Tons of pumpkins and some creepy creatures

Last Friday night was the highlight of the Halloween season so far! My mom and I saw probably the most jack-o-lanterns we've ever seen together in one place. The jack-o-lanterns were in a public park along with all kinds of homemade creatures and displays. It was all extremely cool and made me feel like a kid who was just in awe of everything. I felt like I kept saying, "Look over there!" all night.

This picture was taken far away from the line of pumpkins. Neither end of the line made it into the frame and this line of pumpkins was several rows deep. It might be kind of hard to tell that because of the crowd. As you can see, there were a lot of pumpkins! I think there were over 1,000.

Here are a few of my favorite carvings, starting with a graveyard:

Does anyone recognize this flaming face next to Spider Man? There is something so familiar about this design.

Grr... That's a feisty little pumpkin. I like that ghost too.

This snake is one of my top favorites. Look, they even carved the motion of the rattler!

A skeleton fish and sugar skull:

Do you remember that old Simpsons Halloween Special where Bart plays the part of the raven, while Poe's "The Raven" is read by James Earl Jones? Well, here's the Bart Raven in a carving! I was so excited to see this one.

You have to love this!

I like what is happening with the top of this devil/mask pumpkin. I don't know if the top was set like that purposely but it gives this cool hair-like effect. And how neat is that cabin with trees? I like how they scraped a layer of pumpkin off to make the little cabin.

A bat on a skull?

I know about the Evil Dead movies enough to understand this, although I haven't seen any of them. Still, I can appreciate a good carving! That chainsaw had to be tricky to cut.

This is like a beautiful Henna design!

There was a band playing and their stage was lit up in blue lights. Those lights made a really cool, electric contrast to all the orange pumpkins. That blue and orange combination created some of my favorite pumpkin pics of the night. (And yes, I'm realizing that I'm saying that about pretty much all of the pumpkins.)

A frog-owl?

It was like the pumpkin patch came alive and a bunch of creepy critters sprang out of it. Like these pumpkin zombies:

And this weirdly human-like pumpkin couple:

Yikes! Doesn't he look real? I thought that without the flash, these looked like real people in costumes.

And their incredibly creepy pumpkin baby! Look at its leaf-like hands. I knew I was in for something before looking in the baby carriage, because I could see the reactions of those who were looking in there!

We could see pumpkin experiments happening through the window of a building.

Through another window there were pumpkins and this floating ghoulish head that looked like they were painted with blacklight paint.

Slimy zombies were stumbling toward us!

Someone did a great job with this one.

I was tempted to lighten some of these photos, but I didn't. I wanted to show just how spooky these things looked in the dark.

There was a hearse with a driver that looked like he climbed out of the back.

There were a number of those cut-out face creations around.

I'm onto him!

After walking around for some time, we went inside a community type building. Outside of that building was this awesome reaper display.

You have to love this one:

Looking up on the way in, I saw a... something. The feet crack me up!

This tall pumpkin creature was by the entrance. He barely fit in the space.

There were of course more cool decorations inside. A kid was setting off the music that went with these props and doing some kind of jig while I was taking this pic.

I imagine this would make a good photo op for a group of people if they wanted to peek through the eyes and mouth.

These are possibly vintage and genuinely creepy.

We were surprised to find out there was a magic act happening inside. It was a pretty good act by one of the more friendly magicians I've seen.

So, it was a super great night. I can't remember the last time I was surprised and creeped out by Halloween decorations. A lot of the displays I'm used to seeing seem store bought or like something I've seen before. These homemade ones were much more atmospheric than I'm used to! It didn't hurt that there was a bright moon in the sky and the trees were glowing orange from all the lights. The whole thing felt classic, welcoming, and old-timey.

Not surprisingly, there was a big crowd out wandering around and taking pictures. So I'm happy to say this event was appreciated!

My review of Midnight Syndicate's Zombies!!! Official Board Game Soundtrack

Happy October everybody! I have just the album review to get you in the Halloween spirit. Midnight Syndicate sent me a copy of their eerie new album Zombies!!! Official Board Game Soundtrack.

The first thing I was struck by was the album art. It was outstanding as usual. Dramatic zombies are positioned in a way that reminds me of an old movie poster. And the shapes that frame the art make me think "filmstrip". As I look closer, I think I see burn marks in the "film". Nice skull in the back too!

The same cool illustration is on the CD itself:

And on the back cover, we have a zombie emerging from his fiery, hell-pit of a grave. Just to make it clear that these are evil zombies.

OK, So I'll start with the "Official board game" part of this. I'm familiar with the Zombies!!! game in name only. I thought it was maybe a role-playing game, but I'm still not sure. So, if you've played Zombies!!!, I'd be really interested in discussing it with you!

From reading the game description, I can tell there's a board and some cards involved. I'm just not sure if there's that role-playing level of inventiveness on top of that? Either way, this album was designed to provide a background of zombie mood music to inspire those playing the game. Since, I haven't played Zombies!!!, this review is going to be more about what I visualized while listening to the music.

Here's the track list:

Pretty self-explanatory song titles.

So, as I usually do, I'm going describe each song, and what I saw in my mind as I listened.

1. It Begins ~ We start with slow, churning sounds, like something is approaching. This song implies a zombie slowly plodding along in pursuit.

2. Where Did Everybody Go? Dark and gloomy, this one feels very Midnight Syndicate with the orchestral background. The title as well as the music makes me imagine looking around the dark, empty streets, wondering what's hiding in the shadows.

3. They're Coming for you... It's hard not to end that sentence with "Barbara". This is an eerie one. I'm hearing what sounds like creaky doors and footsteps in the distance. There's an occasional off/minor piano key.

(The highlight of the movie for me)

4. Slight Miscalculation ~ This is another song in the classic Midnight Syndicate orchestral style. The title makes me think I've taken a wrong turn on a street or maybe down a dark alley, and am now seeing a zombie ambling my way. I think I heard a light gasping sound, like "Aurg..." at the end.

5. Last Day to Live ~ Oh, depressing title there... I feel like the zombies have put an expiration date on me as I read that. Light, angelic chanting is the best way I can describe what I hear on this one. Yet, it's not relaxing.

6. No Escape ~ Oh, the zombies are really closing in now. The title "No Escape" is a clue, but I can hear it too. I'm hearing this whirring, like flies. (Those probably come attached to the zombies) And then there are heavy footsteps approaching me. There's some heavy breathing as well.

7. I Don't Think They're Dead ~ This track makes me think of 80s Horror movie soundtracks. Michael Myers could walk to this. He'd have to pick up the pace, but still. It's that heavy kind of music with eerie little dinky-dink sounds. Then there's this beautiful string music.

8. Town Square ~ From the title, I'd guess I'm approaching a town square where the zombies have congregated. I think I hear a distant car alarm? Breaking glass? Yeah, I think the background noises I'm hearing are zombie destruction.

9. Zombie Master ~ I have no idea who the "zombie master" is, as I'm not familiar with this game. Again, I'm thinking role-playing games. Is this like the Dungeon Master, or maybe the lead zombie? I'm sure someone could help me out here. There are some neat springy noises in this.

10. Raiding Todd's Tool Shop ~ You can guess what's going on here from the sound effects. The ding of a chime as a shop door opens, a jingling of keys, and the staticky radio broadcast warning of the zombie invasion. The sounds of something moving through the store, then "Chomp!" This is by far my favorite track on the album and in my opinion, the scariest. You can really visualize what's happening as you listen.

11. Veiled Hunter ~ There are what I'd call growling noises on this one.  I wonder who the "Veiled Hunter" is? Maybe a zombie bride wearing a veil?

12. Into the Abyss ~ Sounds like we're marching "Into the Abyss" here. There are the sounds of steady moving and chanting.

13. Alternate Food Source ~ I love the title on this one! I hear keys jingling and doors creaking open. And then a lot of feasting! Slobbery sounding feasting. Eww...

14. Fear ~ There's a heart pounding rhythm that dies off. And then a sort of dinging. Then those stomping, stalking sorts of noises. There's that staticky radio again, and this time it gets really creepy. I'm starting to think I have a thing for staticky radio noises, as scares go.

15. Adrenaline Rush ~ There's some piano and some cool percussion noises I can't quite place. I like the sound effects on this. Very Midnight Syndicate. The sounds feel like movement. We're going somewhere here. At this point in the story, I'm pretty sure I've gone zombie, so this must be someone else's adrenaline rush.

16. Dusk ~ This light music fits with the "Dusk" theme. The wind whistles.

17. We're Screwed ~ I hear a light metallic sound. Maybe chains rattling? I've thought on and off while listening to this album that I've heard chains rattling. And then there's the sound of something big approaching.

18. Race to the Helipad ~ From the brief amount I've read about this game, I realize a big point is to escape the zombies by racing to the helipad. And I get the feeling of rushing while listening to this. Running, scratching. There's some triumphant music at the end, as I imagine the helicopter taking off and leaving the zombies behind.

This soundtrack isn't solely for use in playing the Zombies!!! game, although I imagine it would be a great fit for gaming. It would also be a great fit for a zombie themed haunt. This album keeps you on edge. Actually, it could work with any haunt where characters are sneaking up on people. So that would be every haunt.

Or if you're like me, you could play it outside at night as the trick-or-treaters drop by. I play spooky music as I sit out there waiting for them, and I'm sure the Zombies!!! album will be playing this year.

You can get a taste of Zombies!!! from this track. (Sounds yummy, right?) "Slight Miscalculation":

If you'd like to pick up one of these CDs, they're for sale on the Midnight Syndicate web site:

Zombies!!! Official Board Game Soundtrack

There are also digital downloads available. Fans of Midnight Syndicate or the old monster movies are going to appreciate this album!