Articles and Ideas August, 2007
The Ride at Disneyland and Walt Disney World
Pirates of the Caribbean was developed in the late 1950s originally as as a walk-through wax museum at Disneyland that would have featured depictions of real pirates in static scenes. Luckily for us, Disney Imagineers utilized the technological breakthroughs to transform the most popular attraction at Disneyland into a rollicking boat ride through pirate-fueled environments complete with fictional audioAanimatronic pirates ransacking a Caribbean seaport.
The attraction's theme song, "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for ...
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By Dusti Lewars-Poole
Piracy may well be one of the oldest known professions. With roots wrapped around Roman past and Viking exploits, piracy has inspired terror and fantasy for centuries.
Today, the word "pirate" brings to mind dashing rebellious male spirits with gold teeth, elaborate coats, and oversized plumed hats. Swords and pistols, handhooks and maps, eye patches and parrots - these are the tools of the trade. Treasure and freedom are the themes. The reality is, of course, a much more ...
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Adapted by Steve Chavez a.k.a. Wraith
Everyone in Boo-ville liked Halloween a lot...
But the Grinch, who wrote for a newspaper, did NOT!
The Grinch hated Halloween! The whole Halloween season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be his childhood just didn’t go right.
It could be his neighbor’s candy generosity was too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all,
May have been that his Halloween spirit was two sizes too small.
But, whatever the reason, his spirit ...
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Back to Vol. 5, Issue 1
by Alf B. Meier
On a damp evening in the hills surrounding Darmstadt, Germany I first saw Frankenstein Castle. It is much like other castle ruins that dot Germany‘s heartland, yet I had the eerie feeling something about it was different. Could it be only the prejudice toward the name Frankenstein, fostered by Mary Wollenstonecraft Shelley‘s famous novel I had read as a kid. Or was it the movies loosely based on this novel I ...
Posted in Happy Halloween Magazine | No Comments »
Back to Vol. 4, Issue 4
by Rochelle Santopoalo
As the first major holiday after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, Halloween was put to the test and came out a winner. American combined their love for Halloween with love of country in some very clever ways. Here are some of the most interesting demonstrations we found.
Pumpkin Carving Templates
Three organizations offered free pumpkin carving templates on their websites: Pumpkin Masters™, PC Jack-O-Lantern, and the Rock ‘n Roll Chef.
Inspired by Teddy ...
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By Lesley Bannatyne excerpted from A Halloween How-To
"I hate Halloween," exclaims an elderly caller on an AM radio talk show in Maryland. "They should get rid of it. Kids today are just destructive."
"Halloween glorifies Satan," warns a preacher on national cable television. "Kids shouldn't dress up as devils, period."
"I would never let my children go out trick or treating alone," confides a D.C.-area mom of her six year-old and ten-year old. "I'd never forgive myself if something happened."
People hurl ...
Posted in Myths & Legends, Stories, Myths & Legends | 17 Comments »
13... what is Dr. Rochelle thinking??
Starting a new Halloween magazine on Friday the 13th...how unlucky! Have you ever stopped to wonder why people get so excited about the number 13? What exactly is the big deal?
And indeed, it is a big deal. Millions of people worldwide suffer from triskaidekaphobia - or, fear of #13. Hotels are built without a 13th floor. Cities avoid creating a 13th Avenue or Street. Hospitals refuse to have an Operation Room #13. Trips are ...
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A Little Town On It's Way Up
"Eternity in Hell" is a sentence of suffering for most. But not for John Colone. Eternity is just about the length of time it would reasonably take to put in place the thousands of ideas that spew from the mind of this former top Chrysler dealer who has made a commitment to transform Hell - Michigan, that is - into a year round Halloween destination.
"We'll be celebrating, and selling, Halloween 363 days a year," ...
Posted in Halloween, Spooky Places | 12 Comments »
Planet Earth on Halloween - October 31st
By David Lady
NOTE: There is nothing wrong with your Halloween website. Do not attempt to skip this article. The following transmission was originally discovered by surveillance satellite EAVESDROPPER (sponsored by Nike), built by NASA (a division of Disney) for the United States Government (a subsidiary of Microsoft). It was discovered in the form of an advanced signal being beamed from Earth to a distant planet and has been de-coded for your edification . . ...
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Here's an entertaining trivia quiz about Halloween and popular music. For example, what Halloween song has sold over four million copies, received three gold records and hit number one making it onto the Billboard charts three times? Written by Mark Harvey, here's a great chance to learn about music of Halloween and what makes the Halloween season a little more fun.
1) What Halloween song has sold over four million copies, received three gold records and hit number one making ...
Posted in Party Tips, Recipes & Activities | No Comments »
By David Lady
If you're as skilled in food preparation as I am (and I'm generally about as useful in the kitchen as a set of golf clubs is to a tree frog), you're probably always happy to learn about a Halloween party treat that's so simple to make that even you can do it. Working against the obvious kitchen-related disadvantage of being Male, I'm pleased to report that I came up with a spooky treat that even my fellow husbands ...
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Madame Tussaud's Sculpter Creating the Wax Frankenstein
Universal Studios, an industry leader in creating horror films, celebrated the anniversary of several Universal classics horror classics in 2001. In a landmark relationship, Universal Studios Home Video (USHV) joined Tussaud's Group of London and Madame Tussaud's worldwide attractions to pay tribute to Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Development of the Dracula, Frankenstein and Mummy characters for Madame Tussaud's Wax Museums coincides with USHV's 2001 national campaign for a ...
Posted in Halloween, Hollywood Horrors | 1 Comment »
Located in London, Las Vegas, New York, Paris
Madame Tussaud's Wax - Portrait Facts
Frankenstein wax figure being scuplted at Madame Tussaud's
Each strand of hair is inserted individually, taking approximately five weeks to complete each head.
Two maintenance teams inspect and primp each figure daily before the attraction opens.
To add authenticity to the portraits at Madame Tussaud's New York, many artifacts have been donated from the celebrity or purchased from auctions.
All portraits have ...
Posted in Halloween | 2 Comments »
By Mistress Serrella (Sarah Briggs)
Hello Ghoulish readers! Well, I guess I have to spill the beans. Not magic beans mind you, but beans nevertheless, or rather some other kind of food groups! Ol' Mistress Serrella, oh, ah, that's me in case you didn't know, had a horrible experience this Halloween. I pulled out my favorite witch costume, hat and cape. You'll never guess what happened? Only the hat and cape fit. My favorite witchy-poo dress looked like I was trying ...
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Located in Mansfield, Ohio - One Spooky Place
Touring any empty prison is an eerie experience, to be sure. Now enhance that experience by doing it at night with only flashlights to light your way down deserted corridors that resonate of prior inhabitants. Intensify it further by placing that tour in a 149,000 square foot structure that looks more like a turn-of-the-century medieval chateau than a prison. The result is an Ultimate Halloween Destination - the Ohio State Reformatory (OSR) in ...
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A Scary Place Located in Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River (MA) Our tour guides will be informing you of the history and mystery of each room during your tour of the house where the most infamous crime of 19th century America took place. We are providing this guide to assist you and hope you will be able to decide for yourself who murdered Andrew and Abbey Borden on that fateful day.
On Thursday, August 4, 1892 the bodies of Andrew and Abbey ...
Posted in Halloween, Spooky Places | 1 Comment »
By Mistress Serrella (Sarah Briggs)
Hello, there. How are we doing? Well, it seems that some of the comments I made in my last note to you in our beloved Happy Halloween Magazine stirred the breast of any and all ghouls that are feeling dating pains or dealing with the saps they chose to be their afterlife partners. With that said I feel that I must dive in headlong where other mere mortals fear to swim. Never fear, ghoulish readers, I, ...
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The name Houdini is inextricably linked with Halloween because of his death on October 31, 1926 at Grace Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. The Official Houdini Séance, held each year since his death, has its roots in Houdini's efforts to expose fraudulent mediums. He claimed if there was truly a way to contact the living after one's death, he would do so. He set up a code with his wife, Bess, who faithfully attended the annual seances awaiting his return for ...
Posted in Halloween, Hollywood Horrors | 1 Comment »
With Halloween witches, goblins, and super-heroes descending on neighborhoods across the USA, the American Red Cross offers parents, grandparents and guardians some safety tips to help prepare their children for a safe and enjoyable trick-or-treat holiday. Halloween should be filled with surprise and enjoyment and following some common sense practices can keep events safer and even more fun.
On Halloween night, walk, slither, and sneak on sidewalks, not in the street.
Look both ways before crossing the street to check for cars, ...
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Halloween Fact or Fiction: Halloween was originally a Celtic holiday celebrated on October 31.
Fact:
The ancient Celts celebrated the new year on November 1, the beginning of winter. Summer's end (Samhain) was celebrated immediately before on October 31. Celtic priests, the Druids, established the night of October 31 as a gathering time for the spirits of death and evil. (Barth, 1972 p. 79)
Halloween Fact or Fiction: Trick-or-treating is a modern Halloween custom.
Fiction:
Silver Ravenwolf (2000) explains: "We find ...
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