COVER STORY
Not Your Average Fright Night
Calm, peaceful and serene, the Healing Waters Center for Health and Mindful Living in East Aurora isn’t quite the setting that comes to mind for Halloween activities.
Nor is the Parings Wine Bar in Williamsville or even SPoT Coffee on Elmwood Avenue.
But that doesn’t mean the Halloween spirit doesn’t live in these three distinct locations. During All Hallows Eve, a time when, some say, the border between our world and the next grows thin enough to allow spirits to pass through, there’s opportunity at even the most unlikely places for holiday activities.
“Healing Waters is a very beautiful, peaceful place, but sometimes we need to erupt in incredible joy and celebration,” says Mary Ellen Carges, a dance teacher, facilitator and healer with Dancecstatic. “Sometimes in a spiritual way, people feel the veil between the two worlds is the thinnest. So they like to come together and immerse themselves in the beauty of everything Halloween symbolizes like getting dressed up and scaring away their ghosts.”
To that end, Carges will lead an ecstatic dance and drumming program as part of tonight’s Monster Mash Halloween Bash at Healing Waters (542 Quaker Road, East Aurora). Ecstatic dance, she says, is “music for the sake of releasing and having a blissful time. It’s about coming together as a group and raising a vibrational energy.”
Felicitas Kusch-Lango, director and owner of Healing Waters, says the event is “about creating community and marking a special time of year.”
“When you do yoga and meditation, it doesn’t mean you always have to be quiet and serene. There is room for celebration,” Kusch-Lango says. “People either acknowledge Halloween because it’s fun or because it’s a darker time of the year.”
Bring a drum, if you like, and wear a costume, too. Kids are welcome. Stick around by the bonfire (starts at 5 p. m.), enjoy some cider and doughnuts or take part in the dancing and drumming (at about 7 p. m.). Registration is requested. The bonfire is free; the dance is $10. Donations of nonperishable food items will be accepted. For information: 655-3924, www.centerathealingwaters.com.
Ghost hunting
Who would have thought that the “Ghostbusters” movies, with those goofy guys and their equally silly ghost-hunting gadgets, would grow from science fiction into science fact? Well it’s happened, as evident from such popular TV shows as “Paranormal Activity” and “Ghost Hunters.” And now viewers aren’t content to sit back and watch—they want to join in.
To meet this increasing interest, Kellie Galucki, coordinator of the Eastern Paranormal Society, says her group has added ghost hunts to its slate of such paranormal activities as ghost walks. The hunts, Galucki says, draw people from their 20s to 60s—many coming with their own “equipment.”
“They’ve bought their gadgets and they want you to capture something,” she says. “It’s amazing how cable TV has spawned this ghost-hunting craze.”
Two such ghost-hunting events are scheduled this weekend.
At the Parings Wine Bar (5893 Main St., Williamsville), spirits aren’t only on the menu but they may also be living there. Tonight’s ghost hunt will explore the reported paranormal activities in the Civil War-era building.
Bring your digital camera, tape recorder or any special equipment you might have, Galucki says. “We’ve got a group of ghost hunters with equipment. They’ll go into the building, like the TAPS people [from ‘Ghost Hunters’], with the public and we’ll see if we find anything. It should be a fun night.”
There will be stories about the building at 6:30 tonight; the ghost hunt follows at about 7:30 p. m. and lasts until 1 a. m. Scary treats will be served along the way.
Cost is $25. Reservations are recommended. Call 655-6663.
On Halloween, the EPS gang— including ghost hunters Chris Conlon, Justin Chernogorec and Ron Pepin—heads out to Riviera Theatre (67 Webster St., North Tonawanda). The event, a fundraiser for the Riviera, begins with a showing of local paranormal expert Mason Winfield’s “The 13 Most Haunted Places of WNY.” Tarot card readings (for an additional charge) by Paul Gipp and old-fashioned tea leaf readings take place before the ghost hunt.
Tickets are $15 advance, $20 at the door. For information: 692-2113, www.rivieratheatre.org.
Sometimes people don’t want to hunt for ghosts, but they want to hear a scary story or share their experiences. In that case, a ghost walk or pub crawl is just the thing.
“People enjoy hearing the history of their towns and the haunted stories and how it ties together,” Galucki says of the ghost walks that take place entirely outdoors.
The pub crawls, led by Winfield, combine walking, storytelling and socializing as participants visit several locations and imbibe in a “spirit” or two. These events have been so popular, that additional pub crawls have been scheduled.
“The reason the pub crawls are so popular is the social element,” Galucki says. “People tell stories to each other and they exchange their experiences. They get to socialize and talk with other people who may experience the paranormal. They just want to tell somebody about it.”
A few of these events are scheduled this weekend. At 7 tonight, join a ghost walk in Allentown (meet at Allen Street Hardware Cafe, 245 Allen St.) or in Lewiston (meet at the Little Yellow Chocolate Shop, 476 Center St.). At 7 p. m. Saturday, there’s a ghost walk on the “McKinley Curse” at SPoT Coffee (765 Elmwood St.). In East Aurora, ghost walks are at 7 and 9 p. m. Saturday (meet at 40 S. Grove St.) and a pub crawl at 6 p. m. (Cornell Cooperative Building, 21 S. Grove St.). A pub crawl is also on Nov. 7.
The cost for each ghost walk is $10 adults, $5 for children ages 7-11, free for children under 7. The pub crawl costs $20. Reservations for all are highly recommended; call 655-6663.
Another ghost walk is sponsored by Lewiston Council of the Arts. With the help of some creepy characters, the 90-minute Marble Orchard Ghost Walk delves into classic ghost stories and myths from Lewiston’s history. The walk starts at 7 p. m. Saturday. Bring a flashlight and gather at the courtyard at 476 Center St., Lewiston. Cost is $10 for adults; $5 children 12 and under. For more information, visit www.artcouncil.org or call 754-0166.
Do the time warp
“It’s a Wonderful Life” was never intended to be a Christmas movie and the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” wasn’t a Halloween film, but that’s what they have become. This weekend, “Rocky Horror” is the centerpiece of Halloween events at three venues— two showing the original 1975 film, the other takes the story to the stage.
Jay Ruof, owner of the Hamburg Palace Theatre where one event takes place on Saturday, says “Rocky Horror” makes sense at Halloween because many of the movie’s characters look like they’re dressed in costumes. (Picture Tim Curry playing Dr. Frank N. Furter in fishnet stockings, garter and leather vest.)
“The main characters, obviously being a parody of horror and sci-fimovies, are very much dressed up. The cast members look like they are going to a costume party,” Ruof says, adding that even when he screens “Rocky Horror” as a midnight movie at other times of year, patrons dress in costume. “The movie fosters that desire to dress up.”
“Rocky Horror” will be shown during a Halloween party starting at 9 tonight in the Riviera Theatre. The party includes music by a DJ, dancing, a costume contest and a screening of the original movie at midnight. Admission is $15-$18.
On Saturday, the film will be shown at the Hamburg Palace Theatre. That event starts at about 11:30 p. m. with some magic tricks and games; the movie starts, appropriately enough, at midnight. Dress up if you want—there’s a costume contest and, in “Rocky Horror” tradition, a group of costumed folks will act out the story right below the screen and interact with the audience.
Ruof, however, says the real Halloween treat is a 10 p. m. screening Saturday of the film “Spider Baby” starring Lon Chaney Jr.
“It’s the perfect Halloween movie. It’s an oddball film,” Ruof says, calling it a macabre type of “Addams Family” story. “It’s funny and creepy all at the same time. It’s made in the old black and white—that 1950s-’60s style of filmmaking that can’t be duplicated anymore.”
Director Jack Hill has asked that proceeds from the film be donated to the Academy Film Archive.
Admission to each movie Saturday is $7.
The well-regarded stage production of “The Rocky Horror Show” ends its run with performances at 8 tonight and Saturday in the Alt Theatre (255 Great Arrow Ave.). The cost is $20 to $25. “From the opening number to the closing curtain, the cast executes Richard O’Brien’s genderbending science fiction extravaganza with no shortage of energy and twisted deviance,” wrote Buffalo News arts writer Colin Dabkowski.
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