Wicked fun food

Last weekend’s party was a good one. I have to admit though, I am beginning to wonder if, at 45, I am getting a little too old for the late nights trying to get everything ready for the party. Between decorating and making all the sweet, I was completely worn out on Sunday in a way I never have been before. I might just have to back off a little and I hate to say that out loud. No one likes feeling old… That being said, I totally cheated this week on my column. I have already printed each of these recipes in previous columns over the years.

Ghosts and spirits have fascinated the world for years. I love a good ghost story! Some people believe and some don’t, but almost everyone has an opinion. Google ‘most haunted places in America’ and you will end up with results too numerous to count, but as you start looking through them certain locations are on almost every list.

One such location is Eastern State Penitentiary. It was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world, but stands today in ruin. It’s a haunting world of crumbling cellblocks and empty guard towers where creepy sounds abound from footsteps to clanging cells and disembodied voices. Its vaulted, sky-lit cells once held many of America’s most notorious lawbreakers, including “Slick Willie” Sutton and “Scarface” Al Capone. Cellblock 12 is known for echoing voices and cackling. Cellblock 6 for shadowy figures darting along the walls. Cellblock 4 for visions of ghostly faces. Many people have reported seeing a silhouette of a guard in one of the towers.

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum served as a sanctuary for the mentally ill beginning in the mid-1800’s. If the walls of this building could talk, it would speak of Civil War raids, a gold robbery, the efforts of determined individuals to help better the lives of the mentally ill and the horrors brought on by overcrowding and overzealous doctors experimenting on the residents. The Asylum was forcibly closed in 1994 and the buildings were abandoned. Many rooms and hallways still have medical equipment, wheelchairs and cages and chains used to confine the violent all lending to an eerie atmosphere even without the ghosts. ‘Ruth’ wanders the Civil War Wing and doesn’t like men. People have heard whistling in the halls and been pushed against walls. Shadowy figures are often seen in Ward 2. The third floor has doors that close by themselves, fleeting glimpses of shadow figures and strange noises. On the fourth floor, a child named ‘Lily’ plays with toys on the floor and can be heard laughing in the halls. Moans, screams, hysterical laughs and slamming doors can also be heard throughout the location.

The Stanley Hotel is believed to be one of the most haunted hotels in the country. A chance visit by Stephen King in Room 217 impressed him so much it inspired The Shining. Dumb and Dumber used the hotel in the film and it is said Jim Carrey stayed in the same room, but only for a few hours. He left and refused to return. ‘Elizabeth’ is said to frequent Room 217 and often folds and puts away guests clothes and also seems to disapprove of unmarried couples sharing a room. Mysterious figures appear on the staircase, the piano plays by itself, strange apparitions appear and disappear again in portraits and photographs, unseen noisy children run up and down the halls, moving nightstands, shadowy figures and, in Room 428, a kissing cowboy are all possibilities of what you may encounter with a visit to this haunted hotel.

The RMS Queen Mary sailed primarily on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967. She started as a passenger ship and was converted to a troop ship during WWII before being re-outfitted for passengers in 1946. Today, the Queen Mary is permanently docked in in Long Beach and is used as a hotel and tourist attraction and is well known for its hauntings. As many as 150 different spirits may still call the Queen Mary home. Some notable residents include a crew member who was crushed to death by a watertight door, a woman dressed in all-white who dances by herself in one of the luxury suites and several adults and children in 1930s-era garb whose apparitions have been spotted wandering the pool decks. Watch for drastic temperature changes, slamming doors, knocking, screams, lights flickering and children crying when you visit this ship once called “Grey Ghost”.

Footsteps and shadows and whispers-Oh My! With Halloween right around the corner, we may all hear things go bump in the night more frequently. This week’s recipes follow along the same thread. They are easy to make and even the kids will get in the spirit. Make your grocery list and pick up some ghoulish ingredients. Then, meet me in the kitchen this weekend for some wicked fun Halloween foods!