Ride Home Rants
Ride Home Rants
From Perfect Halloween Weather To Overrated Costumes: A Spooky Roundtable
The air gets cooler, the leaves start to whisper, and our panel is ready to argue about everything that makes Halloween unforgettable. We start where the night really begins: what “feels” like Halloween weather. Is it a hoodie-and-moonlight kind of chill or a rare 70-degree evening that lets you show off your costume without hiding it under a coat? From there, we dive into the joyful chaos of kids’ costumes, couple fits, and the eternal split between simple, clever ideas and full-on slasher icons.
Candy talk hits hard, because it always does. Reese’s reigns supreme—especially the pumpkin shapes—while the mythical full-size bar houses earn top billing on every trick-or-treat route. We trade stories about dentist porches with elite decorations, the dad tax that mysteriously reduces a child’s Reese’s count, and the unspoken rules that turn a neighborhood into a map of sugar and scares. Between doorbells, our movie stack rolls on: the original Halloween, Halloween 4, and the 2018 reboot for purists; Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas for comfort; Scream and Child’s Play for that perfect blend of tension and humor. We also call out the overhyped: Megan, Paranormal Activity, and a few fan favorites that didn’t deliver for everyone.
Then we go where the fear feels physical: haunted houses and real haunted spaces. Blood Prison at Mansfield, Clifton Hill’s terror runs, hometown chainsaw chases, and a penitentiary overnight that blurs stagecraft with the unexplained. Which brings us to the big finish—pick one: ghosts or aliens. Some of us put our chips on the stars, insisting we can’t be alone in the universe. Others side with footsteps in empty rooms, doors that slam on their own, and the kind of moments you can’t wave away. It’s a lively, funny, and eerily grounded Halloween special that balances nostalgia, debate, and just enough chill to carry you through the night.
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Welcome everybody to another episode of the Ride Home Rants podcast. This is, as always, your host, Mike Bono. I have a great episode for us today. It is our annual Halloween show with Halloween right around the corner, a couple days away from when we're recording this show. I had to get my panel of guests together here to talk all things Halloween and spooky topics. I'm going to let them introduce themselves. Uh guys, I need your and lady. I need your name and the answer to these two questions. And it's what's a worse high school mascot and name, the ponies or the quicksands? And who is a better actor? Mark Wahlberg or Dwayne the Rock Johnson? And Brandon Spicer, we're going to start with you.
SPEAKER_04:All right. Uh I'm I'm Brandon. Um, I would have to say the ponies has got to be uh the worst mascot name. Um just it it at least quicksand's terrifying. I mean, everybody was scared of that shit when they were kids, right? We all thought it was gonna be a big who the hell's scared of a pony, yeah. So I I gotta I gotta say pony's worse. Um man, Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson. I say maybe just barely, barely Mark Wahlberg. I I think he's he's shown a little bit more range because he's he's been acting a little bit longer. Uh but and the rock's pretty good too, so it's close.
SPEAKER_01:I gotcha. And next on the list, we actually have Brandon's wife Lori with us too as well.
SPEAKER_05:Hello, I'm Lori Spicer. Uh I would say quick quicksand, because you know, that's not something that you find very often, so it's not like it's something that you would necessarily be terrified of that much. And I would have to go with Mark. I'm a Mark fan.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, who doesn't love Marky Mark for sure? And quicksand, I honestly thought the way they talked about it when I was a kid, I was going to be running into it more than zero times than I have in 36 years when it's early.
SPEAKER_05:You would have seen it a lot more, and yeah, it's kind of disappointing once you got older to realize that yeah, I've never seen it ever, ever. And you don't hear about it, like it's not like you know, it's just our area, it's not like it's on the news. So I think that's kind of disappointing.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. Next on the list, we have Shannon.
SPEAKER_06:Hi, I'm Shannon. And between the ponies or the quicksand, I'm gonna go with the quicksand as well. It's just kind of underwhelming, though it there is an element of fear to it, but it's fake fear because as you said, it we never really run into it. So I'm gonna go with the quicksand, and then between the rock and Mark Wahlberg, it is close. I am gonna lean toward the rock. I think there's more movies that I watch of his, so that's why I'm gonna go that way. But Mark Wahlberg is hilarious, especially in Ted. That's one of my faves, so gotta give him some credit too.
SPEAKER_01:Gotcha. Can't go wrong with Ted. Two of my favorite movies so far. And last but not least, we have a staple on the ride home rants podcast, and we have JJ. Hey, um I'm JJ.
SPEAKER_02:James, JJ Phillips, and um, between Pony and Quicksand's a bad mascot, I'm gonna go with Pony because the only thing I can think of when I hear that is my little pony, the little toys from back in the day. That's the first thing that comes to mind when I hear pony. And then uh between uh the rock and Mark Wahlberg, you already know where I'm going with this. I'm always gonna roll with Dwayne, The Ross Johnson, the people's champ, the one of one. I mean, action movie superstar has crossed over to a more he did uh what's that word, the fighting machine, which I've heard is getting ray reviews, by the way. So, yeah, someone with the rock.
SPEAKER_01:I knew your answer before I even asked the question. Uh for me, everyone knows Mike Bono. Uh, the worst mascot. I I gotta go ponies on this one. I feel like that ponies, we're we're going, we're going baby horse. I'm not afraid of baby horses. That's just where I'm at on that one. Um I'm a marky mark fan myself, just the range that he has is uh phenomenal in the movies that he is in. Um going back to the to the mascots, growing up in West Virginia, that there was one that is worse than both of those uh combined. And it's a town called Polka, West Virginia, and their high school mascot is the dots. They are the polka dots.
SPEAKER_02:Wow.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, that's the worst. That's way worse than both of those combined, yeah. It could be the quicksand ponies, and I'm still going polka dots for sure.
SPEAKER_02:Trump's the both of those for sure.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely, but we're not here to talk about mascots or quicksand or uh actors here. We are going to be talking about all things Halloween. Uh, got my spooky favorites here with us, and um I can't say spicer because there's two spicers on here. So uh everybody knows my nickname for you. B Spizzle for you here. Uh here. Uh last year uh was the most mildest uh Halloween that we had, uh, close to 80 degrees. What's your ideal Halloween weather?
SPEAKER_04:Oh man, it's gonna be nice, cool. Um kind of where you gotta have a thick hoodie on, you know. Yeah, uh it's gotta be nice and dark too. You know, when I was a kid, they would they would start your Halloween when uh you gotta start trigger-treating when it was uh when it was dark and it'd be hours long. You know, nowadays, which you know I get for safety reason. A lot of times they start it where it's more light outside and it lasts for an hour, hour and a half in some towns. Yeah, we were just getting started at an hour and a half back in the day, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, it was it was brutal back in the day growing up. Uh yeah, it started at dark, it would it went on all night, uh getting all hopped up on candy and sugar, and then school the next day. That was always fun. Um but Shannon, what about you? Ideal weather for Halloween?
SPEAKER_06:Ideal weather, I'm gonna have to go with like a good 70 degrees. I feel like that's not too for me, that's not too warm and it's not too cold. And then I always remember growing up, like I hated having my costume on and having to wear a hoodie and all that extra stuff under my like dress or something, whatever it was, you know. Um so I always remember that. So if it could be just a little bit warmer, but last year it was almost too hot, to be honest. But yeah, I would say around 70 would be perfect. This year it's not looking good, but not at all.
SPEAKER_01:Not looking good at all this year. Uh, if you're if you like the warm weather, right? Um JJ, what about you?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I'll probably say around 65 degrees, uh leaves on the ground. As the day goes on, it gets a little bit cooler down to the 60s. I mean, you just gotta, I mean, I just remember like like uh Shannon was saying, I hated having to bundle up over top of my costume and that type of stuff. Always wanted to show the costume off, so 65 degrees is probably good for me.
SPEAKER_01:I gotcha. And uh we'll go L spizzle for you on this one. Uh what about you?
SPEAKER_05:Uh I like it probably in the 60s, same same type of thing. I vague I have remember at least one year growing up that uh it was snowing when I was trigger treating. So yeah, that was awful. Yeah, I like it to be a nice mild night, uh ideally, having some nice moonlight, a little bit of wind, so you hear the reliefs rustling around, give it that spooky noise. Always want something like that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, see, I I'm such 50 to 70 degrees, love it. That that's my shit right there. 50 to 70 degrees. That's that's where I'm at. Uh year round. I don't I don't care what it is, year round for me. Um, but yeah, I I need it to be cooler. Uh I don't need to be too too cold. Um but yeah, I'd say around that high 50s, low 60s, it it would be good for me. Um but yeah, I don't want to be wearing too many layers under the costume. Um so yeah, if we could find that nice happy ground. But yeah, moonlight, the the a nice breeze where you hear the wind get that spooky leave rolling in, that that just really sets the tone for for Halloween for me. Uh Lori, this day with you. Um, I know you guys, but uh, do you have children? And if so, are they dressing up for Halloween?
SPEAKER_05:So, yeah, we uh our our boy's 22. So typically the past multiple years, he is not dressed up. Uh, he will still help pass out candy and stuff. Uh this year he's actually dressing up. He uh got a Jurassic Park costume because apparently that was a pretty big thing in the store. So he went online and ordered himself a uh Jurassic Park, like a worker at the park that he's going to wear without candy. He doesn't like he's the opposite of us, he doesn't like anything too spooky.
SPEAKER_01:I was gonna say, did y'all like disown him at this point in time in my resident paranormal investigators on the Halloween show? And you your son's not dressing up for Halloween? Like, what do we do?
SPEAKER_05:He will he does paranormal investigate with us, yeah. So he'll do that, but the the real spooky stuff, like he hates our basement.
SPEAKER_04:So we're surprised he hasn't disowned us yet.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I didn't like it.
SPEAKER_01:All right, JJ, what about you?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, my uh youngest son. Uh he he picks out his own costumes this year. He wanted to be Jason Voorhees, so that's what he's rolling as and uh hockey. So I'm talking about personality. That's it right there. That's it right there. I'm still waiting for him to do the OG, though, the greatest slasher of all time, Michael Myers, but he hasn't got there yet. You got we got ghost face, we got last year he was ghost face this year, Jason Voorhees. So I'm waiting for him to get the goat, get to the goat status.
SPEAKER_01:You gotta work your way up to the goat status. You're right. You can't go goat right off the rip. Like you can't do that. Yeah, and you just spoke right right to Spicer's heart there. That those are his favorite slashers right there.
SPEAKER_04:He called me until he called her Michael Myers the goat. Then then I tossed. Jason has the higher body count. Come on. Oh no, oh no. Did you watch Halloween Kills? Unfortunately, yes, what was the body count on that? No, no, you we like that one. So Halloween Kills, I loved Halloween. Yeah, we like that one. Halloween Gen doesn't exist.
SPEAKER_01:All right, Shannon. What about you?
SPEAKER_06:Yes, I have a 14-month-old, and she is going to be a cowgirl, and so this is her real, you know, first trigger. She was here last year, but not really here, you know what I mean? Right. So uh this is her first real experience, so we'll see how this goes.
SPEAKER_01:I gotcha. Um, my 16-year-old, I don't think he's dressing up this year. Um, put it this way. We're three days away from Halloween. I haven't heard him talk about it once. Uh, so um, not sure if he's the one you um he normally comes out the the day of Halloween, like, oh hey, I need a costume. Like, oh yeah, um I'm so glad you gave me a heads up. Uh like, but yeah, so he normally ends up making his own costume, which is pretty cool. Um but yeah, so I don't know if he's gonna be dressing up. I do know uh the wife and I, this will be the first year we're actually both going to be dressing up for Halloween. Um of course we have to do uh the couple's costume. We're actually going as Howard and Bernadette from the Big Bang Theory. Um of our as people say uh we remind them of them just with our mannerisms and how we act. So we're we're going forward into it. Um I'm actually allowed to dress up at work, so I might go as Howard to work. Uh, so that would be interesting to say the least, uh, because I do deal with the public a lot. So that might be just a fun way to get the the little dicky there to wear underneath your shirt. I do. I do have the dicky. I have the bowl cut wig and everything. Uh the only thing the only thing I'm thinking about doing because uh I can't bring myself to shave my beard, I just can't do it. Um with uh Buddy's beard care being one of my uh sponsors show good plug, good plug. I am not going to be shaving the beard. So I was thinking about going as uh Howard when they got back from the Arctic with the big beard and it being scraggly and just all poofed out because they he hasn't shaved in three months. So um that is what I was thinking about doing for ours. Um, but we found out and um that the tight pants that he wears is is the issue for me uh that I'm running into. Um that they're they're they're snug. There's it's gonna be a long day at work uh for for that. Um it's gonna be a rough day.
SPEAKER_04:Uh better better for that gold bond and a holster, man.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, it's it's gonna be on tap for sure. Um uh Spicer Lori kind of answered the question for you on that one. So we'll go to you on this one. Um, and it's are you dressing up for Halloween as an adult?
SPEAKER_04:Uh I mean, I'm Jason every year. What's what's hilarious about that is to go over to to her mom and dad's some pants out of candy. Uh, but it's the the older kids that are terrified of me. Young kids come up and give me fizz bumps, they're happy as hell to see Jason Voorhees, but the you know teenagers terrified.
SPEAKER_01:Well, he I mean that kind of was his MO. He went after teenagers, so you know what I mean. Like that's kind of like they're playing into the part.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, that's true. That's true. I guess part six, he did walk away from the uh the cabin that had the uh the smallest kids in it.
SPEAKER_01:So see, yeah, right. I I got you. I keep you, I keep you on it. I keep you honest. Shannon, what about you? You dressed it up this year.
SPEAKER_06:So I went to like a Halloween um fundraiser over the weekend, and I was a cat. I in all my years I've never been a cat, and that's the most basic costume. I've been so many things. I was a care bearer last year, I've been a nut, like just so many random costumes. And this year I went kind of plain. I was a cat, and then on Friday, I might be a pumpkin, also something random, just whatever I have laying around. Honestly, I might actually do something quick and easy. So that's what I think I'm being this year. And my husband, he's really gonna kind of match me, whatever I am, he's gonna be. So you might just be two pumpkins walking around.
SPEAKER_01:Two pumpkins walking around. JJ, what about you, my man?
SPEAKER_02:Um, no, I'm not dressing up. I'm waiting for the day where I no longer have to take anybody trick-or-treating, and I can sit at the house and pass out candy and dress up as Michael Myers and scare the living crap out of the neighborhood kids.
SPEAKER_03:Gotcha.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Um that'll be fun.
SPEAKER_01:I I that's my favorite thing to do is to pass out candy. But the past couple years, uh, we have been able to do it at this new house that we're at. Uh, we don't really have the the front porch era to do it, but I would set up a chair, I would dress in all black Grim Reaper, black, nothing you can't see, and I'd look like an animatronic or just a actual statue just holding the bowl. And I'd wait for the kids to reach their hand in, and then I'd reach out and grab their hand. And that's just I was I was that guy that's that's that would just I'd love I love I don't know this is gonna sound so bad. I love scaring kids. That's that's that's my favorite thing to do on Halloween is scaring the kids. And uh my wife loves handing out candy, so um past couple years I haven't had to take the the son out. He's older, he can go by himself and uh trick-or-treat when he does go trick-or-treating. So um getting to do that has been has been fun for me. But uh, Lori, are we matching uh a Brandon on the on the costume or are we going as our own thing?
SPEAKER_05:Uh well typically uh I have done a Jason before, but usually I go as Freddie. So we have uh that's how what we usually do when we go to conventions. And uh last year was uh two years ago was too cold. So I think I went as Sam from Trigger Treat just because it was warm. But yeah, this year I think I'm gonna do Freddie.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. All right. I'm not mad at it. I'm not gonna lie here. I'm not mad at either any of those, um, except for JJ not dressing up. Um, that's the only thing I'm mad at.
SPEAKER_02:Um I will get there eventually. Eventually. I will have I will have my time to shine.
SPEAKER_01:Dude, you know, you know I gotta give you shit anytime you're on the show. So give it back to you. Uh Lori, uh, best Halloween candy to get.
SPEAKER_05:Ooh. It's a tie between probab for me, probably Kit Kat's and Reese's peanut butter cups. Those are my favorite.
SPEAKER_01:Can't go wrong with those. Uh JJ, what about you?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, it's gotta be Reese cups, especially like the pumpkin-shaped ones. Oh, those aren't great. Yes, yes, fire. Yes, the best. Yes, Janin.
SPEAKER_06:For sure. I was gonna say Reese cups as well, specifically the pumpkin one. It's it's it's it's a good one.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. If anybody says anything other than Reese's, like I think you're wrong. Um, so uh Peace Beatle, don't let me down.
SPEAKER_04:Uh so when I was a kid, it was uh the any of the houses that were giving out the full-sized candy bars of whatever. It didn't matter what it was. You were getting full size, you thought you were a king.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, full sizes, those were the houses like, yeah, you're my first target. I'm hitting you first. I'm gonna go change costumes and go back. I don't know. I'm not a bad guy, I'm that guy. I find full sizes, you're giving out full sizes, bet. I'm changing costumes coming back for sure.
SPEAKER_04:The other thing in that the town I grew up in, there was a house that always gave out apples too. It was the uh the people that owned the the local uh apple house in town, and they gave out an apple. Every kid always made sure to go get their apple every year, too. So that was a big thing in my town.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, we had that. Uh we had when I was growing up, there was there was a couple houses, there was a couple uh dentists that would always, you know, they they had to be the fun suckers, give out dental floss, toothbrushes, and an apple. Um you still had to go to them because I mean I I lived in a very small town. So if you didn't go like, oh, we didn't see you. It's like, oh, really? Missed you. Sorry. Um, yeah, I must have thought it came. I'm sorry. Uh but yeah, so we always made sure, but they always had the best decorations out, and they always had that the house that was that's like, yeah, they got the spooky, they got the fog machines rolling in, walking up to the house. They're out for it. So it's like, okay, you're giving out dental floss and toothbrushes, you better bring it with the decorations. Like, I'm I'm not I'm not coming to your house if it's plain. If it's not decorated, I'm not coming. Like that's that's where I was, but yeah. Uh Reese's for me all day. My son knows the rules. If he comes home with Reese's, he better get to them first because if not, old dad's going after him and they're not gonna make it through the night because you gotta pay that dad tax. Yeah, dad tax is a real thing, and it's uh paid in Reese's, uh, for sure. Yep. All right. Uh Brandon, what's the uh what's the best couple of Halloween movies, in your opinion? And I don't know how much time we have for this question for you and JJ, because I feel like this is gonna be a long answer for the for the two of you, but uh best couple of Halloween movies. I think Brandon's frozen. We lost we lost Brandon, Lori.
SPEAKER_02:Uh uh he said he said he said Halloween, that's what he said. The original 1970 Halloween, that was his answer.
SPEAKER_01:I think we got your bag, you back, right? Yeah, just got the little try right now.
SPEAKER_03:I think we're good.
SPEAKER_01:Just Halloween movies. Yeah, we're we're not going Michael Myers in general. Um, just plain old uh Halloween movies. Plain old Halloween, just any type of like spooky.
SPEAKER_05:Any spooky anything sleepy hollow.
SPEAKER_01:Sleepy hollow, okay.
SPEAKER_05:The original Halloween.
SPEAKER_01:Well, yeah.
SPEAKER_05:And hocus pocus is what he says.
SPEAKER_01:And hocus pocus. That's not one I thought you were gonna say. I'm not gonna lie to you here, Spice. Uh, that that really thought we weren't going hocus pocus on that. But Shannon, what about you?
SPEAKER_06:I love Halloween movies. Um, some that I usually have to watch around this time. Definitely Hocus Pocus, Nightmare Before Christmas. I like that it serves dual purpose um for now and Christmas season. Um, I love the Scream series and the Chucky series, especially the first child's play. My brothers and I used to watch that all the time, and it was just like scare each other all night. So that just like holds a special place in my heart.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. All right, JJ. Uh let's try to keep it under a half hour here.
SPEAKER_02:Well, we're gonna go with the original Halloween number one, 1978 classic. Then we're gonna go with Halloween four in the original timeline, Revenge of Michael Myers. That one's good. That's one's another, that's a Halloween classic, because I mean it's just the return after season three of season uh Halloween three seasons, the which didn't work out. They came back to original slasher, and then for my last one, I'm gonna go Halloween 2018, the most recent uh remake, the first one out of the trilogy. So, yeah, those are it. Okay, Lori, what about you?
SPEAKER_05:Uh I I watch this stuff all year round, but usually I try to hit uh uh uh I I'm probably not gonna get a lot of love for it, but uh I'm a pet cemetery girl. So this time of year I hit my pet cemetery. Uh usually Halloween kills is the one that I go to. That's one of my favorites. And I am a big sucker for Pennywise. So okay.
SPEAKER_01:I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm not gonna lie to you here. Pennywise and it, the new one, fucked my wife up for the longest time. Like she was like, she doesn't she doesn't do scary movies that much as it is. Um big into watching paranormal stuff, but scare something about scary movies for her. So like that's just not her her jam. And we we watched uh the new remake of it, and for like a week, I think she like wanted to like live in my skin because she was just like that. It it messed her up for a while. Um I love scary movies. Um Halloween, I Halloween kills uh uh for sure the original. I mean, you can't go wrong with the original uh for me. And um, I just had it and it just left my head. Um I mean, all of the screams go on classic for for those ones. Uh can't go wrong with those. Um just because it adds a little bit of comedy to it, but the actual scary movies uh watching those just because as a comedian, I can't not watch anything that doesn't have humor to it. Uh so watching those for sure. That those would be my go-tos. Um coming up into to Halloween. Always got to make sure we we have Halloween on while we're handing out candy to have that kind of soundtrack in the background to as well. Um so yeah, that that's that's where we're at with that. Uh Lori, um what's the best haunted house you've ever been to?
SPEAKER_05:Well, I've been to a few. Uh I'd say the best one and the one I enjoyed the most. Uh, we about two weeks ago just went up to Blood Prison up in Mansfield.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_05:And it was, I'd been years ago before it was the Blood Prison. And I really enjoyed it. It was probably the most fun that I've had at one. And surprisingly, I'm not I never used to be a big haunted house fan because I don't like uh people getting in my face.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, I'm with you on that one. Spicer, what about you? We'll we'll get we'll keep it in the in the spicer family for this.
SPEAKER_04:Oh the best one I've ever been to. Yeah, best one I've ever been to was uh the not scary farm in California.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. All right, Shannon, what about you? Yeah, I actually got to interrupt.
SPEAKER_06:Did he get cut off?
SPEAKER_03:I think he got cut off.
SPEAKER_06:Welcome back. Uh one of the scariest haunted houses I've ever been to is in Canada. It's um on in an area called Clifton Hill that just has a lot of fun stuff going on there. There's like a Ripley's Believe It Or Not, there's the haunted house, a lot of different attractions, but it was so scary and so much fun. And when you're going through it, they take a picture of you at different points in time, kind of like when you're going on a roller coaster at a music party to take those pictures.
SPEAKER_03:That's awesome.
SPEAKER_06:And oh my gosh, the terror on our faces is priceless. It was so scary.
SPEAKER_02:That was good.
SPEAKER_01:That's good. I'm I'm a huge fan of that. I'm for that. And I think we got Spicer back. I think you were saying something there at the end there, uh, Brandon that we got cut off.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, no worries, man. I was just saying the not scary farm California, best one I've ever been. It was actually the first one I got to go to, and it was back when uh Elvira is still performing there. So get to see her, uh, that was you know, grew up with Elvira, so it was awesome.
SPEAKER_01:Awesome, for sure. Uh JJ, what about you?
SPEAKER_02:Um, I haven't been to a haunted house in a while, actually. Uh, but um from my high school days down there and um there's a haunted house down there in Sharon, Pennsylvania, downtown, where uh I I could clear very remember a guy chasing us with a chainsaw on the way out. So that's kind of stuck in my head. So that kind of yeah, that's the one.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, uh had that um for me. There's there's two for me. One, it's just the the local nostalgia of it. They did it all growing up, local um park in West Virginia, Brook Hills Park. Uh, they turned it into uh their golf course into a haunted house that always ended up in the clubhouse that turned into the haunted house for you. So started out with like a hay ride and everything like that. Get get get nice and warmed up. They had people jumping out of uh each different hole, and it was back in the woods too as well, uh, this golf course, which made it even better. Um but a lot of my friends worked there in um in high school, so uh I made a big joke out of the whole thing. Um, just because uh like Lori, I don't like people in my face uh jumping out the the jump scares for me is is I'm not not a huge fan of that. Um but they always had this one room that that screwed me up uh is because I don't like dolls, and they had a whole doll room. Like dolls are my bugaboo. I'm not gonna lie to you guys here, but uh yeah, that they had people that uh they looked like dolls, they were actually actors that would would jump up behind you, some would grab onto you uh while you were in there. So it was pretty cool, it was a lot of fun um at the end, but they did have a guy with a chainsaw uh walking around too as well, so he chased you a lot. But one that I will never forget is when they turned Moundsville Penitentiary into a haunted house, and they actually had a haunted tour there um on Halloween, uh, which made it even better. Uh, did that one. I've done the haunted tour at Moundsville Penitentiary, and I did the overnight tour, didn't make it the whole night. Um, because that place is no joke. When they say it is haunted, I'm here to tell you like that place actually is haunted and it will it'll it'll stick with you. Um at one point in time they lock you in cells in there and it's just it's crazy the stuff that you see and hear in there when you're in there overnight. I didn't make it. Long till I was knocking on the door for the security guy like all right I'm I'm cool. I take keep keep the money. I'm cool. I'm gone.
SPEAKER_05:I'm out. I'll wrap it up.
SPEAKER_01:In the daytime when you do the tour, it's like it's cool, it's fun. You still hear some things, but it's daylight, so it's not that bad. But yeah, at night it's a whole different ballgame. And yeah, it it doing the and them turning it into a haunted house uh was pretty cool because you had the the stuff that they put there, but then you had stuff that just wasn't meant to be part of the house that was actually that actually came out. So yeah, it was it's it's a lot of fun for an actual haunted place to turn into a haunted house. That that one for me was that's up there uh as the best one for sure. Uh JJ that's stay with you here. Um what's the most overrated Halloween costume?
SPEAKER_02:Um let me think. I'm going to go with um what's the girl's name from the suicide squad? Uh Harley Quinn. Harley Quinn.
SPEAKER_01:Most overrated. Yeah, it got well way too played out uh during that whole Suicide Squad uh race for sure. So I definitely understand that it was just too much too quick of Harley Quinn.
SPEAKER_02:That's uh now I remember for a couple years there. I mean, it was just everybody every girl was dressed up as Harley Quinn.
SPEAKER_01:I gotcha.
SPEAKER_02:Uh Brandon, what about you?
SPEAKER_04:I would have to absolutely agree. Um, and I'm I'm hoping that they you know uh art the clown, it doesn't happen with uh that this year.
SPEAKER_01:Gotcha, Shannon. What about you?
SPEAKER_06:That I thought the same thing, so that's so crazy you said that. I'm trying to think of another one though that was uh overplayed when Barbie was out. I saw a lot of Barbie and Ken combos and these pink, all pink outfits. So I would also say that one got a little played out to me.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I'm with you on that one.
SPEAKER_05:Uh Lori, you got anything that I was gonna probably say the Barbie because I think last year there was so many of them, and then the people that had multiple children or had a boy and girl, then you always had Barbie and Ken, or if they're kids, then you would end up with Barbie and two kins or two Barbies in a kin. It was all just the same.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, my three nieces on both sides of the family, my wife and mine, uh, all went as Barbie. Uh wow, yeah. Yeah, it was just like, are we kidding me? Can we can we mix it up? I I love all y'all to death, but no, pick a different somebody else picked it. New one, you gotta be gotta be something else. We can't be the same thing.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, blues clues. That would probably be another one.
SPEAKER_01:Blues, yeah.
SPEAKER_05:There was so many blues clues the past couple years walking around and not just kids, yeah. Whole family.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, mine is for me. I mean, it's not a specific overrated costume, but it's it's a pet peeve of mine. And it's when families go as a whole, like I don't like they it's just a whole theme, and the whole family has to abide by the theme, and then they go together, like you know, like I uh like okay, like I don't I don't want to be that. Well, that's the theme for this family, so you know what I mean. Like it I don't I don't like that um for me. It's it's just a pet peep of mine. Like, let's let's be creative, let's mix it up a little bit. It's Halloween, it you get to be whatever you want. Um around here, I I feel like it's just cheap. I'd see a lot of grip reapers, you know. You you throw the black sheet over you and get a get a sickle cell, and like you're it, that's it. You know what I mean? Like, and you got your costume, so we see a lot of that around here. So that one for me, just because I see it so much here. Um, but yeah, the Harley Quinns was way too much for me and Barbie for sure. But just the to keep it uh different, yeah. The the Grim Reapers and the family costumes is just too much for me. All right, Lori. Uh, what's the most overrated Halloween or scary movie, in your opinion?
SPEAKER_05:I don't know. There's some there's probably several that would fall in there. I don't know. Uh I mean, here lately, I guess uh Megan has been a big one. Megan has been popping up everywhere. I forgot about that. I didn't like it was decent, but I don't know that it was as great as everybody made it out to be.
SPEAKER_01:I completely forgot about Megan.
SPEAKER_05:They're trying to like make they were they're comparing it to like she's the she is this generation's version of Chucky. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, not at all. Nowhere close.
SPEAKER_01:We're we're not gonna disrespect Chucky like that. Let's let's get that out the way.
SPEAKER_06:We're not gonna not Charles Le Ray, we're not able to do that to him, not at all.
SPEAKER_05:So for me, I think it would probably be that one because that's what everybody compares it to, and I'm like, no, that no, now we're close.
SPEAKER_01:I got you, Shannon.
SPEAKER_06:What about you? Sure. That would have been my top one. That movie is triggering because I just I wasted my time on it. It wasn't scary at all. Um, I don't know any other overrated ones. Um, what other one did I watch recently? I watched uh Smile. It's on Amazon Prime, I believe. Smile and Smile 2. It didn't really do much for me on the scary side of things. I thought I think I maybe I had higher expectations, you know, especially when Rotten Tomatoes gives a good score and stuff. You know, sometimes you did that. I know. Um, so that one might have been another one, but truly mine would be Megan in case you want to be Chucky.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, did you get anything different from Laura? Oh, yeah, definitely the uh the Halloween movies. No, I'm I'm kidding. Man, uh overrated Halloween. That that one's tough. I would say have to agree with uh the magazine. I you know, let's throw out the uh the child's play remake that had um Luke Skyward, you know. It was okay, uh, but it it it just you can't replace Bat Braddorf.
SPEAKER_01:You just can't. Yeah, that's that's that's a tough one. JJ, what about you?
SPEAKER_02:Um, I got two. Uh one older one. I'm gonna go with uh Poltergeist. I think that one's overrated. Yeah. And then one movie I just recently watched, everybody hyped up and said it was like the scariest movie ever. This, that, and this. It was weapons. I watched that the other week and I was just like, this is it? Like, I was like, this is all it's been hyped up, and it'll say it's great, this, that, and that. I just think it's overrated.
SPEAKER_01:I gotcha. Mine is paranormal activity.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yeah, it's a good one.
SPEAKER_01:Like, yeah, the hype behind that had me like, dude, this is gonna be like next level, yeah, like scary movie. Like, I can't wait for it. And like it was over, and I was just like, Oh, yeah. I see better footage on actual paranormal shows that I watch. Like, like this is and you made a movie, like, nah, man, come on now. You gotta you gotta bring the thunder if you're if you're gonna make a whole movie out of it. So for me, it was paranormal, paranormal activity. Uh, just not just didn't didn't do it, or is my wife's favorite saying is didn't blow my skirt up, you know what I mean? Didn't really didn't really get me didn't really get me going uh like I thought it was going to.
SPEAKER_05:There's so many of them now, right?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, like and it's just like oh, let's just keep rolling with it. Like, no, no, the first one sucked. Let's stop. Like, let's count our losses.
SPEAKER_02:The first every movie, there's like a whole bunch of them, and they're all the same. It's the same as that, they're all the same, just it's different people. It's yeah, it's the same movie, yeah. Every time, yeah, every one. Now I'm gonna suck there. I'll watch them still. Every time my new one comes, I still watch it.
SPEAKER_06:I know, right? Hoping that it's gonna be better than any of the other ones.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I didn't see that uh that long legs out there. I didn't care for that. I just watched that, yeah.
SPEAKER_06:I agree, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I mean, there's a lot that are that are underwhelming, but yeah, that that's my top one. Uh unpopular opinion wasn't a big fan of Freddie versus Jason.
SPEAKER_02:Um was not a big fan. I can see it. I can see that.
SPEAKER_01:Like I feel like they I feel like they tried too hard for that one. Like they could, it could have been a lot better than what it was. Um, but yeah, that that one for me um takes the cake with that. JJ, we're gonna round out the episode here with this question here, and you can only pick one of these two, uh being in a real opinion. Do you believe that aliens or ghosts are more real? And you can only pick one. Man. Yeah, you know we asked the tough questions on that show, and I'm saving it for the end.
SPEAKER_02:I'm gonna go with aliens is more real because we can't possibly be the only life form in this whole entire universe. Galaxy, there's gotta be something else out there. So I'm gonna go with aliens. Aliens? Alright. Uh Brandon, what about you?
SPEAKER_04:I mean, I whole hardly uh agree with uh with what Jay just said there, but I can tell you from from the the shit that I've seen, uh, I'm definitely saying ghosts. I haven't seen an alien in person yet, but I've seen some shit that definitely uh makes you makes you question whether or not ghosts are real and and makes you a firm believer. Absolutely, Shannon. What about you?
SPEAKER_06:So I definitely think aliens are out there, but if I have to pick either or I'm going for the ghosts. Just for similar reasons, just having my own experiences with that, I definitely think the ghosts are out there or spirits. That doesn't mean they're bad, but I I think the ghosts are are out here for sure.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. Lori, are you kind of on the same boat with uh Brandon as being the paranormal investigators, or are we going aliens?
SPEAKER_05:Oh yeah. Oh no, yeah, absolutely. I'm sure we are not the only people out here, but yeah, I've luckily never seen an alien as far as I know, and hope I'm not, because that's actually one of the things that creep me out. Uh, but I've definitely we have seen some stuff that I would have to say that I would definitely say ghost.
SPEAKER_01:I gotcha. Yeah, for me it's ghost all day, every day doing the the being in Moundsville, doing that. Um, the house I'm currently in uh now, I am about 99.9% sure it is haunted. Um, a lot of things happen here that I just can't explain. Um seen some seen some stuff here, heard some stuff here that it's just it, yeah, it it has the the only thing I can go to are ghosts. And so yeah, I I I've seen some stuff and yeah, it it's ghost for me all day. Aliens, I just I want to believe that that uh they're out there because there's that there's been so much stuff about it. Um but I d I have a hard time with with aliens versus versus ghosts for me. Yeah, like I said, yeah, when when I have doors slamming in my house and I hear people walking around when I'm the only one here, um kinda kinda puts the puts the chip on ghosts for sure. Yeah, I might need to get the spicers here for sure to see what the hell is actually going on here. But but yeah, that you know, being in in this house and the the fixer upper, the the more we we do to the house, the the more it it stirs up too. So yeah, for me it's ghost. And with that being said, that is going to do it for this year's episode of the Halloween show on the Ride Home Rants podcast. I want to thank all of my guests, Shannon, Lori, Brandon, and JJ, for joining. A lot of fun to get to talk about all things Halloween and everything that goes along with the spooky season and everything like that. And as always, if you enjoyed the show, be a friend, tell a friend. If you didn't, tell them anyways. They might like it just because you didn't. That's gonna do it for me, and I will see y'all next week.
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