So an extra post for tonight for all you ghoulish fans! After all it’s the most important night for us Halloween fanatics. I had a great time posting this year and I hope all of you had a great time reading. But stay tuned. The Ghoulie Guide will continue throughout the year with more interesting news, images and ideas. Hope you are all headed out tonight for a very safe and fun Halloween. And now I leave you with some quick pics from the Long Beach Zombie Walk last Saturday. Continue reading
Every weekend you can find a classic car show somewhere, but it’s not every day you can see a classic hearse show. Sunday I ventured out to Orange County for the annual OC Trick Or Treat Festival. In a little corner of the marketplace those classic creepy beauties where all lined up. To truly appreciate the restoration you have to check out the details up close including the interior. For example, the hearse above had a church organ inside. (You can see the top of the organ pipes coming out of the car). Here are some of my favorite hearses from the event. Continue reading
Went to Disneyland a few weeks ago and Disney’s HalloweenTime is Back in full swing! Main Street is a kaleidoscope of fall colors. There are pumpkins everywhere throughout the park including a 12 foot high Mickey ‘jack-o-lantern’. Candy and caramel apples are available to satisfy any sweet tooth. Toy Story’s own Woody and Jessie put on a themed show at the Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Roundup. Of course the main attraction is the Haunted Mansion, which is transformed into a Tim Burton ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ theme. It’s a great time and right now the weather is a little hot, but still very comfortable. Only trouble is the crowds are pretty large. If you are planning a trip, might want to go during the week when the crowds are slightly less than a weekend. Continue reading
What is it about those nostalgic traveling circuses and carnivals of the mid 19th to mid 20th centuries that spark my curiosity and imagination. Perhaps it is the man at the booth that draws attention from the crowd by promising to show the most bizarre biological rarities ever seen. Yes, I’m talking about the freak show. These shows would put a group of people or animals on display that had bizarre and very rare physical conditions. If you want to see for yourself, check out Tod Browning’s iconic horror film from 1928, “Freaks”. Of course in today’s world, it’s offensive to label someone a “freak”. And so as public opinion changed on the topic, these sideshows became an element of the past. However, the freak show has become popular once again. Not with the mainstream, but with a new subculture of people who are carrying on the tradition. For example, in California you can visit the Venice Beach Freakshow. The place is small, but it’s packed with cool stuff to look at. It mostly features animals with more than the usual number of body parts… like lizards with two tales, or a turtle with two heads. There is a guy who can swallow swords, balloons, and I don’t want to know what else. There are also a few traveling sideshows such as The FreakShow Deluxe a carnival style sideshow. These guys have it all…magicians, sword swallowers, knife-throwers, fire-dancers, burlesque performers, and of course human anomalies! The FreakShow Deluxe will be performing at 10am October 30th at the OC Marketplace in California.
Here’s a new twist on the obstacle course race for charity events. The Zombie 5K Run For Your Lives race is coming to Los Angeles October 20, 2011. Technically it’s coming to Temecula, but close enough. The idea for this race is very cool. Do you think you would run faster if you were being chased by a horde of infected zombies? Well, by registering as a survivor, you will be given a head start in the race from those who registered as a zombie. Anyone who registers as a zombie will be encouraged to dress the part and act the part! The bad news is the last day to register for the race was September 28th, but you can still register to be a spectator. And if you live in Austin, TX then you still have time to register for the event there. Just check the website for details.