Scary Times in NYC

Tonight I'll be heading into New York City with several other haunters to check out a new year 'round haunted house I found out about, TimesScare NYC.

Although I'm not certain, I believe it just opened last year and along with a few fellow haunters -- BobC and Noah Fentz -- we'll be seeing whether it's a worthy addition to the haunt world. It's themed after the Halloween movie (hopefully John Carpenter's version, not Rob Zombie's) and takes you through Haddonfield Memorial Hospital then to Michael Myers home.

TimesScare also offers live shows featuring illusionists, comedians, and magic, as well as two bars, "The Kill Room" and "The Parlour of the Paranormal." They serve absinthe there so I'll be sure to sample some and see if it's all it's cracked up to be. For the longest time you could only buy absinthe overseas (possession was okay; manufacturing it here was illegal) because of its supposed hallucinogenic properties. It was known as the "green fairy" and Vincent Van Gogh was said to have painted some of his most famous, surreal paintings (think "Starry Nights") while imbibing absinthe.

I doubt that what's on sale is anywhere near the strength of the real thing. Wikipedia has a pretty exhaustive entry on absinthe and the section on the United States pretty much confirms what I feared. The compound thujone, which is said to be the active ingredient that gives absinthe its unique qualities, is pretty much absent in any iteration sold here. Of course, the entry also says absinthe was never hallucinogenic and was probably the result of other additives in the drink. Maybe I'll save myself the $10 or so (if I'm lucky it will be that cheap) the drink will likely cost.

Prior to hitting up TimesScare though, we'll also be strolling through Greenwich Village (more commonly known as "The Village") hitting up some Halloween stores. Two in particular, Abracadabra and Halloween Adventure, are on the list.

We had also intended to go to Obscura Antiques & Oddities. You may know it from the TV show "Oddities" on the Discovery Channel. Unfortunately, they're moving their store to a new location and so it is closed during the month of February. Bummer, as that was going to be the highlight of my night (well, that and TimesScare).

I'll be vlogging what I can and hopefully I'll be able to record some video of TimesScare and maybe get an interview or two with the principals of the show, which I'll post to my YouTube vlog. Regardless, it should be a fun night hanging out with a few fellow haunters.