By Corinne DeVries, Aaron Foley, Ryan McCormick, Benita Mehta, Lauren Phillips and Jacqueline WayneGuite
The State News
Number 1: Visit one of the many haunted houses in the Lansing area
Phantasmagoria haunted house
Features: Two houses, "Purgatory" and "Quarantine." "Purgatory" is set up as a traditional house. "Quarantine" is set up as rooms with varying themes.
Located: 3222 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Suite 2, Lansing
Hours: 7-11 p.m. Thursday, 7 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, 7-10 p.m. Sunday, 7-11 p.m. Monday
Tickets: $7 for each house, or $10 for both. $9 for both with student ID on Thursday.
Phone: (517) 449-7528
Web: http://phantasmagoriahaunt.com/
Lansing Jaycees Haunted House
Features: Unique scenes, including a "western werewolf" and a "giant spider the size of a Buick."
Located: Impression 5 Science Center, 200 Museum Drive, Lansing
Hours: Opens at 7 p.m., runs through Monday.
Tickets: $5
Phone: (517) 853-8620
Web: www.lansingjaycees.org/hauntedjc/index.php
Slaughterhouse Haunted Adventure
Features: Three separate trailers, with illusion tricks.
A story on the Web site goes with it but isn't relevant.
Located: 5781 Grand River Ave., Fowlerville
Hours: Opens at dusk Friday and Saturday, closed Halloween
Tickets: $12
Phone: (517) 223-9148
Web: www.slaughterhouseonline.com
The Haunted Union
Features: Themed as a psychological thriller about an arsonist on-campus.
Located: In the MSU Union
Hours: 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday
Tickets: Free
Web: www.hfs.msu.edu/entertainment/calendar/index.html
Number 2: Need a last-minute costume? Try a thrifting spree
With only four days left to shop for a Halloween costume (if you don't plan on going out this weekend), most costume shops are running out of the good stuff — i.e., if you waited 'til now, you might end up with a bumblebee costume.
But don't fret — area thrift stores are bursting with clothes that can be used for costumes for fewer than $20, including shoes and accessories.
Thrift stores are the perfect place to make a creative costume or even just get ideas for one and use things you have at home.
At Lansing Goodwill Industries, we found a wedding dress, vintage suits and dozens of different kinds of hats.
The employees were very friendly and helped us find things to complete the cowboy look (modeled at right — with toys, too!), a Nancy Reagan costume, Jimmy Buffett digs and Olympic ice skater-esque attire.
If you still need to find a costume, visit one of these stores, three of which are located on Cedar Street in Lansing:
Goodwill Industries
6936 S. Cedar St., Lansing and 5847 W. Saginaw Hwy., Lansing
Volunteers of America Thrift Store
5411 S. Cedar St., Lansing
Valueland-World Mission
5400 S. Cedar St., Lansing
St. Vincent de Paul Society Thrift Store
1020 Washington Ave., Lansing
Number 3: Go on a haunted hay ride
Sundance Riding Stables
·9250 Nixon Road, Grand Ledge
·Haunted hay ride $7, free for children under 3
·Haunted house $5, hay ride and house combo $10
·7-11 p.m. Thursday-Sunday through Oct. 30
·www.sundanceridingstables.com/fixed/halloween/halloween.htm
Country Mill Farms
·4648 Otto Road, Charlotte
·Haunted Hayride $3, 7-10 p.m. tonight, 7-11 p.m. Friday, 1-5 p.m. and 7-11 p.m. Saturday, 1-5 p.m. and 7-10 p.m. Sunday
Number 4: Explore a haunted park
In 1927, the treasurer of the Bath Consolidated School, Andrew Kehoe, killed 45 people and injured 58 after detonating dynamite at the school.
Kehoe first exploded dynamite under the school and then killed himself and more people when he blew up his car, which was parked near the school.
Police later discovered that Kehoe had killed his wife and burned his house down before the school explosion.
There is now a Memorial Park at the former site of the school, which is said to be haunted. The park is located on a hill at the center of Bath, north of Clark Road, between Main Street and Webster Road.
Number 5: Call up the East Lansing Police Department and ask them if you can go on a ride-along. The number's (517) 319-6893. Who knows? You might get scared straight.
Number 6: Get lost in a corn maze
Crane Centennial Farm
15960 DeWitt Road in Lansing
Haunted Maze $7 general admission, $6 for 5-12 years
7-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, dark-9 p.m. Monday
www.cornfieldmaze.com/sites.php?ID=&username=milansing
Country Mill Farms
4648 Otto Road in Charlotte
Haunted corn maze $3
7-10 p.m. tonight, 7-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 7-10 p.m. Sunday
The Legend of Shadow Woods
3701 Island Highway in Charlotte
Haunted Woods and Corn Maze $8 general admission, $7 for students and seniors, $5 for children 12 and under
6:30 p.m. - 12 a.m. Friday, 12 p.m. - 12 a.m. Saturday, 12-10 p.m. Sunday
Slaughterhouse & Grand River Corn Maze
5781 Grand River Ave. in Fowlerville
Haunted Corn Maze $10, Corn Maze $6, free for children 4 and under
Slaughterhouse $12, Maze and Slaughterhouse Combo $20
6-11 p.m. Friday, 1-11 p.m. Saturday, 1-7 p.m. Sunday
Trail of Terror and Bestmaze Corn Maze
2450 Bravender Road in Williamston
Haunted Corn Maze $10
Dark-10 p.m. tonight, dark-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, dark- 10 p.m. Sunday
Numbers 7-15: Visit one of the 9 "Haunted" locations on MSU's campus — if you dare
Is that the furnace — or a ghost?
Rumors of haunted places on campus are readily available, but whether they're invented to scare freshmen or based on facts is up to the beholder.
A little research will reveal more ghoulish details than you probably wanted to know. Web sites, such as www.theshadowlands.net, collect myths of haunted places all over the country.
The Haunted Places index on Shadowlands lists eight places at MSU where hauntings have been reported. The list includes MSU Gardens, the Physical Plant, the Auditorium and Holmes, Hubbard, Williams and Mayo halls.
Shadowlands co-director Tina Carlson said that the Haunted Places index on the Web site is a compilation of submitted visitor stories.
"We cannot validate the tens of thousands of haunted places, so we rely on our visitors to tell us if they are hoaxes or give us updates to the hauntings or location," Carlson said.
MSU officials and employees aren't sure the rumors have much base.
"If they're haunted, that'd be news to me, and I've been here for 30 years," said university engineer Robert Nestle, who works in the Physical Plant, where it's rumored that you can hear children crying on cold nights and at noon on Saturdays in July.
As for the rumors of residence hall hauntings, Paul Goldblatt, director of Residence Life, said he has also never heard any complaints from residents.
But Mayo Hall resident Katherine Ewing, a music therapy sophomore, said there have been creepy incidents in her time there.
"People have talked about turning a TV or computer off, and then it's plugged in and turned on — even though they definitely turned it off," Ewing said. "They say you can see Mary by the piano at midnight. I've thought about checking that out a couple of times. I'm a music major, so we think it's kind of cool that we have a ghost that plays the piano."
Ewing said it's also "creepy" in the basement, because "there's lots of rooms no one really knows what they're for."
"I'm not worried," she said of living in the supposedly-haunted hall. "I haven't heard any too-scary stories."
Check out the rumors for yourself
CENTRAL CAMPUS
Auditorium: There is a rumor that a boy wanders the halls. Also, strange noises have been reported coming from the stage area.
EAST CIRCLE
Holmes Hall: On the sixth floor of the west building, a male figure reportedly enters the elevator and then the door immediately reopens — and the elevator is empty. Appliances also reportedly turn on by themselves.
Holmes Hall: Two shadowy figures have been spotted after 3 a.m., also on the sixth floor. They reportedly take both elevators, hold them, and a whispery breeze comes from the elevators before they close.
Hubbard Hall: On floor 12 of the south side of the hall, it's reported that the lights in the hall go out and there's the sound of someone running down the hall. The hall appears empty, but footsteps and laughter can still be heard. Also, a man can be seen getting into the elevator, which goes down to floor 9 and when the door opens, a cold breeze goes past. It's also been reported that doors slam, appliances go on and off and windows open and close.
WEST CIRCLE
Mayo Hall: Students report "definitely" turning off electronics at night, only to wake up to find them on. Supposedly, you can see Mary Mayo herself standing by the piano at midnight. The basement is "creepy," and the locked fourth floor with its boarded windows lends itself to many rumors, including that there might be rooms up there that were at one time used by students for Satanic rituals.
Williams Hall: Residents report ghostly figures in the halls and dancing in the cafeteria, noises from unoccupied rooms and computers and TVs turning on and off.
SOUTH CAMPUS
MSU Gardens: Reportedly, you can hear screaming and strange dark figures have been spotted here.
Physical Plant: On cold nights and at noon on Saturdays in July, you can hear children crying.
Another rumor: The boy in Case Hall
The myth: According to rumors, a student named James Dallas Egbert III, a lonely child prodigy, played the game Dungeons & Dragons in steam tunnels underneath Case Hall. One day, Egbert went down there to commit suicide by taking sleeping pills. He now haunts the tunnels.
The fact: Case Hall Manager Tim Knight, who has been at MSU for 38 years, said James Dallas Egbert III was, in fact, a student at MSU who did play the game Dungeons & Dragons in the steam tunnels located outside of Case Hall. But, Egbert didn't die at MSU — rather, he wasn't even in the state of Michigan when he died, Knight said.
"There are a lot of loosely-based stories," Knight said of the legends surrounding Egbert's case. "Some of the descriptions of campus written by 'experts' … were so far off."
Number 16: Do your part to help on campus
·If you live in Case, Holden or Wonders, be sure to put a sign on your door to let kids know you are giving out candy.
·Children with chaperones can trick-or-treat in Case Hall from 7-9 p.m. tonight
·Children with chaperones can trick-or-treat in Holden Hall from 6-8 p.m. tonight
·Children with chaperones are invited to Holmes Hall from 6-8 p.m. Friday to visit rooms with ghosts and pumpkins
·There is a haunted house in McDonel Hall, as well as a food and clothing drive. Anyone with an MSU affiliation is encouraged to donate.
·Wonders Hall trick-or-treating is open to children living in Cherry Lane, Spartan Village and University Village from 6-8 p.m. Sunday.
Number 17: Get together with a group of friends and take a midnight stroll through Baker Woodlot. It's more than a big empty field for ISB class — there's probably some pretty scary stuff going down.
Number 18: Grab a camcorder and make your own horror movie — "Blair Witch Project" style. But do your friends a favor and go easy on the snot-nose shots.
Number 19: Little-known classic sure to thrill
"Make him unconscious, but don't kill him, or damage his head in any way," the Baron Frankenstein pleads in 1973's "Flesh for Frankenstein."
Played by Udo Kier, the Baron is attempting to create an original race of Homo sapiens in the beautifully offbeat horror film presented by Andy Warhol.
Originally filmed in 3-D, the gruesomeness is thrust to the forefront of the screen in an alarming fashion.
The Baron provides one of the best time-consuming death scenes in motion picture history. Briefly, his liver is punched out by a seemingly endless spear after his hand is lopped off by an iron gate.
Concerning shock value, this film makes Marilyn Manson look like a fluffy kitten.
The film is not tied down by the notion of realism in any way. For example, everyone in the movie has different accents, ranging from an eastern European accent to a harsh New Jersey articulation.
Viewing the film is as surreal as the plot — sexual confusion combines with Nazi ideals for a super human race building into a climax of a bloody pile of dead bodies.
If you go into this movie with a closed mind, your brain may explode in 3-D.
Number 20: Relive your childhood with "Treehouse"
"The Simpsons - Treehouse of Horror V" commences with Marge Simpson declaring the episode too unnerving for television.
"Oh, my! It seems the show is so scary that Congress won't even let us show it. Instead they've suggested the 1947 Glenn Ford classic movie, '200 Miles to Oregon.'"
A clip from some movie runs — there's no such thing as a 1947 Glenn Ford film called "200 Miles to Oregon" — but is quickly interpreted by Bart Simpson's voice shown on a oscilloscope trace spoofing "The Outer Limits."
Bart says, "There's nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust your picture. We are controlling the transmission."
From here on out the show — originally aired on Oct. 30, 1994 — parodies popular culture from the "Friday the 13th" movies to Pink Floyd's "The Wall" video.
Freddy Krueger is a member of bartender Moe Szyslak's gang of ghouls, and there's a scene in which the teachers of Springfield Elementary School throw students into a giant mincer reminiscent of "The Wall."
The spine-chilling, farcical episode can be found on "The Simpsons - Treehouse of Horror" DVD alongside three of cartoon family's other delightfully devilish Halloween specials (VI, VII, XII).
Number 21: Go old school with original "Living Dead"
Zombies might move slowly, but when they meander close enough, the blood-thirsty creatures will eat you.
A decade after director George A. Romero brought the horror of "Night of the Living Dead" to theaters, he brought the sequel "Dawn of the Dead" to the screen in 1978.
The atrocities of the film are continuous from the finale of 1968's "Living Dead." This time, the technically dead but still animated are looking to gnaw on human flesh at a mega-mall rather than at a farmhouse.
The hideous savageries materializing in the gory flick are defined by ghastly undead cosmetics and humorous comments on how to fight against the zombies.
One of the leading crusaders against the zombies, Roger, played by Scott H. Reiniger, offers some very matter-of-fact advice before beginning to run through a crowd of the repulsively undead.
"Whad'ya think? Bag it or try for it?"
He then asks for some supplies to make a fire in order to frighten the living dead away. "I need lighter fluid."
Don't bother with the 2004 remake when the original packs enough frightful scenes to possibly rise Bela Lugosi from his coffin.
Number 22: Rent 10 films perfect for the spooky season
The older:
·"Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," (1953) starring Boris Karloff as both Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, directed by Charles Lamont
·"Psycho," (1960) starring Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates, directed by Alfred Hitchcock
·"Rosemary's Baby," (1968) starring Mia Farrow as Rosemary Woodhouse, directed by Roman Polanski
·"Young Frankenstein," (1974) starring Gene Wilder as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein and Peter Boyle as The Monster, directed by Mel Brooks
·"The Shining," (1980) starring Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, directed by Stanley Kubrick
The newer:
·"Death Becomes Her," (1992) starring Bruce Willis as Dr. Ernest Menville, Meryl Steep as Madeline Ashton and Goldie Hawn as Helen Sharp, directed by Robert Zemeckis
·"The Nightmare Before Christmas," (1993) with the voices of Chris Sarandon as Jack Skellington and Catherine O'Hara as Sally Shock, directed by Tim Burton
·"Army of Darkness," (1993) starring Bruce Campbell as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams, Evil Ash and Mini-Ash, directed by MSU's own Sam Raimi
·"Sleepy Hollow," (1999) starring Johnny Depp as Constable Ichabod Crane, directed by Tim Burton
·"The Others," (2001) starring Nicole Kidman as Grace Stewart, directed by Alejandro Amenábar
Number 23: Turn a pumpkin into a little orange cauldron; just make sure to get all the seeds out first
The Black Cat is a fun drink to try if you're having a halloween bash, or just a few friends over for a drink. It's almost like making a jack-o'-lantern — but instead of putting a candle inside, you put liquor.
FYI: This drink contains alcohol, so you must be 21 to purchase one of the ingredients.
Black Cat ingredients
• One part black cherry flavored vodka
• Two parts cola
• Two parts cranberry juice
• One hollowed-out pumpkin
Directions:
Mix ingredients together inside the hollowed-out pumpkin and serve with a ladle (make sure the top of the pumpkin has a big enough hole to scoop out the drink).
This drink is just the right combination to make a fizzy, fruity concoction. The pumpkin is the perfect way to make this drink a table centerpiece at any Halloween party. Draw or paint a face on the pumpkin for even more Halloween fun.
Serves: Depending on cup size, about 5-10.
Tastes: Almost like a cherry coke
How many 'til you're tipsy? Since it's mostly soft drinks, a few could get a good buzz going.
Numbers 24-26: Hit up these three Halloween concerts
Friday: LaSalle CD release party at Mac's Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave. in Lansing, with The Holy Fire, Calliope and Paradise. Doors open at 9 p.m. 18 and up. $3 for those with a Halloween costume and $5 plus "5 additional loser points" for those without a costume.
Saturday: Mac's Bar official Halloween party. 21 and up only. Cost is $5 and costumes are mandatory for entrance.
Saturday: Temple Club, 500 E. Grand River Ave. in Lansing, Halloween party hosted by JD and Dave the Beagle from 97.5-FM. There will be $500 in cash and prizes for best costumes. Ladies are free and $6 for men 21 and up, $10 for men 18-20.
Numbers 27-30: Throw a theme party
Use this mixtape:
1. "Monster Mash" by Bobby Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers
2. "Unsolved Mysteries" theme song
3. "Haunted House" by Jumpin' Gene Simmons
4. "Thriller" by Michael Jackson
5. "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr.
6. "The Addams Family" theme song
7. "I Put A Spell On You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
8. "People Are Strange" by The Doors
9. "The Twilight Zone" theme song
10. "Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley
11. "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" by The Cramps
Dig into this:
Graveyard Cake
Ingredients
• a square or rectangular chocolate cake (from a mix is fine, but a ready-made cake works too)
• chocolate cookies (if you use Oreos, take the white middle out)
• gummy worms
• whipped cream
• oval-shaped cookies, such as Pepperidge Farm Milano
• black gel or icing in a thin tube
• candy pumpkins
Crumble up the chocolate cookies and sprinkle them all over the top of the cake to create "dirt." Use the icing to write names or words on the oval cookies then stick them into the cake so they stand up and resemble grave stones. Make mounds of whipped cream on the cake for ghosts and add faces with the icing. Push the gummy worms and pumpkins into the "dirt."
Gather at least three friends, dim the lights and pull out as many candles as you can find. Put on some soothing music. Get a Ouija Board, or make your own by spelling out the alphabet and the words "yes" and "no" on a piece of paper and use a penny as a guide to your answers. Sit around a table, with the candles secured in safe locations. Use the Ouija Board to ask the spirits choice questions such as, "When will I get married?" Place your fingers on the pointer (or the penny) and ask the question repeatedly. The pointer should point to the answer.
Number 31: Give this album a listen for a "horror"-themed background
"Masters of Horror" is a double-disc set featuring 30 metal, hard-core, punk, rock and emo bands and is composed of previously unreleased material from bands such as Mudvayne, Thursday, Alkaline Trio, Avenged Sevenfold, Andrew W.K., Death By Stereo, Armor For Sleep, Bear Vs. Shark, Rise Against, From Autumn To Ashes and many others.
The album is the soundtrack to Showtime's "Masters of Horror" series, which begins Friday and will run for 13 weeks. The series features several popular horror film directors including John Carpenter ("Halloween"), Tobe Hooper ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre") and William Malone ("FeardotCom").
The album as a whole is typical of something with a large collaboration of artists and genres — there are some great tracks mixed in with some not-so-great tracks. Many of the songs sound similar with plenty of hard rock riffs and screaming vocals, but that's to be expected with a title such as "Masters of Horror." The good thing is that with so much variety, there's bound to be something to appeal to everyone.
One of the big disappointments is that none of the songs were created specifically for use in horror movies or even have "scary" lyrics even though the title of the set makes it seem otherwise.
The album is a good mix of B-sides and new songs from 30 up-and-coming bands today, but if you're looking for something to play at your Halloween party, this might not be the best choice.
