Night 3 of the Attack of the 14 Nights of Halloween Giveaway

Welcome to night 3 of the 5th annual Attack of the 14 Nights of Halloween Giveaway. Stop by our MAIN GIVEAWAY POST and enter to win a Prize Pack full of goodies worth $300 donated by 10 wickedly fabulous shops. In this post you will find our first Featured Shop ~ Junkmill and Junkmill Relics, details on how to earn EXTRA ENTRIES with our Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt & Halloween Movie Marathon and test your movie knowledge with the Guess the Movie Game. Make sure to visit us each day during the giveaway so you do not miss out on any of the fun!

Vintage Skulls Charm Bracelet or Necklace

Purchase any item(s) from Laughing Vixen Lounge through October 31st and get 10% off your order. Use code OCTOBER10 at checkout.

$1 from each sale at Laughing Vixen Lounge goes to support the Joy Cinema. A single screen theater in Tigard, Oregon that has been in operation since 1939. Purchase from LVL and help keep the classic cinema experience alive. See full fundraising details and the Joy's story HERE.

Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt
Our scavenger hunt works like a game of Clue. Every day you will be looking for clues to a different part of the mystery ~ Settings, Suspects, Rooms, Weapons and Escapes. They will be hidden (at the top of the description) in a listing inside one of our participating shops. On each daily post you will be given a hint to which listing the clues are hiding in. Once you find a clue go to the MAIN GIVEAWAY POST and take the daily entry on the giveaway widget. Today's entry will be at the top of the list while all past entries will be at the bottom of the list.
*Make sure you are finding today's clue. Each clue has a date. Shops have more than one set of clues hiding there so pay attention. Submit the wrong clue and it will not count.
*You may start the Scavenger Hunt at anytime during the giveaway and find past clues.
*You can earn 5 extra entries in the giveaway for each set of clues found.
*Please only post clues on the giveaway widget. Anywhere else and they will be deleted.

Scavenger Hunt Special Giveaway!
Keep a list of the clues you find. On October 31st and November 1st you will be able to use the clues you have found and submit your guess of how the murder happened. 1 random winner from any correct guesses will win a $60 Gift Certificate to Laughing Vixen Lounge and a $30 Gift Certificate to Deep Midnight Perfumes. If no one guesses correctly then 1 random winner from all submitted guesses will win their choice of 1 item from Laughing Vixen Lounge (up to $20 value) and a Perfume Sampler Set (your choice of scents) from Deep Midnight Perfumes. Full details on how to submit your guess will be listed on October 31st. You do not need to find all of the clues to submit a guess but the more you find the better your guess.

Clue for October 20th
A murder has been committed! The body of Miss Death has been found at Raven's Perch Manor. Detective Heathmoor needs your help collecting the clues of the crime. Can you solve the mystery?

Night 3 ~ You will be collecting clues to the setting of the crime.
*You will be finding 2 clues today.

Clue #1 is hiding in Junkmill Relics.
Need a little help finding the clue? Art Nouveau Paintings

Clue #2 is hiding in Calluna Muse.
Need a little help finding the clue?  Ancient beads.

*The clues are in the shops listed above.
*Make sure you are finding today's clue. It will have a date.
*The hint above is to help you find which listing the clue is in. DO NOT answer the above clue. Your entry will not count.
*The clue is not on this page.

Featured Shop ~ Junkmill & Junkmill Relics
Junkmill and Junkmill Relics are run by Chandra from Rockford, Michigan. Junkmill is filled with amazing digital artwork for all your crafting needs and Junkmill Relics is full of vintage goodies.

Vamp Soda Labels

How did you choose your shop name?
"JUNK is what I work with and MILL is what I do. When I’m mixing elements in Photoshop to create the collage images, I imagine a little clockwork-style mill grinding away in the back of my brain with gears and whistles and smokestacks, so when I stumbled across the term, it just stuck. It’s actually a mining term for a huge drill bit designed to tear through junk, concrete and metal."

Vintage Reproduction Luggage Labels

Why did you choose to make/sell what you do?
"After hunting high and low for cool, creepy collage sheets and coming up empty-handed, I started collecting my own images and putting together sheets for myself and my collage artist friends. When I discovered Etsy, I thought I’d list a few of the sheets “just to see,” and Junkmill was born. It turns out that my friends and I weren’t the only ones looking for dark and moody collage images. I offer a range of subject material, but the Gothic, spooky and creepy themes that started Junkmill continue to be some of the most popular."
“Junkmill Relics came about when I decided to list some of my excess vintage ephemera and turn a few of my collage sheets into stickers … and because I have an addiction to thrift shopping and antiquing it’s since evolved to include kitschy, fun vintage items as well.”

Vintage Reproduction Apothecary Labels

What inspires the designs/creations you make?
"I tend to follow my own interests and whims when designing collage sheets or curating vintage items. I always work from the premise that if I think an image or object is interesting, unique or inspiring, it’s likely others will too. I’m always drawn to the macabre and kitsch, but I find inspiration everywhere – from Victorian books and turn-of-the-century lithographs to my collections of antique medical ephemera and vintage gumball machine toys. As my significant other (aka “the guy who drives all the shop orders to the post office”) explains when his friends ask, “She sells a lot of junk, but it’s good junk.”

Matchbox Medley III Digital Sheet

What new designs/creations would you like to add to your shop in the future?
“I have about a dozen new image collections soon to be released at Junkmill and new sticker sets in production for Relics – and, as always, there should be plenty of new vintage items to browse for the upcoming holidays.”

Monster Movie Digital Sheet

Behind the scenes - Chandra working on new digital collage sheets for Junkmill and trimming labels for Junkmill Relics.

You'll have a chance to win a $20 Gift Certificate from Junkmill and a $20 Gift Certificate from Junkmill[Relics].  Enter now on the MAIN GIVEAWAY POST.

Victorian Bats Digital Sheet

Since it's Halloween I asked the shops to share their favorite spooky movies.
“I really love found footage horror – even the bad ones are somehow good – and Devil’s Pass is one of my favorites. It’s got everything: an unsettling true backstory, weird creatures, time travel. The first time I watched it, I was at the tail end of a month-long Netflix horror binge, so I thought I had become pretty immune to the usual tricks, but I guess not. I watched it while I was home alone, in the dark, in the middle of the night. Many nerves were frayed that night. I still get creeped out thinking about it.”

Visit Junkmill and Junkmill[Relics] on Etsy.
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Attack of the 14 Nights of Halloween Movie Marathon.
Follow along with us for 2 full weeks of spooky movies. This year we feature personal favorites of Laughing Vixen Lounge. Find some new movies to watch this season, or maybe relive some old favorites, and receive EXTRA ENTRIES at the same time. On each daily post there will be a review of the next movie in our movie marathon. Leave a comment on the post with your opinion of that movie. Once you have posted go to the MAIN GIVEAWAY POST and take the daily entry on the giveaway widget. Today's entry will be at the top of the entry list while all past entries will be at the bottom of the list. Comment on all movies in the marathon and receive an EXTRA 20 ENTRIES at the end of the giveaway.
*You may start following the Movie Marathon at any time during the giveaway and post comments on past daily posts.
*Each comment will earn you an EXTRA 5 ENTRIES.
*Comment on each movie to earn an EXTRA 20 ENTRIES at the end of the giveaway.
*On October 31st or November 1st you must use the Magic Phrase (revealed on October 31st) and use it to unlock the entry on the giveaway widget to receive the 20 entries. You must have commented on each movie.

Guess The Movie Game
Think you know your scary movies? Try your luck with this fun game and receive EXTRA ENTRIES just for guessing. Each daily post will have a hint to the next night's movie. Leave your guess on the giveaway widget, on the MAIN GIVEAWAY POST, for an EXTRA 5 ENTRIES in the giveaway. You do not need to be right just give it an honest try.
*Guesses must be made the same day as their hint to receive the entry. Guessing for a past hint will not count and will be deleted.
*Entry will reset 24hrs after your last guess.
*Please only post guesses on the giveaway widget.

Tonight's Hint ~ A boy's best friend is his mother.


Halloween Movie Marathon

Night 3 ~ The Hitcher

Tagline - The terror starts the moment he stops.
             Never Pick Up A Stranger.
             He came from hell. Don't ask him where he wants to go.
             Out on the desert highway, the rule of thumb has a different
             meaning.


Directed by Robert Harmon (They) and released in February 21, 1986 by TriStar Pictures (rated R). A young man, Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell), is delivering a car from Chicago to San Diego. Unable to keep his eyes open, he decides to pick up a hitch hiker, John Ryder (Rutger Hauer), standing on the side of the road so he can have someone to talk to. As the passenger door opens Jim utters the infamous line "My mother always told me not to do this". We the viewer know that mom was right but Jim has to learn the hard way.

I used to love Tommy Howell. Then I grew up and realized a cute boy does not a good actor make! That aside, this movie is still creepy and fun.

Setting for the Gas Station / Restaurant scene ~ Roy's Cafe in Amboy, CA

OK... this movie has lots of flaws. Mr. Howell really is not the greatest actor and it does show in this movie. Also, it is quite amazing how the hitcher can always be hiding right where Jim is about to show up. Maybe his character is psychic and they forgot to tell us. It is probably laying on the editing room floor.

The silliness aside, there really are some great scary and creepy elements here. It plays on all of those terrible "what could happen" of traveling, especially on your own. Driving in out of the way places, stopping at gas station and rest areas and crossing paths with lots of strangers. Usually harmless things but we all know the horrible things that do happen to people sometimes and that is what feeds the fear here.

What takes that fear and kicks it into high gear is Mr. Hauer himself. This is the first movie I really noticed Rutger Hauer in and it took a good decade to be able to separate him from this character. He is truly scary here as the villain and it shows just how talented of an actor he can be. The scene with Nash at the truck stop is classic horror film making. Maybe you do not get to see as much as nowadays but it is horrible all the same.

The setting for the infamous "french fry" scene ~ Roy's Cafe in Amboy, CA

My recent trip down Route 66 led me to the town of Amboy, California. Pretty much all you will find in Amboy is Roy's Cafe and Gas Station. Used in many, many, many movies and TV shows it was also a major setting in the Hitcher. It is here that Jim stops to gather his wits (what little he has) and find some food but only to realize the Hitcher is far smarter than him. Roy's is still a functioning gas station but the restaurant is currently just a small gift shop with plans to be fully functioning again someday. I really hope so. I want to sit there and enjoy a plate of french fries! Muuaaaahahaha!!!

There was a remake in 2007 with a switch of roles having our main character Jim now a woman and her boyfriend replacing Nash. While I am not usually a fan of the gender change I do like having a woman be the strong survivor in this one. Sean Bean does a very good job as the Hitcher and, as most remakes go, the blood and gore factor is definitely doubled!!!

The Hitcher (1986) looks to be unavailable on most streaming services as of this review but should be available on most DVD rental services.
The Hitcher (2007) is available on most streaming services and DVD rental services.


Take a look at the original trailer.



Some trivia about the movie.
1.The writer of the screenplay, Eric Red, has said the story was inspired by the Doors song "Riders on the Storm".
2. In Rutger Hauer's book "All Those Moments," Hauer discusses how producer Ed Feldman settled on Sam Elliott for the role of John Ryder. Hauer states that "Apparently, Elliott was so scary when he came in to audition that Edward S. Feldman was afraid to go out to his car afterward." Sam Elliott had a scheduling conflict and had to back out the role.
3. Rutger Hauer knocked out one of his teeth with the shotgun he was holding during the windshield scene.
4. C. Thomas Howell admitted that he was actually afraid of Rutger Hauer on and off the set because of the actor's general intensity.
5. Screenwriter Eric Red can be seen in a cameo role toward the end of the film, playing a sheriff's deputy escorting John Ryder to the prison bus for transfer.
6. Rutger Hauer did a lot of the stunt driving throughout the movie which amazed the film crew and even the real stunt drivers.
7. The coach stops at "Roy's Motel and Diner" which is a famous landmark on the old Route 66, now interstate 40. It can be found at Amboy, California in the Mojave desert. It is featured in many films and documentaries.
8. On the jail wall you can read "Mort aux matons!" (probably written by a previous prisoner), translated to "Death to the jail guards!" in French.
9. In early drafts of the script, John Ryder had been described as skeletal in nature and so actors like David Bowie, Sting, Sam Shepard, Harry Dean Stanton, and Terence Stamp were mentioned.
10. For the role of Jim Halsey, the producers mentioned Matthew Modine, Tom Cruise and Emilio Estevez.
11. The original script ran the film equivalent of three hours.
12. Fox was to have distributed the film before TriStar Pictures took over.
13. Moments that ended up not being filmed include: Ryder slaughtering an entire family, an eyeball appearing in a hamburger (this was replaced in a finger in a plate of French fries), a graphic sex scene between 'Gal' Galveston (the girl before Nash) and Jim, and a character being decapitated. The film underwent several rewrites which removed the gorier moments.
14. To avoid an X rating the ending was changed to give Jim justification to doing what he does.
15. While being arrested outside the diner, C. Thomas Howell accidentally kicks one of the deputies in the back of the head while being slammed on the hood of the police car.
16. When Jim enters the abandoned garage, birds fly in front of the camera for dramatic effect. Though the hole in the floor seems to be intentional, the person visible pushing the birds out from said hole was probably not.

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