...One bright morning, in the middle of the night...
That’s kind of how you felt at this zany spoof-of-spooks Halloween evening. Your ticket to the party was a costume. The guests were definitely a grand motley bunch. “Count Dracula” (Brian Hay) himself greeted us as we came up to the house and directed us around “do not touch items” and some of his special displays! He had horror movies playing on the outside of his home as you walked by and one of our choices was to view the “deadly alive” cemetary where there were lots of R.I.P. markers and their “caretakers” welcoming and watching the guests. Against a tree was a she-ghost with a fluttering ribbon garment. She seemed to be watching the entire cemetary while everyone viewed and/or walked in it. We actually tried to watch where we placed each foot for fear of stepping on something that would go BUMP in the middle of the night. Vapors intermittently creeped along the ground. OOOOOOOOO!
Another choice was to go through the eight skeleton heads amid spider webs topped fence and enjoy the conversation pit and the ambience of the unexpected. As you gazed off into the woods, you could see an “uninvited guest” as it often lit up and seemed to be attempting to join us. It never did.
The “Countess” (Kelli Busch) joined us flashing her red eyes and injecting her infectious laugh throughout the evening. She had been busy all day concocting our dinner. Great autumn favorites: chili, mostacholi, cornbread, mini quiches, veggies, nuts, focaccia, chips and dips. Dessert was luscious éclairs. You couldn’t have just one! The guests were met by a bold trio of ghastly ghosts as they attempted to get their cool drinks from the fridge. There were images of weird and realistically sized “visitors” throughout the home on the walls. Lots of cobwebs completed the look. Guests coming in the front door were greeted by another skeleton on the other side of the door, waving his hands.
As the wild music played the guests enjoyed reminiscing weird events and the Count shared some of his electrical challenges while creating his “Favorite Cave.” Later in the evening, he shared his wild immaginings and unique creations, including Brian’s latest creation — Melty Man. First, an electrical sultry gent waved you into the cave. There was a red-flashing-eyed clown carrying favorite things on chains….two skeleton heads and a “screaming” silver-haired head. The clown was inshrined in cobwebs. Above him and to the right were two huge spiders - different species, of course, madly spinning their webs and getting ready for the next victim. As you stood watching the spiders and looked above, there was a mummy enveloped in some of that spider web. To the right of that on the back wall was a lady ghost that moved her arms up and down as you clapped your hands. She had a gargoyle to the side and front of her keeping surveyance. In the corner was an intimidating white-masked gent with his arms outstretched and ready to reach you as you walked by. The skin of the figure’s face was a pretty good rendition of real skin! He was flanked with another skeleton holding a flamboyant axe. I believe they were partners in crime. To the right of them was a cage, with another gargoyle guarding on top of the cage, with something very creepy in it. Thank goodness the door seemed locked. Then there was Melty Man. His upper body was loaded with white, black and red goo. Remember the witch in The Wizzard of Oz? “Ahhhh, I’m melting!” Well this was Melty Man that had already melted and looked like he was planning on melting some more.
The “Spooktacular Cave” was designed and created, constructed and tweaked by Brian and his cousin, Brandon Simmons. Brian has been doing this for years and he and Brandon spent even more weeks adding some special effects for the party. The details were particularly amazing in that the longer you viewed each scene, the more you noticed hidden and/or camoflaged details. Halloween is Brian’s favorite unique holiday. I believe Brian and Kelli (Hosts with the most — brother/sister duo) will be adding to the Favorite Cave’s repertoire for next year. What will it be? No doubt intriguingly spoooooooooky.
Christy A. Lassiter writes a weekly society column for The News. If you are planning on hosting an event that would be interesting to have in the Covington News, she can be reached at (770) 786-2470.
