It was only the second week in October, and Halloween was already showing off its Oct, oops I mean act, to anyone on the downtown party scene:
– Halloween got its unofficial start in mid-month, as the Smilin’ Moose was invaded by a man in an over-the-top, top-to-bottom, multi-colored tux, and a woman who could have been his bride, decked out in a Gothic-themed wedding dress that was complete with big white boots. The next weekend before the Haunting Night, there were about a dozen more people who just couldn’t wait to dress up. One of them pretended to be a big, bad bouncer, and checked out me and my ID, saying bluntly I looked like I had restrictions that would require her to read the fine print at length before letting me in. But its OK, the real bouncers said, as she does this all the time to a wide variety of people.
– A couple of women who formed the company St. Croix Paranormal, and said that the spirits they chased didn’t always consider them welcome, was highlighted in the Hudson Star-Observer a couple of years ago. There was no contact information listed for the duo, which makes one wonder if they disappeared like so many of the beasties they pursued that were once part of this world. There would seem to be at least a ghost of a chance.
– They say that the lower level, in back, of Seasons Tavern might be haunted, but apparently apparitions can roam — maybe because a cave that heads southward. A former server there who lived just a few houses away on St. Croix Street N., said that at one point a bed appeared to move, and that there were other monstrosities of movement. Word had it that someone had died there decades earlier. That’s a long time to be stuck between both here and the netherworld.
– What’s in this year for costumes? A salesperson at one of those big Halloween stores said it was hands-down the character Pennywise. Upon a return visit, another clerk said that their best sellers had been both that creature, or Wonder Woman, or going back to referencing the former figure, “any evil clown.” Also “in” is pumpkin-themed and colored lingerie, but surprisingly out are Trump masks. Maybe way too scary.
– At one bar, on the “ladies” room door, there was a “mummy,” and at Dick’s there is a figure of a long, cool vampiress, not with a red dress, but rather purple. And two rooms away in of all places, the main dining area, there is an authentic iron maiden, which resembles with its studded and decked out metal, the knight’s outfit at one Twin Cities Halloween superstore. Dick’s always has the best monsters hanging from their ceiling, and this year my favorite is a big fat face, with floppy hat, that has thick strings like string cheese hanging from its jowls.
– The new Pudge’s upstairs pool room has now become the source of — gasp — girl talk. For five minutes nonstop, two lovely young ladies got their game on and gabbed solely about their costume plans. The only heard part I heard for sure was a reference to “boy-cut shorts.”
– The costume last year of a worker at Dick’s went over fabulously, although it didn’t look fabulous, and was definitely not politically correct. It was of a pregnant woman (artificial baby bump) wearing a houserobe and having a cig hanging from her lips. Less popular and kinda gross, a group of patrons agreed, have been the costumes depicting a woman actually giving birth.
– These are the top two picks, in my book of hauntings, of skeletal creatures around town now: A whole-length-of-body skeleton was seen positioned in a wheelchair, (and I guess he didn’t soon enough get the full medical treatment he needed), and a skull, without the body, was on display at the Village Inn inside a glass globe, (apparently the person operating this crystal ball saw something really bad). Which brings to mind the recent time at the North Hudson haunt that the old classic by Styx (a band name in itself having Halloween motif), of Crystal Ball was pulled out of the vault, (and maybe could be used to figure out just how that skull got to be, well, nothing more than a skull).
– My brother in law, a conservative Catholic, has one of those haircuts that’s not exactly a crewcut but not far short of it. It was pointed out to him, much to his chagrin, that on either side of his head where you would normally have parted hair, there recently were sprigs of hair sticking upward that resembled devil horns. Only on Halloween? Or is this recent retiree considering a new career as a heavy metal rocker?
– The other day my friend Tom and I were taking in some music, and soon there was the popular modern pop song that referenced “cocoa puffs.” I suggested that Captain Crunch, used to running his own ship, might be jealous of this additional exposure, to which Tom said, as be befits this time of year, “or Frankenberry!”
– One of those great big ‘ol beer trucks I saw at a convenience store the other day said that their product takes hopheads and grants them Asylum, which is part of the name of their brew. This time of year, having an asylum provided would only seem fitting.