Sunburn — The Morning Read Of What’s Hot In Florida Politics — 10.29.21

  By Peter Schorsch

Good Friday morning, and welcome to a special Halloween-themed edition of Sunburn.

Here is our Halloween decorations and lights display for 2021. That’s how much we love Halloween!

Here are some Halloween reads to get in the spirit:

 — Florida’s creepiest haunted house is in Ybor City: Made-for-Halloween haunted houses are fun, but Ybor City’s The Cuban Club is the real deal. It made the Orlando Sentinel’s list of each state’s creepiest haunted digs. There have been more than a few deaths at the historic building, and people claim the spirits of those who died, including an actor who reportedly killed himself onstage and an 8-year-old boy who drowned in a pool where the cantina now sits, never left.

 — Rock out with your ghoul out: Want to get into the Halloween spirit with some good tunes? WaPo’s got you covered. Their list of the Top 50 Halloween songs of all time includes classics like the ominous melody from Phantom of the Opera and Jack Hylton’s 1929 song Bogey Wail. The 90s make a cameo with none other than the Cranberries’ smash hit Zombie. Venturing into a more modern territory, queue up Imagine Dragons’ Monster or Kanye West’s song by the same name. Scroll all the way down for the No. 1 spot. No spoilers here.

 — Best Halloween TV episodes this century: Every series has ‘em — the episodes that will air as viewers prepare to celebrate one of the nation’s most beloved, and scariest, holidays. From animated spooks with a laugh on BoJack Horseman to superhero drama on WandaVision, AVClub rounds up the best binge-worthy Halloween episodes to catch after the porch lights go off. Pro-tip: Don’t miss Community’s take on the classic zombie apocalypse thriller, repurposed for the community college crowd.

 — Get your pumpkin spice on: Nothing screams Halloween like pumpkins, and they’re not just for carving. The Washington Post compiled a list of scrumptious pumpkin-themed eats for every course. From sides to main entrees, the list has it all. Start with a hot cup of creamy tomato pumpkin soup or some roasted pumpkin hummus. Or jump straight to the main dish with a pumpkin, walnut and sage crostata or biryani stuffed pumpkins. Grab some menu ideas here.

 — Non-haunted Jax sites that probably should be: The site of a massive fire. A nearly 200-year-old cemetery. A shopping center that used to be a hospital that treated smallpox and yellow fever. These are a few of the sites in Jacksonville that are ripe for campfire horror stories but somehow aren’t. The Jax-based Florida Times-Union documents several sites in Florida’s largest city where ghost stories would be believable, even if none have surfaced.

 — Saunter down Sir Henry’s Trail for a Florida spook: Nestled between two moss-covered oak trees is a path that opens into a clearing. It takes you to Sir Henry’s Haunted Trail, a fear park complete with spooky wooded trails, laser tag and an escape room, perfect for a pre-Halloween adventure. Now, the trail includes a three-story haunted house facade and a fishing village packed with broken-down boats of all varieties. Read more about the Pasco County attraction here.

 — Get your jump scare on at “Mag Halloween” in Tampa Heights: Beware of Granny. She’ll pop out for a jump scare. And those afraid of clowns might want to brace themselves for Sketchy the Clown, a homemade clown welcoming trick-or-treaters on the front porch. Step up for a turn at the “wheel of death.” Those are some of the offerings at 205 E. Park Ave. in Tampa, where homeowner Scott South and his wife will welcome people of all ages on Halloween for the typical trick-or-treat and a fun porch party.

 — Real (maybe) ghost stories for Tampa natives: Like the Cuban Club, Ybor City as a whole is a Mecca for ghost stories, including tales of ghost soldiers roaming the city after perishing in the great fire of 1908. And don’t forget the drunken Cuban ghost at the Florida Brewing Company, now a law office on E. 5th Ave. But Ybor City isn’t the only site for spooky tales. The Old Tampa Book Company on North Tampa Street, a former tailor’s storefront, where chairs from the old shop move on their own. Staff at Tampa Theater in downtown report doors slamming and unexplained power outages. Students at the nearby University of Tampa have reported an apparition from the windows outside Plant Hall. Read all about these and other local ghost stories on WFLA’s list.

 — Fashion doesn’t have to take a back seat to spooky: A Sulphur Springs jewelry maker loves Halloween time. Leah Garand of Sulphur Springs Silver uses the holiday as an excuse to hone her craft into holiday-appropriate bling, most using natural stones. Her pieces create coffins from stones, and spiders and pumpkins carved into metal.

— Everything’s bigger in Texas, even Halloween: A Dallas man decided to go full-gore for Halloween over the years with a yard display so brutal, passersby have called the cops … several times. The problem: It was so gory, people thought it might actually be the scene of a heinous crime. Instead of toning it down, Steven Novak upped his game, adding this year a wood chipper blood fountain and 55-gallon drums filled with shredded-up party guests spilling out of them.

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

Tweet, tweet:

—@LaurenBookFL: The strength of any democracy is the ability for voters to be represented & heard. Sadly, the Governor has chosen to deny voters in Senate District 33 & House Districts 88 & 94 their constitutional right to be represented in Tallahassee during the 2022 Legislative Session.

—@TheBlondRN: ER was the last place on earth I wanted to bring 3 kids with me. All are too young for the COVID vaccine, hopefully soon. Our flu shots are scheduled next week. I don’t have a fairy godmother that magically appears when I need to bring one kid to the ER. They’re OK.

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