Night 1 of the Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween

Welcome to night 1 of the 3rd annual Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween. Make sure to stop by our main Giveaway Post and enter to win a $400+ Prize Pack full of frightfully good treats from 24 spooktacular shops! Tonight we have the first movie from the Halloween Movie Marathon. Follow along for an extra 10 entries in the giveaway and play the Guess The Movie game for even more. We also have the first clue in the Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt. Gather clues for daily entries and a surprise at the end of the giveaway. Visit us each day during October so you do not miss any of the fun.

Zombie Charm Bracelet - Classic Edition  $50

Purchase any item(s) from Laughing Vixen Lounge through October 31st and get 10% off your order. Use code OTOBER10 at checkout.

Scares That Care
In addition to having lots of fun we want to try and do a little good too Many of our shops have chosen a charity to fund raise for. A certain percentage or dollar amount of each sale made through the participating shops, during the giveaway, will be donated to the charity of their choice. You will find each shops details on the main Giveaway Post and on their shop feature.

 
Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt - Night 1
Our scavenger hunt will work like the game Clue this year. Every week you will be looking for clues to a different part of the mystery ~ Settings, Suspects, Rooms, Weapons and Escapes. They will be hidden within an item listing inside one of our participating shops. On each daily post you will be given a hint as to where the main clue is hiding. Once you find the clue go to the main Giveaway Post and find that night's entry on the Rafflecopter widget. You must leave the clue through the Rafflecopter! Do not post the clue anywhere on the blog. If you do it will be deleted and will not count. If you have any questions just ask.

Make sure to keep a list of all the clues as you collect them. On the last day of the giveaway you will be able to submit your guess of how the murder happened. Anyone who actually guesses correctly will win a Surprise Goodie Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These goodie bags are made to suit your taste and usually end up being at least a $50 value! You can start the scavenger hunt game at anytime during the giveaway and go back to find past clues. Clues will stay posted through the entire giveaway.

Night 1
A murder has been committed!
This week you will be collecting clues to the setting of the crime.

Tonight's clue is hiding in Little Fairy Cult.
Need a little help finding the clue? Sexy women or furry animal.

Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween Movie Marathon.
Follow along with us for a month full of classic and modern spooky movies. For something a little different this year we have decided to do themed weeks. Week 1 ~ Zombies, Week 2 ~ Werewolves and Vampires, Week 3 ~ Stephen King, Week 4 ~ Classic Double Features and Week 5 ~ Lounge Favorites.

On each daily post there will be a review of the next movie in our movie marathon. Leave a comment on each post with your opinion of that movie. On the last day of the giveaway you will find the Magic Phrase you will use to unlock the entry on the main Giveaway Post worth 10 entries. You must comment on each movie post to qualify.

Guess The Movie Game
This year we decided not to post the movie list in full so we can play a fun game instead. Each daily post will have a clue to the next night's movie. Leave your guess on the Rafflecopter widget, on the main Giveaway Post, for 1 entry in the giveaway. **Guesses must be posted the same day as their clue to receive the entry** Please do not post guesses anywhere else on the blog or they will be deleted and not count.

Tonight's Clue ~ Johnny would do anything for Missy. Even come back from the dead.


Week 1 ~ Zombies

Night 1 - Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Tagline - They won't stay dead.
               Pits the dead against the living in a struggle for survival!
               If it doesn't scare you, you're already dead!


Directed by George A. Romero (The Crazies, Creepshow and Monkey Shines) and released on October 1, 1968 by Continental Distributing (not rated). Barbara and Johnny are visiting the local cemetery to pay respects to their grandfather. Unfortunate place to be when the dead start to come back to life! Can the living survive the walking dead?

"They're coming to get you Barbara." Is there a more iconic phrase in all of horror film history? OK, so maybe a handful of others but this is classic! What a wonderfully chilling opening scene as Johnny teases his sister for being afraid of the cemetery. Not knowing of course that they are really coming to get them. The dead that is.

George A. Romero and his Living Dead movies have defined what a Zombie is to modern society. If you are not familiar, his original trilogy consist of Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead. In later years he has added to that Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead. Most will agree that the later 3 do not stand up to the first 2 and get progressively bad. The original 2 movies have been remade a time or two but nothing compares to the classic.

Mr. Romero has noted that his inspiration for this movie comes mostly from the novel I Am Legend (made into a movie 3 times, Last Man On Earth, The Omega Man and I Am Legend). He said that while he did mostly rip off the idea he also changed it to tell the story from the beginning and not from after the virus spread. Of course he also changed the infected from Vampire like creatures to the dead returning to life. Romero has also sited Carnival of Souls as an inspiration. If you are not familiar with this movie you'll find it later in our marathon. It's one of my favorites!

While much has been made about the "social commentary" of these movie, Night of the Living Dead - the turbulence of the '60s, Dawn of the Living Dead - a satire on consumerism, Day of the Dead - conflict between science and the military and Land of the Dead - a look at the clash between society (class) levels, but Romero, and others, will insist that it was never intended. They were just out to make a movie that would sell.  


Take a look at the original trailer. If you like the style of old trailers (I love them!) this one is fun.



Some trivia about the movie...
1. The term Zombie is never used in the movie. Rather the dead are referred to as Ghouls.
2. Actor and co-producer Karl Hardman (the father in the basement), also worked as makeup artist, sound effects engineer, and took the photos used for the closing credits.
3. The working title was simply "Monster Flick".
4. The music used in the film was from a Capitol/EMI Records stock music library and was originally used in Teenagers From Outer Space (a great B movie).
5. One of the publicity stunts was a $50,000 insurance policy against anyone dying from a heart attack while watching the film.
6. The movie premiered at the Fulton Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 1, 1968 and receive a standing ovation.
7. The Evans City Cemetery was the cemetery used in the original version of the film, but it could not be used for the 30th anniversary edition. Before filming the new footage, a tornado had torn through the Evans City Cemetery, and ironically, it unearthed several graves.
8. The house used for this film was loaned to the filmmakers by the owner, who planned to demolish it anyway, thereby ensuring that they could do whatever they wanted to the house.
9. There were two trucks used in the film. The first one used in the beginning of the film would not start for the trek-to-the-gas-pump scenes and had to be replaced. Unfortunately, they forgot to break the headlights.
10. The body upstairs in the house was made by director George A. Romero, who used ping-pong balls for the eyes.
11. At the time of the film's release, any work that did not include a copyright notice was assumed to be public domain. Since the film makers forgot to include this notice, the film slipped into the public domain.
12. This was one of the first films added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
13. One of the last big hits of the drive-in era.
14. The first movie filmed in Pittsburgh.
15. George A. Romero's feature debut.
16. Readers Digest tried to warn people away from watching the film in 1968 by claiming if it's ever watched, it will inspire cannibalism.
17. The real gravestone that Barbara (Judith O'Dea) cowers beside in the graveyard scene of the movie is that of Nicholas Kramer (1842-1917), whose remains are interred in the Evans City Cemetery in Jackson Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania.
18. In 2013, a stage adaptation of the film, executive produced by George A. Romero, Russell Streiner, and John A. Russo, debuted in Toronto. The play featured the story of the original film, followed by a series of alternate scenarios.
19. The filmmakers were accused of being "Satanically-inspired" by Christian fundamentalist groups for their portrayal of the undead feeding on flesh and of the Coopers' zombie child attacking her mother.
20. Bosco chocolate syrup was used to simulate the blood in the film.
21. When the zombies are eating the bodies in the burnt-out truck they were actually eating roast ham covered in chocolate sauce.
22. The gas pump was not bolted to the ground when the actress who played Barbra runs into it at the start of the film. She did it with so much force she almost tipped it over on the cameraman.
23. Though the radiation of a detonated satellite returning from Venus is theorized to be the cause of the dead rising and attacking the living, according to the filmmakers, the actual cause is never determined.
24. American International Pictures (AIP) considered releasing the film, but wanted George A. Romero to shoot an upbeat ending and add more of a love story subplot.