Halloween Web - Deadpan Flook

For the people that may not know you, tell us a little about yourself.

Well, I've been taking part in the Countdown for the last few years so most people will probably know me from that...but I also pop up a lot in the British Retro-gaming community, posting as Deadpan666 or Flook666 at various different forums and occasionally in the pages of Retrogamer magazine! I'm really into my video-games, and have played literally thousands...hence the more obscure titles in my Gruesome Games lists!

What was Halloween like in your neighborhood as a kid?

Going out in to the freezing cold every year, wearing bizarre costumes and walking miles to get my hands on all that sweet candy! Over here in Scotland we never used to have Trick or Treat...we were called 'Guisers' and had to say a poem, sing, do a party trick or tell a joke to get our hands on the loot! Nowadays kids just say "Trick or Treat" though, and the entertainment is usually optional!

We used to stay in Farm cottages, where there was only another 5 houses...and the grumpier people often turned out their lights and hid from us...so my brother and I would end up walking with our older sister to the nearest village a few miles away to try our luck there! A spooky but extremely enjoyable trip in the dark for a monster-loving 5 year old! :)

Do you have a particularly fond/funny/scary Halloween memory?

A couple! There was one time I was going to a Halloween party at school, and my brother suggested I wrap myself in toilet paper, wear a hat and some dark glasses and go as The Invisible Man...a great idea in theory! But of course it rained as soon as I stepped out the door, and so the toilet paper came off and I was left with a hat and dark glasses, which just looked like I hadn't quite grasped the idea of Halloween...

One of the times we went to the village, we knocked on one the doors and were shocked to see someone who appeared to be naked hurriedly run past said door....then the girl who stayed there's boyfriend appeared and thrust  a lot of cash into our hands and told us to "just go" as if he was in a hurry to get back to something!? Hehe...

Any favorite costumes from Halloweens past?

I used to always dress up as Skeletons due to having a cool bone-apron that I could throw on with different masks. The one with the hair is my favourite (above, left)...the vampire mask my brother is wearing (above, right) totally failed to scare my niece (also in the pic) who ended up biting the nose of the mask, leaving tooth marks in it! My favourite modern mask is my White Werewolf one.. (below)

What do you do to celebrate now, out in the real world?

I'll usually get together with friends and end up at someone's house for a party (that's me in the skeleton mask) or end up at one of the Horror-themed pubs in Edinburgh for drinks...but this is becoming less frequent these days as everyone is settling down with kids. Hopefully, I'll get to tag along as chaperon when their kids start Trick or Treating, although sadly there seems to be less and less kids going round at Halloween these days, and they're just having parties instead.

Do you have any yearly rituals?

Hehe..Well, I do the blog every year now! But other than that I usually try to find a spooky old film to watch or some old horror radio shows to listen to, turn down the lights and immerse myself in the creepiness! I usually end up hiding behind a curtain and playing spooky tunes for when we get Trick or Treaters coming round to the house too....

What do you think it is about Halloween that keeps it in our hearts as we get older?

Well, I can only speak for me personally, but it's just the joy of celebrating the spooky things I used to love as a kid..things that it's not normally okay to celebrate! And getting to dress up in silly costumes and parade around like that's normal is a load of fun too! I guess it's just the fact that for one day every year it's fine to be obsessed with freaky, horrible monsters and mope around dressed in black listening to Vincent Price! 

Inside the Spookster's Studio

The worst thing to get while trick or treating was apples....there always seemed to be apples in amongst the loot, which was annoying when you'd already spent ages before coming out trying to grab apples with your teeth in a tub of water whilst 'dooking' (bobbing) for them..  

My favorite thing to get was...Sweeties! Or Candy to you American lot! Isn't that everybody's favourite thing to get at Halloween!?

Where can folks find you online?

So yeah, my blog is Deadpan Flook and the Blog of Stuff and you can find me on Twitter! Hope everyone has an awesome Halloween and enjoys reading all the blogs in the Countdown! :)

Thanks for letting me take part in the interviews! Have a happy Halloween!

Don't forget to grab today's audio mix: Freddy's Nightmare Hits