Blobs And Photo Bombs

During our recent photo shoot of the Witch and scarecrow, we were trespassing on a property out in Downingtown (close to where the diner scenes were filmed in the 1958 film THE BLOB).  As we were getting to the end of the shoot, there was some movement on the hill behind the scarecrow and we saw three dogs coming our way with their owner.  I figured we were about to be tossed off the property by a [rightfully] confused individual.  Turns out she was also trespassing.  And she was pretty excited seeing what we were up to.    

She was an older woman from a nearby neighborhood who told us she typically walks her dogs there.  She said she was mystified when she looked from her backyard and saw a scarecrow in the far distance.  The dogs had come running at us with one of them barking heavily at the Witch.  The others seemed to be enjoying the open space, as their owner laughed and excitedly told us over and over again that she absolutely loved these weird creatures.  She asked a ton of questions about the props and took a load of photos.  She and the three dogs posed a few times for some photos with the Witch and the scarecrow...  I snapped away using her phone as we all blabbed and spoke about the property and its history, and our strange hobby of photographing monsters.  The dogs turned out to be the sweetest animals.  And the big one eventually stopped barking at the Witch.  

We said farewell and packed up the creatures and headed to the Downingtown diner for a terrific blob-themed breakfast.  They're VERY proud of their blob there, and I'd highly recommend it if you're ever in the area.  

Saturday Fun

We hit up a pumpkin farm in the morning and then visited a favorite town in these parts for their annual Oktoberfest.  And we even managed to find some Graverobber Unholy Rye Whiskey from Art in the Age.

Below are some photos we took.

Happy Fat Tuesday

Indulging with cocktails and fastnachts...

The Coffin Bar

On Friday the 13th, we drove to Lancaster, PA for the grand opening of The Coffin Bar.  We had been waiting for this place to open for almost a year after first hearing about its construction.  We had high hopes this would be something dark and interesting, with amazing cocktails and food.  We wanted it to be a bar for Halloween and horror fans.  

We left work early and headed off, playing the new Halloween at High Noon album the entire way.  We got there right before 4pm and figured the place would be pretty empty.  It wasn't.  Every table and every spot at the coffin-shaped bar were taken.  I asked the host how long the wait would be and she said a couple had just gotten up to leave.  She told us Table 13 would be ready in a minute.  Table 13, on Friday the 13th.  It was kind of perfect.

The menu was impressive and the cocktails were phenomenal.  We started with some shots:  The Heaven shot (blue and smooth and mildly sweet), and the Hell shot (dark and bitter and spicy).  The Beet Red cocktail is served with a small pickled quail egg.  It was stellar.  

The food was terrific, and the service was fantastic.  Can't wait to return.  We're definitely going to be regulars here.

Here's their IG.

Now Playing: Monster Rap

Back in the late 80s or early 90s, my brother and I were driving around on Halloween afternoon.  This was back when we decorated at our parents' house, and I can't recall why we were driving around with only a few hours left before sunset.  I get nervous just thinking about that risky trip (maybe we needed a bag of ice for the fog chiller?).  I can recall that it was an overcast day.  Very gray, and very chilly.

So there we were, driving around listening to the radio, and a local station was playing a ton of Halloween-centric songs (which I feel was a rare occurrence on Halloween for the local stations).  In-between most of the songs there would be audio clips from horror films and sound effects (an even rarer occurrence).  I recall one clip being Gene Wilder from Young Frankenstein.  It was the scene where he pronounces his name as Fronkensteen.  The song that came up next was something I had never heard.  It was by Bobby "Boris" Pickett, and it WASN'T his famous Monster Mash.  It was his not-so-well-known and totally obscure Monster Rap, a sequel of sorts to the Mash classic.  

Here's to that afternoon.  Driving around excited that another Haunt was happening.  Maybe the year of the Giant Spider descending on unsuspecting trick-or-treaters?  Or maybe the year a kid yelled horrible insults at me in my Michael Myers costume?  Dunno.  I just know that this fun memory is in there.  Like it happened yesterday.

Click below for a listen to Monster Rap.  

Now Playing: Seasons

By Forever Grey.

Already missing the weekend.

Click below...

Chilling Cocktails

A really neat cocktail book with some spooky variations of classic drinks.  We made the first official round last night and it's going to be a ton of fun picking a movie and its correlating cocktail as we get closer and closer to Halloween.

Check out the book here.

Ghouls And Grinds

We hit up this spooky themed coffee shop last weekend during a road trip.  If I lived nearby, I'd be in there every morning.  We got their pumpkin pie latte and it was absolutely perfect.  Not too sweet, but loaded with a rich pumpkin pie spice flavor that was very different than the pumpkin spice that pops up every autumn in the usual shops.  I think I might have re-branded the drink as The Sleepy Hollow.  It was THAT good.

If you're ever in Hanover, PA, definitely seek this shop out.  I'd imagine Halloweens there are pretty rad.

Weekend Getaway

Dark Spirits, Spooky Places...and a load of post-Halloween fun.

The magic number...