greg caggiano

Bela Lugosi, everyone’s favorite Dracula

After witches, I’d say vampires are my favorite Halloween characters. Who wouldn’t want to live forever? (Especially after seeing the Johnny Depp version of “Dark Shadows,” my favorite vampire movie ever).

Last night Dennis and I attended a lecture on vampires at the Barron Arts Center. It was presented by historian Greg Caggiano: https://www.gregcaggiano.com/

I have to say, Greg Caggiano is one of my favorite speakers.

Nearly two hours of vampire history was a fabulous addition to this month’s festivities, as Voltaire’s “The Vampire Club” keeps dancing around in my head. I love that song so much because it pokes fun of goth culture and people taking themselves way too seriously (which I also do in my upcoming book, “The Gypsy Smiled” giving the lead male character an obnoxious fake name “Dionysus”).

And just being in the historic Barron Arts Center added to the touch.

Of all the stories in Caggiano’s presentation, I have to say I loved the story of Elizabeth Bathory best, a Hungarian serial killer who was known for drinking the blood of young peasant virgins in order to stay youthful.

What is it that’s so fascinating about vampires? One of my Halloween costumes as a kid was a vampire, though I remember hating the fake teeth I wore.

Each Halloween Dennis and I visit the house Charles Addams lived in. I had a cat, Derick, who lived to 19 and he never wanted to leave our side. So, the last two years of his life, we dressed him up and took him out on Halloween when we visited Charles Addams’ home. One year we put a little cape on Derick and we told children he was “Count Cat-ula.” Derick loved dressing up. He went along with everything, as long as he held him. During our Halloween walks, Derick would sit on Dennis’s shoulder, like a parrot. It was the cutest thing when children would point at him and say, “Look, it’s a cat!!” They got so excited to see him.

Derick and Sparky

And also relevant to Halloween — CANDY!

Yesterday afternoon I was THRILLED to interview one of the co-presidents of Smarties! Yes, the candy that’s been around for over 70 years (and haven’t changed their formula!) It’s a female run business, and guess what? Smarties are VEGAN! So, that will be the Halloween candy du jour in our household this year. I’ll link to the article when it runs.

I can go on all day with Halloween stuff, but as a music fan, I’ll end with a few cool vampire songs. Since everyone knows “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” by Bauhaus, I’ll leave that one out and go for some that aren’t as popular, yet super cool.

As I mentioned earlier, Voltaire’s “Vampire Club.” His lyrics are absolutely genius and sarcastic as fuck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2j4vbaK2VI

And this super cute, catchy song by Jonathan Richman, “Vampire Girl” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOnOTyN10I0

🧛

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Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta can be reached at: maryannechristiano@gmail.com.

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