History Schmistory: October 26. …it was OK.
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
1881: The famous gunfight at the OK Corral takes place in Tombstone, Arizona, lasting only 30 seconds. A shame Kevin Costner’s movie wasn’t that short.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone,_Arizona#/media/File:Allen_Street_Tombstone.jpg
(GO THERE!) The well-preserved town still stands as a major tourist attraction.
-And Val Kilmer still stands as Doc Holiday, in our book.
GO THERE! (without the little ones)
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
If you are the kind of person who actually enjoys being frightened out of your wits, there’s no better place to be on Halloween than the Headless Horseman Hayrides & Haunted Houses attraction in Ulster Park, New York. Be prepared for an intense night of thrills as you explore 6 themed haunted houses, a corn maze and a haunted hayride, where the Headless Horseman himself may leave you screaming like a little Marco.
GO THERE! And tell us how they stack up…
Saturday, October 22, 2022
The city of Anoka, Minnesota, has been celebrating Halloween festival style since 1920. Now they claim, with good reason, to be the “Halloween capital of the world”. And they have the mural to prove it…
http://anokahalloween.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/06/2014ButtonDesign.png
History Schmistory: October 20. No worries, mate!
Thursday, October 20, 2022
1973: 10 years overdue and $95 million over budget, the Sydney Opera House finally opens, and quickly becomes the universal icon of Australia. That is, until Crocodile Dundee comes out.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Sydney_Opera_House_-_Dec_2008.jpg
GO THERE! Pumpkin-heads!
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
This Saturday, if you love carving jack-o-lanterns and are anywhere near New Hampshire, the Keene Pumpkin Festival is your Halloween dream come true! And its “Orange Towers” are a pumpkin’s worst nightmare realized.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3173/2973861501_65a42b129f_o.jpg
GO THERE!
Saturday, October 15, 2022
To get your share of Halloween spooks, look no further than The Stanley Hotel in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. This hotel and its ghostly inhabitants, which inspired Stephen Kings novel/movie The Shining, go the extra mile during haunting season. So book a room on the fourth floor, the most paranormally active floor, and don’t expect to sleep a wink. No better way to spend Halloween! Which in Marco’s case means curled up in the fetal position, crying for mommy.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Stanley_Hotel,_Estes_Park.jpg
GO THERE! But don’t tell them we sent you.
Monday, October 10, 2022
Though you will have to find a way to get permission to enter, if ghost towns are your fancy, this is likely the scariest one of all. Nicknamed Village of the Damned;Â Dudley Town, Connecticut, was once a prosperous town, but a series of odd occurrences, including ghost sightings, inexplicable murders and suicides, mass hysteria, and demonic manifestations ultimately caused the remaining townsfolk to run away screaming. Dan Aykroid calls it the scariest place on Earth. That’s right, even Ghostbusters won’t go near it.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dudley_Town_station_platform_buffers_2011.jpg
GO THERE! …at your own risk
Saturday, October 8, 2022
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Castle_Leap,_Birr,_Ireland.jpg
They don’t get much more haunted than Ireland’s Leap Castle, where, in its heyday, death and violence were part of the daily routine. During its renovation, a dungeon was discovered with spiked floors and piles of human bones. So, it’s safe to say there are hordes of ghosts roaming around up in this joint. But wait, there’s more! Having once been the meeting place for dozens of occult activities, it is believed that a hostile Elemental creature, nicknamed “It”, was summoned to Leap Castle from… wherever Elementals are summoned from. This little grey humanoid makes his presence known first with the stench of rotting flesh, and though it hasn’t made as many appearances, it remains the most feared apparition in the castle, commonly known not just to intimidate but to attack thrill-seeking tourists.
GO THERE!
Friday, October 7, 2022
It’s Halloween season, so it’s time to get to know some of the more spooky, scary and downright creepy destinations in the world, starting with Portugal’s Capela dos Ossos, or Chapel of Bones.
This 16th Century chapel is stacked wall to wall with human bone remnants from the once overcrowded cemeteries, with the intention of embracing death as an ephemeral and joyous spiritual transition. But really, it just ended up being super creepy. The inscription at the door: Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos (“We bones, lying here, for yours we wait.”) Makes us go all prinkly!!
GO THERE!
Thursday, September 29, 2022
The Kremlin, you say? Well you could say that but you would be flat wrong. St Basil’s Cathedral, which lies just to the east of the Moscow Kremlin, is often incorrectly referred to as “the Kremlin” by most people who have never been to Russia. Kremlin is actually a term for the fortified government bases found at the heart of numerous historic Russian cities. The Moscow Kremlin, with it’s opulent palaces, is also where the President of the Russian Federation lives. To us though, in Moscow, St. Basil’s takes the cake. And we owe it all to Ivan the Terrible! That’s right. Not quite so terrible now, is he?
