Countdown - 30 days.

Countdown to Hallowe'en is a super-fun blog carnival that happens every October where you get to read about everyone else's Hallowe'en obsessions as if you had time for that while feverishly building all of the last minute props for your display.  Just me?  OK, whatever.

Anyway, on this, the first day of the Countdown, I implore you all to visit some of the fine sites curated by artist and Hallowe'en enthusiast John Rozum. Perhaps next year, you'll be one of the participants.

This year, the theme of my yard haunt is my favorite - The Haunted Mansion.  While as a theme, it is well worn, I do adore my Disney and I especially adore the ride, so I wanted to see how much I could honor all of the men and women artists of Disney. Over the month, you'll see how I do, and you'll get a peek into the workshops of other freaks who possibly love the Haunted Mansion more than I.

I went to Disneyland quite a bit as a kid as I grew up in L.A. and it's really only a 45 minute drive down to Anaheim. Especially for a family with not a huge amount of disposable income, Disneyland was quite a treat. Of course you had to buy individual tickets for rides back then and the E ticket rides were always limited. In 1972, during my first trip to Disneyland, a 15 ride ticket book which included 5 E tickets was $5.95 for adults and $4.95 for kids.  Adding in admission ($3.50 for adults/$2.50 for kids) plus food and drinks and the absolutely required Minnie Mouse hat embroidered with my name could put each family member back a good 20 bucks. That was a lot of green in those days, but totally reasonable. Hence, I have quite a number of photos of my siblings and me at the park (mostly on the teacups) from 1972 onward.

Probably 1981 at Disneyland Park

Of course, the Mansion was absolutely an E ticket ride and I loved the Mansion. Later, as the ticket books were phased out (1981) and the admission became a one price deal, we kept going to Disneyland and the Haunted Mansion. Somewhere in the deep recesses of memory (which are few and far between) I'm pretty sure either my siblings and I or a very good friend had the Haunted Mansion board game by Lakeside, as the images cause olfactory flashbacks.

Throughout the 80's, tickets were still under $25 so I definitely went in middle and high school, including my Grad night at Disneyland in 1988 where Expose and Men without Hats played.

The older I got, the more the Mansion spoke to me. From goth high school grad, to writing my thesis on memento mori, I was fascinated with our fascination with death and the afterlife. Hallowe'en was a natural extension of all of this. I was primed to being a Mansion fan from way, way back. 

Come back often to see progress throughout the month.

Happy October, Foolish Mortals!