Halloween. Dick Durland
that it remain covered with a sheet right up until party time, and it’s no wonder…while clearly visibly stimulating, the audible is priceless as well!
As hinted at thus far, over the course of time, we’ve made it a point to expand our thought process to include every one of the senses in as many ways as possible. So far, we’ve combined “mood” lighting, cobwebbed accents, fog, and even “castle-ized” walls, all in an effort to create the perfect “playground” in which we perform an annual dance with our favorite demons. To this point, you may simply feel that all this is mildly interesting, but we’re just getting started.
Feast Room
Looking down from the living room into the dining area, the host of the party—Frankenstein himself—can be found seated at the head of our feast table. While bringing added authenticity (and a focal point) to the setting, this prop is nothing more than a mask and a stuffed suit. There continue to be attendees at every party we’ve ever thrown, who wait for the person inside the mask to move. They wait a long time.
Here, more detail begins to stand out. Check out the real candles burning in the skeleton-head chandelier, the hand holding a spidery invader, the ghoul in the cage hanging from the ceiling, and is that a piece of cake on the chair closest to us? To come clean, I was “Fat Elvis” one year, and that was a homemade prop for my costume. Not everything we have in the castle is store-bought. Over the years, we’ve done what we can to keep costs down. The biggest secret is to gradually add to its contents each time we throw the party. What you’re seeing in these pages is the accumulation of items gathered over several Halloween events. By adding each year, we attempt to make the party new for the die-hards that always attend, not to mention heightening the overall experience for any “newbies” that get thrown into the mix.
Under party-time lighting, Frankenstein looks more ominous than ever, making the dining room a great gathering place to load up with some tasty treats. Remember, he’s nothing more than a costume stuffed with rags (the bulkier, the better) with his outer clothing safety pinned together. A wooden post runs through his core from his seat to his head and he’s belted into position in his chair to guarantee sufficient rigidity. Sitting at the head of our food table, in this setting, he certainly looks real enough to warrant a double take.
Of course, we would never leave out the menu (see “Food” section) when it comes to adding an extra helping of theme to the event. Some of our favorites include different variations of what we lovingly refer to as “finger food,” bones and blood (appropriately shaped biscuits/marinara sauce), eyeball punch, graveyard cake, mummy dogs, and my personal favorite, the “litter box” (rectangular cakelike creation covered in sand-mimicking topping with “squirts” of Tootsie Roll sprinkled about with a serving spatula that’s an actual kitty litter scoop). Mmmm, yum!
The Dungeon
Wandering still further into our house of horrors, as promised, we’re running a fully operational castle here with all the trimmings! Welcome to the room that without which no castle is complete, the “dungeon!” While we’re certain most of our cloaked companions experience an exceptionally good time when playing in Frankenstein’s Castle, we can’t speak for those from past events who weren’t allowed to leave.
Somewhat exorbitantly demonstrating an excellent use of wall space, our virtual “dungeon” is appropriately outfitted with a “torture chamber” including victims, weaponry, hanging flame pots, assorted lengths of chain, etc., all of which can be located at most Halloween stores of significance. But when you bring it all together and present it in the proper context, it produces a clear-cut theme to this particular party room, one that plays to the castle’s inner workings. And yes, this room always proves to be another main attraction while also providing the perfect setting for some of our game time events (see “Games” section).
Same scene with the lights out. Now you’re getting the idea! It’s all an illusion, but a grand one indeed! Remember, there are two stereo systems playing simultaneously throughout the castle. Our dungeon features a surround sound system that booms out a thunderstorm throughout the night, adding yet one more level of demonic delight to torture chamber visitors. As mentioned (foot pedal activated) floodlights mounted outside directed at the windows add to this effect. Flame pots are of particular intrinsic value here, casting just the right amount of glow from the corners of the chamber. Mix in the thunderstorm and what you have here is one runaway party!
Here, a picture is truly worth a thousand words. As a guest, at some point in your journey through this night, it eventually dawns on you…that YOU, in whatever costume you’ve chosen for yourself, serve as just another prop in this most surreal of settings. You find yourself drifting much farther away than the two-block walk from your house. It’s then that you begin to lose yourself in this freak show of a party as the full transformation now begins to get underway. It’s all we wanted all along…for our guests to release. On this night to become a little separated from the norm, to rid themselves of worldly tension and ultimately…BRING THE PARTY!
Adding to our list of major props, the opposite wall of the torture chamber boasts a mourning widow who is seen here, facing all of eternity clutching a bouquet of black roses. Note the black lace draped over the existing curtains to assist in blending them with the decor. The castle’s walls are further adorned with a selection of artwork, portraits of family members/previous castle owners who (of course) change into ghouls and goblins as one alters their vantage point. Articulate positioning of weaponry over this particular piece of artwork adds to the overall feel of the dungeon. As mentioned, while some furniture gets removed for the sake of creating additional space, other pieces simply get rearranged…in this instance, not only to allow full access to the poor hanging souls on the torture chamber’s main wall opposite our widow…
……but with the center of the dungeon area opened up, this party space also doubles as our castle’s game room. It should be noted here that when it comes time to subjecting our masquerading mob to any one of our creative play time events (see “Games”), while the surround sound system continues to roar out a thunderous storm, the house stereo switches from an eighties hard rock theme to Frankenstein’s favorite castle offering, “Toccata in D minor.” Look it up! It’s classic haunted house organ music that when played against the backdrop of our thunderstorm, well, you get the picture…details…details! More on games coming up!
Below is another example of matching up props to produce a combined effect, as well as illustrating more creative use of available space. In earlier parties, we didn’t incorporate the TV at all (which is located at the far end of our “dungeon”), but it always seemed that it should be involved somehow. Then we came across a CD package that included a black veil that went over the TV screen behind which the heads of monsters/assorted lost souls seemingly float in midair while rambling on about this or that. And that was fine for one party.
But then we found this pretty horrific looking witch. So to complete the effect, we’ve positioned the witch behind/above the TV, looking down with arms and hands extended as if to be summoning up the head that floats beneath it. And the whole setup doesn’t take up any party room! Now that’s my idea of another great use of available space—not to mention the eerily ghoulish influence it brings to the chamber in which it resides.
The Hall
After partaking in enough refreshment, one eventually finds the urge to locate the castle’s restroom. But something