 7PM)
    • Monster House (Freeform at 9PM)
    • The Monster (1925) (TCM at 10:45PM)
    • The Final Girls (Freeform at 12AM)

    Thursday: October 4th

    • ParaNorman (Freeform at 5PM)
    • Insidious (Syfy at 6:30PM)
    • Monster House (Freeform at 7PM)
    • The Addams Family (1991) (Freeform at 9PM)
    • Teen Spirit (Freeform at 12AM)

    Friday: October 5th

    • Into the Dark (Hulu)
    • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Freeform at 3:30PM)
    • The Addams Family (1991) (Freeform at 6:10PM)
    • The Goonies (Freeform at 8:20PM)
    • Z Nation Season 5 Premiere (Syfy at 9:00PM)
    • Van Helsing Season 3 Premiere (Syfy at 10:00PM)
    • The Breakfast Club (Freeform at 12AM)
    • Deadly Friend (1986) (TCM at 2:00AM)
    • Demon Seed (1977) (TCM at 3:45AM)
    • Saturday: October 6th

      • Monster House (Freeform at 10:10AM)
      • Willy Wonka (1971) (Freeform at 12:20PM)
      • The Haunted Mansion (Freeform at 2:50PM)
      • The Thing From Another World (1951) (TCM at 4:15PM)
      • The Goonies (Freeform at 4:55PM)
      • Cabin in the Woods (Syfy at 5PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 7:35PM)
      • No Escape Room (Syfy at 9:00PM)
      • Maleficent (Freeform at 9:45PM)
      • Cabin Fever (Syfy at 11PM)
      • Warm Bodies (Freeform at 11:50PM)

      Sunday: October 7th

      • Monster House (Freeform at 7AM)
      • Willy Wonka (Freeform at 9:10AM)
      • The Haunted Mansion (Freeform at 11:40AM)
      • Alice in Wonderland (Freeform at 1:50PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 4:25PM)
      • Maleficent (Freeform at 6:35PM)
      • The Mummy’s Hand (1940) (TCM at 8:00PM)
      • Sweeney Todd (Freeform at 8:40PM)
      • The Walking Dead Season 9 Premiere (AMC at 9:00PM )
      • Dark Shadows (2012) (Freeform at 11:20PM)
      • Fright Night (Syfy at 11:25PM)

      Monday: October 8th

      • Sweeney Todd (Freeform at 4PM)
      • Dark Shadows (Freeform at 6:30PM)
      • The Addams Family (Freeform at 9PM)
      • Clue (Freeform at 12AM)

      Tuesday: October 9th

      • Jurassic Park (Freeform at 3PM)
      • The Addams Famly (Freeform at 6PM)
      • The Quiet Ones (Syfy at 9PM)
      • Warm Bodies (Freeform at 12AM)

      Wednesday: October 10th

      • The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Freeform at 3PM)
      • Lights Out (Syfy at 7:15PM)
      • The Devil’s Bride (1968) (TCM at 8:00PM)
      • Truth or Dare (Syfy at 8:30PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 9PM)
      • Horror of Dracula (1958) (TCM at 10:00PM)
      • Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1965) (TCM at 11:30PM)
      • ParaNorman (Freeform at 12AM)
      • Horror Hotel (1960) (TCM at 1:15AM)
      • The Face of Fu Manchu (1965) (TCM at 2:45AM)
      • Rasputin, the Mad Monk (1966) (TCM at 4:30AM)

      Thursday: October 11th

      • Light as a Feather (Hulu)
      • ParaNorman (Freeform at 4:30PM)
      • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Syfy at 5PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 6:40PM)
      • The Boxtrolls (Freeform at 12AM)

      Friday: October 12th

      • The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)
      • Leatherface (Syfy at 7PM)

      Saturday: October 13th

      • ParaNorman (Freeform at 7AM)
      • The Nightmare Before Christmas (Freeform at 1:15PM)
      • The Seventh Victim (1943) (TCM at 2:15PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 2:50PM)
      • CUCUY: The Boogeyman (Syfy at 7:00PM)
      • Monsters, Inc (Freeform at 7:25PM)
      • Karma (Syfy at 9:00PM)
      • Monsters University (Freeform at 9:30PM)
      • The Addams Family (Freeform at 12AM)

      Sunday: October 14th

      • Sweeney Todd (Freeform at 7AM)
      • The Nightmare Before Christmas (Freeform at 9:30AM)
      • The Addams Family (Freeform at 11:10AM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 1:15PM)
      • Decorating Disney: Halloween Magic (Freeform at 8PM)
      • Hotel Transylvania (Freeform at 9PM)
      • The Robot vs. the Aztech Mummy (1958) (TCM at 10:45PM)

      Monday: October 15th

      • The Black Hole (1979) (TCM at 12:15AM)
      • ParaNorman (Freeform at 4PM)
      • Hotel Transylvania (Freeform at 6PM)
      • Monster House (Freeform at 12AM)

      Tuesday: October 16th

      • Decorating Disney: Halloween Magic (Freeform at 3:30PM)
      • Monster House (Freeform at 4:30PM)
      • Willy Wonka (Freeform at 6:30PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 8:55PM)

      Wednesday: October 17th

      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 6:30PM)
      • The Old Dark House (1932) (TCM at 8:00PM)
      • Sweeney Todd (Freeform at 8:30PM)
      • The Walking Dead (1936) (TCM at 9:30PM)
      • Isle of the Dead (1945) (TCM at 10:45PM)
      • The Addams Family (Freeform at 12AM)
      • Bedlam (1946) (TCM at 12:15AM)
      • Die, Monster, Die! (1965) (TCM at 1:45AM)
      • The Sorcerers (1967) (TCM at 3:15AM)
      • The Terror (1963) (TCM at 5:00AM)

      Thursday: October 18th

      • Sweeney Todd (Freeform at 4PM)
      • Dark Shadows (Freeform at 6:30PM)
      • The Addams Family (Freeform at 9PM)
      • Maggie (Freeform at 12AM)

      Friday: October 19th

      • Lore Season 2 (Amazon Prime Video)
      • Dark Shadows (Freeform at 3:30PM)
      • The Goonies (Freeform at 6:10PM)
      • Hotel Transylvania (Freeform at 8:50PM)
      • Monster House (Freeform at 12AM)
      • Dreamscape (1984) (TCM at 2:00AM)

      Saturday: October 20

      • Monster House (Freeform at 7AM)
      • ParaNorman (Freeform at 9:05AM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 11:10AM)
      • The Goonies (Freeform at 1:20PM)
      • The Nightmare Before Christmas (Freeform at 4PM)
      • Hotel Transylvania (Freeform at 5:35PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 7:40PM)
      • Killer High (Syfy at 9:00PM)
      • The Addams Family (Freeform at 9:50PM)
      • The Haunted Mansion (Freeform at 11:55PM)

      Sunday: October 21

      • Paranorman (Freeform at 7AM)
      • Spooky Buddies (Freeform at 9AM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 11:05AM)
      • The Haunted Mansion (Freeform at 1:15PM)
      • The Nightmare Before Christmas (Freeform at 3:20PM)
      • The Addams Family (Freeform at 5PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 7:05PM)
      • The Mummy (1959) (TCM at 8:00PM)
      • Maleficent (Freeform at 9:15PM)
      • The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964) (TCM at 9:45PM)
      • Pharaoh’s Curse (1957) (TCM at 11:15PM)
      • Sweeney Todd (Freeform at 11:20PM)
      • Eyes Without a Face (1959) (TCM at 2:30AM)

      Monday: October 22

      • Maleficent (Freeform at 4PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 6:10PM)
      • The Witches of Eastwick (Freeform at 8:20PM)
      • Son of Frankenstein (1939) (TCM at 9:00PM)
      • Warm Bodies (Freeform at 12AM)
      • The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) (TCM at 12:00AM)
      • Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) (TCM at 1:30AM)
      • Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed! (1970) (TCM at 3:15AM)

      Tuesday: October 23

      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 4PM)
      • The Witches of Eastwick (Freeform at 6:10PM)
      • The Addams Family (Freeform at 8:50PM)
      • Monster House (Freeform at 12AM)

      Wednesday: October 24

      • Decorating Disney: Halloween Magic (Freeform at 4PM)
      • Monster House (Freeform at 5PM)
      • The Addams Family (Freeform at 7PM)
      • White Zombie (1932) (TCM at 8:00PM)
      • Hotel Transylvania (Freeform at 9PM)
      • Mark of the Vampire (1935) (TCM at 9:15PM)
      • Spooky Buddies (Freeform at 12AM)
      • The Devil Bat (1940) (TCM at 1:30AM)
      • The Corpse Vanishes (1942) (TCM at 2:45AM)
      • Bowery at Midnight (1942) (TCM at 5:15AM)

      Thursday: October 25

      • The Canterville Ghost (1944) (TCM at 9:45AM)
      • Jurassic Park (Freeform at 4PM)
      • Hotel Transylvania (Freeform at 7PM)
      • The Haunted Mansion (Freeform at 9PM)
      • The Final Girls (Freeform at 12AM)

      Friday: October 26

      • The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix)
      • Castlevania Season 2 (Netflix)
      • Jurassic Park (Freeform at 12:30PM)
      • The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Freeform at 3:35PM)
      • The Haunted Mansion (Freeform at 6:40PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 8:50PM)
      • Channel Zero: Dream Door (Syfy at 11PM)
      • Teen Spirit (Freeform at 12AM)

      Saturday: October 27

      • 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) (TCM at 6:00AM)
      • Dark Shadows (Freeform at 7AM)
      • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Freeform at 9:40AM)
      • The Adams Family (Freeform at 12:20PM)
      • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) (TCM at 2:15PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 2:30PM)
      • Monsters Inc (Freeform at 4:40PM)
      • The Power (1968) (TCM at 6:00PM)
      • Monsters University (Freeform at 6:50PM)
      • Dead in the Water (Syfy at 9:00PM)
      • Hotel Transylvania (Freeform at 9:20PM)
      • Toy Story of TERROR! (Freeform at 11:25PM)
      • ParaNorman (Freeform at 11:55PM)
      • House of Dark Shadows (1970) (TCM at 1:30AM)
      • Night of Dark Shadows (1971) (TCM at 3:30AM)
      • Black Cats and Broomsticks (1955) (TCM at 5:30AM)

      Sunday: October 28

      • The Addams Family (Freeform at 9:40AM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 11:50AM)
      • Toy Story of TERROR! (Freeform at 2PM)
      • Monsters Inc (Freeform at 2:30PM)
      • Monsters University (Freeform at 4:35PM)
      • Hotel Transylvania (Freeform at 7:05PM)
      • The Mummy’s Shroud (1967) (TCM at 8:00PM)
      • Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971) (TCM at 10:00PM)
      • The Goonies (Freeform at 11:20PM)

      Monday: October 29

      • Children of the Damned (1963) (TCM at 10:00AM)
      • Village of the Damned (1961) (TCM at 11:45AM)
      • What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) (TCM at 1:15PM)
      • Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) (TCM at 3:45PM)
      • The Goonies (Freeform at 4:30PM)
      • The Nanny (1965) (TCM at 6:15PM)
      • Island of Lost Souls (1932) (TCM at 8:00PM)
      • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) (TCM at 9:15PM)
      • 25th Anniversary Release: The Nightmare Before Christmas (Freeform at 9:20PM)
      • Mad Love (1935) (TCM at 11:00PM)
      • The Addams Family (Freeform at 12AM)
      • The Fly (1958) (TCM at 12:15AM)
      • The Frozen Dead (1967) (TCM at 4:15AM)

      Tuesday: October 30

      • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920 Silent Film) (TCM at 6:00AM)
      • The Magician (1926) (TCM at 7:15AM)
      • The Devil-Doll (1936) (TCM at 10:15AM)
      • The Mysterious Island (1929) (TCM at 11:45AM)
      • Doctor X (1932) (TCM at 1:30PM)
      • The Return of Doctor X (1939) (TCM at 3:00PM)
      • King Kong (1933) (TCM at 4:15PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 4:40PM)
      • Things to Come (1936) (TCM at 6:15PM)
      • The Nightmare Before Christmas (Freeform at 6:45PM)
      • Toy Story of TERROR! (Freeform at 8:25PM)
      • The Addams Family (Freeform at 8:55PM)
      • Warm Bodies (Freeform at 12AM)
      • Night of the Living Dead (1968) (TCM at 2:45AM)
      • The Plague of the Zombies (1966) (TCM at 4:30AM)

      Wednesday: October 31 Happy Halloween

      • Hands of a Stranger (1962) (TCM at 6:00AM)
      • Dementia 13 (1963) (TCM at 7:30AM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 7:30AM)
      • Carnival of Souls (1962) (TCM at 10:15AM)
      • Toy Story of TERROR! (Freeform at 11AM)
      • Decorating Disney: Halloween Magic (Freeform at 11:30AM)
      • Spirits of the Dead (1968) (TCM at 11:45AM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 12:30PM)
      • From Beyond the Grave (1973) (TCM at 2:00PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 2:40PM)
      • Black Sabbath (1963) (TCM at 4:00PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 4:45PM)
      • Dead of Night (1945) (TCM at 6:00PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 6:50PM)
      • House of Wax (1953) (TCM at 8:00PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 8:55PM)
      • Pit and the Pendulum (1961) (TCM at 9:45PM)
      • Masque of the Red Death (1964) (TCM at 11:15PM)
      • Hocus Pocus (Freeform at 12AM)
      • House on Haunted Hill (1958) (TCM at 1:00AM)
      • Theatre of Blood (1973) (TCM at 2:30AM)
      • The Last Man on Earth (1964) (TCM at 4:30AM)
      • Halloween 5: The Revenge (AMC at 1:30AM EST)
      • Halloween 6: The Curse (AMC at 3:30AM EST)
      • THe Invasion of Neptune Men (AMC at 5:30AM EST)
      • Hocus Pocus (FF at 7:30AM ET)
      • Halloween 4: The Return (AMC at 9AM EST)
      • Halloween 5: The Revenge (AMC at 11AM EST)
      • Hocus Pocus Marathon (FF at noon – 11PM ET)
      • Halloween 6: The Curse (AMC at 1PM EST)
      • Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (AMC at 3PM EST)
      • Halloween II (AMC at 5PM EST)
      • Halloween (AMC at 7:30PM EST)
      • Stan Against Evil (IFC)
      • Halloween 4: The Return (AMC at 9:30PM EST)
      • Halloween 5: The Revenge (AMC at 11:30PM EST)

Ghosts and Goblins! A Halloween Story

I believe Halloween freaks like myself have that one event, memory or place which is the responsible for our undying love of the season, even into middle-age. For me, it was a book. As far back as I can remember, I loved this book and would take it almost anywhere. In fact, I can recall my parents concern I was become a little obsessed with it and offered almost anything to replace it or at least broaden my horizons. I heard none of it. This book took me to a weird, spooky place and even today, that is where I want to be. This book is Ghosts and Goblins.

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For almost thirty years I thought I had lost this book and it slowly drifted from memory until a fateful day when I was exploring my parent’s basement I was reunited with my beloved book. A little used and the cover is missing but still readable. It’s what is on the inside of the book that matters, no?

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Ghost and Goblins is a collection of old stories, poems and limericks from various sources but the real magic is the illustrations by Tim Kirk. They were so mesmerizing I don’t even recall reading much of the stories. Except for one. THE one. The story and illustration which terrorized an only child and would pop into mind late at night believing there were ghosts right outside the door. That story was “A Halloween Story” by Margaret Widderman and it solidified my love of October forever.

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My good Lord, look at what is happening in this room! These kids have no idea there are demons floating all around them but do seem generally taken with the story. There are jack-o-lanterns lit in the windows and hot chocolate with doughnuts on a plate making an absolutely rad-ass evening of fright. It reminds me of being a kid watching The Exorcist on TV knowing full well that in an hour I would sent to bed scared out of my wits. I don’t know why we do the things we do but that is what makes us the Halloween freaks we are.

“There was Something that howled around the chimney, And Something that rattled on the wall- And it wasn’t wind, the Thing, nor a tick-tock on a string, Nor anything they said it was at all:”.

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That stanza of the poem/story used to creep me out. It was like the part in a ghost movie when logic and reason starts departing as the characters begin to accept paranormal activity is afoot. I remember reading this under a blanket with Cheez-it dusted fingers listening closely as the house settled. Was that a ventilation duct expanding or was it Captain Howdy scratching outside the door? At that time, the latter seemed more plausible.

For better or worse, this book shaped my love for Halloween and all things creepy. Still to this day, I love thumbing through these pages getting the same delight I had at age seven. Tim Kirk’s imagination and illustrations make this book such a treasure and I am so grateful to have found it after all these years. I can’t tell you how hard it is to describe a childhood book in your late thirties. “It’s a book with demon ghosts sneaking up on kids eating doughnuts…has a rotting corpse in a tux reading a magazine on the inside cover…”.

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The Hell Show continues! Thanks for reading my story about reading. This is typically my favorite week of the season because finally no one gives me the side-eye when I dress in all black and orange. It’s a lonely summer.

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