Haunted Chesapeake 2023

Local Stories Legends &

Cats,

. . . . . . 17

You can hardly have Halloween without black cats, hordes of black bats and a legion of scary rats. Why are these creatures so associated with spooky season?

Festive

18

Now that we’ve got costumes for the family, including the pets, it’s time to costume the house, too. Keep reading for some easy ways to DIY your own Halloween decor.

Party

Set the scene for a spooky night of fun with these scary easy Halloween party punch recipes.

Scary

Stick your fingers into these party-perfect finger foods. Some of these just might poke you back.

Famous

It’s hard not to get all wrapped up in Halloween fun facts and activities.

Ghosts

Ghosts have breezed through our dreams and nightmares since time immemorial. Here are some of history’s most splendid spooks.

What legend do you believe in?

By Doug Bishop

The legendary 'Goat Man' who lived up around Beltsville when I was growing up.

-Mark Torre, Centreville

Our family did a lot of boating on the Chesapeake Bay when I was a young child. I was always taught to be on the lookout for Chessie (the Chesapeake Bay) Sea Serpent.

-Jenny Walton, Queenstown

The Loch ness Monster captured my attention, as I had ancestors from that region of the world. They'd talk about it like it was a real thing!

-Tom Tate, Chester

Chessie (the Chesapeake Bay) Sea Serpent interested my curiosity as a child because local people would always tell the myths to local children. I always thought there was another species in the bay."

-Anne Layton, Chestertown

Johnny Appleseed. I grew-up in Indiana, and as kids that's who we learned about. We use to go around looking for apple trees, because we knew they had all been planted by Johnny Appleseed!

-John Conley, Chester

A 'Rustic' tale of murder and mystery

Calvert County landmark restaurant was site of paranormal probe following 1980 murder

By Marty Madden

It started with an argument followed by a gunshot. The year was 1980.

In March of that year, Douglas and Nancy Schwab owned Rustic Farm Restaurant on the south side of Prince Frederick. The log cabin structure was, and remains to this day, a Calvert County landmark, although it has been known as Adam’s Ribs, or Adam’s Grill, since 1996. A comparison of some of the old county images snapped by unknown photographers back in the day to photos of today’s building indicate there have been some exterior changes as well.

There is conflicting information about when Rustic Farm was originally built. Some believe it

was constructed and opened as a restaurant and bar during the mid1950s.

However, Pat Buehler of St. Leonard, a former county commissioner, believes the cabin-like edifice was built during the late 1940s. Several posters on Buehler’s social media page also concur that Rustic Farm goes back over 70 years and was the quintessential family-owned restaurant, a culinary holy grail for locals, visitors and passers-through on the county's main artery, Route 4, just south of Prince Frederick.

The Schwabs were not the original owners of Rustic Farm but they were highly successful in their ownership.

“Doug Schwab did a hell of a business,” Buehler said, adding that cars were parked all along the Route 2/4 roadway.

The Schwabs’ home — described in some accounts as a “living quarters” — was located behind the restaurant. It was in the bedroom of their home where Douglas shot Nancy to death around 6 p.m. on March 6, 1980, according to local news accounts and court testimony.

Douglas Schwab, 56 at the time of the incident, was arrested and charged with slaying Nancy, who was 43.

A story in the March 12, 1980, edition of the Calvert Independent noted that Dr. George Weems, the county’s medical examiner, pronounced Nancy Schwab dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Douglas Schwab was subsequently taken into custody but freed approximately 16 hours later.

“They were having a domestic argument,” Larry Lamson recalled. Today, Lamson is a local attorney. In 1980 he was a district court judge and was on the bench when Douglas Schwab was brought into the court

She got on the phone with her lawyer, he pulled out a gun and shot her, Lamson recalled

Prince Frederick's landmark restaurant Adam's Grille has maintained the log cabin style of its former moniker, Rustic Farm. A woman who once co-owned Rustic Farm lives on, some say, in the restaurant. Photo by Marty Madden

for a bond review.

“She got on the phone with her lawyer, he pulled out a gun and shot her,” Lamson recalled. Judge Lamson took some heat for setting Douglas Schwab’s bail at $250,000. Being wellheeled, Schwab was able to make bail.

“He was never any trouble. He was the lowest risk — not a mass killer, not a danger to the community,” Lamson recalled, labeling the incident “a crime of passion.”

Accounts printed in the Calvert Independent back in 1980 indicated justice was rendered swiftly by the court system. Douglas Schwab’s murder trial was moved to Charles County due to the heavy pre-trial publicity in Calvert.

The prosecutor, Stephen Claggett, an assistant state’s attorney, called approximately 18 witnesses, including customers who were in the restaurant when the shooting took place, along with family members, restaurant employees and police officers.

Ruth Guienot, Nancy’s mother, testified that Douglas Schwab came into the restaurant and admitted shooting his wife.

“I ran to the back of the restaurant into the bedroom," Guienot testified. “I saw her lying back on the bed in a pool of blood with a pencil in her hand. I put a wet cloth on her head and came out screaming. I knew she was dead.”

According to newspaper accounts, Schwab’s attorney, Thomas Rymer, entered a plea of not guilty on Schwab’s behalf, claiming the gun that killed Nancy Schwab had gone off accidentally.

After a trial that lasted

over a week, the jury deliberated for 90 minutes and found Douglas Schwab guilty of second-degree murder. Charles County Circuit Court Judge Robert C. Nalley sentenced Schwab to 20 years in the Maryland penitentiary.

Oddities investigated

According to accounts chronicled on Adam’s website, in the early 1990s when Rustic Farm was rebranded and became an eatery specializing in barbecue, strange things began to occur.

“Some female servers reported hearing their name whispered while they were alone,” the summary states. “And, night managers have said that they felt a presence, as if they were being watched. Even creepier, some patrons have claimed to have seen Nancy sitting at the bar.”

Ten years later, on March 23, 2003 — 23 years and 17 days after her tragic death — the Smithsonian sent three paranormal investigators to the restaurant to conduct a probe.

According to the restaurant’s

documentation, the paranormal examiners had a goal of performing “multiple readings and tests to determine what type of activity was present. They wanted to see if they could make contact with the ghost of Nancy. So with the help of digital night shot cameras, voice recorders and an electric and magnetic field meter, the investigators began their mission at 9 p.m.”

Some of the chronicled occurrences during the two hour investigation — such as oddly behaving electromagnetic meter and a camera that malfunctioned while orb pictures were being taken — led the Smithsonian team to conclude that while there was “clear evidence of paranormal activity,” they could not confirm whether the restaurant was “haunted.”

So, is Nancy still a spooky spiritual presence at the restaurant formerly known as Rustic Farm?

“Lately, no,” Jaime Padilla, the restaurant’s current owner, said. “Not for me. In the past there were just odd things going on — not really voices but appearances, according to employees and other people.”

Padilla stated that these days the restaurant is, in some ways, like the Schwabs’ Rustic Farm operation.

“The restaurant is doing a vibrant business,” Padilla declared, adding that Nancy must be pleased that over 40 years after a single gunshot ended her human life she can revel in her next life as again being part of a successful local landmark.

“We just think she’s happy right now,” Padilla said.

A story in the March 12, 1980, edition of the Calvert Independent told the story of Nancy Schwab's death from a single gunshot wound six days earlier.

Photo scan by Marty Madden

All about Werewolves

Werewolves have been around for a long time.

The earliest surviving example of a man turning into a wolf is from “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” around 2100 B.C., says Newcastle University Ph.D. candidate Tankia Kooseman.

The ancient Romans and Greeks weren’t any stranger to werewolves, either. Herodotus described the Neuri, a nomadic tribe of men who changed into wolves for several days

werewolves grew along with the belief in witchcraft. There were trials of supposed werewolves in Switzerland, Bavaria and Austria, as well as in other places in Europe. The name werewolf comes from the Old English werewolf, which itself descends from the proto-Germanic wira-wulfaz, or man-wolf.

St. Patrick was said to have

transformed King Vereticus of Wales into a wolf, venting his frustration at tribes that resisted his efforts to convert them to Christianity. Meanwhile, St. Natalis supposedly cursed an Irish family to werewolfdom.

Today’s werewolves are generally depicted as being vulnerable to silver and who shapeshift with the full moon or at night. Transformation into a wolf may be a hereditary condition or it may be transmitted by the bite of another werewolf. Sometimes, the human form of the werewolf may also exhibit special gifts, such as superhuman speed and strength. If a werewolf is wounded in wolf form, the wounds will also show in human form. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, werewolves are believed to turn into vampires after they die.

Some famous werewolves are J.K. Rowling’s Remus Lupin and Fenrir Greyback, Scott Howard from the “Teen Wolf” movies and television shows, David Kessler from “An American Werewolf in London,” Garth Fitzgerald IV in “Supernatural,” Bertrand Caillet from Guy Endore’s “The Werewolf of Paris,” and Jacob Black from Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series.

Vampires Throughout History

Vampires are undead creatures who make their living snacking on the fresh blood of the living

They are international ghouls of mystery, popping up in cultures around the globe from ancient times until today.

The term vampire possibly comes from the German vampir, which may, in turn, come from the Turkic term for witch. Another theory is that it comes from a Slovak verb meaning to thrust or bite. Vampire first appeared in English in 1732 in reports about a vampire epidemic in eastern Europe.

The ancient Mesopotamians, Hebrews, Greeks and Romans all reported similar tales of bloodsucking undead, though they didn’t call them vampires. In a lot of these stories, the vampires are the undead remains of evil people, suicide victims or witches, but they can also be created by evil spirits or, of course, being bitten by a vampire. In some traditions, such as in China, a body can become undead by something as simple as an animal leaping over the corpse.

Similarly wide discrepancies are reported in locating the grave of a vampire. In Albania, a virgin boy must be led on a white virgin stallion through the graveyard. The horse would balk at the grave of a vampire. Holes appearing over the grave are another sign that the deceased isn’t quite so deceased, as are a plague of dead cattle.

Tales abound on how to prevent the making of a vampire. Burying a corpse upside down was a

widespread anti-vampire practice, as was severing the tendons at the knees to prevent the dead from rising up. One could also place millet or sand on the grave, which wouldn’t prevent the rise of the vampire, but would keep it busy all night counting the grains.

Garlic is common worldwide as a protection against vampires who manage to avoid sand traps and tendon-severing, though sometimes mustard seeds are said to work as are branches of wild rose.

The aristocratic Count Dracula is perhaps the most famous vampire. The titular character of Bram Stoker’s 1897 horror novel is said to have been inspired by the 15th-century Wallachian prince Vlad the Impaler. Stoker’s Dracula is a Transylvanian nobleman who claims to be descended from Attila the Hun. He lives in the Carpathian Mountains near the Borgo Pass. His charm, charisma and aristocratic good looks are out of the vampiric norm and are the basis ofmost of today’s vampire costumes.

Dark Hollows Haunted Trail

More than a memory

By J. Coursey Willis, Historic Kent Island

The year was 1996 — the last October weekend before Halloween. It was a chilly Saturday night lit by a big, bright Hunter’s full moon overhead. Distant echoing screams and morbid sounds filled the air. I could hear nervous chatter from the few hundred people that lined the parking lot of Terrapin Park, eagerly awaiting their turn to enter the county’s fastest growing, haunted attraction.

I sat with my best friend in the wheat field, damp from the occasional light drizzle. A chainsaw

fired up, provoking loud cries and funneling our next victims down the grassy path toward us. The cold left our bodies, replaced by adrenaline as the unexpecting group drew closer to the last stop before a long, dark, winding exit. We would gladly welcome them to the club of survivors that escaped the Dark Hollows Haunted Trail.

I’ve had a forever fascination with the macabre and things that go bump in the night. When I was 10, I began building Halloween displays in my parent’s front yard on Cox Neck that gave

sweet old ladies a conniption. I’m perpetually drawn to cemeteries and the history behind the stones. October is my favorite month and The Nightmare Before Christmas is my movie muse. I am lucky to have been raised on historic Kent Island, soaked in lore and legend. In my youth, having made a name for myself and learning from the best local Halloweenswoman, I was invited to join Kent Island’s own Dark Hollows Haunted Trail. It was a dream come true.

It all began in 1993 when a group of citizens conjured up the

Photos taken by Katie Melynn at Terrapin Nature Park in summer 2023.

idea for a Halloween attraction. The county parks & recreation, WCEI radio station, Kent Island Jaycees and the Modern Woodmen of America sponsored the original production. Their new annual ritual would exist for only six short years, but would create everlasting memories for all involved.

Dark Hollows Haunted Trail was held at Terrapin Nature Park on Kent Island along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. The park’s maze of meandering hiking trails through acres of woods and open fields created the perfect setting. Local newspapers started advertising for Dark Hollows in late September and the Bay Times described it perfectly as “the playground for Kent Island’s most enchanted spirits.”

Annual themes were carefully cultivated, with the first year revolving around Ana. It is said she was a beautiful girl with hair the color of golden wheat fields that had been missing for several years. A fortune teller at the entrance of the trail provided the search party guests with all the details. After paying their $2 admission fee, the party entered at their own risk and made their way down the dark, eerie path in search of the lost Ana.

The inaugural one night event was a tremendous success, drawing nearly 600 people in a three-hour time frame from 7-10 p.m. It was more of a fundraising

mission than a money-making venture and $1,200 ain’t too shabby for a first attempt. In all ensuing years, the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department (KIVFD) partnered with the county parks & recreation to organize and sponsor Dark Hollows. It was a great way to help fund the local firefighters who protect and serve our growing island.

1994 was another successful year, so with experience under their belts, the crew offered two nights of scares in 1995 and admission was safely increased to four whole dollars. The haunted attraction spell was spreading like wildfire and in 1996 it grew

into a three-night event. This is my favorite year for, in years past, I had only walked the trail as a spectator, but now, because of a very special woman, I would be a part of the show.

In 1992, I met Mrs. Sylvia Taylor through my best friend, Joe Q. He and I spent hours together on his childhood road, Cheslou. Like two peas in a pod, we loved old horror flicks and reading Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. As luck would have it, Sylvia lived just down the street and was equally into scary stories, which she expressed in her Halloween yard displays. People traveled from miles away to witness her talented handy work, forming lines of cars up and down Cheslou. Over the years, she had fabricated guillotines, gallows, graveyards, and even an alien spaceship, all accompanied by theatrical sound. This is where I

honed my scare tactics.

After befriending Sylvia, she invited Joe and me to help with the Halloween work, which led to us becoming live props. We’d sit in the yard like lifeless dummies while a car pulled up. After the spectators had taken it all in, we’d jump up with extravagant screams, earning a terrified howl in return. Sylvia introduced me to an artistic avenue I didn’t realize I could explore. I too wanted to create sceneries people could enjoy… So I did.

From that point on, starting in early September, my dad and I would build wooden crosses wedged into cinder block bases, serving as the skeletons of bodies. We’d dress them in old clothes from the attic, attaching gloves and boots, then fit Halloween masks over stuffed grocery bags stapled to the 2x4 necks and viola; creatures of the night came to life. In no time, I had an army of demons and devices littering my parent’s front yard, catching the attention of passersby and local newspapers. Unfortunately, Sylvia was getting older and had been putting on yard displays for over 10 years, a truly demanding and time-consuming hobby. She ended her momentous run in 1995 and donated all of her decorations to the haunted trail, with a recommendation for Joe and me to join the attraction. After all, we knew her work well. When the

1996 Dark Hollows Haunted Trail IV rolled around, we were “in like Flynn.”

On the night of, our parents dropped us off at Terrapin Park, where we were fondly nicknamed “The Boys.” We rotated trail positions and I remember Joe playing the crazy caged soul that escaped through a loose bar, chasing down his victims into the haze of a smoke machine. That year also offered the addition of a hayride for a dollar. One of my favorite characters was Jason Voorhees, who ran out of a duck blind with a chainsaw just as the trail group turned their backs. Jason was actually the widely loved firefighter Wally Alden who put every bit of himself into that character.

Different years introduced different scare tactics and as the popularity grew, so too did the props. One year, my friend Nathan doubled as a gun wielding army soldier that jumped out of an alien craft chasing extra terrestrials into the dark woods. Another year, a dump truck (or maybe it was a fire truck) was backed into a heavy brush area. As a trail group approached, the gigantic headlights ignited, temporarily blinding everyone, followed by the air horns, sending them screaming and running. There were electric chairs, girls caught in massive spider webs, psychotic clowns, and the list goes on.

Calling Dark Hollows a great

success is an understatement.

1,500 people made their way through the mysterious paths of Terrapin in its heyday, raising around $5,000 per year for the KIVFD. The staff of volunteers were so good at putting on this event that some people were truly terrified of returning. Children under 12 had to be accompanied by an adult and warnings of strobe light induced seizures were posted. This wasn’t for the fainthearted.

Sadly, as the saying goes, nothing stays the same forever, and that was true for the island’s haunted attraction. In 1999, the county upgraded Terrapin Park to a protected nature trail. This forced Dark Hollows to change locations to the field behind the

local library, altering the entire dynamic of the haunt. The area was much smaller and didn’t offer the eerie appeal of Terrapin’s backlit scenery. To make matters worse, this year’s event was canceled because of heavy rains causing dangerous environmental conditions. The KIVFD lost an estimated $5,000, draining the department’s general fund and putting a nail in the coffin of the long-loved Dark Hollows Haunted Trail. After years of service, the props we’d worked so hard on were laid to rest.

I will forever cherish those October nights of my youth; being part of something bigger and feeling a genuine connection with spirits. We entertained and were entertained, and that is truly humbling. I hope others remember the Dark Hollows Haunted Trail just as fondly. I welcome the smell of fallen leaves on an autumn night, taking me

back to 1996, sitting in the wheat field, awaiting our victims.

It’s a shame that the local Halloween spirit has disappeared in this modern age, but I hold on to a sliver of faith. Kent Island needs its haunted trail back. It’s not an easy endeavor, but with all of my energy, that is what I am doing.

Dark Hollows was Reanimated in 2021 with the Possession of Kent Asylum and returned in 2022 with HYSTERIA. I was forced to take 2023 off because attraction hosts Cult Classic are constructing a new music venue. However, I am determined to raise the bar even higher and deliver my most heartpounding experience in 2024 that will leave guests breathless.

'Give them a little fright'

Mechanicsville man goes all out for Halloween

By Michael Reid

Every Halloween night Paul Izzett Jr. tries his darnedest to scare the neighborhood kids with his over-the-big-top clownthemed display.

“If I wanted to put up a few decorations and hand out candy I would do that,” he said. “But if you can give them a little fright that’s

something they’ll remember.”

The 51-year-old sets up close to 30 pieces including large animatronic clowns, thunder and lightning sounds, and creepy music including screams, which he said are “audibly unsettling.”

The focal point of the display is a huge walk-through clown head,

after which those souls who are brave enough receive treats.

“There’s tons of people who stand at the top of the hill and look but refuse to come down because the kids are terrified,” Izzett said. “I’ll be like, ‘Well, I’m not giving you any candy unless you go down there.’ I even get

Add in some darkness, lights, sounds of thunder and screaming, and his son Paul III jumping out of some shrubbery and it's easy to see why some kids refuse to go trick-or-treating at Paul Izett Jr.'s Mechanicsville home.

adults who are too afraid to come down because they have a phobia of clowns or something.”

And for a few days before Halloween he — inadvertently, or perhaps intentionally? — scares his own kids — Paul III, Morgan and Brooke.

To get a jump on setting up for Halloween, the IT manager for the federal government will set up all of his animatronics inside the family’s Mechanicsville home a few days in advance, and his animatronic temporary indoor village spooks even his own kids.

“It’s a little scary in the morning or at night when I’m looking over the banister and see a figure there,” said Morgan Izzett, who is a senior at Chopticon High School.

Perhaps “Five Nights at Freddy’s” really is better than one night at Paul's.

Izzett’s display attracts numerous visitors, including some who arrive in trailers pulled behind trucks and golf carts.

While many of his neighbors sit at the end of their long driveways tailgating and handing out treats, Paul Izzett Jr. makes the long trip down the driveway worth it by rewarding them handsomely.

“Once I started doing the displays I thought, ‘What’s the point [of sitting up there] because I want the kids to walk on the pathways to experience all of it,'” he said. “I thought, ‘If they’re

going to walk all this way I’m going to give them full-size candy bars.'”

Izzett grew up in Alexandria and thinks he inherited his love of decorating from his mother, Carol. "Halloween was always big for her because she loved making kids happy,” said Izzett, who added that his and his mother’s big passion is decorating at Christmas.

He said he put out decorations when he lived in Waldorf, “but it wasn’t as crazy as it is now.”

One day he saw a giant clown archway online and decided to build one himself, and “after that I was hooked. I’ve got tons of stuff now.”

He also visits Halloween depots after the holiday when items go on sale; his latest find was a 12-foot talking and moving animatronic clown, which will debut this year.

“I saw it and thought, ‘It’s a 12foot clown. Are you kidding me? I have to have it,’” he said. “I’m very interested to see what it looks like.”

After a year's hiatus, Izzett will join his Killer Clowns from Outer Space crew and dress as a terrorized clown, as will his son Paul III, who is especially fond of jumping out of shrubbery to scare young sweet seekers.

“I felt bad because [in 2021] a lot of kids cried and wouldn’t even talk to me,” Paul Izzett Jr. said of his costume. “But I think I’m going

Mechanicsville's Paul Izzett Jr. stands with his latest acquisition, a 12-foot tall animatronic clown that moves and speaks.

Mechanicsville's Paul Izzett Jr., left, in black and Paul Izett III in stripes pose with a few of their terrifying clown friends.

back to the clown [costume].”

“Sometimes I just want to go to sleep,” Morgan said, “but sometimes it’s fun to watch them get scared.”

When asked if he ever thought of taking a year off, Izzett Jr. nodded.

“I say it every year; it always crosses my mind,” he said. “But people are looking forward to it so I don’t want to disappoint them. I don’t not want to do it. I love the reaction I get from other people.”

He added, “Halloween is also one night. You’re squeezing

everything in.”

But Izzett Jr. is not just a Halloween guy.

“My passion was always Christmas decorations,” he said. “My Christmas decorations rival my Halloween decorations tenfold. I love making people happy at Christmas and scaring the crap out of them at Halloween.”

The Izzett family will be hosting its Crazed Clowns haunted house 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31, at 39736 Grandview Haven Dr. in Mechanicsville.

Paul Izzett Jr., left, and his daughter, Morgan, hold a giant clown head in front of their Mechanicsville home.

Some years back, Paul Izett Jr, left, and his girlfriend Laicee Rask take a break from dressing as killer clowns.

All Treats, No Tricks

Sweeten your Halloween bash with these gastric goodies.

Black Magic Cake

Makes 8-10 servings. Recipe is from The Food Network.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the baking pans

• 1 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

• 1 cup boiling water

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup whole milk

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the filling and frosting

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

• 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chipped

• 1 teaspoon espresso powder

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• Pinch of salt

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted

For mummy decoration:

• 2 cups miniature marshmallows

• Cooking spray

• 2 candy eyes

Directions

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment and grease the parchment and sides of the pans with oil.

2. Stir together the cocoa powder and boiling water. Let sit to bloom for 5 minutes.

3. Whisk together the granulated sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the bloomed cocoa, oil, milk, eggs and vanilla and a medium bowl. Add the wet to the dry and stir until smooth. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pans on a rack.

4. Heat the cream in a double boiler over low

heat, whisking occasionally until it begins to steam. Whisk in the cocoa powder, chocolate, espresso powder, vanilla and salt until smooth, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the butter until melted. Whisk in the confectioner’s sugar until incorporated. Let the frosting cool completely.

5. Put one cake, bottom side up, on a serving plate. Spread a cup of the frosting over the top but not all the way down the side. Top with the other cake, bottom side up, and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting. Microwave the marshmallows until they swell and are soft enough to stir, about 1 minute. Let sit to cool for a few minutes. Spray your hands with cooking spray, then stretch the marshmallow so the strings on the top of the cake will run in the same direction. Pick a gap and garnish with the candy eyes.

Spooky S’mores Pizza

Makes 18 servings. Recipe is from The BakerMama.

Ingredients

• 1 0.25-ounce package active dry yeast

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 cup warm water

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup finely crushed graham cracker crumbs, divided

• 1 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips

• 1 10-ounce bag miniature marshmallows

• 3 chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies

Directions

1. Add the yeast and the sugar to a large mixing bowl. Pour in the warm water and let proof until foamy, about 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the flour and 1⁄2 cup graham cracker crumbs. Dough will be sticky. Using floured hands, form into a ball. Lightly grease the bowl and place the ball of dough back in it.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a large sheet with parchment paper.

4. Punch down the dough. Form it into a rectangle shape on well-floured surface and roll into a rectangle that will fit on your baking sheet. Transfer it to your sheet and shape it with your hands to look like a ghost.

5. Sprinkle the remaining graham cracker crumbs over the dough. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the middle of the ghost, leaving a 1-inch rim around the edges. Bake for 5-8 minutes or until the crust starts to turn light brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the marshmallows over the chocolate. Return to the oven for five minutes or until the marshmallows are lightly toasted and starting to turn brown.

6. Split the cookies in half. Take the halves without cream and place on the pizza as the eyes and mouth. Slice and serve while still gooey.

Cats, Bats and Rats, Oh my!

You can hardly have Halloween without black cats, hordes of black bats and a legion of scary rats. Why are these creatures so associated with spooky season?

Black Cats

Black cats are often considered the bringers of bad luck and were associated with witches in the medieval world. Because of that association, black cats are often used as a Halloween symbol to add another level of scary to decor. However, in some countries, such as Japan, they’re considered good luck. In ancient Egypt, black cats were even worshiped as sacred.

Bats

Bats, as creatures who largely hunt at night (as those who eat mosquitoes often will), are associated with death and darkness. Plus, they often live in caves, which are known for being, well, spooky. Then there’s the vampires. In Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” perhaps the best-known vampire, the count could turn into a bat at will.

But as you hang up your bat decor this Halloween, make sure to point out that bats really do help humans out. According to the National Wildlife Foundation, they save us several billion dollars a year in pest control just by being themselves and noshing on bugs. They also help pollinate more than 700 plants, including bananas, peaches and mangoes.

Rats

Like bats, rats are largely nocturnal, giving them an aura of fear. Rats are also known to occupy abandoned places, ruins and other places where that other spooky season favorite lives — the ghost. Also, there’s the association with pestilence and plague that makes them scary.

Spiders

First of all, they have eight spindly legs. Then they live in dark corners on webs that are hard to see, making it look like they’re floating in mid air. They also, like rats, frequent abandoned places where ghosts like to hang out. Lastly, there’s the poison part. Before modern medicine (and, in the case of the Brazilian wandering spider, even after it) spider bites could be deadly.

Again, though, while you’re draping things in fake webs, point out that most spiders are harmless unless you’re a bug. Spiders commonly feed on pests such as flies, moths, earwigs, roaches and mosquitoes. Real spider web silk is also stronger and tougher than steel, making it a miracle material.

Festive DIY halloween Decor

Now that we’ve got costumes for the family, including the pets, it’s time to costume the house, too. Keep reading for some easy ways to DIY your own Halloween decor.

Webs Galore

Pop up a spooky arched entry with some branches and stretchy spider webs. Anchor the two branches on either side of your sidewalk or walkway. Tie the ends together with garden twine, then cover your arch with stretchy webs. Hang spiders and other creepy crawlies off the arch for more scares.

Witchy Ways

Cut witch’s hats out of black construction paper and add them to family portraits. It also works with bats, mice and other spooky critters. For the front door, grab a florist’s foam wreath of any size that works for your door and fill it with black feathers (or purple, or orange. It’s your wreath). Or use a gang of plastic spiders or rats. Let your imagination run creepy.

Googly Gourds

Grab some decorative seasonal gourds on your next grocery run. Affix googly eyes and arrange them in groups around the porch, table, mantle or anywhere else that needs a dose of spooky silliness.

What a Web

Use black twine to make a giant spider’s web on any available wall space. Add foam spiders and other creepies as needed.

Candy Corn Candles

Some may say this is the only acceptable use of candy corn. Take clear glass hurricanes or cylinders

and fill about a third of the way with candy corn. Nest a white candle in the center of each. The candy will hold the candles up. Note: Don’t leave the lit candles unattended. Sugar is still flammable.

What Carving?

Wrap your pumpkin in gauze bandages. Put on leftover googly eyes from the gourds. Mummy pumpkin, coming right up!

Bubble, Bubble

Make your Halloween punch extra scary. Put orange and red tissue squares on top of a grapevine wreath. Nestle a black cauldron bowl on top of the paper (it should look like flames) and pour in your favorite punch. Add dry ice for the smoke.

Wine Bottle Candlesticks

Recycle those bottles by painting them matte black and adding taper candles (drippy or not) for a ghoulishly clever and chic Halloween look.

Party Punches

Set the scene for a spooky night of fun with these scary easy Halloween party punch recipes.

Wormy Orange Punch

Makes 20 servings. Recipe is from “Taste of Home.”

Ingredients

1 gallon orange sherbet, softened

• 1 quart pineapple juice, chilled

• 1 liter lemon-lime soda, chilled

• Gummy worms

Directions

Combine the sherbet and pineapple juice in a punch bowl. Stir well. Add the soda and stir again until the sherbet is almost dissolved. Decorate the bowl with gummy worms and serve immediately.

Pumpkin Keg BourbonApple Punch

Makes 10-12 servings. Recipe is from Food Network.

Ingredients

• 1 large, 15-pound pumpkin

• 3 red apples

• 2 tablespoons whole cloves

• 12 cups apple cider

750 mL bourbon

• 20 dashes bitters

• 3/4 cup lemon juice

Directions

1. Cut the top off the pumpkin. Clean out the seeds and pulp. Insert a tap in the empty pumpkin according to package directions and set aside.

2. Slice the apples into thin rings and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Stud each slice with 5-6 whole cloves and freeze

until solid.

3. Stir together the cider, bourbon, bitters and lemon juice in the cavity of the pumpkin and top with the pumpkin lid. Refrigerate until the pumpkin and the punch are chilled, at least 2 hours.

4. Remove the lid, add the apple slices and serve.

Halloween Punch

Makes 24 servings. Recipe is from “A Couple Cooks.”

Ingredients

1. 64 ounces 100% cranberry juice or juice blend

2. 64 ounces apple juice or cider

3. 2 liters ginger ale

4. 2 4-5-inch chunks dry ice

Directions

Add the chilled ingredients to a punch bowl and stir. Break the dry ice into chunks and add to the punch bowl. Don’t touch the dry ice with your bare hands or drink the dry ice. The smoking should last 5-10 minutes.

Party Punch

Makes 20 servings. Recipe is from “Tasty.”

Ingredients

• 40 ounces lychees in syrup

• 40 blueberries

Red food coloring

• 12 cups cranberry juice

• 3 cups ginger ale

• 2 cups vodka, optional

• 3 food-safe gloves, powder-free nitrile or latex

Directions

1. Fill each plastic glove with water until about 2 inches from the opening of the glove. Twist the opening and tie into a knot. Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.

2. Make the lychee eyeballs by placing a blueberry into each peeled and pitted lychee. Reserve the liquid from the canned lychees.

3. Use a toothpick to paint red food coloring on each lychee to resemble the veins on an eyeball. Add the lychees to a large punch bowl.

4. Pour in the cranberry juice, ginger ale, lychee juice and vodka, if using.

5. Remove the gloves from the freezer and run under warm water for 15 seconds. Use scissors to cut off the knot and slide the ice out of each glove and into the punch.

6. To serve, ladle the punch and a couple of eyeballs into each glass.

Scary Good Hors d'oeuvres

Stick your fingers into these party-perfect finger foods. Some of these just might poke you back.

Mini Pumpkin

Cheesecakes

Makes 12. Recipe is from “The Pioneer Woman.”

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 7 full sheets of graham crackers

• 1 1/2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened

• 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

Whipped cream

Directions

1. For the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with liners. Place the graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs form. Add the brown sugar and salt and pulse again. Drizzle in the melted butter and process until the crumbs are moist.

2. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of graham cracker mixture into each muffin liner. Press the crumbs flat into the bottom of each cup with a drinking glass. Bake for 5 minutes, until golden. Transfer the muffin tin to a wire rack to cool.

3. Beat the cream cheese, brown sugar and maple syrup in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes, until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, lower the mixer speed and add the egg and yolk. Beat in the pumpkin and vanilla, then the cornstarch, spices and salt. Divide the filling evenly among the 12 cups, filling each about 3⁄4 of the way. Bake 1012 minutes, until the edges are set and dry and the centers are slightly jiggly.

4. Cool for 30 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator for an hour.

To serve, remove the cheesecakes from the pan and peel away the liners. Arrange on a platter and garnish with whipped cream.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Directions

Monster Toes

Makes 8-10 servings. Recipe is from Food.com.

Ingredients

• 1 pound cocktail sausages

• 6-8 flour tortillas

• Ketchup and mustard

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut a wedge into the end of each sausage to make a flat toenail. Cut the tortillas into strips about 4 inches long and a half inch wide. Discard the ends.

2. Soften the strips in the microwave between damp paper towels for 10-30 seconds.

3. Roll each sausage in a tortilla strip and secure with a toothpick. Leave the toenail sticking out. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes. Fill the toenail with ketchup or mustard (or both!) and remove the toothpicks.

Famous Mummies

It’s hard not to get all wrapped up in Halloween fun facts and activities.

King Tutankhamun

Egypt’s boy king died 3,000 years ago at the age of 19. His mummified body was discovered in 1922 and quickly became an international sensation. His previously unopened and unpillaged tomb set off a wave of Egyptmania around the world. His mummy showed the pharaoh had malaria and a rare bone disorder of the foot. DNA tests helped identify a mummy thought to be his father, Akhenaten, and his mother, whose name is unknown.

Otzi the Iceman

Otzi’s Copper Age remains were discovered in the Alps in 1991. He died between 3350 and 3105 B.C. at the border between Austria and Italy. He is a natural mummy, meaning that conditions on the mountain lead to his mummification rather than any intentional process. Researchers found an arrowhead in his left shoulder and other injuries, leading them to believe he was murdered. Tooth and other analyses showed that he grew up near the village of Feldthums, north of Bolzano, but later went to

live in valleys further to the north. His last meal was found to be ibex and wheat grain, along with some wild goat bacon.

Xin Zhui, “Lady Dai”

Xin Zhui died in 168 B.C. and was buried with lacquered dinnerware sets, musical instruments, painted silks and other grave goods befitting her status as the wife of Li Cang, marquis of Dai. Her coffin was filled with embalming fluid and when she was exhumed in 1971, she had a full head of hair, her skin was soft and her limbs were flexible. Scientists conducted a full autopsy on the wellpreserved body, showing she died around age 50 of a heart attack.

Vladimir Lenin

The first Soviet ruler’s body is preserved in Moscow’s Red Square using acetic acid and vodka. Lenin died in 1924 and his body has been on almost continuous display since 1930. After the fall of the Soviet Union until 2016, the mausoleum was kept afloat by private donations. Since 2018, various Russian politicians have argued for removing Lenin’s body, but for now, it’s still on display

Ghosts Through Time

Ghosts have breezed through our dreams and nightmares since time immemorial. Here are some of history’s most splendid spooks.

King Hamlet

Shakespeare’s Prince Hamlet is the star of the show, but without his father’s ghost, the story would be lacking. King Hamlet appears four times in “Hamlet,” telling the titular Hamlet that he was murdered and asking him to avenge his death. He returns to rebuke Hamlet for not avenging him. He is also called simply Ghost and has been played by such luminaries as Shakespeare himself (allegedly), Laurence Olivier, Patrick Stewart and Brian Blessed.

Casper

Not all ghosts are scary, and that’s true of the little white Casper the Friendly Ghost. He was created by Seymore Reit and Joe Oriolo in the 1930s and is often joined by Wendy the Good Little Witch and Hot Stuff the Little Devil. Slimer

Ghosts can also be hilarious. Slimer is a green glob of a ghoul featured in the “Ghostbusters” movie and franchise. He’s obnoxious, spews slime and often displays gross behavior. During pre-production of the 1984 movie, Ivan Reitman remarked that Slimer was similar to Bluto in “Animal House,” and likened the green goblin to the ghost of John Belushi.

Abraham Lincoln

The ghost of assassinated President Abraham Lincoln is said to haunt the

White House. First Lady Grace Coolidge was the first to have (reportedly) seen the (reported) ghost, standing at a window in the Yellow Oval Room, staring out at the Potomac River. Since then, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt all claimed to have seen Lincoln haunting the West Wing.

The Flying Dutchman

This one’s not the spirit of a former human, but a whole ship. The first reference to the ship appears in a 1790 book by John MacDonald. The Flying Dutchman is a sailing ship that came round Cape Horn during bad weather and was unable to make port. In other stories, the ghostly vessel is in the North Atlantic and in some tales, she’s a pirate ship. Prince George of Wales, the future King George V, claimed to have seen her. A Nazi submarine commanded by Admiral Karl Donitz also supposedly sighted her east of Suez.

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