It was a helluva scene across parts of Southeast Michigan last weekend as us creatures of the night celebrated Halfway to Halloween. On Friday evening myself and the Misfit Child hit the road for the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor where the Halfway to Halloween Expo kicked off with a multitude of vendors, costumed characters, and a highly-entertaining haunted attraction named Slaughter Creek Psychiatric Hospital.
MARKETPLACE MEETINGS
I enjoyed an unexpected conversation with author David C. Hayes who penned The Midnight Creature Feature Picture Show, a 2019 collection of horror shorts. I happened to purchase a copy at an art pop-up in Ferndale back in 2020, and kids, I enjoyed the living hell out of that book. David was an engaging and friendly character and I hope our twisted paths intertwine once more down the road. If interested in David’s many horror happenings, dive into his website here: abnormalent.blogspot.com.
Elsewhere, I got reacquainted with Gary of Electric Vector, a Detroit-based artist who repurposes and reimagines vintage advertising into whimsical and nostalgic print pieces. The subject matter spans several categories including Racing, Burlesque, and Spookshow. You can probably guess which of those captured my attention. Most designs are available as a poster, magnet, or sticker. I’ve included a few examples below, but you can check out the whole collection at electricvector.com.
I grabbed a few more items as we walked the circuit and Keira, the aforementioned misfit child, snagged a crocheted Killer Klowns from Outer Space character and later purchased a gnarly wet specimen. When we weren’t buying cool trinkits we were being amused or accosted by the costumed scareactors. Would you believe we were ambushed by a foul-mouthed ventriloquist dummy with a crude sense of humor?
THE DOCTOR IS IN, AND OUT OF HIS DAMNED MIND!
What happens when different attractions join forces to produce an out of season haunt? A whole lot of fun, that’s what. Slaughter House Psychiatric Hospital was open to patients and visitors alike, so we took advantage of the opportunity not once, but twice! Since we had attended on Friday night, we were treated to the mature version of the show which accounted for a number of gross out gags and lewd jokes.
We had just gained entry to the facility when a nurse slammed a severed member against a pane of glass, showing it off like some prized kill. We’d shortly get a close-up view of the sad sight, but no worries, a doctor was on hand to reattach the mangled man meat. Don’t get too excited, the medicine man led us his latest patient, a lifeless heap of butchered flesh. Best of luck to the poor bastard who had been separated from his do-diddy-dangler.
The actors came at us with loud vocalizations and good energy, one rage filled pharmacist spate insults in our direction before she stormed off and slammed a door. Soon there after we were solicited for what can most appropriately be described as a spooky dookie. What plans those ladies had for such a stool sample is best left to the imagination, we didn’t stick around long enough for even the quickest of bowel movements. Elsewhere, an abnormally tall and curiously upright, goat-faced humanoid forcefully shoved some…well…cake in our face and implored us to have a taste. I judged the offering to be far too flat to arouse my interest and thus passed on the offer.
It seemed the majority of the haunt was awash in a slight mist and used a great number of lighting techniques to play with the senses — strobes, lasers, and even a shower of vertical sparks were put to good use. The scare tactics too were of a good variety with actors offering energetic and often amusing bits of interaction while a handful of well-placed animatronics delivered quick startles. One memorable moment of excitement was made possible due to a rabid zombie which appeared to be one of those wearable puppets produced by VFX Creates.
The finale of the attraction sent us pawing blindly through a maze inside some dank recess of Slaughter Creek Psychiatric Hospital. It was here that we would encounter our favorite and most hotly-debated monster. Through a series of wrong turns and backpedaling, Keira was forced to lead the way and was ambushed by a four-legged beast with one antler and large, glowing eyes. She would insist that the creature was some kind of spider person while I countered that it was the dreaded wendigo of Native American lore.
No need to take my word for it — just consider the images below, the first a still frame obtained from my handy bodycam and the second from the actor who created the monstrosity. I implore you to vote in the poll beneath the pictures.
