The Brew Crew Halloween-tacular Special!!!

1st Inning.

Scary Movies I want to see...again.  My Top 5 Scary Movies Countdown Part 5...The Legend of Boggy Creek.

I was a mere child visiting my grandparents in Arkansas when I first saw 'The Legend of Boggy Creek'.  My Uncle Doug (Four years older than me and who still lived with my grandparents had a copy of the movie on VHS and we sat down to watch it one night.  Now up to that point I had heard of Bigfoot.  Heck, I remember him fighting Steve Austin on 'The Six Million Dollar Man' then becoming his friend.  So, why would this movie be scary???  Well, first my Papa Brewer like to tell us kids tales when we went to sleep and he had one particular tale that paid homage to a Bigfoot-like creature.  The tale involved an old woman that lived alone back in the woods and one night the creature pays her a not-so-welcome visit (the end of the tale is when he would jump at us and give us a good scare).  Add to that story the fact that my grandparents lived in the Ozark Mountains of North Central Arkansas out in the country with no city close by and the nearest neighbor a good ways down the road.  They lived at the base of a large hill/mountain with woods and pasture land all around.  No outdoor street lights to guide you in the dark around the yard (if you were lucky the moon was shining bright to provide you some light but if there was no moon it could get so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face).  So, there you have my setting as a child sitting down to watch this movie. 

 

The plot per Wikipedia, "The film, which claims to be a true story, sets out to detail the existence of the 'Fouke Monster,' a Bigfoot-like creature that has reportedly been seen by residents of a small Arkansas community since the 1950s. It is described as being completely covered in reddish-brown hair, leaving three-toed tracks in bean fields, and having a foul odor.  Several locals from the small town of Fouke, Arkansas, recall their stories, often appearing as themselves, claiming that the creature has killed several large hogs as well as other animals. In one scene, a kitten is shown as having been 'scared to death' by the creature. The narrator informs the audience that while people have shot at the creature in the past, it has always managed to escape. In another scene, hunters attempt to pursue the creature with dogs, but the dogs refuse to give chase. A police constable states that while driving home one night, the creature suddenly ran across the road in front of him.  In a later sequence, culled from the actual newspaper accounts inspiring the film, the creature is shown menacing a family in a remote country house. After being fired upon, the creature attacks, sending one family member to the hospital."

This movie has that low-budget documentary look to it and you can view the entire film here on YouTube.  But as a kid in elementary school that hears 'true story' you tend to believe much of what you see, as the reenactments seem like real footage.  One of the last scenes where a guy gets attacked while in the bathroom hit close to home for me because my grandparents bathroom was tiny like the one in the film with a window just like the one in the film and my imagination had me afraid to use it for fear of a Sasquatch reaching through to get me!  To add to my fears as a child I recall my Granny Brewer telling us kids about a night before I was born where a couple of my older cousins who were between toddler and newborn age at the time were spending the night in that house along with my Aunt and my Papa and Uncle were not at home.  Sometime during the night they heard a sound outside the window in the room where my cousins were sleeping (by the window).  They were a bit alarmed but eventually went to sleep.  The next morning they went outside and found fresh footprints in the dirt outside the window...    

If you are a Bigfoot believer then I recommend checking out this movie just so you can say you saw it as it is a classic.  There were several sequels and re-boots but nothing that compares to the original as most had nothing to do with continuity to it.  I myself plan to one day go on a Sasquatch hunt (it's on my bucket list).  Trivia-The film was a tremendous success at drive-ins. It grossed $22 million, making it the 7th highest grossing movie of 1972.  Trailer is below.  Enjoy!
 

2nd Inning.

American History Lesson...Halloween in America.  Since the holiday is upon us this week I figured a history lesson on Halloween would be appropriate, especially in America.  Now the general history of Halloween per History.com says, "Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to usher in the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats." 

 

But what about the history of the holiday in America???   There is a good article by Chad Hosrtman that details the history.  "As immigrants to America began to arrive from Europe, they brought along many of their beliefs and customs and one of these was Halloween. During the colonial days, the celebration was limited due to the rigid Protestant ways of the early settlers.  However, the southern colonies and Maryland held the customs of various ethnic groups from Europe including the beliefs held by the Native American Indians. All of these beliefs began to join and create a new American version of Halloween.  The first American Halloween celebrations seen were parties that were held to celebrate the harvest. During these get togethers, neighbors would share stores of their departed loved ones or others they knew, would tell the future of those that wished to know, along with singing and dancing. The trend for Halloween in the beginning days of its creation were mainly centered on ghost telling and mischief.  During the middle of the 19th century, autumn celebrations were commonplace; however, Halloween was not celebrated throughout America." 

Towards the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, and as many more immigrants arrived with their own traditions, the celebrations became more of a community gathering event that involved fun activities rather than scary creatures and scary stories.  After WWII, the holiday turned in a direction aimed more at the children and toward 'trick-r-treating'.  People could avoid vandalism and tricks, which had grown during previous decades, by providing candy or 'treats'.  After a brief scare in the 1980s with supposed razor blades in candy which lead to people taking their kids' candy to hospitals to have them x-rayed, the holiday has turned into a billion dollar industry.  From the candy makers to the costume makers, Halloween has become the second most profitable holiday behind Christmas. 

You now have communities and entrepreneurs  that put on 'Haunted Houses' every year.  Churches and schools have 'trunk-r-treat' parties in order to provide safe places for the children to celebrate and collect candy.  But not to be forgotten is the tv/movie industry which churns out yearly dedications to the holiday with annual tv specials and movie marathons and franchise movies which unveil the latest sequel in time for October 31st.  The video below profiles the history and a few facts on Halloween.  Stay safe and enjoy all the candy!


 

3rd Inning.

Not a pic of me but this is the
same Spidey costume I had

Costumes...Who remembers those costumes children like me would come to love and wear back in the late 1970s and early 1980s?  You know the ones that had masks made of plastic with the eyes cut out and slit for a mouth and a rubber band to keep it strapped to your head?  Oh, and the cheap plastic (slight upgrade from trash bag material) design of our favorite superhero/tv star/movie character for the body suit?  Compared with today's children costumes they would be considered trash and you would most likely end up in a meltdown if you tried to get your child to wear one.  After some digging around on the Internet I discovered they were called Ben Cooper costumes. These costumes were mass produced from the 1950s to the early 1990s and focused on pop culture icons.  They are apparently a collectible being hawked on the auction sites.  I recall having at least three over the early years of my youth and they were Spiderman, Superman, and Yoda.  You can view some of the varieties of those costumes here and here. 

 

Another costume from my childhood that a few of my cousins had the unfortunate luck in wearing were the Kooky Spooks inflatable head costumes.  These costumes came out in the late 1970s and came with a large inflatable head, face paint, and a nice poncho with reflective tape.  I recall a few Halloweens being lined up next to my cousins in front of my grandpa's fireplace for pictures.  Dork or no dork?  You be the judge.  To check out a variety of these costumes click here. 

For some general vintage costume pics and a few laughs check out the vintage Halloween pics over at PlaidStallions.

4th Inning.

Cool Videos...A couple of videos that are Halloween related.

Ever wonder what the fox says at Halloween???



A recent classic prank thanks to Jimmy Kimmel.



5th Inning.

Horror Art...I am a fan of comic book art and therefore movie art, especially sci-fi/horror movie art.  Over at JoBlo.com they compiled some great pieces here that they found around the Internet.  Check it out and be sure to click on the links to the individual artists' websites. Enjoy!

6th Inning.

Scary Vacation Destinations...I like to travel and I imagine that most people do but where I differ from most is that I like to go to spooky places.  Several years ago, prior to having children, I made a couple of trips with my wife to the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs (and saw nothing).  This past May I missed a trip to Long Beach, CA with my wife and a tour of the haunted Queen Mary.  But I have a spooky-travel-bucket-list and a book of haunted & paranormal places in the United States so you can count on me (and hopefully my wife) scratching a few of those places off of my list.  Three places I would like to go are listed below.

 

Myrtles Plantation, St. Francesville, Louisiana.  A haunted house in the South.  What more do you need???  Per EveyManTravel.com,"This home, built in 1796 by General David Bradford, now operates as a bed and breakfast, offering guests a chance to experience a paranormal encounter for themselves. The most frequent reports of mysterious activity include handprints left on mirrors, pianos found playing by themselves and disembodied footsteps, all thought to be that of a previous owner who was shot to death on the front porch."   Check out the official website here if you want to book a room.

 

Entrance to the ranch.  Photos of the actual house are rare.

Skinwalker Ranch, Ballard, Utah.  A ranch that is a hotspot for paranormal and UFO activities, yes please!  Per Wikipedia, "The ranch, located in west Uintah County bordering the Ute Indian Reservation, was popularly dubbed the "UFO ranch" due to its ostensible 50-year history of odd events said to have taken place there...such as...sightings of UFOs, bigfoot-like creatures, crop circles, glowing orbs and poltergeist activity reported by its former owners.  George Knapp and  Colm Kelleher researched the area and saw or investigated evidence of close to 100 incidents that include vanishing and mutilated cattle, sightings of unidentified flying objects or orbs, large animals with piercing yellow eyes that they say were not injured when struck by bullets, and invisible objects emitting destructive magnetic fields."  For more information on the ranch check out this website. 

 

 

Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, California.

A house haunted by spirits of those that had died at the hands of a Winchester rifle and by Mrs. Winchester herself...A house that began construction in 1884 and continued around the clock for the last 38 years of Sarah Winchester's life.  There are roughly 160 rooms, including 40 bedrooms, 2 ballrooms (one completed and one unfinished) as well as 47 fireplaces, over 10,000 panes of glass, 17 chimneys (with evidence of two others), two basements and three elevators.  With weird oddities like stairways to the ceiling, doors that open to walls, and non-functioning chimneys, this mansion was built to keep the spirits confused.  To book your travel to this historic location check out their website here.         

7th Inning.

Firearms Corner...To keep with the Halloween/monster theme I figured it would be best to showcase the Mossberg 500 Chainsaw Shotgun-Zombie Edition (ZMB).   The shotgun was unveiled at the annual gun industry SHOT Show in 2011 and was part of the industry craze over zombies.  As part of the Mossberg 500 family of shotguns it is a perfect fit for home defense against any intruders whether they be a masked home invader or an army of undead.  Per American Rifleman.com, "the Chainsaw is a pistol-grip pump-action shotgun with no stock. The wrap-around chainsaw-style handgrip was added to the forend to make it easier to control. The gun is meant to be fired from the hip, and the top handle allows the operator to cycle the action while simultaneously maintaining leverage above the gun to help tame muzzle flip."   The videos below profile the shotgun in action.  Enjoy!

 

 

8th Inning.

Random Facts about me at Halloween...I do enjoy dressing up now that I have kids...My goal is to go through the kids' candy and take out my 'Candy Tax'...If I don't scare at least one kid I feel it has been a disappointing evening...It is not appropriate to dress like Michael Myers and hide behind the laundry room door waiting for your wife to walk in...I'm partial to Kit-Kats and Bottle Caps...As a kid I would hit all the apartments in my building then we would go to my grandparent's and hit 133rd Circle and then my Great Aunt and Uncle's on Craig Avenue...

When buying candy to give out I always feel we don't buy enough then even with the biggest crowds we always seem to have too much leftover...My favorite costume as a child was probably Spider-Man...A large hairy motorized spider decoration makes a great all-year scare prank when placed around the house and office.

9th Inning.

Baseball Video...Halloween baseball.  The baseball players at San Diego State University held their annual Halloween game this year and had some great costumes!  Play ball!