Halloween page 1
Halloween 2006
I cannot help but notice that a disproportionate number of my pictures seem to be Halloween related. Rather than convey the impression that the Zombie Huntress and her friends spend all of their time prancing about in costume, I've decided to move all of the Halloween stuff to one page. If the Halloween page seems to be much larger than any other page, I'm sure that's just a coincidence.
Halloween Happening 2 was plagued by bad weather - and a bad case of flu for your humble host and hostess. Mike and I managed to survive the day on pure adrenaline, and a good time was had by all who braved the hurricaine, monsoon and snow storm to venture out to the party.
A friend remarked to me that it must have taken forever to get all the cobwebs up. You mean you can actually buy fake ones? I've spent all this time sucking up to the spider population and I could have just used nylon?
Nothing like the complete works of Stephen King turned into spooky artwork! So much for my quiet and cozy little study.
Of course, I didn't just render my own favorite section of the house uninhabitable. Mike's territory was similarly mood-enhanced.
And what's a haunted house without a spooky door guardian? "Slasher" awaited the unsuspecting innocents who dared to enter.
The Count himself awaited those who survived "Slasher".
And a grim fate awaited the unwary!
Decor aside, food is vital for a party. We had tons of edibles! The crowning glory was the incredible Halloween cake, decorated by the very talented Ami of the Dutch Haus Bakery. So gorgeous I hated to cut it, and as tasty as it was beautiful.
Halloween Happening 2 was a six hour soiree. I usually do snacky stuff for two hours, then dinner for two hours, then desserts for two hours. Beverages, of course, flow all day long. This was the remains of the snacky table, just before we started laying out dinner. That dark item in front is Jell-O, shaped like brains and filled with yummy candy worms.
I could never pull a party off without help from my wonderful cousins. Here in the kitchen Vampire Susan helps Zombie Redneck Bernadette and Devilish Marlana aid Crazy Cat Lady Kimm, your overworked hostess.
Luckily my mom got out of the hospital in time to attend. Here she is in her Bat Grammy costume, enjoying dinner with Lil' Devil Verl. That's part of Crazy Cat Lady Kimm in the foreground.
Stephanie managed to keep her back to the camera, at least to my camera. I'll get you one day, my pretty!
Crazy Cat Lady Kimm and her mom, the Bat Grammy! Parakeets Cedric and Rowena have no idea what to make of all the spooky goings-on.
Randy always has the most awesome costume. This year it was Beetlejuice and it was perfect, there were even bugs and snakes in his pockets! Lil Moo Amara knows her grandpap, even when he is undead.
I came as a Crazy Cat Lady. The problem with my costume? Too many people asking me why I hadn't worn a costume! Arrrrgh!!!! (This pic was taken at the end of the night, after I'd shed the wild gray gnarly wig. No, really, that was a wig!)
The hurricaine conditions did not diminish the popularity of the outside smoking area in the least. Beetlejuice Randy sneaks outside for a butt with Knight Keith. Meanwhile Zombie Redneck Bernie gives a milk break to Lil Moo Amara, who seems to have shed her cow costume.
Halloween page 2
Halloween 2005
My cousin Larry, dripping internal organs, and my mother, channeling Elvis. Halloween 2005.
Randy, my cousin Bernadette's husband, in his best scarecrow getup. Halloween 2005.
My cousin Jimmy, as the Home Depot Dude. Halloween 2005.
Pumpkin carving. Marlana, Rayda, Sue, Rachel, Kimm, Bernadette and Ami. Halloween 2005.
Marlana proved to be the champion carver - of pumpkins at least. The Zombie Huntress, of course, was the greatest carver of the living dead. Luckily none threatened the gathering as the pumpkin crafters did their work. Bernadette, Ami, Kimm, Marlana, Rayda and Sue.
It was a dual purpose party - a celebration of Halloween as well as a celebration of Cousin Susan's 50th birthday. My fellow fiction writers Larry and Tony managed to get 50 candles on the cake, and Susan managed to get them all out with one puff. Happy Birthday, Beauty Queen!
Doc Hanley allows her inner redneck to shine. Aint she a glamor babe? Halloween 2005.
No, no that scarecrow really isn't all that scary. In fact, he had the little one sleeping like a baby.
Halloween page 3
Halloween - New York style!
Nobody does Halloween like those wild and crazy New Yorkers. From the mega parade in Greenwich Village to the billions of bashes in clubs all over the city, there's always a party to be found.
As a Zombie Huntress, I was - of course - obliged to attend more than my fair share of them.
The rumors are true. Marie, Mike and the Zombie Huntress did indeed tackle the Terror Dome. None of us turned into a zombie and had to be chainsawed later, though they probably overcharged us for the photo. Since I smile every time I see it, I think we got a bargain.
This is the Plant Lady crew on the subway heading for the Greenwich Village Halloween parade. Mike is behind the camera, recording us for posterity - and future blackmail opportunities. Vampire Donna, Punkrock Kimm, Bad Girl Kyra, Artful Dodger Tammie, and Sister Sally kept the Guardian Angels patrol on their toes. Take that, Curtis Sliwa!
I always did take Halloween to an extreme. I dyed my hair a great blue-green for this costume, and it stayed that way for the next couple of months, until it grew out and the blue-green ends were cropped off. What struck me as really funny about the hair color was how incredibly offended some people would get by it. I can't count how many times I was shopping or in waiting rooms and perfect strangers would start giving me grief about my hair color, as if it were a personal affront to them. I had originally done it for Halloween, then kept the shade for a few extra days because I was too tired to dye it back out. By the time the weekend after Halloween rolled around, when I'd have had time to do it, so many people had taken it upon themselves to try censoring my hair color that it would have taken a gun to my head to get me to dye it back. I don't even LIKE blue-green that much, I just did that shade because the boutique where I bought the stuff was out of pink.
This was taken at Spooky Times, a Halloween party given by Tammie and Minnie in 1988. Here Vampire Donna shows off the biker costume that the Zombie Huntress made for Farley the Pug.
By far the most kickass costume at Spooky Times was Janelle as the Dead Prom Queen, shown here smoking and drinking in the finest Prom Queen fashion.
The Zombie Huntress, here disguised as a Killer Clown, takes no grief from Dead Prom Queens. Rockstar Mike is way too smart to get involved.
Our hostesses with the mostesses get ready for the party. Vampire Minnie puts the final floof on Zombie Tammie as Biker Pug Farley assists.
Halloween page 4
Halloween in Long Island
The Zombie Huntress really likes Halloween. Probably some deep Freudian issues with the whole dressing up thing, but why go there? Instead, let's take to the dance floor with the afore-mentioned Zombie Huntress, the handsome Mike and a few much loved friends for Halloween fun at the late lamented Oak Beach Inn.
Awwww, matching Halloween costumes! Think we've been married awhile?
The Killer Dominatrix faces the horrible hook of the Zombie Huntress with no fear.
Killer Dominatrix, Crazed Surgeon, and Psycho Clown, or is that Marie, Suzie and Kimm?
It's the French Maid, the Killer Dominatrix, and the Vampire, or Bernadette, Marie and Sheila - the McBrien sisters!
Hey! How'd that OTHER clown get my hook? Mike shows off in true Killer Klowns from Outer Space tradition.
Halloween page 5
Costumage: It's what we do, it's all we do!
So... the pictures on this page aren't precisely Halloween, but as previously stated the Zombie Huntress and her friends sure do like to dress up. Sometimes to be glamorous, sometimes to be humorous, sometimes for no good reason whatsoever.
Ok, I'll go first. This is an ancient portrait of the Zombie Huntress, and has barely survived all the years since it was taken. Isn't my ray gun scary?
This one MIGHT have been taken at Halloween - but it is Tammy so you can't be too sure really. This is Tammy and her partner Hilda. They are trying to confuse the Zombie Huntress, but I will not be fooled! Still, I think I will request a bit of conversation before I allow them to approach to within, say, biting range. A sound plan, wouldn't you agree?
Chicks in Chainmail alert! The Zombie Huntress tears into a turkey drumstick, in best medieval style. This was at the costume dinner, Simucon 2001.
Who was that punk rocker? It must be Mike, and it must be 1981, and we must be heading into Manhattan to paint the town!
It's Larry, the King of Swing himself, posing with a rather artfully underclad model. The year is around 1979 and the photo was taken by my old friend Norm Brandell. Larry would probably shoot me for posting this on the internet, but he was a great guy with a heart of gold and was always very kind to a young Zombie Huntress who was newly on her own in the big bad city.
By popular demand, one more punk rock shot. A much younger - and much more flexible - Zombie Huntress, doing her best Pat Benatar. Ohhhhh, scary!
This was at a Christmas party for North Shore Animal League. LaGuardia College students Berni and the Zombie Huntress, machine guns in hand, stand ready to show that buffet who is boss. If I remember correctly, we kicked its ass!