Atrium Carceri, Metatron Omega, ProtoU, Cities Last Broadcast and Kammarheit. A literal who's who of the dark ambient genre and a perfect Monday playlist to focus the dark atmosphere for next week's Halloween celebrations. Cryo Chamber is again bringing the goods.
Enjoy!
So last month I wrote about a full schedule really hampering my prop-building time for this season. Luckily, the big box stores have been upping the quality of their offerings, allowing me to pick up a few of their pieces to add to this year's display.
Although as a dedicated home haunter, there would be no way that I could simply pull the prop from the box and put it straight into the yard without giving it at least a little extra touch-up...
So just like I did with the Home Depot Grim Reaper Statue and the Lowe's Haunted Living Cauldron, I grabbed this really cool matching Haunted Living 48" tombstone from Lowe's and went to work...
Out of the box, this tombstone had a really great texture and finish, but I wanted to give it a more naturally aged stone look. I dry-brushed a complete, thin coating of light grey to lighten the entire piece. I then went in with a green dry-brush in the recessed areas for a cool mossy look, followed by a black wash to give the piece an overall dark, grimy sheen.
After the updated painting, I wanted to take the customization one step further and decided to add some melted candles to the top section of the stone. I ended up cutting a few angled pieces of toilet paper roll, and then globbed hot glue around the base of each to attach it, followed by a thick drizzle around each to simulate melted wax. After all three candles were set, I simply gave each a full coat of off-white paint and they were done. Now on Halloween night, I'll simply drop an LED tea light into each for a completely realistic candle effect that will really take this tombstone to the next level.
And now on to the next project on the list!
I had another opportunity to do some guest acting last night at the world-famous Akron Haunted Schoolhouse & Laboratory. Every year, I indulge my inner haunt actor by taking a weekend and doing a stint as a queue line actor. And every year, it is a TOTAL blast! I absolutely love the freedom of roaming throughout the grounds, interacting with all of the patrons and taking photos everywhere I go. It really sharpens my "haunting" senses and gets me ready for my own big night in the Cemetery!
And as an added bonus, I will be working the queue line again TONIGHT!! So if anyone is in the Northeast Ohio area and looking for something to do, come down to the Haunted Schoolhouse & Laboratory. The newly renovated queue line area looks absolutely amazing, and I will be there waiting for you in the shadows. It is going to be packed tonight and it is guaranteed to be insane!
Thanks as always to Dave and the entire Schoolhouse crew for welcoming me and always making it so much fun!
One part surf rock, one part retro film score, one part sound effects record: This is Bradley Thomas Turner’s recipe for a perfect Halloween party soundtrack.
Haunted House Party plays like a walking tour through the All Hallow’s Eve soiree of your dreams (or is it nightmares?). This record will make you feel like you’re in an episode of Scooby-Doo, but this time … the monsters are real.
Library of the Occult Records brings a release of a different vibe in Bradley Thomas Turner's Haunted House Party. A totally swinging set of tracks that would be right at home in your local haunted tiki bar. A perfect release for a chill Saturday morning during an otherwise hectic and dark October season. The full release of this groovy set drops on Halloween!
Enjoy this one!
WARNING: This cassette is not to be listened to in the dark. Listen to this cassette at your own risk!
We are flying through October and it is already time for the third installment of Freebie Fridays, where I share a selection from my ever-growing collection of novelty Halloween "spooky sounds" vinyl records, cassette tapes, and CDs.
Luckily, the cassettes' similarities end there. Horror At The Graveyard is a much better offering in that the first side of the cassette is a rather insane full story of a walk in a graveyard, while the flip side is a collection of standard "spooky sounds."
Side A: Full length story complete with sound effects. "It was a strange, eerie night. Heavy black clouds cast shadows over the full moon, making it dark and dreary. The leaves on the trees seemed to dance in fright to the mournful howling of the wind..."
So I have listened to this side at least three times and I just keep going back to it. It's so hyper dramatic in its descriptive delivery, with wild swings of sudden intensity throughout. The story plays out more like a fever dream, which makes it so weirdly good. Add to that the narrator's quirky, unidentifiable accent as he REALLY tries to deliver the drama, and the canned "spooky sounds" to add to the story's intensity, and you have 15 minutes of campy, hilarious, but totally great Halloween fun. This story alone makes the cassette a true gem.
Side B: "Spine Chilling"/"Hair Raising"/"Heart Pounding"/Sound Effects
After the greatness of the story on Side A, everything here is just gravy. A continuous, standard collection of "spooky sounds" that have appeared on countless other offerings, but with a few darker effects added in to give the whole thing that little bit extra. Definitely worth a listen just to check the "nostalgia" box, but on its own is still better than most.
Another "spooky sounds" cassette bought on a whim (I couldn't pass up that cover art!), but turns out to be a real surprise. This is definitely one to add to your collection and your October playlist!
DOWNLOAD "HORROR AT THE GRAVEYARD" HERE.
Another shot of Halloween inspiration, courtesy of another really great Halloween artist, Austin Pardun.
Austin continues to kill it with his vintage and creepy October aesthetic. One part unsettling horror, one part nostalgic Halloween advertising, but it all combines perfectly into a continuing series of distilled Halloween perfection!
Each piece just gushes with total Halloween spirit, and I can't wait to see what he continues to create throughout the season.
Be inspired and enjoy!
FIFTEEN DAYS into October and not ONE pumpkin beer review!? How could I have let this happen? It's way past time to right this wrong!
Every October, I like to pick up a few six packs of whatever seasonal pumpkin beer is on the local grocer's shelves, bring them home and sample them, and then write a highly-scientific and accurate review, based on my highly scientific Drunken Jackos Rating Scale. So let's get to it!
Upon cracking the 16-ounce "tallboy" can open, the beer poured a nice rich copper hue with an earthy, nutty, and slight cinnamon-sweet note, all capped with a firm, foamy head.
On first taste, there was a slightly malty, dry, roasted nut spice flavor. But it was smooth and balanced, not at all overpowering.
As I continued to drink this beer, the flavors opened up a bit, releasing the dry maltiness and leaving a smoother, toasted nut flavor.
It definitely sits on the opposite side of the pumpkin ale spectrum to the cinnamon-sweet, pumpkin pie-flavored ales. There's no real sweetness here, but it does have a really great earthy flavor (all those Pennsylvania pumpkins!), making this a perfect beer to drink on a chilly October night.
And because this beer really nails that "from the earth" nut flavor and remains very drinkable throughout, Troegs' Master of Pumpkins gets 4 out of 5 Drunken Jackos. This one is highly recommended!
Some of his music was performed on industrial and domestic tools, as well as on self-made instruments and electronic media. His influence was noted by bands such as The Sisters of Mercy, Throbbing Gristle, and Deine Lakaien, and he became better known in Japan, the U.S. and Britain than in Germany. His music was "characterized by a fondness for the nightmarish and the fantastic."
Another fantastic track from the dawn of dark ambient. German artist Peter Frohmader's Nekropolis project from 1981. Very dark, very discordant, but ooh so good.
Enjoy.
The annual neighborhood trick-or-treat announcement flyers have finally been printed and are ready to be distributed to 125 houses throughout my development. In recent years, I have become the unofficial official flyer creator and distributor, which I do without complaint. Designed and printed by me, and distributed by my son and a few of his neighborhood friends (work smarter, not harder!).
And while I'm disappointed with the meager two-hour window for trick-or-treating, I'm happy to see the annual orange-and-black flyers go out to all the neighbors, signaling the countdown to the big night.
We are getting closer! Are you ready?
Well, I finally pulled the trigger on a really cool piece from my Halloween youth! I came across an original Topstone Skull Mask from the 1980s in great condition and decided that it was going into my collection.
Last night, I finally joined in on this year's Great Pumpkin Project fun with my first jack-o-lantern drop of the season.
I picked up a nice little pumpkin from the corner store and brought him home. I gave him an appropriately spooky face, and after a quick carve and a GPP tag attachment, he was ready to go...
About a month ago, the local Melt Bar & Grilled, a fantastic little food joint that serves up the most delicious and outrageous sandwich concoctions based on a standard grilled cheese theme, closed its doors for business. While I will miss their Chicken & Waffles Grilled Cheese, I felt it appropriate to honor them with a pumpkin drop.
I was surprised that (most of) the sign and some of the other exterior lights were still on, even with no one home. But it made for a cool backdrop!
A little tip of the pumpkin hat to you, Melt! Your grilled cheeses were delicious!!
We have reached the end of another week, so that means it's time for another Freebie Friday! Time to share another forgotten gem from the murky depths of my Halloween "spooky sounds" collection.
After last week's dud of an offering, I'm really excited to rebound with this.
The quality of this release is excellent, with two full sides of clean, rich audio. Both sides rely predominantly on heavy reverb and left-to-right channel "warbling" over a base of somewhat standard thunder, synthesizer organ, swamp critters, and a few echoing evil laughs and groans. And a few clips played backwards? But it all works! A real pulsating creepiness is achieved on both sides without any cheap, silly, or annoying sounds prevalent in many of the releases from decades before. I would sum it up by saying this is a more mature, atmospheric and developed "spooky sounds" release.
Each side is broken up into three segments. Side A being Ghoulish/Eerie/Creepy, and Side B being Morbid/Haunting/Spooky. Exceptionally great track names, but each side plays well as a single track. There are a few breaks in the sounds, but I couldn't absolutely identify where the track breaks are supposed to be. So for me, each side plays as one single track.
I bought this one on a whim, based solely on the cool pen-and-ink skull drawing on the cover, and it paid off nicely. It was an unexpectedly cool release for the price and offers a full hour's worth of the creeps! This one is highly recommended to add to your collection!
Another shot of Halloween inspiration, courtesy of another really great Halloween artist, Cole Cameron.
A great illustrator who really nails that vintage and creepy, yet totally whimsical and fun, October aesthetic.
Each piece in this series just gushes with total cartoonish Halloween spirit, and I can't wait to see what he continues to create through the season.
Be inspired and enjoy!
A long time ago, I decided that I wanted to take my meager Halloween yard display to the next level. I wanted to build more detailed props including coffins and tombstones. I thought more about lighting effects and the use of color. And I wanted to add to the overall creepy feel of the display through the use of music. No more silly "spooky sounds" cassettes (although they ARE still really fun!), I wanted to take the display from fun to deadly serious...
It was at about this time that I discovered the dark ambient genre. I happened upon my wife's CD collection, where she recommended Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Volume II. I dropped the disc in the player and was absolutely amazed by what I heard. Tracks that were more akin to background sounds without any lyrics of identifiable repeats. And so much creepy atmosphere! I instantly knew that audio like this would make a perfect backdrop to my display. It added an unsettling soundtrack that would lay "behind" the visuals of the display without overwhelming or drawing attention away from the main focus.
I ended up grabbing six tracks from the Apex Twin CD to make my first "display soundtrack playlist." Every track a haunting, atmospheric cut to instill fear and unease in the trick-or-treaters on Halloween night.
And since that time, I have continued to refine things throughout my display, including the audio portion. I continue to discover new artists and tracks from the dark ambient genre, and use them in the display.
But every October I still go back to that original playlist to revisit those memories. And every time I hit play on this track, the one that begins that original playlist, I still get a sly smile and a jolt across my belly as it transports me back. Matchsticks will always be an important piece of Highbury history and will always be in my October playlist.
Take a listen and enjoy.
The nostalgia of those classic Ben Cooper costumes of the 70s and 80s seems to be having a real moment this year, and I'm all for it. As a product of that generation, I spent many a Halloween shredding through the one-piece vinyl costumes while I struggled to see or breathe through the hard plastic masks, all while hurriedly canvassing the neighborhood trying to amass as much candy as I possibly could.
First, it was the insanely popular line of 6" Ben Cooper Costume Kids collectible figures by NECA (anybody wanna sell me a set of Wave 1 figures for anything less than the outrageous eBay flipper prices?), and now this. A full documentary on the company that changed Halloween costumes for an entire generation of kids.
HNN Productions and director Rob Caprilozzi team up to tell the story of Ben Cooper Inc. and their rise to the top of the Halloween costume industry. The trailer is full of great, old clips of their iconic costumes alongside stories from the names that were there during that time.
Another quick prop upgrade is finished and ready to go!
So last month I wrote about a full schedule really hampering my prop-building time for this season. Luckily, the big box stores have been upping the quality of their offerings, allowing me to pick up a few of their pieces to add to this year's display.
Although as a dedicated home haunter, there would be no way that I could simply pull the prop from the box and put it straight into the yard without giving it at least a little extra touch-up...
So just like I did with the Home Depot Grim Reaper Statue prop, I grabbed this really cool Haunted Living Cauldron from Lowe's and went to work...
Out of the box, this cauldron had a really great texture and finish, but I wanted to give it a well-worn, rusted look. So with paints already in my garage, I dry-brushed a complete coating of orange, followed by a light misting of dark orange and flat brown spray paints. And that was it. Done. In less than an hour, I had the rusty look I was going for.
The only thing left to do, was to go old school with it! When I first bought it, I decided that I wanted to have the cauldron as a "witch prop" in front of the group that would be handing out candy. So it had to "do something" to get the attention of the trick-or-treaters. And like any good cauldron, it needs to smoke and bubble, so I decided to go out and grab dry ice. I have never used actual dry ice before, but I found a local vendor and secured a few test chunks. I added hot water to the cauldron and dropped the chunks in, marveling at the instant "smoke" rolling over the cauldron's edges and the unexpected "bubbling" from the dry ice's reaction to the hot water. Perfect!!
The final step will be to add some green LED lights to the inside of the cauldron for Halloween night, and this prop is ready to go! A quick and easy touch-up that took no time at all, and this will be a nice new accent piece in this year's display.
A little Sunday Halloween inspiration, courtesy of one of my favorite Halloween artists, Drew Rausch.
I'd put him up into the group of Halloween-based illustrators like Rhode Montijo, Sam Heimer and Austin Pardun, who really nail that vintage and creepy, yet totally whimsical and fun, October aesthetic.
Each piece just gushes with total Halloween spirit, and I can't wait to see what he continues to create through the season.
Be inspired and enjoy!
