HALLOWEEN IN MAY

On May 19-20 of this year, my sister Diane treated me to a weekend at the Halloween Show at the Showboat in Atlantic City, NJ. Our friend, artist Donna Marian, had a booth there, and this would be her last time with the show.

I had never been to Atlantic City. I grew up playing Monopoly, I heard all about the diving horse, the Miss America pageant, knew that old tune, "On the Boardwalk in Atlantic City" - but never made the trip.  I'm not a big fan of gambling, so even the introduction of casinos didn't entice me as an adult. But a Halloween Show? Count me in!

Diane arranged for the room, and even rented a motorized wheelchair for me. It was our first time going on a trip alone as adults, so I was really looking forward to it. The drive down was rainy, but uneventful, and we got there around the time we anticipated. The Showboat was an experience in  itself.

The hotel has seen better days. It closed as a casino for a few years, and reopened as a convention center.You can tell they are still working on it. I was afraid that the rooms would still have issues, but they were clean, if somewhat outdated. There were NO restaurants, but at the boardwalk end of the building was a little burger deli, run/owned by a very friendly young couple.  The food was great - and the onion rings were the best I ever had. Even Diane had a few, and she doesn't do fried food.

The boardwalk was just beyond the back door. I love being near the ocean, and thrive on the smell of seaweed and dead fish (Ok. I'm weird).  We meandered down to the next casino, and Diane briefly played a penny machine, then we wandered back.

We were in a constant fog...not mentally; REAL fog. It felt like Brigadoon was either coming or going. We passed an area with a ferris wheel, which looked quaint. Then, I saw the sign on the closed gate: "Steel Pier".

Really? THIS was the famous Steel Pier?.....Really? It was so... short. It looked like a bad church carnival. Wow. But, I liked how the wheel looked against the misty sky, so I took this picture:

It wasn't until that evening, from the window of our 19th floor room, that Diane got a great video of the lights. In the background you can hear "Ghost Adventures", and me snoring (sorry).

As to the show - it was good! However, we could have done it in a day, since we weren't going to the dinner, or the party, or any of the other offerings. We were there for the vendors, and they did not disappoint (except for the eejits selling air horns, setting them off every five minutes).

First, we located Donna Marian. 

 She runs a shop in New Hope, PA called "The Creeper Gallery", but was a gothic doll artist way before that.

 She is one of the people featured in this book:

and has provided quite a few creations for Zak Bagans ("Ghost Adventures") and his new Haunted Museum in Las Vegas.

Donna usually does a few items just for the show, and this year she did "murder rooms".  She created a few that were a bit too bloody for my taste, but most were just the right blend of morbid and beautiful. I loved the Lizzie Borden death scenes, and Joan of Arc...

My sister really fell for the Plague Room...

But in the end, I bought two others. Donna had made a Salem Witches murder room, as well as one featuring the Hall-Mills Murders.  The inner lid even had the heading and by-line from my feature in Fate Magazine.

Along with the murder rooms, she had dolls, taxidermy pieces, a vampire killing kit, and other oddities.

Among the various vendors, there was one that seemed to be exclusively about animatronics. They had several displays where you could push a button and watch the scene come to life. I was fascinated by the gothic mannequins. 

This one even looks a bit like my niece.

See what I mean? 

When you pushed the button, the middle one did this:

They also had a snake that slithered around in its box...

And spiders and wasps buzzing, moving wings, and dropping down from the ceiling. I was impressed!

There were folks creating... well... body parts...

...advertising escape rooms...

...selling masks and gothic/steampunk costumes...

... and one table that looked like...well...like a play date didn't go so well.

There was a fellow who was REALLY into making skulls. (Ooooh...skulls....)

Do you think the president of my mutual would mind if I did my doorway like this? Humm...

Beyond these vendors, there were plenty of pumpkin people...

Full size props...

...and larger than life props...

There was one smaller vendor, however, who really touched my heart. She was selling throw pillows. You picked the cover, and she would fill it and complete the sewing.  She was doing this to raise money to pay for her chemotherapy.  She was so young, proving that cancer is no respecter of age, gender or circumstance. As a cancer survivor myself, I hope she sold every last pillow. Diane and I each bought two, and they were cute AND quality!

There were jewelry sellers, candy sellers, a few psychics and card readers, a guy into clowns...

(Oh My gods, how I do hate clowns...)

...and this guy...

(Zombie Brain Smash?)

At one prop booth, Diane seemed to fall in love with Baby Moldy. 

She refused to let me buy it for her. ( Oh yeah? She obviously forgot with whom she was dealing.) After the show, I ordered it on line AND created a casket for him, complete with victorian black calla lily floral arrangement and "At Rest" coffin plaque... my special "thank you" for taking me to the show,  and attending to my needs.

I'm pretty proud of this!

I'm sure there will be a show next year. Go and check it out. It was fun! And, when in New Hope check out The Creeper Gallery. Their hours are posted on their website.

Until next time, happy haunting!