Saturday 9: Spooky Scary Skeletons

Saturday 9: Spooky Scary Skeletons (1996)

Unfamiliar with this week's featured song? Hear it here.

 

1) In this song, Andrew Gold sings that these skeletons send shivers down his spine. Do you often involuntarily shudder or shiver?

A. No, I'm just always cold. I think it's my blood pressure medicine.

 

2) While they appear frightening, these skeletons are harmless and only want to socialize with us mortals. Can you think of something -- or someone -- that intimidated you at first but that you were more comfortable with as you became more familiar?

A. Any new job was that way. At first, I was terrified but then it eased up eventually.

3) The video for this song was originally created in 1929. Skeleton Dance was a short movie produced and directed by Walt Disney himself. In 2006, Disney Studios paired Gold's song with this animation for a Halloween DVD. Do you have any DVDs that you watch seasonally (every Halloween, every Thanksgiving, every Christmas, etc.)?

A. I watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy at some point from about November 15 to the new year. We also watch Jeff Dunham's Christmas Special on DVD, which is funnier than what was shown on TV. And we must watch Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer. We have that on DVD as well as on the DirecTV recorder. At Halloween, I like to watch Practical Magic.

 

4) You may not realize it, but you likely already know one of Andrew Gold's songs. He wrote "Thank You for Being a Friend," the theme to TV's Golden Girls. Blanche, Dorothy, Rose or Sophia: Which is your favorite?

A. Which is my favorite Golden Girl? Hmm. I think it's a tie between Dorothy and Rose.

These questions will help us get into the Halloween spirit . . .

5) Introduced in the 1880s, candy corn was originally called Chicken Feed. It was developed by a candy manufacturer who gave it the orange/white color and special name to differentiate it from jellybeans. Do you like candy corn (a) all year around or (b) at Halloween only or (c) never?

A. (c) never. Candy corn is nasty.

6) What candy will trick-or-treaters get when they show up at your front door?

A. We never have trick-or-treaters because we're so rural. I suppose if someone showed up, I'd have to toss them some gum or change or something.

 

7) Halloween was a 1978 movie by John Carpenter about Michael Myers, who kills while wearing a ghostly mask. In the original movie, the mask used was a $2 Captain Kirk mask, painted white. Both Halloween and Star Trek are successful franchises of more than a dozen movies. Have you seen more of Michael Myers or Captain Kirk?

A. Captain Kirk.

8) In 2022, a survey of California schoolchildren revealed that Buzz Lightyear was the top pick of Halloween costume. When you were little, did you prefer to dress up for Halloween as a hero, like Buzz, or a scary monster?

A. I usually went as a hobo, as it was an easy costume to put together.

 

9) Some long-time White House employees claim they have seen Abraham Lincoln's ghost wandering the halls of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Have you ever seen a ghost?

A. I have seen several ghosts. I saw many when I was a child; one sat at the foot of my bed for several years. As an adult, I have seen two ghosts. One was a Confederate soldier who walked down the aisle at the Courthouse in Craig County during a night meeting of the Board of Supervisors. At the time, they were discussing improvements to the Courthouse. The soldier walked down the aisle and turned right, going through the wall at the second story window. I sat there waiting for someone to say something, but apparently no one else saw him. The other event happened during the day. I was driving to Fincastle when I looked to my right and the housing subdivision that was there disappeared completely, and in its place was a field with trees, and I saw several Native Americans on horseback meeting with white men in what looked like buckskin clothing. I stopped the car and the image disappeared. (No, I wasn't drinking.) 

_______________

I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.