The Order Of The Halloween Tree

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

Chapter 4:  The Devil Boy

"But, let me introduce myself! Moundshroud is the name.  Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud. Does that have a ring, boys? Does it sound for you?”
  
It sounds, the boys thought, oh, oh, it sounds … !

Moundshroud.

“A fine name,” said Mr. Moundshroud, giving it a full sepulchral night-church sound. “And a fine night. And all the deep dark wild long history of Halloween waiting to swallow us whole!”

“Swallow us?”

“Yes!” cried Moundshroud. “Lads, look at yourselves. Why are you, boy, wearing that Skull face? And you, boy, carrying a scythe, and you, lad, made up like a Witch? And you, you, you!” He thrust his bony finger at each mask. “You don’t know, do you? You just put on those faces and old mothball clothes and jump out, but you don’t really know, do you?”

“Well,” said Tom, a mouse behind his skull-white muslin. “Er—no.”

“Yeah,” said the Devil boy. “Come to think of it, Why am I wearing this?” He fingered his cloak and sharp rubber horns and lovely pitchfork.

Noir Dark Spirits

Back in February 2023 I blogged about a Scranton, Pennsylvania bar/restaurant called Noir Dark Spirits.  The gothic atmosphere looked to be off the charts.  Since that blog post, Noir moved to a new and larger location.  On Saturday we took a road trip to see if something called Noir Dark Spirits could live up to all the expectations we placed upon it.

It did.

Located in the old lobby area of the historic Ritz movie theater, the bar appeared to be one of those places you'd see in a movie or an old 90's series about vampires - one of those places you'd wish were a real thing.  A real gothic vampire bar.  Something with gloomy red lighting and long dark shadows wherever you looked.  There were alcove booths along the wall, each table with a metal plaque in the center listing one of the seven deadly sins (our table was Pride). 

We ordered our first round of drinks:  The Emperor for me (their version of an Old Fashioned [with a flaming sugar cube]) and for Jenna - The Confessional.  The friendly server informed her that the drink would be served in a small black confessional box.  Upon its arrival, we were told, Jenna would have to confess a sin.  The cocktail arrived in a tiny gothic church-shaped box, glowing red from an LED tea light.  The beautiful drink was bubbling with the help of some dry ice.  The presentation was flawless and hilarious.  

A sin was confessed.

We ordered some more drinks and some eats:  the Devil's Board (a really tasty charcuterie board) and the Phlebotomist Dough Injections (dough skulls stuffed with three cheeses and served with syringes poked through the eyes...syringes filled with marinara diavlo).  The second round of drinks arrived, and you could spot Jenna's from across the bar.  Called The Re-Animator, it was glowing green from a tiny glowstick hoop and bubbling frantically like a potion Grandpa Munster would make Herman drink.  

For dessert - a delicious raspberry cheesecake skull, with a thick outer layer of hardened white chocolate.  It came with a metal mallet...  so you can bash your dessert's head in.  

Despite the theatricality of the cocktails and food, they were actually quite good.  Everything was.  I think I was a little worried it would be style over substance in there.  Every aspect of our visit was a blast, and the best way I could describe it would be that it's like having the option to attend a really hip Halloween party literally whenever you chose to do so.  The mood, the atmosphere, and especially the music, make Noir Dark Spirits a really special place.  We wish it were closer than a couple hours away, but I have a feeling we'll be having this particular Halloween bash about two or three times a year.  It really was that good.

Below are some photos Jenna took, and definitely CLICK HERE to see some more images and a couple of neat videos over at her Instagram.

Click here for their website.

Haunted Overload: Daytime

Located in a pretty rural area at the site of DeMeritt Hill Farm, Haunted Overload exists in some woodlands at the far end of the property, completely hidden by trees and some rustic tall fences that look to have been built to keep towering creatures in, and not out.  There really is no sign other than that of all of those massive creatures and rustic installations from the outside.  It's like a great secret in the woods.  

When we pulled up, a Fall Festival was occurring, and people were buying pumpkins and baked goods.  We bought some hot apple cider and cider donuts, and a piece of pumpkin roll.  It was sunny and breezy.  You could hear a spooky soundscape coming from that wooded area I mentioned.  Not sure if it was a sound test, or part of the daytime walkthrough, but it was very welcome and created a building sense of tension as we approached.  

I will write about the Night Experience soon, but during the day the amount of detail, a lot of which gets lost in the shadows as the sun sets, is truly staggering.  Everywhere you turn you are met with the most miniscule element overloaded with the most ridiculous level of detail.  The fusion of organic elements and crude rural buildings and fences is absolutely perfect, like a small village has been reclaimed by the forest around it.  The iconic towering Scarecrows and Reapers are flanked by human-sized ghouls, ghosts, skeletons, and corpses in varying stages of decay.  And there are pumpkins.  So many pumpkins.  REAL pumpkins with real candles inside.  The entire daytime walkthrough was unforgettable, and we will always make it a part of the trip to Haunted Overload.  Seeing it in sunlight made us so excited to experience it at night.  You try to imagine the darkness, the fog, roaring chainsaws, and stalking Haunt actors of every variety.  The anticipation was off the charts.

We took a ton of photos and some of our faves are below...

Evermore Park: Lore

Can't find many photo galleries online of this attraction, but the pics that are out there are pretty neat.

Click here for their IG.

Sunday Mass

We went to a bunch of great antique shops this weekend and came home with this super neat plastic Raylite church music box.  Looks really cool with a red bulb inside.

The Haunted Church

This is an amazing Haunt.

Click below for a really neat video to see it in action.

Ash Wednesday

That day they fasted and wore sackcloth; they sprinkled ashes on their heads and tore their clothes.

- 1 Maccabees 3:47

The Art Of Kento IIDA

More works here.