Stingy Jack tried to cheat the devil and was condemned to walk the earth forever, an ember from Hell burning in his lantern to light his way, or so an old Irish story goes. As part of his punishment, “that forsaken craytur” could find no shelter or place to rest “until the day of judgment.” […]
Halloween
Posted inCentral Iowa
Horror-ble bites to eat this Halloween in Des Moines
It’s October, which can only mean one thing: time to make that list and check it twice. No, not that list. We’re talking about the horror movie list — the can’t-miss spooky season flicks that’ll have you employing the buddy system to walk down dark hallways; the ones that elicit jump scares from house creaks […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Sherman Hill’s neighborhood-wide Halloween celebration will rise from the grave on Oct. 31
The oldest neighborhood in Des Moines is back with their beloved Halloween tradition after a two-year hiatus. Halloween on the Hill returns to the Sherman Hill neighborhood on Oct. 31, larger than ever. “The event has really started as just some couple [of] Halloween nuts, or we’ll say Halloween enthusiasts, like myself, that were decorating […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Plants, pets, pandas, brews and boos: Halloween festivities for a cause in Des Moines
Back in the Iron Age, the holiday we now celebrate as Halloween was Samhain, a Celtic festival acknowledging the end of summer and marking the turning of the year. The themes of death and rebirth have persisted in our understanding, the notion of the thinning between worlds, the playing of tricks, the appearance of the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ — through the eyes of a virgin
I watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time at the Englert Theatre on Halloween, and now I’m faced with the Herculean task of explaining it to someone else. Rocky Horror is the omphalos of nearly half a century’s decadence and lecherous desires, but I can’t even dine out on it. For everyone […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa’s Attorney General tweets odd warning about THC-laced Halloween candy, deletes it
For some Americans, the scariest part of Halloween is the prospect that a neighbor might attack their child via tainted candy. It doesn’t matter that it apparently doesn’t happened, certainly not on a scale that warrants a public health warning — every year, police department press releases, local TV news and social media posts warn […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
FilmScene’s Halloweek is giving fright film fans a chance to create their own FilmScream-like marathon
‘Twas the night before Halloween, when all through the city Not a theater was open, not even FilmScene But what to my wondering eyes should appear, Five horrifically fun movies to stream virtually — with a beer. The spooky tradition of FilmScream is just one of the dozens of FilmScene’s programming initiatives that has been […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Halloween and Hawkeye football will look very different this Saturday
Traditionally, Halloween is a night of fun about town, with kids collecting candy from neighbors and young adults enjoying themed drink specials at bars downtown. There’s nothing stopping these traditions from taking place in 2020, despite a continued COVID-19 surge in Iowa, but Johnson County health officials have offered guidance for locals hoping to haunt […]
Posted inCommunity/News
After the light goes out in your jack-o’-lantern, Iowa City will compost it
According to Irish legend, the original jack-o’-lantern was an accursed object carried by a man doomed to walk the Earth forever. On the plus side, that meant it never rotted. (It was also a hollowed-out turnip with a burning coal inside, not a smiling, candle-lit pumpkin.) Contemporary jack-o’-lanterns, pumpkin or turnip, aren’t immortal, but their […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Cedar Rapids’ newest haunt attracts all levels of fear aficionados
Nevermoor 4444 1st St NE, Suite 3001, Cedar Rapids — Open Thursday-Sunday through October, as well as Monday-Wednesday, Oct. 29-31 Thursday, Oct. 4 saw the opening of the newest haunted attraction to grace the Cedar Rapids area: Nevermoor, an ambitious new take on the genre, located alongside Lindale Mall in the former Planet X location […]
Posted inCommunity/News
The Iowa City Public Library is hosting its first Halloween Costume Exchange on Friday
Tired of buying a new Halloween costume for your child every year, then stuffing it in the back of a closet after it’s been worn only once? The Iowa City Public Library has a solution for you.
