Friday Fright Nightcaps – Monster Martini

The Monster Martini is how you keep it classy and spooky on Halloween night.

Below is a simple recipe, but I’ve seen different variations, and in particular, different garnishes, that can really bring out theme you’re trying to convey. Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment a little. Dr. Frankenstein would approve.

monster martini

Ingredients:

3/4 oz. MIDORI
2 oz. SKYY Citrus
Splash of white cranberry Juice

midori sm

Get the mixer recipe and many other Halloween drink recipes here:
https://sandiegostyleweddings.blogspot.com/2012/10/ghoulish-halloween-cocktail-ideas.html

Drop in a tiny piece of dry ice for a spookier presentation, but, be careful. Dry ice bites!

Ten Fun Halloween Classic Movies

Halloween is a spooky time but it’s also a time of fun. Here are ten classic comedies that will send a chill up your spine and tickle your funny bone at the same.

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The Ghost Train (1941) Arthur Askey, Richard Murdoch

After scheduling mishap, a group of travelers are stranded at an isolated station, fearing the arrival of legendary phantom train.

For whatever reasons, British director Walter Forde remade his own quirky supernatural comedy, based on a theater play, just ten years later. It was mostly a vehicle to showcase the talents of comedian Arthur Askey, whose Chaplin-like antics are definitely the highlight of the movie.

ghost train

Spooks Run Wild (1941) Leo Gorcey, Bela Lugosi

The East Side Kids (The Bowery Boys) are stranded in a small rural town camp for boys with a “monster killer” roaming the countryside.

If you’ve never seen any of the 40 plus movies starring the East Side Kids a.k.a the Bowery Boys, expect goofiness, hijinks and a bunch of laughs. Horror star Bela Lugosi joins the mayhem, playing a mysterious magician caught up in case of mistaken identity.

spooks run wild

Continue reading “Ten Fun Halloween Classic Movies” →

Wicked Art Wednesdays – Rhode Montijo

This October, we celebrate Rhode Montijo, children’s book author & illustrator and creator of curious oddities from Southern California.

Artist: Rhode Montijo
Company/Studio: The Fantasmical World of Rhode Montijo
Where to Purchase Goods: Online shop, comic book conventions, special events, etc.
Website: http://www.rhodemontijo.com/
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/rhodemontijo/

Why we love them: Rhode Montijo specializes in that vintage Halloween look, where his works truly capture the whimsical innocence of Halloween. When browsing through prints, be prepared for a flood of childhood memories to engulf you and remind you why you fell in love with Halloween in the first place.

©RhodeMontijo

The Ten Creepiest Urban Legends

Urban legends are stories that are meant to scare us and typically serve as a warning or have some type of moral lesson attached. Every state has their own urban legends, some states even share legends, changing the details to fit their locale or whichever narrative is needed, but the core plot stay the same. The ones I have chosen for this list are the creepiest found in the USA, and some of them are based on real-life true stories! Can you figure out which ones?

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Turn on the Light

After partying most of the night, a co-ed decides to spend the night with a boy she met at the party. She returns to dorm room to retrieve her keys, careful not to wake her roommate. In the dark room she can hear the sleeping roommate’s heavy breathing and assumes she’s got a cold. When she returns the next day, she finds her roommate’s dead body and the note written in blood on the wall, “Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the light?”

This story is sometimes told with the co-ed being more studious and returning to retrieve a book for an all-night study session, but the end-result is always the same. This legend has been around 50 years or more and most likely was started by a parent worried about their college-bound kid.

Moral of the Story: Screw your roommate’s feelings, always turn on the damn light.

Licked Hand

One night, a woman who lives alone with her nice little dog, hears on the radio that an escaped lunatic is on the loose in her town. She locks up the house tight and goes to bed with her faithful canine companion, who stays close by her bedside all night. When the woman wakes the next morning, she finds her pooch slaughtered and note written in blood on the bathroom mirror, “Humans can lick too.”

Some variations of this legend feature an old woman and sometimes, a young girl. Sometimes she wakes in the middle of the night, hearing a dripping sound, and sometimes, the pet is alive and well at the end. Like the ‘Turn on the Light’ legend, the killer rubs the survivor’s nose in the fact that they barely escaped death.

Moral of the Story: You’re never going to be in control of your own death and maybe you should get a cat.

Continue reading “The Ten Creepiest Urban Legends” →

Friday Fright Nightcaps – Raspberry Peach Margarita

For the next four Fridays, I’ll be posting my favorite Halloween drink recipes. These are adult beverages because grown-ups need to have a little Halloween fun too.

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If you don’t think you need a blood-red Halloween cocktail at the end of the long week, then, you probably don’t live with any little monsters, and that’s okay…. always drink because you want to, not because you need to! The good folks over at Cooks With Cocktails found the perfect recipe to fulfill your need Halloween nightcap needs, er, wants.

Trust me, you put this drink in your hand and no one will mess with you.

RASPBERRY PEACH MARGARITA AND CASA NOBLE TEQUILA — Photo by Cooks with Cocktails

Continue reading “Friday Fright Nightcaps – Raspberry Peach Margarita” →

15 Scariest Black/White Horror Classics

Decades after their release, we still enjoy watching scary classic horror films. Some movies on my list are considered to be pillars of the horror genre, created sub-genres of their own and set the bar for generations of filmmakers to come.

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15. House on Haunted Hill (1959) Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart

An eccentric millionaire offers five strangers $10,000 if they can spend one whole night with him and his estranged 4^th wife in a haunted house.

Some actually consider this film comical or fun, but taking into account that audiences were not as knowledgeable about horror films gimmicks, as they are today, this movie was quite scary for its time. Director Williams Castle used camera tricks, shadows, ugly witches and skeletons to create the quintessential haunted house movie.

14. The Body Snatcher (1945) Boris Karloff, Henry Daniell

A ruthless doctor and his young student get into trouble with their murderous supplier of illegal cadavers.

Based on the short story of Robert Louis Stevenson, a fictional account of the real life surgeon Robert Knox and the murderous exploits of his corpse suppliers, Burke & Hare, this film was dark, disturbing and featured some fine acting from Boris Karloff. Some people even consider Karloff’s role as the Cabman and grave robber John Gray better than his turn as Frankenstein’s monster. This was the last movie that Karloff and Lugosi would appear in together.

13. Nosferatu (1922) Max Schrek, Greta Schroder

An ancient vampire named Count Orlock leaves his home in Carpathian mountains by ship, terrorizes the crew, and eventually settles in the little town of Wisborg, where he sets his sights on the beautiful wife of his real estate agent.

Unlike Dracula, Max Schrek’s vampire wasn’t suave or sexy. No, this creature was more like animal that prowled around in the dark before pouncing on victims. Like other German Expressionist films, this is a silent film, however, not original, as the filmmakers were almost sued out of existence by the Stoker estate for ripping off the Dracula story.

Continue reading “15 Scariest Black/White Horror Classics” →

Wicked Art Wednesdays – Diana Levin

This October, we’ll be sharing some great Halloween and horror art from awesome artists. We’re kicking the season off with a fantastic indie artist out of Los Angeles:

Artist: Diana Levin
Company/Studio: Ghoulish Bunny Studios
Where to Purchase Goods: Online shop, comic book and horror conventions, special events, etc.
Website: https://www.ghoulishbunnystudios.com/
Social Media: https://twitter.com/ghoulishbunny

Why we love them: Creepy cute art blends the best of two worlds. Diana Levin’s colorful and whimsical style mixed with the dark Gothic tones is a feast for the eyes. In addition to drawing some delightfully creepy versions of pop culture and fabled characters, her own original character drawings are exquisite. Diana’s creative art inspires the imagination, which might explain how partner Shawn Givens comes up with all those spooky stories for their book series, The Ghoulish Grimoire.