A hard working human.

He was indeed a hard working human.

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó

 20 October 1882 – 16 August 1956

I know everyone else in the world remembers August 16th as the day Elvis died, but Lugosi has always meant so much more to me than any amount of hair grease, swinging hips and deep fried peanut butter-banana-valium sandwiches.

Not that Lugosi didn't have his own demons, but The King of the Vampires is, even today, no less a worldwide cultural icon, no less recognizably himself, than that other King, even if his funeral wasn't quite as large...

You can barely see, just to the upper right, that one of Bela's pallbearers was the one and only Ed Wood, another hard working human (and original writer of the phrase "hard working human").

I love segues...

Lately I have been a hard working human, it's true.

And unfortunately, none of that work has been here at the ol' S&P.

Oh, I'm not complaining. I'll take every cent I can get these days. But it leaves precious little time for relaxing with all of you fine Hallowe'en lovin' friends.

And Hallowe'en is indeed sneaking up on all of us, tapping at our nighttime windows, insinuating itself into our dreams...

It has been a little disturbing to me that I usually have my theme well in hand and half built by this time each year but for some reason, this year has been racing by so quickly, it nearly passed me by.

Not to worry, though.

You see, I did recently hit on what I think is a very fun and silly and wonderful Hallowe'en display theme, and it has everything to do with Bela... and Eddie.

Yes, for the dozen or so folks who will actually get every joke and reference, this year's display will be a loving tribute to that maven of movie mediocrity, the inept, inane, incomparable Edward D. Wood Jr.!

C'mon. More Bela and Ed is a good thing.

And can't you just see it? All the usual spookiness of my haunt endowed with Wood's mighty creations, speaking his jumbled wisdom, garbed in pink angora, reveling in the awful wonderfulness?

I mean, the Raven must be able to do a pretty fair Criswell...

And can't you just see Capt. Lantern loving this get up?

And how could Ficketts not get a kick out of being the screen's least amusing comic relief, Kelton the cop (to the right)?

And there are some other characters to play with...

And not a few amazing prop ideas...

I mean, it's not like it has to look good. And I already have the rotten cemetery anyway!

As I say, only about a dozen people will truly get every reference, every gag.

But they'll be the right people, so I don't find myself terribly concerned. I find myself happy.

Besides, I'm still going to have my Pumpkin, and the Lean Bros. & Ghoul, and all the other spooky delights I have every year.

You can't really argue with the idea. 

I mean, future events such as these will affect you, in the future.

Onward. 

Upward. 

Edwood.

DDSuPernaturalthriller!