Perhaps like no one else, Alice Cooper has influenced so much of what we do, especially the concerts put on by Spiney, who not only sports a similar appearance with the makeup, but has performed a number of Alice's songs. As it happens, Alice also has a tendency to artfully weave spiritual realities into his music. The album and comic book "The Last Temptation" are significant to many of our themes, along with our creation of The Showman.
We're pleased to say we had the opportunity to meet the nicest guy in rock 'n' roll back in 2008. Check out more fun stuff and classic Cooper at "The Alice Reel."
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| The Coop! |
Rod Serling & "The Twilight Zone"
The Twilight Zone has long been a family favorite for my clan (plus my personal favorite amusement park ride, and a pretty rockin' song). Beyond the mere offering of a perhaps frightening story with a twist, many episodes provide a unique and sometimes eloquent take on life, or what life might be in the realm of imagination. I share the following to show how the creepy can also lead to the candid, even in The Twilight Zone.
The Obsolete Man
Ray Bradbury & "The Halloween Tree"
Introduced to "The Halloween Tree" on a book rack in back of a junior high English class, I immediately fell in love. Tom, Pipkin and pals became my friends too, and the setting became the neighborhood I haunted growing up. I was fortunate enough to meet Ray Bradbury on two later occasions and am now the owner of a well read and autographed copy of this work.
I knew of but did not watch this Emmy winning cartoon adaptation until after Bradbury's death in June 2012, in part for fear it would disrupt the view in my mind's eye. I was pleasantly surprised to see similar interpretations to my own, though an abbreviated version of the story. Still, I must confess it is the book I will always love first and highly recommend.
Read it on paper. Hold it in your hands. Smell the ink. Let the characters leap off the page.
Enjoy a clip.
The Halloween Tree
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Some Scarific Sites
Just a few projects we've been involved with and things that inspire us today.
- Pale Night Productions - Our pals, and producers of the videos mentioned below. We've had a lot of fun helping with a video prop or two.
- Scarefest St. Louis - Made an appearance as a very wet zombie attacking a shack in a particularly cool swamp room at The Darkness Haunted House.
- The Hollywood Wax Museum "Outbreak" Haunt - Also played a couple characters here, especially in the Outbreak intro videos. Here's a solid clip in which we're featured. (Heads Up: Zombie scares.)
- DIY "Nightmare Before Christmas" Props - These are just fun. And we're getting ideas...
- Scares That Care - Cool stuff they're doing here.
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Bonus Videos!
"Halloween: Trick or Treat" - Glen Scrivener
Here's a fun, poetic take on the bigger story of Halloween, and some of its surprising origins. For a moment the darkness, then let there be light!
"Born Again" - Josh Garrels
Just a great song/video that echoes some of our themes referencing the "monsters" inside us all, and the true transformation only Jesus can bring.