31 Days of Halloween 2012 ~ Day 3

It's great when things are crazy cute AND easy! This cupcake is just that. Use those adorable paper straws and add construction paper feet and you've got instantly adorable witch cupcakes! Click on the picture for more great ideas from Better Homes & Gardens.



For more 31 Days of Halloween...

31 Days of Halloween 2012 ~ Day 1

It's my very favorite time of year again and you know what that means - My 3rd annual 31 Days of Halloween!

I know I've been missing around Peach Street these days and I am very sorry about that. I've been anxious to get back over here and begin blogging again and this is the perfect excuse to do so. If you're curious what I've been up to, please see my other blog, Southern Revivals - my furniture refurbishing and home decor blog. Hopefully you'll see that I haven't totally abandoned the blogging world, after all!

Let's get the show on the road, shall we?

Photo by: Antonis Achilleos/Halloween Celebrations

I want to turn every mirror into a spook show after seeing this project on the Woman's Day website but the effect is permanent and I don't think I could afford the therapy my children might need after seeing a ghost in every mirror in the house for years on end. So, I'll be plundering the junk stores for cheap mirrors because this is an awesome must-do project. Click the picture for the tutorial.
Happy 31 Days of Halloween!

Happy Halloween 2011 ~ Day 31

Here's hoping you got more treats than tricks, your scares were all fun ones and no aliens really tried to take you to their mothership.

Happy Halloween from this Ghoul & her Boils!

MY Not So Scary Halloween Party ~ Day 30

It's Candy the Chandy all dressed up for Halloween!

The Food

Ah Man! There's no more Mummy Dogs?!

More punch Mommy!

Evidently I didn't give him enough punch!

Photo Booth

Happy Halloween!

Sloppy Jacks Recipe ~ Day 29

A fun take on Sloppy Joes. The perfect pre-trick or treat dinner.

What you need:
1lb of ground beef
Small can Manwich
1 Refridgerated Pizza Dough
Chives/Green Onion tops cut in 1" pieces
Orange Food Color Spray

What you do:
Brown your meat; drain
Mix in 1/2 - 3/4 of the can of Manwich(using the whole can will make your meat too wet and the inside of your sloppy jacks will be soggy)
Set Aside

Roll out pizza dough and cut in three sections; across horizontally then vertically making 9 squares of dough.

Place a dollop of meat mixture in the middle of each square. Fold corners in and pinch dough together. Place pinched sides down on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake on 350° for 20 - 25 minutes.

Let cool slightly then spray with orange food color spray. Make a small hole in the tops of your pumpkins and put in your chive or green onion.

Serve to your Ghouls and Boils. Maybe they'll eat less candy that way. Maybe not.

Enjoy!

Modern Horror Movie Trivia ~ Day 28

1. In the beginning of Stephen Kings The Mist what is the painting a depiction of?

There are many paintings on the walls that are actually movie poster depictions, such the one to his far left for The Thing. It has been erroneously reported that this is the painting David is working on during opening credits, when in fact it is the image of the Gunslinger from Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

Stephen King draws inspiration from all avenues but he is well known for taking his own life events and incorporating them into a horrific story. The mist is based on an experience he had near his home when severe storm rolled through his home town, the next day while at the supermarket with his son he imagined a winged creature flying through the store.


2. In the 2001 horror movie Session 9 where does Simon say he lives?

Simon is the dark alter personality that patient Mary Hobbs other personalities are reticent to talk about. Mary has been undergoing therapy sessions at the asylum and most personalities share freely. By the end of the film, you hear Simon explain to the doctor that he resides in the weak and wounded.

The Danvers Insane Asylum, which is the setting for Session 9 is rumored to be the birthplace for the lobotomy and may have been the inspiration for Arkham Asylum from the Batman comic strips.


3. In the movie Hard Candy what is the drink that Hayley spikes for Jeff?

Central to her plan to make Jeff pay for his alleged pedophilia Hayley must drug him. She does so by explaining that she never drinks anything she did not pour herself and proceeds to make them both a screwdriver.

Unlike most movies today, Hard Candy only contains nine minutes of music in the entire film. The remainder of the background noise consists of heavy breathing and other ambient sounds.

4. In the first installation of the Saw movies what started the timer on the reverse bear trap that Amanda was wearing?

The jigsaw video left for Amanda left no doubt about the status of her head once the timer ran out. She is told where to find the key to stop the timer, what she is not told is that the timer is not activated until she stands from her chair to retrieve the key.

There is a video short referred to on the internet as Saw .5 that was used to pitch the idea to studios and actors. The original full-length film depicted David as the one in the reverse bear trap but in the end, it was this Saw movie short that became the official scene.



Source: http://www.squidoo.com/horrormovietrivia

Terror Behind the Walls ~ Day 27

***So sorry days 27, 28 & 29 did not post automatically. Darn Blogger!***

Eastern State Penitentiary is the America's most historic prison. It is also a massive haunted house.....in a REAL PRISON! Can you imagine!

Opened in 1829 as part of a controversial movement to change the behavior of inmates through "confinement in solitude with labor," Eastern State Penitentiary quickly became one of the most expensive and most copied buildings in the young United States. It is estimated that more than 300 prisons worldwide are based on the Penitentiary's wagon-wheel, or "radial" floor plan.

Some of America's most notorious criminals were held in the Penitentiary's vaulted, sky-lit cells, including bank robber Willie Sutton and Al Capone. After 142 years of consecutive use, Eastern State Penitentiary was completely abandoned in 1971, and now stands, a lost world of crumbling cell blocks and empty guard towers.

I was watching Making Monsters on the Travel Channel tonight when I learned about Terror Behind the Walls at Eastern State Pen. They were making a monster for one of their exhibits. Naturally it's a 13 room tour that takes about 45 minutes. 45 minutes of haunted house! All while walking past dark, empty cells not knowing who or what lurks in the dark. Can you handle it? Well, the good news is at the end of the tour you can much on some funnel cake, provided you still have an appetite. And if not you might as well join Monster Mash spun by Zombie DJ.

And, Hey! It's all for a good cause. It a non-profit org that uses the revenue to preserve history. Nothing scary about that.

So, would you go....to prison....on purpose at Eastern State Pen? I totally would if I lived closer. If you've been tell us all about it, would ya?

Classic Horror Movie Trivia ~ Day 26

1. Village of the Damned is an adaptation of what famous novel?

Filmed in the UK in 1960 and is a horror film about mutant children based on the novel, The Midwich Cuckoos.

This film was originally planned as an American release but MGM decided the virgin birth spin was too inflammatory for American production. Of course, the movie was an instant hit with creepy children possessing mental abilities and a cold nature. Once the movie was printed and released for American audiences there was one notable difference from the UK print, the children's glowing eyes.


2. Night of the Living Dead was originally a black and white horror film created in the late 60's, how many times has the movie been colorized?

At three different occasions labs have created a colorized version of this classic zombie flick, 1986, 1987 and 2004 were the respective dates with a fourth revision planned for 2009 which will take the 2D movie colorize it and present it in 3D.

Surprisingly there was little criticism about this grisly movie after its release. The main problem critic Robert Ebert had was the theater policies of the time that allowed children as young as five or six to purchase a ticket. In an age where graphic video games, cartoons and television did not exist this must have been quite a shock for young children.


3. Upon what real life serial killer was the movie Psycho based on?

Ed Gein was a serial killer and grave robber from Wisconsin in the 1950's. He admitted to killing two women, whose heads were later found in his home. The most significant correlation between him and Norman Bates is probably the similarities in their mothers. Both are portrayed as teaching their sons that all women were prostitutes and immoral.

In the now famous shower scene from Psycho in which Norman takes his first victim, Marion Crane, chocolate was used to simulate blood. This was a common enough occurrence during the era of black and white horror films.


4. Was the Texas Chainsaw Massacre a real event?

No, despite the opening credits that state what you are about to see is true, the movie was a fiction based loosely on true-life serial killers Ed Gein and Elmer Wayne Henley.

The idea to be intentionally misleading at the outset of this film was to highlight the many lies being told by the federal government at the time. Hooper, one of the writers on the film felt that Vietnam, Watergate and the oil crisis were gross intentional misinformation presented by the government and his characters highlighted the fact that he felt man was the real monster.

These classic horror films have indeed stood the test of time. To this day, you can still feel the horror even though they lack the detail of today's Technicolor movies. That in and of itself is a testament to the fact that these are indeed great films that changed the horror genre forever.



Source: http://www.squidoo.com/horrormovietrivia

Pumpkin Carving 101 ~ Day 25

I have a confession. Until today, these were the only Halloween decorations in my house. Are you as shocked as I am depressed about it? I know, right?

I was driving through town last night and passed a house covered in cob-webs and Halloween lights and I promply burst into tears. I keep telling myself that the remodeling we've been doing will be worth it and I'll have an even better place to decorate next year. But then I think, next year, like as in 365 MORE days from now. And then I want to cry again.

Anyway, I tried to redeem myself today by doing a little pumpkin carving with the kiddos. And I have to tell you about the greatest thing ever. Ever.

Meet the Pumpkin Gutter. If you don't have one you must stop reading this and drive on over to the local Wal-mart right now. Go. I'll wait.

Now. I don't know about you but I've owned every pumpkin carving kit ever made and that piece of plastic with teeth that's included never does the trick for me. I'm an avid pumpkin carver, I admit it. But even if you're not this thing is worth all of the five hundred eighty seven pennies it costs.

It's fun to boot. You can even use it in the smaller pumpkins.

Anybody can do it and it makes quick work of the not so fun part so that you can get on with the so fun part.

Next, if you carve even one pumpkin a year, you're going to want to invest in some carving tools. You can get the cheap ones (left) which work great or, for a little more, you can upgrade to one like this Martha Stewart set (right). I like this one because it comes with the gouging tools which really come in handy. By the way, did you know they make a carving kit for your Dremel? That is totally going on my Christmas list. (Along with a scroll saw....just in case any of my family's reading this!)

To make things a little easier you might want to use a pumpkin carving template. Google them. Free. Easy. You can also find some from Southern Living, here. Do not, I repeat, do not let your child try talking you into free handing Mickey off a Disney World bag onto your pumpkin. You were warned.

And last, but certainly not least, spray the inside of that masterpiece daily with a mixture of bleach and water - I use Clorox Anywhere spray - to keep flesh eating bacteria from forming. Or you can wipe the inside with petroleum jelly to keep it hydrated. Don't let all that hard work go to waste!

I have one final tip for you. If you mistakenly thought maggots only eat meat, I am here to tell you they eat pumpkins, too. This is especially good to know if you're keeping your pumpkin indoors. And it rots. Without your knowing it. Because you didn't know you were suppose to spray it with bleach water, no one ever told you, and you find yourself, the day of your Halloween party, cleaning maggots off the buffet, the floor, the walls....BLECH.

Not that that's ever happened to me.