Monday, October 22, 2012

Spooky Story Time - Parenting Plights & Delights



I'm a big scaredy cat when it comes to horror stories, but I can appreciate a good, mildly spooky story that gets my heart racing. 

When I was a kid, we'd invite friends over for snacks and a spooky tale, the story of "Joshua Brown," who one Halloween night disappeared from town. 
Don't forget the sweet treats!
Dad was a great storyteller, so we'd sit in a circle outside in the dark and listen to the tale of Joshua Brown. It was the same tale every year, but we never got tired of it. 

Unfortunately, we lost the story years ago. I looked for it online and found a similar story called "Poor Joe." The words are totally different, but the concept is the same. "Poor Joe" isn't as scary as my childhood 'Joshua Brown,' so this milder version might be better for some folks. 

Both 'Joshua Brown' and 'Poor Joe' use peeled grapes for the eyes, which are passed from one person to the next. Squishy, slimy, and shaped like eyeballs. Great effect! 

For the hand of 'Joshua Brown,' a latex glove filled with flour was used. The above 'Poor Joe' site states they used a glove filled with jigglers jello.

Boo! Don't forget to serve cookies! 
 A bowl of cooked, slightly wet spaghetti pasta was used for veins in both 'Joshua Brown' and 'Poor Joe.' A piece of liver served as the tongue for both stories. 

We used a peeled potato cut in the shape of a big toe for 'Joshua Brown.'

The 'Poor Joe' site used ten pieces of carrots for toes, a wig for hair, and a dried apricot for an ear. 

It sounds disgusting, doesn't it? We knew it wasn't real, and we thought it was great fun. 

If you want to do this type of story with friends and family this Halloween, go to the 'Poor Joe' site and use that version. It will make for a spooktacular party.


Don't forget the booberry punch...




and spider (black olives) deviled eggs!



Oh, how about making it a costume party, too? I love costumes. They're great ice breakers. 


What's the best Halloween costume you've ever worn? Have you ever had a wardrobe malfunction? Do you like spooky stories? 







13 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

A glove filled with Jello sounds effective.
I was a military zombie one year. Had fun with that one.

Bish Denham said...

Great ideas! I've done those kinds of things in a haunted house setting, but not told as a story. And my favorite costume? One year my best friend and I (he was like head shorted than me) dressed up as Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny. I had a large paper mache carrot I carried in a holster at my hip. We had a blast.

Old Kitty said...

Love spooky stories - especially at Christmas!! LOL!

Awww enjoy your halloween celebrations! Love the use of olives as spiders eggs! Take care
x

LynNerdKelley said...

Alex - A military zombie! That's a good one!

Bish- I'm not surprised you've done something similar to this! Your Bugs Bunny costume sounds so cool with the carrot in the holster and your friend dressed as Yosemite Sam! How fun!

Old Kitty - You love spooky stories at Christmas time? Like Scrooge? That's a good spooky Christmas story! I thought using olives as spiders on the deviled eggs was such a clever idea, too!

Jennette Marie Powell said...

My junior year in college, two of my girl friends and I dressed up as our painting professor for the Visual Arts Club Halloween party. We won first place in the costume contest! Luckily, our prof was a good sport about it when he heard, in class the following Monday.

MunirGhiasuddin said...

I am sure that kids in your neighborhood have a lot of fun.

Coleen Patrick said...

I like the mildly spooky story. The one I remember the most from way back when, is the one about the lady wearing the choker ribbon. She can't remove it because of course it is holding her head on! :)

Susan Oloier said...

Just your description of those food items as body parts made me squeamish. But it sounds like a memorable Halloween activity.

Anonymous said...

Those look like fun foods, although I'd hesitate at first biting into them.

I love spooky stories.

Thanks for sharing these pictures.

Anonymous said...

What a spookily fun post. Love all those ghoulish treats!

Anonymous said...

I love these ideas Lynn! I hadn't heard of those stories, but went to a Halloween party once that passed around brains etc.
You are so creative! That was one of the things I forgot to ask you about when we met. I wondered what else you are working on. I guess I will find out by continuing to read your blog!

Anonymous said...

The best costume I ever wore was when I was in college. I was a black cat. I teased my hair out into a huge mane, a friend painted my face in the style of Cats the musical, and I wore a black unitard with fake-fur cuffs. No one recognized me, not even the guy I was dating at the time. LOL. No contest though.

A friend of mine went with me as a gray mouse--she used the same costume techniques that I did. Everyone recognized her. :-)

Anonymous said...

I'm so impressed with your costumes and party food! Not that we officially celebrate Halloween in Oz, but even if we did, I can't imagine too many people getting into the spirit of it like that - amazing, Lynn. You're amazingly creative :)