Neighborhood Haunts

Lots of fun stuff out there...

Castle Halloween

On the way back from our recent trip to Pittsburgh, we stopped in Altoona, Pennsylvania to visit Castle Halloween.  I've never seen so much Halloween in one place.  So many rooms filled with vintage Halloween memorabilia and decorations of every kind imaginable.  Photos of the interior of this beautiful brick home are hard to come by since there's a one-photo-per-person limit, but I think I might have been snapping away secretly so I could promote this magical place to anyone who reads this entry.

It's by appointment only, so if you're ever in the area and want to visit, make sure you call first.

Address: 2028 Broad Ave, Altoona, PA 16601

Phone: (814) 940-1031

Curator/Owner:  Pamela Apkarian-Russell

Below are some bootlegged photos of this incredible museum, and they only show a fraction of what's inside...

Trick R' Terror

More images here.

American Daydream Antiques & Miscellanea

Some fun Halloween shopping in York, PA today...

The Order Of The Halloween Tree

A photo series tribute to Ray Bradbury's classic tale.

Chapter 2:  George Smith

In the west, the sun, smothered and dying in clouds, sank. Moundshroud hooted his delight:

“There it goes, boys. The heart, soul, and flesh of Halloween. The Sun! There Osiris is murdered again. There sinks Mithras, the Persian fire. There falls Phoebus Apollo all Grecian light. Sun and flame, boys. Look and blink. Turn that crystal spyglass. Swing it down the Mediterranean Coast a thousand miles. See the Greek Isles?”

“Sure,” said plain George Smith, dressed up as fancy pale ghost. “Cities, towns, streets, houses. People jumping out on porches to bring food!”

“Yes.” Moundshroud beamed. “Their Festival of the Dead: the Feast of Pots. Trick-or-Treat old style. But tricks from the dead if you don’t feed them. So treats are laid out in fine banquets on the sill!”

Recycling

I remember the night I ripped off the horrid pumpkin head that was glued to my face with knox gelatin.  It was euphoric.  My neck was no longer in a vulture position and the air was cool and crisp on my soaking-wet head.  Thankfully I didn't punt the pumpkin out into the street or stomp it into my parents' carpet.  We actually repurposed it into our Pumpkin King prop (you can still kinda see the dent from where the head hole was [and where my miserable face was]).  

Looks much better on him.

Dark Parlour Drop-Off

Had a great day in Lancaster county yesterday, dropping off the scarecrow for the upcoming art show at the Dark Parlour and hitting up some favorite hangouts.

Also got to try the rather barbaric-looking and very Halloween-dinner-appropriate Bone Marrow appetizer at the Conway Social Club (this place had better never close).

We started accumulating pumpkins for the Haunt too.  Fingers cross none of them go soft on us.

Feels like Autumn is really here.  Weather's been great too, and we even got a good photo shoot in on this first day of October (photos coming soon).  

Weekend photos below...

Clove and Black Licorice!