Freaky Frights And The Pumpkin Patch

As noted previously, the gore lovefest that is Freaky Frights is ceasing to be.

It was unclear to me from their website whether where they going to have a display this year at all.

So, I took my chances and headed over on Friday, October 24th. It was on!

It wasn't as extravagant or large as in previous years. Unlike last year, which covered two blocks, this year covered only one.

I saw displays that I remembered from last year, but also noticed a few scenes missing (the bathroom set from the first Saw film, for example).

However, Freaky Frights was definitely not going to go out with a whimper. Here is but a horrible taste of the carnage. Please note that you can still see all the blood and gore yourself on Halloween -- after October 31st, Freaky Frights as the world knows it will go poof.

A cheerful welcome


My favorite display


The popular Jack White vomiting blood display


I don't recall what this chef is cooking, but it is presumably not vegan.




It might be difficult to see, but this smiling head is spewing blood out of several improvised orifices.


A Robert Urich bangeroo type headache




Photo is a little too dark, but it looked nice in person


Hey! A scary clown pic for Bubs!


Various houses had aesthetically-pleasing lit-up warning signs over their front doors







On Saturday, we headed to a pumpkin patch a few miles from our house. It was as nice and pleasant as Freaky Frights was terrifying and horrific.

We took a hayride with the kids to get to our pumpkin.


Splotchy carries the 2008 family pumpkin, accompanied by the youngest Splotchling.

Contemplating The Banana

Submitted for The Big Wicked Online Pageant.

I didn't have any Halloween pics from my childhood (frankly, I was petrified of the damn holiday), so this one was taken THIS VERY DAY.

Monster Parties: Fact or Fiction?

Here's a nice little piece of Halloween-themed goodness from the beloved Mr. Show.

How Douchebaggery Killed Halloween

Freaky Frights on Forest, which I lovingly documented here, might be over.

Earlier this month I complained that Freaky Frights was only up for a few days this year, as opposed to prior years, when the wonderfully grotesque displays were viewable for several weeks.

Well, it turns out there's a reason the schedule was limited, as I found this posted today on the Freaky Frights website:
The Things That Killed Freaky Frights

There are so few people in the world that care about things deeply, that want to make the world a more interesting place. And they get squashed.

Happy Halloween.

By The Pricking Of My Thumbs...

Oh boy oh boy oh boy, Halloween is a-comin'.

Here's one of my favorite scary scenes, from the 1983 film Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Oh, COME ON, HALLOWEEN!

Is it October 31st yet?

I have some good news and bad news.

*****

Freaky Frights On Forest, the spectacular, outdoor, two-block Halloween extravaganza I documented here is back, but unfortunately this year it will be for a much more limited engagement.

The blood, gore and authentic horror movie scene reenactments will only be open to the public on October 24-26 and October 31.

*****

I have my gorilla costume, but my eldest son is petrified of me when I wear it. I would love to go to a Halloween party with MizSplotchy, but we don't have one scheduled (nor do we have a babysitter lined up).

*****

I have a strong desire to start a-watching horror movies, but MizSplotchy is freaky busy with school these days. I can't watch horror movies alone, as that is when people usually get killed by monsters jumping out of their TV's.

*****

Still, HALLOWEEN IS COMING. IT'S ALMOST HERE! HURRY HOME! HURRY HOME!

Golden Bananas!

MizSplotchy has just informed me she has obtained a gorilla suit for me.

Oh, MizSplotchy!

BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINNNNS!

May I Borrow Your Gorilla Costume?

So, MizSplotchy already has her costume picked out for this coming Halloween.

She'll be going for a 1950's housewifey vibe, her costume to be topped off by this little mound of heaven.



After some soul searching, I came up with a perfect companion costume to hers -- the robot monster from Robot Monster!



My problem is that gorilla costumes are pretty damned expensive. I can't afford to spend a couple hundred bucks on a gorilla body, folks. I can't afford to rent a gorilla costume for seventy bucks, either.

I look to you, blogosphere, for any assistance in my pursuit of 1950's schlock! Let me borrow your gorilla costume, okay? I promise not to sweat in it too much.

These Things Won't Be Around Much Longer, Folks

If you live in the Chicago area and you haven't been to the following attractions, their last days are both on October 31st.

You will kick yourself if you miss either of them. If you miss them and you don't kick yourself, don't worry, I'll make sure someone kicks you.

Niki In The Garden
A celebration of the work of sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle, at the marvelous Garfield Park Conservatory.

The Garfield Park Conservatory is steps from a stop on the Green Line. If you want to drive, there's free parking. To walk through the lovely greenhouses and an amazing new grassy space out behind the greenhouses, all of them having wonderful sculptures, a $5.00 donation is requested.





One of the highlights of the exhibit was "La Cabeza", which you could actually walk inside.






Freaky Frights On Forest
A two-block stretch in the western suburb of North Riverside -- motion-activated, eerily-lit fog-enshrouded, spooky music enchanted, gross and fantastical Halloween wonderment.



I took these pictures with my digital camera. I didn't want to despook the surroundings with a flash, so I just tried my best at holding the camera still. Some pictures came out a little too blurry, but some also came out kind of cool as a result.



This is the second year I've gone to Freaky Frights. There was a lot of new stuff this year, but this spooky glowing puppet inside a little house was once again my favorite.






Woo, I got the moon in there! It was almost full.



Dracula was actually under a strobe light, which probably contributed to this strange effect.

Freaky Frights On Forest!

Hi folks,

I just want to put in a plug for a very wonderful free event that starts next Friday in North Riverside, a near-western suburb of Chicago.

I was very lucky to have learned about it last year, and now I'd like to share the info with all you fellow lovers-of-Halloween.

Around Halloween-time of last year, Tim and I headed over to Dream Reapers, a very popular haunted house in Melrose Park, to see what all the billboard advertising for it was all about. It's supposed to be a great haunted house, but we never actually got in.

When we arrived it was about an hour before the place closed. The line to get in literally stretched for blocks. We stayed in line for about twenty minutes. Dream Reapers had some people monstered up going up and down the line to keep the people waiting entertained. There was one creepy nerd who was picking his bloody nose, and who kept on getting close to people, wigging them out by attempting to wipe his bloody nose-pickin' fingers on them.

As entertaining as the bloody nerd was, the line wasn't moving much. We decided to give up. Tim had mentioned he wanted to stop by to look at a house near mine in Brookfield. It was a house with some nicely done decorations -- a creepy, eerily-lit graveyard with skeletons and ghouls, some skeletons standing out front, some small smoke effects, etc.

We walked over there and were looking at the ghastly tableaux when the owner of the spooky house walked out. He was a really nice guy, and explained how he put some of the stuff together. He also mentioned that some people in North Riverside put on a similar kind of thing, except bigger -- it stretched over two blocks.

So, what the hell! We headed over to North Riverside. It was really fantastic. Many of the houses on a two-block stretch of Forest Avenue had something spooky or disturbing in their front yard. There were a lot of things triggered with motion sensors, there was gushing blood, strobe lights, etc. It was inspiring, all the more because it was done by people out of sheer enthusiasm for the spooky and the creepy.

The opening day for this year's festivities is next Friday, October 19th. I encourage you to visit, and leave a donation if you can.

Visit their website for more details: Freaky Frights