October 23, 2013 Halloween Cocktail Book Film Recommendation – CLOWNS!!!

Scared of clowns? A lot of people are.

 If you want to indulge your fear and have a little fun this October 31st I’d like to suggest a cocktail, book and film to enhance your Harlequin Halloween night.

     First, let’s start with the cocktail. It's called an Opera. I present this as a tribute to that sad and murderous clown Pagliacci of Puccini's opera by the same name.

Opera

Ingredients:

Dubonnet
Maraschino Liqueur
Gin
Lemon Peel
Cracked Ice
Cocktail Shaker

Add cracked ice to cocktail shaker.
Add 1 part Dubonnet, 1 part Maraschino Liqueur, 4 parts Gin.
Stir and strain into cocktail glass. Add a twist of lemon peel.

     Ramsey Campbell’s book The Grin of the Dark is a scary, moody, unforgettable novel. Film critic Simon Lester is writing a book about a silent-film era clown comedian named Tubby Thackeray. But when Lester sets out to find a long lost Tubby film, well, things turn rather nasty. Very nasty. Tubby’s performances were known to drive people mad. Literally. After a while Lester begins to wonder if he himself isn’t headed for Bedlam.

The Grin of the Dark by Ramsey Campbell

     The film is, of course, the classic Killer Klowns From Outer Space. Not too many spoilers here but let me whet your appetite with visions of a space ship shaped like a circus tent and weapons shaped liked toys. This is a fun and frightening movie. But if you really are afraid of clowns I wouldn’t recommend watching Killer Klowns alone.

Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988) Written by Charles Chiodo, Stephen Chiodo and Edward Chiodo. Directed by Stephen Chiodo.

     One additional suggestion.

     If you decide to have a Killer Klowns From Outer Space Halloween Viewing Party don’t forget the delicious piping hot popcorn, properly salted and buttered. To make the serving of this movie house and circus favorite even more fun why not present the popcorn to your guests in these very retro popcorn bags.



     For additional reading regarding the fear of clowns have a look at this Smithsonian.com article The History and Psychology of Clowns Being Scary. According to the article it may have been Charles Dickens himself who created the image of the scary clown when he edited the memoirs of the comic pantomime player Joseph Grimaldi .

Special thanks to DylanAKent for all her help with the cocktail recipe. Follow her on Twitter @DylanAKent

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