Kestrell

Question for sound design folks + The Halloween Dragon!

2023-10-11T15:06:46Z

I'm going to be a maenad for Halloween, and I would like to put together a spooky woods sound effects MP3 thing that I can play on an Echo dot and turn on and off using the Alexa app on my iPhone.

However, just looking through the sound effects MP3s on Amazon has gotten me only a handful of MP3s that I feel are suitable to "spooky woods," and I am wondering if there are resources online that sell something more suitable, like a 45-minute or hour-long MP3 of a theme such as "spooky woods."

I remember I used to have some readers who did sound design for local radio plays and similar project when I was on LJ: are you guys still out there? Any advice?

Sounds I'm searching for: wind and trees rustling, owls and other animals screeching, women/witches chanting and occasionally screaming...what other sounds say "spooky woods"? I figure after the first slow hour of trick or treating, the sound will be drowned out by the screaming of actual small demons, i.e., live children.

Also: I had a $50 gift card for Target and, although I can never find anything I want at Target, this month they had lots of Halloween stuff, including a five foot tall inflatable black dragon! Now, if you know any of the occupants of Melville Keep, you will probably agree with me that a giant inflatable dragon is totally us (failing the fact that we can't acquire an actual live dragon, that is). And it will look pretty kickass with the fog from my fog machine curling around it.

comments

I have a fog machine and an axe!

2022-10-31T13:10:09Z

I'm going to be a Green Woman: I have a pseudo-medieval green velvet dress and cloak, a mask with ivy leaves, lots of fake velvet ivy, plus my ivy bracelt tatoo.

And an axe!

Sadly, when you live with historical reenactors, and announce that you have an axe, no one even looks up from their breakfast oatmeal. I asked, "Aren't you even a little scared?" and, in the most bored voice in the world, my housemate replied, "No."

comments

Spooky Amazon Alexa Skills and Commands to Get You Into the Halloween Spirit

2022-10-21T12:18:39Z

Only ten days until Halloween or, alternatively (according to Alexa), nine days, sixteen hours, and a werewolf howl. Allow Alexa to liven things up by turning on this skill. You can also then turn on the Halloween theme for further sounds and seasonal tips.
https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/spooky-amazon-alexa-skills-and-commands-you-can-use-to-get-in-the-halloween-spirit/

Also, if you have Sirius XM, you can request the Scream Radio channel, which plays spooky sounds and creepy stories.

comments

9 more days 'til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween

2021-10-22T11:32:44Z

9 more days 'til Halloween, Silver Shamrock!

SiriusXM *finally* started their Halloween channel: you can say either "Alexa, play Halloween music" or "Alexa, play Scream Radio" to summon the beautiful music of screeching violins, rattling chains, and the children of the night, not to mention, the screaming.

They also play actual music, much of it from horror movies or goth groups.

Truly, it is the most wonderful time of the year.

comments

Moonbox Production Offers Rocky Horror Show with Audio Description Halloween Weekend

2021-10-20T16:54:52Z

From the announcement:

Are you looking for something unique and fun to do during Halloween weekend, then you will want to consider attending one of the audio described performances of Rocky Horror Show presented by Moonbox Productions during Halloween Week!

Moonbox Productions
presents The Rocky Horror Show
at The Lab, 25 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA

The Audio Described performances are at 8 PM on Friday, October 29, 2021 and Friday, November 5. (Pre-show description starts at 7:30.)

Tickets for the audio described performances are $20.
To order your tickets at the $20 price, contact
Kara Crumrine at:
Community@moonbox.org
All requests for accommodation will be prioritized.

ABOUT THE SHOW
Back by popular demand, Moonbox Productions will perform Richard O’Brien’s legendary cult classic, The Rocky Horror Show, at a pop-up theater in Harvard Square. Directed by David Lucey, Choreography by Daniel Forest Sullivan, Assistant Choreography by Joy Clark, and Music Directed by Mindy Cimini. Starring Peter Mill as Frank ‘N’ Furter (Elliot Norton Award Nominee - Outstanding Musical Performance 2019).
A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the late 1940s through to the early 1970s, The Rocky Horror Show tells the story of Brad Majors and his fiancée, Janet Weiss, who get caught in a thunderstorm with a flat-tire and are forced to seek help at the castle of Dr. Frank ’N’ Furter, a transvestite scientist with a manic genius and insatiable libido. Brad, Janet, and Frank’ N’ Furter’s cohorts are swept up into the scientist’s latest experiment, a Frankenstein-style monster in the form of an artificially made, fully grown, physically perfect muscle man named Rocky Horror, complete “with blond hair and a tan”. The night’s misadventures will cause Brad and Janet to question everything they’ve known about themselves, each other, love, and lust. With an irresistible rock ’n’ roll score, The Rocky Horror Show is a hilarious, wild ride that no audience will soon forget.

Moonbox Productions requires face masks and proof of vaccination or proof of a recent negative COVID test.

Kara Crumrine
Moonbox Productions
Director of Community/Accessibility Initiatives
community@moonbox.org
603-748-1693 (voice)
she/her/hers

comments

The MIT Glass Pumpkin Patch is back!

2021-09-25T13:50:49Z

The really amazing part of the story is how these glassblowers, in the space of one year, moved from the traditional method of glass blowing, which has been used for hundreds of years, to develop a new Covid-safe method of glass blowing, and then created 2000 glass pumpkins.
http://glasslab.scripts.mit.edu/

comments

Deafula: 1970s version of Dracula in ASL

2021-09-20T11:48:01Z

Hold on to your seats, I just found out about this: someone made a version of Dracula entirely in ASL. The bad news is that of course it was an experimental 1970s thing and of course it has the expected poor quality, but you can find it on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si3cNB33Ui8
or, supposedly, on DVD
https://kingofthewitches.com/products/default-dvd

comments

NASA's creepy Halloween posters

2020-10-30T15:49:53Z

Dead stars and black holes and lots of spooky red lighting, free to download
https://scitechdaily.com/heres-how-to-get-new-nasa-posters-featuring-cosmic-frights-for-halloween/

comments

19 spookiest things Alexa can do

2020-10-30T14:45:32Z

10. Ask Alexa to play the Aerye's theme song, "The Attic," by Professor Elemental

Here are the other nine
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/9-spookiest-things-alexa-can-do-on-halloween/

comments

Wearing My Witch Hat

2020-10-30T11:25:08Z

Ever since I was a little girl,
I waited for Halloween,
the one day I could wear my witch hat.
I would make it from rough black paper and Elmer's glue
and those terrible scissors they give little kids
that work as well as Ron Weasely's wand.
As I got older, other women told me,
You can't wear that witch hat
We're not allowed to wear
a hat like that
And, anyway,
No one really believes in witches or,
if they do, they're some sort of crazy lady.
I wondered, what would Shirley Jackson say to that?
and I bought a better witch hat.
It was higher, and pointier, with velvet flowers and black lace
and a veil that fluttered around my face
and even a few black feathers,
which would occasionally make a break for it
and fly off with a rakish breeze.

The first time I went to Salem
I saw so many witch hats!
Worn by college girls, and little girls, and even some men (the ones with style).
But the best were the women,
the ones with hair gone grey.
Their witch hats were the best
the most magnificent--
as if they had been saving up all their lives
for this
one
perfect
witch
hat
The one that declared
that they no longer cared
about what they were and weren't supposed to wear.
Maybe one day I will
be old enough
and bold enough
to wear a witch hat
one like that
covered with orange feathers.

comments

Article on the Wild Hunt in medieval folklore

2020-10-19T17:42:39Z

The Wild Hunts of Medieval Lore
https://www.medievalists.net/2020/10/wild-hunts-medieval/
Have you read?
The Wild Hunt by Jane Yolen - The best Winter Solstice read aloud book ever, plus you will never forget what a gerund is.
The Wild Hunt of Hagworthy by Penelope Lively - Captues that sense of the uncanny, definitely folk horror.
The Last Hot Time by John M. Ford - So much to love about this book, plus the elves are not annoyingly pretty.
Phantom Armies of the Night by Claude Lecouteux - One of the few nonfiction books I've found on the subject; the author is sort of the French Ronald Hutton

comments

MurderBaby and me pic, take 2

2020-10-12T17:41:02Z

comments

MurderBaby is back!

2020-10-12T17:30:34Z

MurderBaby started off as a prop for my sinister harlequin costume for Halloween last year, but then MurderBaby followed P. home and now...MurderBaby is back!
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1229087324130806&id=100010886508851

I'm going to try to insert a pic of MurderBaby and I, let's hope it works...

comments

The House of Bly Manor begins tomorrow on Netflix

2020-10-08T09:56:58Z

Directed by Mike Flanagan, who was one of my favorite directors even before The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of the House of Bly begins tomorrow on Netflix.

You can find the trailer here (but can you name that tune playing on the music box?)
https://www.canstarblue.com.au/streaming/haunting-of-bly-manor-netflix/

comments

Five of my favorite Halloween movies

2020-10-05T14:39:23Z

Yesterday a couple of sister horror fangirls and I watched "Addams Family Values," which is as fun as ever --one of our number had never seen it, imagine!!-- and we all agreed we wanted to live in the Addams family mansion, or at least, heavily borrow from its interior design.

I realize that there are lots of movie suggestions being posted this time of year, but I thought I would add my own, because these are six films that I feel are tragically underrated and even rarely mentioned. In a couple of cases I would almost call them lost classics. Speaking of lost classics, has anyone else ever come across mention of an unreleased film starring Christopher Lee and Donna Riggs in a film directed by Roddy McDowell, based on Midsummer's Night Dream?

1. City of the Dead aka Horror Hotel (1960)
Christopher Lee as a professor of occult studies somewhere near a town that obviously stands in for Salem: how do I love this movie, let me count the ways
https://horroraddicts.wordpress.com/2014/06/09/kbatz-christopher-lee-delights/

2. Tam Lin (1970)
Directed by Roddy McDowell, soundtrack by Pentangle, Eva Gardner as the aging faerie queen (I want her wardrobe!), a young Ian McShane as Tom Lin and Stephanie Beecham as Janet—I swear, when I first read about this film I thought I was hallucinating, especially as no one to whom I’ve raved about it seems to have seen it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tam-Lin_(film)#Production

3. The Nightcomers (1970)
Stephanie Beacham stars in this one as the infamous Miss Jessel opposite Marlon Brando as Quint, and I don’t even know how I managed to find this film on cable TV when I was a susceptible young teenager, because Quint is a bad, bad man, who really likes tying his girlfriend in knots, literally…

4. Baffled (1973)
If you like occult detectives (as I do), and Leonard Nimoy (as I do), this is a British made-for-TV movie that was supposed to be the pilot episode for a series, and I weep at the loss.

5. Spectre (1977)
Directed and written by Gene Roddenberry and starring Robert Culp and Gig Young as a pair of occult detectives who end up at a mansion which resembles what you might get if you crossed the Addams Family mansion with Playboy Mansion, and the slashiness between the two male leads, not to mention Majel Barrett as Lilith, add an additional layer of “Am I hallucinating this?” to the experience.

6. Simon King of the Witches (1971)
Set in psychedelic 1970s Los Angeles, this story literally follows Simon, a ceremonial magician, through the stormdrains (where he lives) and the mansions of LA as he pursues his desire for godlike powers. A weird mix of camp and references to real magical rituals, I would recommend not taking mind-altering drugs before watching this, but we’re pretty certain that Grant Morrison did
https://ultraculture.org/blog/2013/04/17/simon-king-of-the-witches/

comments

Keeping Halloween alive, er, in your heart through scare packages and secret witches

2020-10-03T14:02:11Z

For years, a mutual friend and I have been sending scare packages to a friend who moved to LA from Boston. We are all horror fans, and we all love Halloween, and autumn, so we try to include a little of all these things in the packages we send her.

What goes in a scare package? Anything spooky, or autumnal, or just plain silly.

Things we have included in previous scare packages:

a small jar (spice jar sized) labeled "Autumn," which included autumn leaves, acorns, tiny pinecones, a tiny pumpkin (these came in an autumn-themed potpourri), cinnamon and cloves
Handmade cards, handmade art, postcard with crows on it, Edward Gorey cards
A small bat finger puppet (this was a big hit)
Halloween socks
Bat earrings, handmade bead necklaces
Halloween balloons
Rubber bats with a suction cup to stick to a window/wall
Edgar Allan Poe temporary tattoos (we bought these in Salem during a one-day trip)
A thumb drive with spooky/Halloween/goth/horror movie soundtrack music on it
A thumb drive with old Halloween movies on it
Halloween chocolate or peeps, depending on the sendees favorites
An orange (it's her favorite color) silk handkerchief, fabric with autumn or Halloween themes, Halloween-themed ribbon
Mysterious-looking boxes into which to pack everything
Real or silk autumn leaves, black feathers, real acorns scattered through the contents to lend the contents a sense of having drifted there and being layered over time.

We, the senders, acquire spooky/Halloween-themed odds and ends all year long, so usually we just plunder our supply for things to include in the scare package, and then we get together and have a fun time constructing it as an art object. The other sender is great at making the handmade items, so the package really does have an overall sense of being thoughtfully and carefully put together.

The first few times we sent the scare package, we didn't tell the sendee, so we got to be something like secret witches, instead of secret Santas.

2020 could really use some secret witches sending scare packages to friends and family who usually celebrate Halloween in a big way, but may not be able to do so this year, so I'm circulating this idea in hopes that scare packages become a thing: you could even include a tag that says "Do not open until October 31."

2020 has been full enough of the bad scares: let's put some good scares in it.

comments

A girl needs an ax!

2020-09-07T18:24:24Z

I've been working on a Green Woman mask for Halloween, collecting bits and bobs to layer on to it, but I just had a thought regarding the perfect accessory: I think I need an ax!

There are two good reasons for this:
1. I love the Sir Gawain and the Green Knight poem, and
2. there's a song by the Flash Girls which came out a number of years ago titled "A Girl Needs a Knife" and, while the basic lyrics are in the title, I have always added my own lyrics such as a girl needs a stick (i.e., white cane), a girl needs an accessible flamethrower, a girl needs a Death Star, a girl needs a sentient talking black hole (based on a John Varley story).

Oo! I just thought of reason 3: I could do the Jack Nicholson scene from The Shining!

So...I'm sure I could find a really nice toy ax on Amazon, any suggestions? If it costs less than ten dollars, I'll probably go for it.

A Girl Needs a Knife" by the Flash Girls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXAjq0cNKB0

comments

Recommendations for how to create an iTunes playlist using Jaws?

2019-07-19T16:59:20Z

I have managed to import my music to iTunes, but I still have no idea how to get to the playlist pane, or the songs pane.

Also, are any of the third-party iTunes for the blind scripts worth the price?

The last button I clicked on, iTunes just started playing songs and, let me tell you, I have some spooky shit coming out of my speakers and even *I* don't know what it is.

I just want to make a playlist for the next trip to Salem.

comments

Alexa, that was the sweetest Valentine ever!

2018-02-09T14:35:22Z

Those who know me have probably heard me say on more than one occasion that Halloween and Valentine's Day are really just flip sides of the same holiday, involving chocolate, costumes, and fear.

So, Amazon has just come out with a number of Alexa skills for Valentine's Day, including florists near you and a romantic playlist.

I was thus inspired to say, "Alexa, be scary."

And she began making whooshy wind and wolf howl sounds!

Romance really is in the air.

comments

Okay, that's creepy...in a good way

2017-10-18T12:33:31Z

Okay Google gives Halloween costume ideas. I tried it twice and the first suggestion was pretty bland, but I did really like the second suggestion about being an entire ecosystem ("It's all in the hat: try making it a tree canopy or a cloud layer"), but really, it's the short intro and the survey you get tht make it fun.

comments

Witchy spice jars

2017-10-13T18:18:51Z

This has been a fun week for checking out the Halloween aisles for spooky stuff. TeenyBuffalo and I went to Michael's on Sunday, where I picked up a couple of ceramic jars labeled "Organic Filtered Poison" and "Bat Wings." I put lemon drops in the poison jar, and just filled the "Bat Wings" jar with the small rubber bats that Alexx found for me. I already had a couple other plastic jars with witchy labels (the "Eye of Newt" jar is my button jar, though there is also a crocheted human eyeball in there), so now it's a collection.

comments

Ideas for a "Stranger Things" Halloween?

2016-09-20T16:50:06Z

Because every time I read about the "Stranger Things" party in Salem, which happens waaaay past my bedtime, I need to have a Stranger Things" Halloween.

So, idea?

The official foods: Eggos and chocolate pudding (I heart Dustin!)

Christmas light, maybe with a handmade poster of a large Ouija board?

D&D paraphernalia (I don't know--this might be hard to come by at Melville Keep)

Oh, and compasses! Everybody must have at least one compass!

Other?

Edited later: And yes, if I had the skillset I would try to make a DIY sensory deprivation tank...

comments

My pick for the second coolest Halloween event in 2016

2016-09-02T15:45:20Z

I know most people are reluctant to say goodbye to summer but, in Kestrell's world, Labor Day weekend means the start of the Halloween season, and this is my pick for the second coolest event* happening this year.

Creative Salem Stranger Things Halloween Party -Tribute to Barb.
October 7

Stay tuned for details.. But this will be a multidimensional trip to the 80's like no other :-) DJ, BAND, ALTERNATE REALITIES, NIBBLES, TAB, GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY, REALLY BAD DANCING, TWINKLE LIGHTS, CASH BAR, LASERS AND MORE

Tickets will be on sale soon and members will get first shot at them!
creativesalem.com/membership

There will only be about 100 tickets available for this one so once it is go time we HIGHLY suggest grabbing yours!
RSVP on Facebook

*The coolest event is Halloween at Melville Keep, where people definitely get into the spirits of the season. Also, it doesn't happen after my bedtime.

comments

Blind-friendly costume idea

2013-01-27T15:30:10Z

It's never too early to begin planning for Halloween, and who wouldn't want a flaming staff and the opportunity to scare the hell out of the Devil? All this would need is a black robe and sandals, and a few of those cheap stick-on lights to simulate flame. Also, it could easily be a costume idea for couples, as long as the other person didn't mind enacting a wild pig running amok through hell. Also,
http://www.h-net.org/~nilas/seasons/stanthony.html

comments

Literary Halloween costumes

2012-10-25T16:18:16Z

Most of these ideas
http://www.abebooks.com/books/features/literary-halloween-costumes.shtml
sounded sort of blah, except for dressing as Gulliver (it's a cinch that most SCA folks have the poofy shirt and boots) and I also liked the _Phantom Tollbooth_ idea, which would be a cinch for any guide dog user. My idea for someone with a guide dog (although on the whole, I think making your dog wear a costume is cruel and unusual) is Sherlock Holmes and the hound of the Baskervilles, which is basically a deerstalker cap, one of those squiggly pipes (I wonder if you can find those as bubble pipes?), and a dark-haired dog, perhaps with a little bit of whipping cream foam around the mouth.

comments