Oh the HOLIDAY goodness - TV Specials

Well...I know it isn't the 1st yet, but I can hardly contain my October joy so I figured I'd bang out another entry.

I can remember when I was a kid waiting for the Sunday paper so I could see the TV listings for the coming week. During October (as well as every holiday including knowing when the Wizard of Oz and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was going to be on) I would eagerly await those nights when the Halloween specials would be on. No DVRs, DVDs or VCRs kids, we'd have to wait and actually watch the show when it was on. My favorite of the season was "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." I now own it on DVD and my son has made a habit of watching it over and over again and not only during October (I watched about three times a week or so ago with him). I may watch it again...and soon...

Halloween would be lacking something without the annual pumpkin patch vigil that Linus embarks on. Some of the best moments are Sally’s plea for restitution after wasting her first night of “tricks or treats" and Charlie Brown wearing his hole filled ghost costume while carrying a candy less bag - "I got a rock". This cartoon is just plain classic!

Linus cast as the downtrodden gives Charlie Brown a bit of a break. Linus spending all night waiting for the Great Pumpkin in the most sincere pumpkin patch is heartwarming. I often talk to my kids about the Great Pumpkin as I DO believe he exists. One year I grew 40 pumpkins of my own and sat in the pumpkin patch all night waiting for the Great Pumpkin to arrive. I will not admit or deny that he came that night...it is my secret.

The thing I like best is Linus' resolve to continue to believe in the Great Pumpkin. It gives me hope that I am not completely insane as I too believe in the Great Pumpkin.

This year I did not plant pumpkins nor do I intend on spending Halloween night waiting for him to arrive. Instead I create Pumpkinland - my home haunt in homage to him, the Great one.

And he is welcome anytime...

Mark Harvey

a Great Pumpkin Fan

DC Cemetery

Holy heck! We're ten days out now! And with ten days to go I am veering off from music to talk a little bit about my friend, Brent Ross, who runs the DC Cemetery in Mountain View, CA. In "his" words..."The DC Cemetery is a "home haunt" that resides in the heart of the Old Mountain View neighborhood that is designed with the residents of Mountain View and its surrounding communities in mind. Over the years we've concocted a haunt that is fun and bone chilling for all age groups. We also like to think that our efforts aid in the progression of Halloween, and hopefully our actions will spread onto others, so they too can provide a safe element for all kids (and adults) to enjoy.
The DC Cemetery has recently become one of the most elaborate and complex haunted house displays in America, gaining consistent media attention and in 2007 nationwide exposure. The haunt is so elaborate that they were the winners of FEARnet.com’s 2007 Scariest Home Haunted House contest, flown to New York City, and presented with a $50,000.00 check live on NBC’s Today Show."

I've linked to some YouTube videos here at Mark Harvey World for you to check out the place and if you're anywhere near Mountain View on Halloween you really owe it to yourself to check his place out. Brent is a genius and a master at his craft as well as a really good guy. Click here for more information.

Check it out!

I recorded the voice of the Reaper guy as well as some other tracks for Brent.

DC Props Promo from 2006

DC Cemetery Episode on Fearnet.com's Route 666

DC Cemetery on HGTV

Haunted House - Americas Scariest - DC Cemetery

DC Cemetery on NBC's Today Show - Americas Scariest Haunted

Happy Haunting!

Mark Harvey

Halloween Cartoons!

If you haven't noticed already, Halloween is my favorite time of year. Something about the October sky. The air. The rustling leaves. The Halloween cartoons!

If you haven't already purchased them, be sure to buy "Mad Monster Party", "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas" this season. Sure beats waiting around for them to air on TV!
I can remember when I was a kid (before VCRs and DVDs) sifting through the TV Weekly trying to find out when "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" was going to be on TV. "Mad Monster Party" hardly ever played on TV (due to its running time) so I was elated when it became available on DVD. "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" really captures what Halloween was like for me growing up. The story line: Charlie Brown is thrilled to have been at last invited to a costume party. His costume consists of a bed sheet with far too many holes in it (very befitting of Charlie Brown). Snoopy's costume consists of the goggles and scarf of a World War I flying ace. He is in search of his nemesis, the Red Baron. Linus prepares for the arrival of The Great Pumpkin, whom he believes will rise from the pumpkin patch and deliver presents to all good little boys and girls who believe in him. In the end, Charlie Brown finds himself with a treat bag full of rocks; Snoopy once more fails to bring the Red Baron down; and Linus spends the entire night in a pumpkin patch, waiting in vain for the arrival of the Great Pumpkin. This the second of Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez' animated Peanuts specials, the 30-minute "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" was first telecast October 27, 1966.
Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is based on characters created by Burton, the former Disney animator best known as the director of "Pee Wee's Big Adventure", "Beetlejuice", "Edward Scissorhands", and the first two "Batman" movies. This a story of Halloweentown resident Jack Skellington (voice by Danny Elfman, who also wrote the songs), who stumbles on a strange and fascinating alternative universe called ... Christmastown! Directed by Henry Selick (who later made the delightful "James and the Giant Peach"), this PG-rated is suited for kids of all ages. As Roger Ebert noted in his review, "some of the Halloween creatures might be a tad scary for smaller children, but this is the kind of movie older kids will eat up; it has the kind of offbeat, subversive energy that tells them wonderful things are likely to happen."

For some homegrown Halloween fun be sure to check out the FLASH animated cartoons by Jay Moores for Rain Station's Halloween spectacular, DARK RIDE...and visit JackOLantern.org!

See the spooky flash animations for the songs:
TRICK OR TREATIN'
CANDY
THINGS
DAY OF THE DEAD
TOMB OF DOOM
HAUNTED MAN

Mark Harvey
Halloween cartoon fan

Corrupting the young

I think my wife thinks I am corrupting my young. They both have the same fascination with Halloween as I do. They both love this time of year. My son has been practicing his Halloween face and his Halloween laugh. My daughter loves visiting all of the stores and checking out the seasonal offerings. She's been asking to watch classic horror movies and is all about decorating the house and getting ready to haunt.

I like to buy the kids clothes and other stuff this time of year (since it is really tough to find pumpkin crocs any other time of year). PJs, shirts and the like are part of my shopping sprees. Gotta love HALLOWEEN! Walmart and Target have had particularly good stuff this year, but I am always amazed at how the stores have shrunk their inventories. Of course I understand we've fallen on tough times, but this is the time of year that I go all out and become quite the consumer. My daughter wears her Halloween pajamas year round as does my son...still can't convince my wife to let them out of the house in January wearing their skeleton or pumpkin shirts...ah well...

Mark Harvey

Halloween consumer

Make Your Own Halloween Costume

Make Your Own Halloween Costume
By MARY LOU AGUIRRE McClatchy Newspapers
October 4, 2008
A glue gun, fabric, odds and ends plus a great imagination are all Tracy Bohren needs to create a photo-worthy Halloween costume. The Clovis, Calif., resident has been making homemade costumes for years.

The former craft-store employee says inspiration is as close as your closet. She shared her ideas on how to create inexpensive costumes as clever as those priced much higher in stores.

"The best advice I can give is start early," Bohren says. "Start at home. Once you have an idea for a costume, start thinking about what you can use that you already have. You can do a lot with an old white T-shirt."

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Mark Harvey

The Goblin Jamboree Fundraiser

Goblin Jamboree Fundraiser
Children and their families are invited to come in costume and explore the Bay Area Discovery Museum, transformed into a haunted wonderland complete with games, attractions, live entertainment and special 20th Anniversary treats. Take a train or pony ride, enroll in the witches’ school, visit the petting zoo and enjoy a full brew of games, activities and live entertainment. The Goblin Jamboree Fundraiser provides a safe and fun opportunity for children to partake in faboolous family fun! Click here to find out more.


Saturday, October 18 & Sunday, October 19 - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Tickets available at the door.

Members $12; General $14

Children under 1 are free.

All activities and games are included with admission.

Rain or shine!

For the kids (or the kid in you).

Mark Harvey

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival

Art & Pumpkin Festival Celebrates its 38th Year
Pumpkintime is Primetime in Pumpkintown. Autumn is a magical time of year on the fertile, picturesque coast around Half Moon Bay. Stunningly beautiful vistas of seaside farm country with rolling fields of orange, scarecrows, and pick-your-own pumpkin patches. It's the perfect time of year to celebrate the iconic symbol of autumn and Half Moon Bay does it in a singularly spectacular way. Every year, massive crowds make the annual trek to the “World Pumpkin Capital” for the epic HALF MOON BAY ART & PUMPKIN FESTIVAL, October 18-19, 2008. Year after year, festival goers enjoy a memorable experience with the special display of massive weigh-off champion pumpkins, the remarkable “Picasso of pumpkin carvers” sculpting and shaping a monster 1,000+ pound pumpkin, three stages of blockbuster entertainment, everyone's favorite home-spun parade, harvest-inspired crafts, the tastiest pumpkin pie on the planet, enchanting events and contests for the whole family, and the never-ending search for the Great Pumpkin waiting to be picked from one of the rustic pumpkin patches dotting the coast. Festival hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Admission is free.

Visit their site (click here) - they have too many events to list!

I absolutely love going to the Pumpkin Festival, but it has gotten so crowded that getting over to Half Moon Bay from the Peninsula is nearly a day long event in and of itself. My son has never been and perhaps someday I will once again brave the crowds to get over to Half Moon Bay (or better yet, just stay the night over there and wake up in my favorite Northern California coastal community).

If you do make it to the festival this year please let me know how it was.

Mark Harvey
A Pumpkin Lover (needless to say)

Let The Countdown Begin!!!

Woo Hoo!!!

The Halloween Countdown has begun! My daughter said to me last night, "Daddy...tomorrow is the beginning of your favorite month of the year". Yesiree! So, I will try to post something Halloween related every day in October. I'll do my best, but I make no promises. Please visit the sites listed below and try not to overdose on the macabre, creepy, spooky, strange and bizarre. Jon at Random Acts of Geekery created the Halloween Countdown logo. If you have a blog and are featuring a month full of Halloween stuff, let the folks at Wonderful Wonderblog (click here) know and you will be added to the list.

Participating Blogs
All Eyes and Ears
Art by Bubba Shelby
Azathoth's Abode on the Plateau of Leng

Azathoth's Abode on the Plateau of Leng: The Dungeon
Branded in the 80's

Cool-Mo-Dee

Creepy Los Angeles
Dave Lowe Design!
Distinctly Jamaican Sounds
Dr. K's 100-Page Super Spectacular
Dr. Squid's Smorgasbord of Terror!

The Drunken Severed Head
Frankensteinia: The Frankenstein Blog
Geektarded
Halloween Addict
Harvey's Midnight Hour

Holiday Queen
Horror Host Graveyard
The Horrors of It All
John Rozum.com
Monster Crazy

Monster Memories!

Monster Rally

Monsters and More
Music From the Monster Movies 1950-69
Neato Coolville
Negative Pleasure
Nostalgia Factory

A Nostalgic Halloween

Oh The Horror
Orange and Black
Para Abnormal
Plaid Stallions

Pumpkin Hollow

Pumpkinrot

Random Acts of Geekery

The Sexy Armpit

Sweet Skulls

13 Visions

Tikiranch Hallows

Trixie's Treats

Universal Horror Sounds

Valhella

Vinnie Rattolie's Records

Weird Hollow

Wonderful Wonderblog

X Entertainment

Please be sure to visit 13thTrack.com Halloween Radio (click here) this season and enjoy the streaming music.

Happy Haunting!

Mark Harvey