Post-October Dreaming

Once again from the depths of my unfinished blog posts, I found this post from Fall of 2024. It was a very busy spooky season; in fact it was so busy, that I never pressed “publish”. (Nor had I bothered to edit for that matter.) So here I am completing an unfinished blog from that I started on November 1. It is now close to the end of February. Spring and Fall are both my favorite seasons for different reasons and we’ve had a FEW (not many) teases of spring days and a couple trips to warmer regions, so I am in a spring fever sort of mood, but these autumn vibes gave me all the cozy warm feels. Let’s step into our Time Machine and go back for a moment…..

Another Great Pumpkin has come and gone……in like the sunshine out like the leaves. There were ghost tours, plenty of gourds, library presentations, and other autumnal events. There was a trip to an asylum, a Vampire museum, and cocktails in a bank vault-turned speakeasy. A trip to Orlando, a few fall festivals, and leading my own local ghost tours. I’m tired.

First things first: let’s talk about a quintessential ghost city, Salem….but not the one you’re thinking of…..There is also one in Ohio. The small local seasonal ghost tour there is fabulous. This ghost tour was pretty special, because it began with a dinner. They had served a salad with this maple-pumpkin vinaigrette that I am still thinking about, and an apple crisp that has duly been on my mind. The tour seriously rivaled tours in Savannah, New Orleans, and Charleston. While we were having dinner at the Historical Society, there were groans and grunts coming from the pipes and the walls of an empty building. We all had a good laugh, commenting that the spirits were here to put on a show for us, firing on all cylinders. After some background information inside, we departed for our downtown walk. The guide, Kimberly Mitchell is so knowledgeable and has worked so hard to engage the community and learn the history to share with all of us. I hope to come back again and take her trolley tour, which goes outside of the places within walking distance. Salem is a quirky city, founded by the Quakers and jam-packed with dark little stories and beautiful architecture.

Barberton….the fried chicken capital of……Ohio. Talk about quirky little cities. Barberton is the city where I was born. While I didn’t grow up there, my grandparents lived there, so I did spend a decent portion of my childhood in Barberton. Serbian immigrants in the early 1900s brought their style of deep frying chicken and it caught on. Barberton chicken is pretty unique. Not much seasoning, which is fine, because it is fried in lard, which makes it so incredibly flavorful, and locks in the moist chicken beneath the crispy skin. Traditionally it is served with fresh fried potatoes, “hot sauce” (this is a rice dish that it tastes good to dip your fries into), and a vinegar-based coleslaw. The chicken here is world-famous and today there are about four rival chicken houses in Barberton. In addition to fried fowl, Barberton also hosts a mum festival each fall on the gorgeous Lake Anna and also on that lake is what else? A ghost tour of course. Sponsored by the library, and formerly put on by the Barberton Herald, the one-weekend-a-year tours are jam-packed with history and interesting little macabre stories about my small town. But some of these secrets have been kept quiet for years. Mum’s the word here……

Pennhurst Asylum and Eastern State Penitentiary
If I weren’t living in Northeast Ohio, I am pretty sure I would love living in southeast Pennsylvania. There is so much to do and so many fall vibes here. And I snuck in a Philly cheesesteak while I was there, as well as some Scrapple, which a lot of people find to be disgusting, but I really love. Especially when it is fried up with a crispy outer layer. Especially served on a toasted roll. Especially with melted horseradish cheddar. I also stayed near the Black Bass Hotel, which is super-duper haunted (it was sold out, so I stayed at the hotel next door: the 1740 House, but I did venture over to check out the Black Bass.) I also visited the Byers Museum in Chalfont, which is where the famous Christmas caroler figurines are made. The factory and museum really doesn’t fit with the “haunted” theme, but I couldn’t not stop by their cute Dickens village/museum when I was right here in the area.

Now, as for the Pennhurst Asylum, I did a day tour. There are some interesting stories, and I never really knew much about the Human Eugenics Project until my visit here. It is very sobering to hear about the way some of the residents here were treated. At its peak there were 4500 patients residing here. We started out going inside the building known as “Quaker” and it looked just as you might expect a decaying building to look. 150 men known as “bad boys” resided in this building with beds lined up in one big room. Chris, the guide, explained that “bad boys” was really a misnomer, as they were really just misunderstood, as people did not understand disabilities the way that they do today. The architecture was spectacular. There was vegetation growing inside; dusty, dilapidated “squishy” furniture, and some graffiti. The rest of the tour was mainly outside, but ended at the museum, which is the only museum in the US devoted exclusively to disabilities. Some archival items are displayed here, some of them crumbling, some of them better preserved Pennhurst opened its doors in 1908 and closed forever in 1987. Fortunately there are some folks who believe in historic preservation who now maintain the property. There is also a haunted attraction. We had another volunteer talk to us towards the end of our tour and he did his doctoral research here at Pennhurst. He found out that 70% of the actors and “haunters” as they call them, employed by the haunted attraction self-disclose as having a disability. While some of the historians felt negative towards the “haunters”, they soon realized that they are indeed *not* exploiting the history of Pennhurst, but instead contributing towards the rich history of it. This institution was actually never called an “asylum”, but that refers to the fictional experience of it all. That is kind of the “stage name” for the facility, if you will. The goal of this place was to educate and reform the patients (also sometimes referred to as inmates, since they were really unable to leave). While there is some dark history, not *all* of what they did here was bad. It was a really informative day.

And then right in the city is Eastern State Penitentiary. So of course they play up Al Capone’s cell and they were having a haunted attraction during the Halloween season. I don’t necessarily get into the haunted house aspect at these places, but both of them do it, and I get it; it’s a great way to raise money and I’m sure portions of that go towards the rehabilitation of these facilities. Although what happened inside the walls may have not been too “beautiful”, the historic preservation is what attracts me to this type of venue. I am intrigued and will return again for a day tour. I have so may more questions….(Why did they allow Al Capone to decorate his cell? What kind of treatment did the inmates get? How many people died here? Why did it close down? Who was the dog that is pictured on all the merch?)

Creeper Gallery, Vampa Museum, A Nightmare in New Hope
This is a continuation of my trip to southeast Pennsylvania/Philadelphia suburbs. Whoa……my cold little heart is enchanted. Edmondo Crimi, the curator of Vampa has quite a collection here. He has invested years and massive amounts of money into his collection. When I was looking at the maps application on my phone, this popped out at me when I was looking at directions from New Hope to Philadelphia and thought “why not? It’s on the way and this is my type of museum. I expected a few cheesy references to fiction vampires and maybe some coffins. This was SO. MUCH. MORE. From caskets to exorcism chairs to hearse vehicles to stakes to busts to worldly art to Ouija boards from all over the world……this place has it all. It is beautifully displayed and well-preserved. The museum was moderately busy when we were there, but I didn’t feel crowded or rushed. I did see Mr. Crimi on the property talking to some visitors and he seemed very open to answering questions and sharing information about his treasures. The grounds where Vampa stands are gorgeous.

There is a dinosaur park for the wee ones and antiques for sale and peacocks freely roaming the grounds. It is such a unique place and I have never really seen anything like it. Speaking of unique places, I also shot over to American Treasure Tour, which is a huge former tire warehouse committed to preserving and displaying anything that has anything to do with pop culture. It has everything from vintage signs, vintage toys, and vintage cars to old Christmas storefront displays to old animatronics from Chucky Cheese to historic calliopes and music machines. It’s a lot to take in and I can’t wait to go back.

As for the Nightmare in New Hope, what a great sub-terrainian venue. Located below the Nomad Distillery, you might miss it if you don’t have an eye out for this type of hidden gem. The owner, Joe is friendly and welcoming and the space houses a nice little collection of horror movie props and novelties. My favorites were of course the items from the 1989 version of “Pet Sematary”, since that was the OG horror film that got me hooked on this genre. (The book was better, but who’s counting?) The very first thing that you see when you go inside is the Crypt-keeper’s casket. I spent many nights curled up on the couch watching that show. So many cool objects from movies and a few other interesting curiosities. I can’t wait to come back again one day to see what else Joe has added to his collection. Don’t sleep on this little gallery. If you have any interest in horror movies, it would behoove you to make a stop here.

Also photographed here are some items from The Creeper Gallery. I was just here briefly, but would love to come back and explore more.

Circleville Pumpkin Festival, Troll Museum, and other quintessential Ohio things
Back to Ohio we go. A couple hours south of me and south of Columbus is Circleville. They host a world-famous Pumpkin Show (locals are very particular about calling it a “show” and not a “festival”, but for all intents and purposes, yeah…..it’s a festival.) They make everything from pumpkin chili to pumpkin ice cream to pumpkin cotton candy. Also fitting in with the autumn vibe check is a visit to the Troll Museum in Alliance. It is a quickly little museum that has grown into something pretty spectacular. Quite honestly, I didn’t really know what to expect of such a museum, but I really enjoyed it, especially since I was recently in Iceland and had just taken my photo with a gigantic troll. Some of the scenes kind of reminded me of “The Maelstrom”, a ride in the Norway pavilion in Epcot, if you remember that.

And last, some of the photos in this gallery section were taken in my very own yard and I feel very fortunate to have such gorgeous leaves on my own property (and a 4 year old policeman to protect said property.)

Mickey’s Not So Scary and Universal Studios
Last but not least, I went as a guest to Southwest Airline’s Spirit Party. We went to Univeral and then snuck in a night at Disney too for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party. Both were really fun for different reasons. We also had a morning visit to the Titanic Exhibit on International Drive, which I found to be really interesting as well. We actually went here in September, which was a great way to outsmart some of the Halloween crowds that come later in October. I don’t think we waited more than 20 minutes (and that was only for one or two rides) between both Disney and Universal. Highlights for me were the decor, the corn ice cream (yes, corn, not CANDYcorn), and the special effects and interactive queue from the graveyard at the Haunted Mansion. While we weren’t there for Halloween Horror Nights, Universal does a spectacular job with the Halloween theming. This was the first time I had been and the park really does rival Disney for making you feel like you are in a completely different world. If you get the chance to go to Mickey’s Not So Scary, the Boo to You Parade is extremely well-done and the trick or treating in the park is very fun with generous scoops of candy. I can’t wait to come back with my son.