Check Out Spooky Weddings Week

A friend of mine maintains a wedding blog, and this week has been Spooky Weddings Week! So far she's covered (among other things) the nuptials of Robert Smith of the Cure, Dita von Teese and Marilyn Manson (Spooky Little Girl does NOT endorse MM, but their wedding was very cool) and Bela Lugosi. Normally, I don't get particularly excited about weddings, but spooky and/or slightly macabre weddings are a huge exception. If/when I tie the knot, I have grand fantasies about doing it here, at the Hammond Castle in Massachusetts:It's so gorgeous and eerie. (In fact, if possible, I would like to live at the Hammond Castle. Can that be arranged? Thx.) Did you have a spooky wedding? Have you ever been to one? Do you hope to have one someday? Tell me about it!

Poe Renaissance in Full Effect

"They are neither man nor woman -

They are neither brute nor human -

They are Ghouls"

- Edgar Allan Poe, "The Bells"

I am, and always have been, a huge fan of Edgar Allan Poe. (Are you shocked?!) There are few writers of any era who are as unerringly spooky as Poe, who are constantly dancing on the edges of madness regardless of subject matter - in fact, my personal favorite of his poems is the rather innocuously titled "The Bells." It seems that Poe mania is sweeping through L.A. lately - could it be because the 160th anniversary of his death is approaching this October? In any case, here is a brief recap of recent (and forthcoming!) events that fellow Poe fanatics will appreciate:

It seemed to begin with this spring's Poe-inspired art show at Halloween Town in Burbank, which just so happens to be my favorite store of all time, and a must for any Halloween enthusiast. If you missed the show, click on the link for an overview of the artists who were involved and a brief taste of their artwork. (Side note: It looks like the next art event at Halloween Town will be "A Tribute to the Haunted Mansion," coming this December! I'm unutterably excited about this, and will post more details as they emerge.)

I also discovered that Dark Delicacies, my second favorite store of all time, will be offering "four new scents based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe," as crafted by those "purveyors of fine esoteric goods, perfumes & potions" over at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. Check them out in person at Dark Delicacies at 2 PM on August 23rd. In addition, DD will be holding a signing on the same day for Poe's Tales of Death and Dementia, illustrated by spooky artist extraordinaire Gris Grimly! Click the "Signings/Events" link on their website for more details.

Finally, the Steve Allen Theater has extended its run of Nevermore, a Poe-themed one-man show starring Jeffrey Combs, written by Dennis Paoli and directed by Stuart Gordon, through the end of August. Catch it on any Friday or Saturday evening next month - but make sure you order tickets ahead of time, as the show has been selling out nonstop. From the Steve Allen Theater MySpace:

Celebrate the bicentennial of Edgar Allan Poe's birth with the star of Re-Animator, From Beyond, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine & Enterprise. Set in 1848, Nevermore is loosely based on real events and follows Poe on a cross-country speaking tour fraught with strange occurrences that signal Poe's descent into madness.

AFTER AUGUST 2, PERFORMANCES OF NEVERMORE WILL TAKE PLACE EVERY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT IN AUGUST UNTIL THE 29TH!

RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW: CLICK HERE!

$10, 8PM, FREE PARKING

TV Tonight: Ghost Adventures

Your recommended, Spooky Little Girl-approved viewing for this evening is an all-new episode of the Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures. Tonight, Zak, Nick and Aaron travel to England to visit the Ancient Ram Inn. Here's the episode description:

In the small town of Wotton Under Edge on England's western shore sits an ancient house with a dark history. Built around 1145, this former priest's residence, inn and public house is the oldest building in town, and its current owner thinks it may be the most haunted home in all of Great Britain.

The episode airs at 9 PM.* Be sure to tune in, since this is the last new episode of Ghost Adventures until October - including a 7-hour live televised event! (On Halloween, perhaps??) Info and photo courtesy of Nick Groff's MySpace profile.

Spooky Films on TV Tonight:

• Dracula (1979), starring Donald Pleasence and Frank Langella as the Count [12:15 AM on AMC]
• The Innocents (1961), starring Deborah Kerr in the tale of "a young governess for two children...convinced that the house and grounds are haunted" [2:45 AM on AMC]
• The Unholy Three (1930), Lon Chaney's only talkie in which he stars as a crooked sideshow performer [12:15 AM on TCM]
• Freaks (1932), Tod Browning's tale of circus romance, betrayal and revenge, and "The Most Reviled Film of Its Time" [1:30 AM on TCM]

*All times given are PST; check your local listings for more info

Spooky Trip: Bodie, CA.

When I was a kid, I was a little let down when I found out what a "ghost town" was. The name sounded delightfully ghoulish, but the reality was a little more complicated: Rather than towns full of ghosties, the term actually referred to places that were abandoned, frozen in time. As I grew up, I came around to the notion of the ghost town, and now I can safely say that I absolutely love them.

The first one I ever visited was Calico, a California ghost town on the way to Las Vegas, and it was amazing. According to many, however, Calico is not "authentic." It was owned by Walter Knott (of Knott's Berry Farm, of course!) and many of the buildings are replicas, rather than true relics. Thus, it was decided that I had to visit a real ghost town. Our choice: Bodie, California. Bodie has a rich and storied history that epitomizes how we think of "the Wild West," and I highly recommend a visit - but hurry, before the Governator closes the park! (Now that's scary.)

Here are a few of my favorite shots from our trip:

The road to Bodie.

Abandoned cars. (People lived in Bodie until the 1930s!)

The church, where a scroll featuring the Ten Commandments was stolen.

Horse-drawn hearse.

Two interior shots of the town mortuary.

The old schoolhouse.

The old stamp mill.

Yes, they celebrated Halloween in Bodie! The interior of the schoolhouse is enjoying an eternal October.

If you can make the trip, don't hesitate. Bodie is certainly a fascinating, spooky place.

TONIGHT: Bride of Frankenstein at the Cemetery

Revel in one of L.A.'s most unique summertime treats tonight: Cinespia is screening James Whale's 1935 masterpiece Bride of Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester, at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. That means you can watch this:While chowing down on snackies and a picnic dinner (including alcohol - we're bringing absinthe just to up the goth factor another notch) here:A truly glorious prospect, no? Here are the details, from the Cinespia website:

directed by james whale (1935 75 mins)
gates 7:30 pm movie 9:00 pm
no reservation necessary
$10 donation tickets available at gate
$5 parking available inside
as a courtesy to other moviegoers: no tall chairs!!

sparkling wit, monster pathos and mad science, bride has it all. directed with an easy playfulness, it is suprisingly sharp, sophisticated and funny, and truly one of the great horror films of all time. starring boris karloff in his most famous role as frankenstein, the film is as compelling now as when it was first made. elsa lanchester is brilliant as the bride of frankenstein, the best monster of all time!

dj dave orlando (dr. who, dubclub, punky reggae party) spins before and after the screening