spooky smorgasbord

What a diverse buffet of Halloween-themed noshes found their way into my goodie bag this past month!
Actually, it started for me at the end of September. That's when I saw "Hotel Transylvania 2" and heard Wayne the Wolf Man say "We don't have to kill anymore. We have Pop-tarts."
Nice!
The first weekend in October found me ushering for the Lucas. The two movies? "Rosemary's Baby", from 1968, and the 1976 version of "Carrie". I had other plans and couldn't stay for the Friday night film, but I did for the Spacek movie. Why? Well, John Travolta was in it! So that was definitely a trick and treat for me!
There was another trick-and-treat for me that following Wednesday night. Ooh la la! Tom Baker!!! What did it matter that he was one of the more gruesome of "The Mutations"? I still was treated to that lovely voice and that glint in his eyes!
Then there was the scary face-changer in the Amazing China show - definitely creepy! But so incredible to watch! Having that coupled with the Tim Burton characters, burlesque style, reinforced the concept of costumes making scary stuff more fun!
"Kiss of the Spider Woman", set in a South American jail, was definitely appropriate for the month of Spooktober! It may have been even more so because of the creative casting done by Collective Face! Putting septagenarian Dandy in the role of sexy starlet Aurora was quite a switcheroo! (Sonja Braga, 35 years old for the 1985 film, will forever be Aurora to me!)
Now, then, don't think all the treats were movies or plays. Au contraire, mon frere! This offering was again via my usher duties at the Lucas. (Thanks, Haley!) Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra presented "A Classical Halloween", filled with both old and new favorites. Yes, indeed, from "Danse Macabre" to "Psycho" to the "Harry Potter theme", there truly was something for everyone's sweet tooth! My favorite bit, though, was the encore mash-up of "Darth Vader's March" and the Alfred Hitchcock theme - bravo!
The very next night, I was back at the Lucas after my nephew's wedding. Why? Well, partly because Haley had asked for my help. And partly because I had never been to the Graveface Frightfest ... and this was its third year! Time to rectify that situation!
I am so glad I went. I didn't get there until about 9 PM, but I was in time to see three of the films that evening. "The Monster Squad", a kid flick from 1987, was just my speed! Quite reminiscent of "The Goonies", to me!
Then came another 1987 flick, "Nightmare on Elm St 3: Dream Warriors", a movie I had deliberately avoided. Why did I stay for it? Well, I noticed it had a young (19-year-old) Patricia Arquette, as well as Craig Wasson (who I liked in "Body Double").
Plus, Ken was there and I knew he had my back!
The post-midnight finale was the 30th anniversary screening of "Return of the Living Dead". Nice! I knew the story, of course, but had not seen the movie. This time, I was pysched for it! Especially as Ken had assured me it was more tongue-in-cheek than horrifying.
Plus, it starred Clu Galager! What's not to like about that! He's been a favorite since his role as a shady FBI guy in one of my most favoite movies of all time: "Into The Night".
The Sunday afternoon was back to the world of theatre! Specifically, to the Ampersand for the Savannah Stage Company's version of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". Bwah ha ha!!! I do so enjoy their sparse sets and active voice!
The fun continued for the rest of the month!
"It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" - would it really be Halloween without this classic???
Seriously. Would it?
And "The Rocky Horror Show", too! There's something about men in fishnet stockings that simply fills me with an-ti-ci-p-p-p-a-tion!
And this year, I had something special at the 10th Annual B.Y.O.P. Party - my bfe! Neither of our pumpkins won a prize, but we had a great time, as always!
Believe it or not, there were even scary tales at my church! The God On Broadway series for the last two Sundays transported us from the Spanish Inquisition to the scary swamps and ogre habitat of fairytale land. Bwah ha ha ha!



And what did I learn from this abundance of frightful films, plays, sermons, and music?
I learned this: the unknown is far scarier than the known.
Imagine that!