Click and Shop

Now you can do all the shopping without the walking. Just some clicking will suffice.
By Ronald Wan

The malls are increasing and the shops and boutiques are endless. There’s a plethora of choices to satisfy your fashion needs. You want a pair of skinny jeans; you can get it at Gap. You want a loud striped shirt; you can get it at Paul Smith. You want nice lingerie, you can get it at La Senza. So, what else is left?

For some people, they just can’t find what they want at the malls. You would be surprised. At the malls are big label boutiques that churn out stuff in bulks that probably someone else is wearing it too. If you want to be different and unique, we probably won’t find you in a mall. You should be hunting for good buys at one of the shops at Haji Lane, Amoy Street or you guessed it right – online websites.

The last we checked, many people are burning their credit card online, shopping at any imaginable site, from obscure blogs and websites to Amazon. What’s the real deal here? Are the products safe and usable? If we can’t feel it, should we buy it? Is it safe to give credit card details online? Put these questions and shop at your own risk. There’s where the fun is. You click. You buy. It’s a free world out there, even on the Internet highway. We feature three local sites where girls are flocking to for their irresistible buys.

La Piccola Donna
La Piccola Donna means The Little Woman in Italian, but it isn’t a hot Italian woman behind the site. Darn. Instead, we have Aileen Yang, a local Singaporean girl setting up the site to sell vintage accessories and contemporary dresses. The clothes are brought in from a local supplier and the accessories from the States. The dresses are especially feminine, with floral prints a main feature and perhaps to celebrate the little woman spirit. Accessories include the vintage necklaces, which are the bestseller. For those with a taste for something girly, like a little woman as the name suggests, do check out this site (includes mailing list).

Bonito Chico
The dresses here are sold like hotcakes on a Sunday morning. One gets the impression that most of the dresses sold here are party dresses you will wear to a Saturday’s night out. It’s popular with the young working girls (the site name means pretty girl) and especially those with extra credit to burn, because there are even designer shoes (Stuart Weitzman) and shades (Marc Jacobs) sold here. Set up by three girls, Vel, Rach and Lin, the site is conveniently equipped with a mailing list. And for boys hoping for some eye candy on the site, the models used here are faceless, so in other words, forget about it.

Glamz Style
We suspect the duo (Juliana & Weixing) behind the site are students studying in a business faculty or are in some marketing job, because they dangle carrots like 10% discount and shopping sprees (read: massive sales) for her customers. Very entrepreneurial indeed. The clothes here are from Taiwan and Korea, a variety of babydoll dresses, ruffles tops, cropped shorts and the likes of leggings and what’s hot in those Taiwanese magazines.

Spa-tisfied

Ronald Wan is now a spa convert. He can’t wait for his next session to get his body pressed and twisted.

I have a confession to make – I was never fond of spas because I could never understand the whole mumbo jumbo. Face spa, mud spa, crystal skin therapy, slimming massage – they all sound very alien and cheam to me. Also, being a guy (read: species with lazy body cells), I would rather stay home watch football on TV than to let my naked body be pressed (or is it pinched?) by someone else (doesn’t it sound like torture already?).

Hence it was with trepidation when my editor sent me to do a spa review at Body Contours. He gingerly remarked, “Look, just enjoy the massage. It’s not a torture. You will not die. I will take care of your girl for you if you didn’t survive.”

Body Contours is located at 30 Hill Street and upon arriving, you already felt serene and calm from the cascading water fountain fronting the boutique. The kind people at Body Contours showed me around before I began my full body spa scrub. I uttered a prayer.

I was told to strip and wear a pair of shorts. It seems these days, I’m told to strip everywhere I go (see other story on this writer’s waxing adventures) I feel like a Category III actor already. I promptly laid on the bed and my masseuse Jojo began to apply the scrub. I couldn’t help but feel like a spring chicken being laid out on the chopping board and getting my limbs all contorted. Okay, I exaggerate, and truth be told, I kind of liked the whole thing already.

Maybe it’s the New Age music playing in the background. Or maybe it’s the wonders of the scrub. After the scrub, I moved on to the bathroom to be ‘steamed’. For 15 minutes, I’m sweating in there, totally immersing myself in this whole therapy session so to speak. I cleaned up and then it was show time. Jojo told me gently to lie on the bed again for the full body massage.

I uttered more than a prayer this time. I prayed for salvation. Jojo began the massage from the lower limbs, slowly working her way up to the upper body portion. Everything seemed nice and easy, and soon she worked into full gear. She pressed down on my aching shoulder and neck deftly, working her magic on my lazy muscles. “Your muscles are rather tight,” she remarked. Oh yes, my muscles are so intense it must be due to stress and my heavy workload (dear Editor, did you read that?).

It was a wonderful massage. I have never felt so relaxed and flexible. And when Jojo was about to end the massage session, she asked if I wanted to twist my neck. Um, unsure and confused, I simply nodded hesitantly. I didn’t know what possessed me to say yes, but soon enough, images of killers twisting their victims’ necks in horror movies played in my mind. Wait! Is Jojo a pseudonym for a psychotic killer?

It was fast and quick. To the left. And to the right. I could hear the twisting sound of my neck. Thrice for each direction. Click, click, click. And I was still alive.

The entire full body scrub and massage lasted about an hour and a half. It was a great experience, thanks to the wonderful service offered by Jojo and the good people at Body Contours. Body Contours also specialises in their signature Winergy Infusions, where the properties in red wine is used as a spa ingredient to protect the skin against harmful radicals. It sounds rather bizarre to the uninitiated but I’m definitely game for that. No more football on TV. It’s spa time for me, scepticism not included.

Smooth Operator

Ronald Wan bares it all for a hair-raising experience – waxing. And survives to wax lyrical about it.

My friends looked at me gravely as if I had herpes or worse, a bald spot. You see, I just informed them the news bulletin of the week – I was going for a Brazilian wax.

“Are you crazy? Do you know how painful it would be?”

“Are you growing a jungle down under?”

“You would be walking like a chicken thereafter.”

Well, chicken walk or not, I wasn’t deterred a mere bit. After all, things were really getting hairy down under. Sometimes, I wonder if I’ll grow into an ape. Or a really hairy monkey.

The other day, the Significant Other told me to get down and dirty with her but it took on a whole new literal meaning. I was really down and dirty (read: the foliage needed some clearing). I didn’t feel grime, dirt and bacteria dirty but with so much hair and follicles going on, I certainly felt impure.

And my concerned friends began to question some lingering social stereotypes.

“Don’t men keep their hair?”

“A man is not a man when he has no hair. He will be too…clean.”

As if being clean or hygienic is a crime. While some men argue hair should remain where it’s supposed to remain because keeping their hairy self and whatever follicles and lice would ooze that special thing called masculinity, the last I checked, manhood isn’t measured in strands.

And so I was ready to take the great leap of faith (and pain) for mankind. For the lack of a better term (waxing sounds like hot candle dripping on a naked body), I shall call it ‘deforestation’ – it has a nice, pristine environmental ring to it.

Let the clearing begin.

14 00
I walk into Thomas D’Esthetique with much apprehension, a beauty salon that specialises in hair removal for men. After all, it’s my virgin experience, in hair removal, that is.

14 05
Thomas Tong, a face and body aromatherapist and owner of Thomas D’Esthetique, welcomes me with a glee. Maybe I’m too nervous and paranoid, but I swear it’s a sinister glee that reminds me of my primary school discipline master.

Thomas, who has been doing hair removal treatment for the past 18 years, is in fact the first aromatherapist in town to do hair removal for men. Thus, it’s hardly a surprise he charges at a high rate of $120 and above for his waxing treatments due to his expertise and experience.

14 10
“First time?” Thomas enquires. I nod obediently (maybe he’s really my primary school discipline master). Then he assures me succinctly it would be a nice experience and proceeds to tell me to strip. I freeze for a moment. I never had a man telling me to strip except for the army doctor during a medical check up once. As much as I try to be professional about it, I’m clearly embarrassed.

Imagine yourself completely naked in front of someone you hardly knew and worse, who looked like your school discipline master. And then, there’s the troubling questions in my mind – “Will it hurt?” “How painful?” and more importantly, “Will he laugh at my, um, package?” I digress, but size does matter for men because we can all get rather competitive and insecure.

14 15
I promptly lie down on the table butt naked, like the turkey on my dinner table last Thanksgiving. It makes me nervous. Thomas tells me nicely to relax several times but my muscles are just too tense. Forgive my jitters but I think the turkey didn’t exactly feel pretty relaxed either last Thanksgiving.

Thomas instructs me to turn over and lie face down. I feel a little relieved. At least I’m not out in the open getting a little airing, if you get my drift. Before I can breathe easy, holy smokes, I feel a warm sensation in my butt! Thomas is already applying the hot wax. The feeling is certainly very weird, to have a finger waxing something foreign around your butt but I kinda like the hot wax sensation. Like hot chocolate on a cold rainy day.

Yes, hair grows in the region around the anus for those uninitiated and soon, we’re down to business. Thomas strips away the hair in mere seconds and I can hardly feel any pain.

14 20
Now that my behind is pretty much done, the pain isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be I reckon. I shift over and I’m right out there in full view for Thomas. I decide to talk to Thomas to distract myself from the awkwardness and embarrassment. I ask him about the weather.

He informs me that he’s doing a Hollywood wax, which is a complete removal of hair around the nether regions, unlike a Brazilian wax which involves leaving a vertical strip of hair about two or three fingers in width. I guess it’s good I’m not doing the Brazilian, because the vertical strip sounds like a hedge to me.

Thomas begins at the groin area by applying the hot wax again, which feels good. And then it comes in one fell swoop. He strips away the hair in one masterful stroke using the ubiquitous wax strips. Darn, it hurts. I even jerk my legs a little, as if I just got an electric shock. And perhaps I’m a little trippy from the hot wax and slight pain, but I think Thomas, bless his soul, looks like a band conductor when he removes those wax strips. His gestures were simply grand and operatic. All he lacks is a baton.

14 30
The groin area’s done and completely hairless now. I peer up and like the sight of it. I feel clean. And then, Thomas tells me we’re about to begin on the sensitive part – the area around the penis. I brace myself for what is to come.

The wax strips are smaller this time but the pain is equally the same. I writhe a bit, squirm a little and jerk here and there whenever Thomas removes the strips. Basically, I feel like a half-dead cockroach contorting its limbs sprayed over by Baygon. And then, the critical stage is over, Thomas declares. Or so it seems.

14 40
Thomas explains we’re onto the last stage, which is hair on the testicle. Bollocks. I’m quite sure I won’t be having a – pardon the pun – ball of a time.

The pain I experience in the previous areas cannot be compared to what I’m experiencing now. Thomas gently strips the hair away but I still squirm and jerk – more this time. My friends always remind one another not to get our balls whacked during our regular football sessions. I’m definitely feeling mine’s getting all whacked now.

And then it’s over.

14 50
I examine my newly waxed look. It feels very funny because there’s not a single strand of hair down under! And it certainly looks very clean, pristine and smooth. And another important point to add (men, if you’re reading this, pay attention) – the manhood certainly looks bigger than usual. Pardon my lack of imagination in channelling my thoughts, but I suppose without the foliage, the tree trunk appears larger and clearer than before.

And that, is very good news.

15 00
I thank Thomas for his wonderful and professional services. He goes through the process with me again, explaining in finer details on the products he uses, such as the invisible glove lotion that aromatherapists use these days. He briefly mentions the steps to take after the wax (no hot shower three to four hours after waxing; don’t wear tight underwear etc). Just then, a Caucasian customer walks in and Thomas attends to him. Good luck mate.

And I swear I notice the same sinister glee on Thomas again. Feeling all waxed and cleansed, I walk out of the salon – like a chicken nevertheless.

Thomas D’Esthetique
5 Coleman Street #03-01
Excelsior Hotel & Shopping Centre
Singapore 179805
Tel: 6337 6858

Places to party this Halloween weeknight

Prepare yourself for some ghostly dark eye rings next morning.

POP/RE/TART Halloween
Crash it at: The Butter Factory
Spook out from: 9 pm – 3 am
Hell notes needed: $0 (if you’re a lady or in a costume), $15 if you’re a lazy guy who refuses to dress up
Slurp up: House pours and draft beers at 1 for 1 offer all night long
Dance to: Disco / New Rave / Electro

Heat Ultra Lounge
Crash it at: Heat Ultra Lounge
Spook out from: 9 pm – 3 am
Hell notes needed: $35
Slurp up: Free flow of house pour spirits, tiger draft, house wines, martinis and caipirinhas from 7 pm – 11 pm
Dance to: Ambient and Latin house music

RedBar
Crash it at: RedBar
Spook out from: 6 pm – 4 am
Hell notes needed: $10
Slurp up: $10 house pour jugs and $0.10 tequilas from 10 pm – 10.10 pm
Dance to: RnB

Every other club

Thank god Halloween falls on a Ladies’ night this year! So who says you can’t dress outrageously like those London clubbers and go partying even though it’s not a Halloween costume party!

Gather all your guts and dare to dress to kill (and slaughter) this Wednesday night.

Halloween or Bus!

I know what you did last weekend — you rode the famous Halloween Bus Tour and got wild…
By Harriet Ann Dy

DON’T be surprised if you bump into rotting rockstars doing a club crawl this Halloween. Last weekend, the damned got glam, Thriller fashion, for the 12th annual Halloween Bus Tour organised by Clifford Clement Chua (aka as THEPARTYMAN) and John Bosco Lopez (FUNK GURU). The popular tour was anything but spooky.

“The whole idea is to get a group of friends out on a piss without the hassle of waiting for taxis,” says Chua, who developed the idea while working at a beach bar in Sentosa. From the original 30 friends and one bus, the tour had 300 confirmed participants, booked on five buses this year, with a waitlist that was getting longer and longer.

This is reflects freaky growth of Halloween industry worldwide in a microcosm. In the US, a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation shows that consumers are expected to spend $5.07 billion for fright night, up 20% from two years ago, according to About.com.

What used to be about taking the kids trick-or-treating has morphed into a billion-dollar industry for children and adults alike. From Cinderella costumes to foam headstones to three feet cages with skeletons (at Toys R Us) machines, business is booming.

At No.1 Costume, Singapore’s top costume outpost, shoppers can become Marie Antoinette, or a sexy French maid, among 15,000 other dress-up options. The store expanded its retail space by 40% from its original Neil Road location four years ago, and their make-believe inventory is a theatrical delight. Here’s a tip: Grab a flyer at the Zouk foyer, and get 15% on your next purchase. Once you’re in character, head over to the clubs hosting parties on the 31st.

Homes will be dressed up as well. Senior systems analyst Jennifer Lim says a glowing Jack O’ Lantern, fake spiders and cobwebs are definitely in order. She also plans to buy candies, jellies, and Japanese snacks to give to kids. “My main theme is orange and black, with silver and neon green,” she says. Even the Singapore Night Safari got creepy with a transformation to a haunted rainforest in the spirit of the occasion until last weekend.

Meanwhile, sign up for next year’s bus tour, which will again begin at 8 pm and go on “until last man/woman standing.” “I’ve actually seen people in their costumes having breakfast at coffee shops,” says Chua. “It’s just about having a good time.”

[iRecommend] Yanqing’s Shanghai Kitchen

Interview by Mavis Ang

Who swears by it: Jonathan Chia, Full-time National Serviceman

Great food and pretty waitresses at this Shanghainese restaurant scored well against Jonathan Chia’s checklist for a great eatery. “When I was in China, everything I ate made my stomach extremely upset. So it’s quite surprising that I actually love the food at this restaurant,” Jonathan commented. He also fell in love with its modern oriental décor, and the pretty waitresses, of course.

WHAT SETS THEIR DISHES APART FROM THE REST: “Unlike fish soups served at other Chinese restaurants, the Huang Yu (yellow fish) Soup here is very clear, not oily, and the fish’s sweetness is very distinct in the soup.”

SETS YOU BACK BY: At least $30 for their popular dishes. Like most Chinese restaurants, the size and prices of dishes vary depending on the number of people on the table.

WHY HE LIKES IT SO MUCH: When asked about the service at Yanqing’s Shanghai Kitchen, Jonathan’s reply: “Prompt, polite and sexy.”

WHERE IS IT LOCATED: Opened by former Chinese TV presenter, Shanghai-born Wang Yanqing, Yanqing’s Shanghai Restaurant has established one more branch since it first opened two years ago. Hop on to Yanqing’s restaurant listing to find out more about this recommended dining place.

Clearly Delicious

Go to Miss Clarity when you want reasonably priced warm and delicious hearty food
By Cheryl Chia

WITH a name like Miss Clarity, you’d be forgiven for mistaking this bright local café for a regular teenage haunt, one that serves your regular fish and chips, burgers and ice cream. But while it’s true that this place is popular with the young, they’re not the only ones who have been streaming in. Only barely a year old, Miss Clarity Café has already gained a reputation for being a cosy place to go to when you want warm and delicious hearty food at a reasonable price.

Serving Asian fare as well as the typical Western grub like bangers and mash, this café have added new items to the menu since they first opened. Their head chef, Jonathan Pang, used to be from Raffles Grill. Having apprenticed at Michelin-star restaurants in France and receiving guidance from top chefs, Mr Pang took the liberty of using his creativity to come up with an array of wonderful culinary creations.

Dishes like the Risotto Venere with Steamed Seabass and Vegetable Cream ($13.80) and the Oyster Ravioli with Clams Vinaigrette ($11.80) certainly knocked my socks off!

First of all, Risotto Venere is made from wild Arborio rice and it does look a bit like our Asian black glutinous rice but, taste-wise, this one is much nuttier. The cream complemented the risotto and I polished off every single rice-grain. Yes, it was that delicious and the sea bass was a good addition to the rice. Plump and tender, the simply steamed fish did itself justice.

The ravioli served here is like no other. I’ve tried ravioli at other Italian restaurants but none has impressed me as much as the ones Jonathan has created. The ravioli I tried was stuffed with fresh oysters and the entire little package was translucent and oh-so-smooth!

I don’t know how he made the skin, but this ravioli has a texture so smooth that it simply glides down your throat — no kidding! The clams in the vinaigrette were a refreshing touch too. Absolutely delightful! Try the Ravioli of Potato Marmalade with Vegetable Cream ($9.80) if you’re not a fan of oysters.

Fancy some seafood? Why not try the Grilled Slipper Lobster with Capellini and Tomato Lobster Cream ($15.80). This pasta dish tastes great and the sauce really brought out the flavours of the lobster.

Still hungry and daring enough to try something out of the ordinary? Then I suggest you order the French Escargots in garlic butter (half dozen: $6, one dozen: $11) or the Lobster Bisque with Cheese melted on Garlic Bread ($6). Seriously, you don’t often get escargots in small cafés don’t you? If you’re not yet impressed then I reckon you check out their full menu at their website: www.missclaritycafe.com

This is one café that’s worth your while — whether you feel like having something fancy or as simple as a warm sandwich. Trust me, you’ll leave the place feeling good; if not, awestruck (like me).

Miss Clarity Café
5 Purvis Street, #01-04
Tel: 6339-4803
Email: happy@missclaritycafe.com
Website: www.missclaritycafe.com

Last-minute D.I.Y. Scary Costumes

You don’t think of Halloween costumes as investment dressing, but still dying to wear something at the last minute? Here are some sure-hit great ideas. Boo!
By Mavis Ang

SINCE Singaporeans don’t practice trick or treating here in our cramped HDB flats, it’s not worth the effort renting or making an outfit from scratch. So here’s a list of eight practical DIY outfits you can don for some Halloween night clubbing!

The Bum
a) Gather a few torn pajamas or unwanted clothes
b) Patch them up haphazardly and crumple them up
c) Mess up your hair. Hold up a bunch of your hair and tangle it by repeatedly brushing it in a reverse-combing motion.
d) Apply some darker-than-your-skin-tone makeup foundation on your face to make it look unwashed.
e) Hold a wooden bowl with a few coins in it, and rattle it as you walk.

Result: You might even end up a few dollars richer by night’s end!

The Sexy Secretary
a) Tuck a formal looking shirt into a tight pencil skirt with the top three buttons opened
b) Add thick black-framed spectacles (to be tilted slightly down your nose so that you can look up teasingly)
c) Tie your hair up to a bun and apply scarlet lipstick.
d) Hold a clipboard and chew on a pen seductively.

Advice: Do it only if you’re super hot. Actually, you can still do it as a joke if you’re neither slim nor sexy. It’s called irony, darling.

The Traffic Light
Guys
a) Red shirt
b) Orange belt
c) Green pants

Girls
a) Red top
b) Orange skirt
c) Green stockings

Advantage: Easy to put together, and definitely noticeable with such bold colours!

The Tampon
a) Pick an entirely white outfit
b) Paint your face and spray your hair white as well for maximum effect
c) Attach a long white string from the top of your head
d) Lastly, make a band to wear around your waist, which reads: “Tampax”

Caveat: This outfit is more effective for guys, since you would be able to execute a million cheesy pick up lines for the night in this costume.

The Fashionable Student
a) Bring out your former school uniform
b) Tie your hair up and add as many bright multi-coloured pins in your hair
c) Colourful earrings in multiple ear piercings
d) Loads friendship bands around your wrists
e) A Roxy bag over your shoulder
f) Finally, sport shoes with ankle socks

Accessorise: Braces and a nice tan would be a nice touch to the outfit too.

The Angsty Teenager
a) A black band T-shirt, black pants or skirt, black sneakers
b) Black nails and eyeliner
c) Draw a few thin lines across your wrists with red lipstick.

Don’t forget: The I-hate-the-entire-world look in your eyes.

The Celebrity
Olsen Twins
a) Big sunglasses
b) A long baggy top with footless leggings
c) Unkempt looking hair
d) The most important accessory: a takeaway Starbucks in hand

Paris Hilton
a) Pink from head to toe (Hello Kitty preferred)
b) Oh, and leave your brains behind, too

Rihanna
a) Black corset matched with a black mini skirt
b) Fishnet stockings
c) A black umbrella

Team work: Talk a bunch of friends into playing the roles of paparazzis so that you can make a grand exit out of the taxi.

A Couple Outfit: The Romance Novel Book Cover
Guys
a) White shirt with as many buttons opened, exposing (hopefully) tanned rippling chest muscles.
b) Tight, tight, tight leather pants
c) Boots

Girls
a) Put on a sheer Greek goddess-like dress, in white or skin-coloured.
b) Blow your hair to get Farah Fawcett’s flippy look.

Must-do: Arrive in a passionate embrace with wind in your hair.

Top 8 Asian Halloween Dishes

By Mavis Ang

Warning: It won’t be pretty.

Invite your foreign colleagues over for the most frightening Halloween dinner – not at some fancy restaurant and café, but right at your own home. In fact, you don’t even have to customise our local food much to make them look scary to non-locals!

Starters

1. Fat Choy (moss fungi) Soup – Fat Choy is a human hair-like moss which translates to fortune vegetables in Cantonese, and is usually cooked with lotus roots as a Chinese New Year dish. For a soup dish, boil it with some pork meat and mushrooms, and it will look a little murky, with hair floating and swirling in it.
2. Pig Brain and Chicken Feet Herbal Soup – Boiled together with medlar seeds, dried longan flesh and Chinese yam, it is believed to nourish human brains as well.

Main Course

1. Kway Chap – This stewed pig innards dish contains pig intestines and stomach lining, with a few slices of pork and tofu. It’s a guaranteed cringer, so provide lots of chili to mask the gritty tastes of innards
2. Sotong Hitam (squid) – It’s squid cooked with a sauce made from its own ink, staining the whole dish jet black.
3. Fong Zao (chicken feet) – All red, wrinkly and limp, who would’ve thought it would taste so good! (To me at least) Fong Zao is a common dish at Chinese Dim Sum alongside prawn dumplings and pork buns, and is usually a little spicy.
4. Red Wine Chicken – Cooked with red vinasse, this dish looks like its drenched with diluted blood, and is supposed to reduce cholesterol and hypertension.
5. Red-dyed hard-boiled eggs – Just a back up plan if your guests go hungry that night. These eggs taste exactly how eggs should taste like, just a little peculiar looking because they’ve been boiled in food colouring.

Dessert

1. Ji Ma Wu (black sesame) – Another Dim Sum essential, this thick black paste is sweet and served warm. Supermarkets stock instant packets which only require you to add hot water to it.

Make your visitors pair up and down the dishes fear factor style! 88DB wishes all you daredevils a Happy Halloween!

8 Tricks (And Treats) For The Home-bound

SO YOU don’t feel like going out because you can’t find the right costume. Fret not, there are plenty of things you can do to celebrate Halloween at home.

1. Make your own Ouija board. If you want, you can also buy the original Parker Brothers board at the local bookstore, but experts swear the spirits prefer to patronise something more personalised. So make one with your friends. By the way, a ouija (pronounced “wee-jah”), as defined by Wikipedia, “is any flat surface printed with letters, numbers, and other symbols, to which a planchette or movable indicator points, supposedly in answer to questions from people at a séance. The fingers of the participants are placed on the planchette that then moves about the board to spell out messages.”
2. Get a tarot card reading. The eve of Halloween is said to be an auspicious day to communicate with the spirits, because that’s the time when they freely roam the streets and the skies. Book early and gather round a group of friends so you can all pitch in for the cost of asking the psychic for home service.
3. Hold a Halloween B movie Marathon. I know what you did last Halloween — and if you don’t want to embarrass yourself again this year, we suggest you stay home and go on a movie marathon. Classic titles you can borrow from the library of friendly neighborhood movie rental store: Rosemary’s Baby, Friday the 13^th, Amityville Horror and Damon.
4. Cook scary food. Pick a theme, like axes, and pick out 4 ultra B-movies that involve axes. Or a couple of titles that show a lot of blood in them, then you can plan your snacks around blood-coloured food. Like gazpacho, tomato juice, laksa.
5. Go online and play a game. We’re sure there’s something interesting there, somewhere. Or go to a chat room and use a scary handle like Frankenstein, Gollum or Lucifer. If someone asks for your intro, say Go To Hell.
6. Change your desktop. Bring out the Paint software and sketch something scary (like your favorite gym teacher) and post it in your computer. Keep restarting your personal computer.
7. Host a murder. This is a popular game where you invite friends for dinner three weeks ahead of time so they can learn their roles and look for costumes. At dinner, they come as different personalities (and they’re not allowed to revert to who they really are) and you, the host, narrates the evening’s plot: one of the guests at the dinner table is about to die – and the killer is among the guests. Guess who he/she is! The game set is available in local bookstores. If you want a simpler whodunit game, you can also try Cluedo.
8. Read scary poetry. “Bushes quiver where shadows lean/And not a sliver of moon is seen…” If you’re a total nerd, go in front of the mirror, hold a candle under your chin, and recite a horror poem. Let’s see if by the end of your soliloquy you see someone else listening to your performance.