With just one small fundraiser or a gift from a generous donor, your team or your school can own their very own mascot costume.

If your school has been hoping for a school mascot costume, now is the time to look at buying one! Mascot costumes are not a pricey as you might think, and the mascot is a great way to get the crowd worked up during school events. From basketball to football to baseball and soccer, having a mascot can be a lot of fun, and it also boosts the morale of your team.
They’ll be cheering for the home team when your school picks up an affordable mascot costume for the Wolves, Eagles, Frogs, Sharks, Rabbits, Bears, Dogs, Penguins, and other furry and fuzzy animal friends. What an investment in your school spirit! These affordable costumes are made from premium materials to last through many seasons of fun at your school.
Don’t forget to round off your purchase with a little something to keep the mascot cool while he’s working the crowd into a frenzy, like a “cold” vest or collar. This makes the costume more pleasing to wear so that your mascot doesn’t feel like he’s wearing a big suit of fur!

With the finale for Dancing with the Stars just around the corner, many communities are hosting local DWTS costumes, and that has sent participants looking for dance competition costumes.

Choosing the best costume that will set you apart from the competition can be difficult. This is particularly true when there is just so much to choose from.

When selecting your costume, think about how it will move with your body. A dress made of chiffon with flow while a fringed skirt will swing and a skirt with a crinoline beneath it will bounce. Choose the movement that best goes with your dance when you are choosing your dance competition costume.

You should also take into consideration your body type. A costume that is flattering on Melissa Gilbert (recently voted off)or some other dancer may not be the right fit for you. Above all, choose a fit that you are comfortable in. If you are dancing and uncomfortable, you’re not going to win any awards!

The mood of your dance should be another consideration. Choose a costume that is crafted of a color that suits the mood of the dance. For instnace, yellow is for a dance that is meant to make you happy while red is an energetic color for those lively numbers.

Moreover, choosing a dance competition costume should be fun. Don’t choose one that will inhibit your ability to move. A skirt that is too long will get in the way of your movement, while a bulky headpiece can make dancing a chore.

Buy Dance Competition – Click Here

Coming up with an unusual costume choice is never easy, and yet going as the latest “trend” is never a way to stand out from the crowd. There is definitely something to be said about having a unique costume, which makes dressing as a hamburger a great idea! The burger costume says “I’m unique” in a way that is difficult to achieve with any other type of costume.
The history of the hamburger is a juicy one, and wearing a burger costume is a good way to turn heads! The actual word hamburger is derived from Hamburg, which is the second biggest city in Germany. Many people from Hamburg emigrated to the U.S., just as many people from Frankfurt and Vienna (Wien) came from Germany to the U.S. in pursuit of a happier life, bringing with them the frankfurter (hot dog) and wiener (also a hot dog). The term burger is actually associated with various types of sandwiches that are similar to the ground beef burger that we in the U.S. usually think of when we hear the word “burger”. Burger can also be made from salmon, elk, kangaroo, venison, and buffalo!
The history of the burger can be a lot of fun for those who are thinking about wearing a burger costume for Halloween or some other event. Minced beef was a delicacy in Europe in the early part of the fifteenth century. In the 17th century, ships sailing from Hamburg, Germany, began to call on Russian ports. It was during this time that Russian steak tartare was effectively sent back to Germany as Tartare steak . But it wasn’t until the eighteenth and nineteen centuries that people arriving from Hamburger Germany to the U.S. brought the Hamburg steak with them Low grade beef was flavored with spices and cooked to become a standard meal for many arriving Germans. In New York, the sandwich became popular among emigrants, and was later called simply a hamburger.
For those interested in a burger costume, it is interesting to note that the Library of Congress names New Haven, Connecticut eater Louis’ Lunch as the home of the original American hamburger. The dining establishment has been serving the sandwich since the late 1800s

Buy Burger Costume – Click Here

History of the Jack-O-Lantern

I ran across a fun article a few days ago about Jack-o-Lanterns that got me thinking about their origin. Why is it that we take a perfectly good pumpkin, cut eyes and a mouth and nose into it (or fancy designs) and then light the inside with a candle? Seems silly although it is tons of fun.

The practice actually dates back centuries ago to Ireland, where a man named Stingy Jack once invited Satan himself to come and share a mug of Irish ale. Because Jack was so frugal, he did not want to pay for his drink, and instead convinced satan to turn himself into a coin that he could use to pay their tab. The dvil obliged. Jack decided to keep the coin himself and put it in his pocket, alongside a silver cross. This prevented the devil from changing from the coin back into the Satan.

Eventaully, Jack agreed to release the devil if the devil would agree not to claim Jack’s soul if he should die – and that he would not bother him for at least a year.

A year passed. The devil returned. Jack was cunning and convinced the devil to climb a tree to pick some fruit. While the devil was up in the tree, he commenced to carve a cross into the tree, stranding the devil. Before Jack would remove the carving from the tree, the devil had to agree to leave him alone for at least ten years.

Jack died. The devil wouldn’t allow him into the underworld. God wouldn’t allow him into heaven. The devil sent him away from hell with a burning coal that would light his path. Jack placed the coal into a carved out turnip and roamed the earth – and still roams it! Over time, the tradition of carving out turnips turned to carving out a gourd that was readily available during the harvest season – the pumpkin.

There you have it! Now you know why we silly Halloween revelers carve out those perfectly good pumpkins!

At HalloweenBlog.Org, we love all things Halloween – and all things scary. Keeping with our continual pledge to discuss things that are creepy and frightening – we thought it would be fun to point out that this month is one of the three months in 2012 that there will be a “FRIDAY THE 13th”.

Many people are afraid of the day – Friday the 13th – thus the success of the movie franchise by the same name. There is a word for folks who fear this day. It is called

paraskevidekatriaphobia

Wow, that’s a mouthful, right? This year may be particularly frightening to those who suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia because this supposedly cursed day comes around three times this year – the first time that it has happened that often – since 1984. To make it even creepier, the Fridays in question are spaced EXACTLY thirteen, yes, thirteen, weeks apart. Friday, January 13th – Friday, April 13th, and Friday, July 13, 2012.

This phenomenon won’t happen again until 2040. But why is that people are so fearful of Friday the 13th, the day. We can see the fear in Friday the 13th the movie, but what is there to fear about the day?

The number 13, as it turns out, is a recurring presence in spiritual, mythological and religious traditions. For Christians, the Last Supper was attended by 13 people before Jesus betrayal, and his death followed on a Friday. Dining in groups of thirteen is warned about in a Norse myth. (In fact, in Paris, you can hire a professional quatorzieme, or 14th guest). The Knights Templar were imprisoned on Friday the thirteenth, and Tupac Shakur passed away on Friday the Thirteenth.

The British Navy built the HMS Friday, which launched on Friday the 13th, never to again be heard from. (Some folks say that this is just legend, and there are no records of it).

But we all know what happened to the Appollo 13, which launched at 13:13 (1:13) on 4/11/70. When you add the sum of the date up – 4+11+7+0 – what do you get? 13! The explosion that really messed up the spacecraft actually occured on the thirteenth!

Some builders purposefully skip the thirteenth floor, and some hospitals don’t have a room number thirteen.

The U.S. Mint had no qualms about the number, however. The dollar bill has thirteen stars above the head of the eagle, thirteen steps on the pyramid, thirteen war arrows are grasped in the claw of the eagle, and the olive branch has – yes – you guessed it – thirteen leaves!

If you love to dress up (and who doesn’t) then perhaps you should consider taking your love of wearing a costume to heart (pun intended) for Valentine’s Day! Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and there are some fun ideas that you can use for getting the most out of that Valentine’s party or dance, or just for clubbing or even a party at the office. The following are some hot little numbers for guys and girls that top the Valentine’s Day costume list every year:
- Cupid. Stupid cupid, stop picking on me! So goes the old song! Cupid costumes can be so much fun, and they can be cute or sexy or both. Men and women, boys and girls, everyone can dress as Cupid, the mischievous little matchmaker who sends arrows flying to cause people to fall madly in love. A cupid can be cherub like, or vixen like, your choice.
- Playboy. Calling all playboys! There’s never been a better time than Valentine’s Day to sport your Playboy look. A smoking jacket, some loose slacks and a drink in one hand and you’re ready to hit the Playboy mansion, full steam ahead.
- Love bug. Everyone loves a love bug, and dressing as a cute lady bug or love bug is a fabulous way to pay homage to the holiday that is dedicated for lovers.
- Queen of Hearts or Queen of Hearts. This is a great couple’s costume, or you can go as one or the other and find your perfect pair once you get there. After all, what could draw more attention to you than dressing as a giant card?
These are just our top four recommended Valentine’s Day costumes. Can you think of more? What’s your favorite?

The new year has arrived.  It is finally 2012.  We have officially made it through the holiday season and are slowly making our way towards everyone’s favorite holiday – Halloween.  But if Mayan predictions hold true, then this will be our very last Halloween, ever.  That’s right.  Some very scary people thousands of years ago accurately predicted a lot of stuff that has already happened. Their calendar is super accurate, all the way up until it ends – on December 21, 2012.

The Mayans were a bloodthirsty lot who were good at some things.  One was sacrificing virgins by tossing them into the fiery pit of a volcano.  The other was making scary predictions for 2012 using highly accurate and super sensitive astrological equipment that they fashioned from stone.  The Mayans, thousands of years ago, before there were GPS units in every car and computers inside every phone, were able to predict the length of a lunar moon, right down to the second.  Now that’s something to think about.

But the Mayans aren’t the only soothsayers who are looking at 2012 as a year to remember (if anyone is around that is).  Many religious teachings set the date for Armageddon, which is the final showdown between good and evil, for 2012.  This includes several interpretations of the Christian Holy Bible, as well as the I Ching, which is the Chinese Book of Changes.  Some Hindu teachings put 2012 as a date for the end of the world, too.  Could they all be wrong?

Some doomsday prophesies don’t see Armageddon as the end of the world.  These prophecies put Mother Nature into the mix.  For instance, it is thought that the Yellowstone volcano, located in Yellowstone National Park, erupts every 650,000 years, is due to explode sometime in 2012.  Of course, these are only trained geologists who have been studying this stuff for years and years.  They could be wrong. Let’s hope so.  If the volcano blows, then the whole of the earth will be cast into a frozen abyss that will last for the next 15,000 years.  And if Mother Nature decides to hold off a few more thousand years on making a big bang at Yellowstone, the sun itself might have to step in and take us out.  Experts from every part of the globe have been warning that our sun is in trouble.  It would appear that the sun has been bombarding the planet with a lot of radiation.  In fact, these solar flares have been enough to destroy satellites and knock out power grids.  Scientists tell us that the sun will peak at its deadliest – in 2012.

Come what may, let’s make this the best Halloween ever.  Start planning now for Halloween decor and Halloween costumes for the family.

I thought it would be fun to talk about one of the planet’s scariest places, Waverly Hills Sanitorium in Louisville, Kentucky. I’ve actually been to this former tuberculosis hospital, and got to tour its most infamous areas. Here’s the 4-1-1 on a place that horror author Stephen King is said to have “been creeped out”.

In the early part of the twentieth century, prior to the discovery of antibiotics, tuberculosis was known as the “White Plague” and was very contagious. By 1926, the disease was so widespread that the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky, had to expand to a location that would hold 500 people at once. Waverly Hills still stands today, and is reputed to be one of the most haunted places in the world.
Many primitive treatments were carried out, many of them ineffective and some of them bordering on torturous. For example, some patients would be subjected to removal of several bones from the rib cage, which was known as a thoracoplasty. In truth, as many people likely died from barbaric care as did from the disease itself. (Although, keep in mind, this was the science of the day).
Once antibiotics were created that would cure TB, the hospital shut down briefly before being reopened as a hospital for the elderly a year later. Rumors of suicide and patient abuse ran rampant at the time. It was also during this time that a nurse who had died on the premises in the 20s began to haunt room 502, which is one of the hot spots for paranormal activity within the five story structure. Apparently, the nurse hung herself in this room. Another nurse was reported to have jumped from the roof to her death a year or so later.
One of the most haunting aspects of Waverly Hills is the body chute, which is sometimes called the Tunnel of Death. This tunnel is five-hundred feet long and leads from Waverly Hills to the bottom of the hill. The dead were transported down this tunnel in an effort to avoid upsetting the patients by removing the dead in front of them.
The geriatric center was closed down and changed owners a number of times throughout the years. The present owners, Charlie and Tina Mattingly, offer ghost tours, overnight investigations, and historical tours year round. All money raised is used for restoration of Waverly Hills.
If this site interests you but you’re too far away to visit, think about watching the movie “Death Tunnel”, which was filmed at Waverly Hills and is based on true events that occurred there.  Walking tours include the general hospital, room 502, and of course, the body chute.

Sure you know they are orange, and you probably buy one or more each October in celebration of Halloween. You know that they are fun to carve, and you probably have decorated your fair share of jack-o-lanterns over the years. But what do you really know about pumpkins?  The informative and fun pumpkin facts and pumpkin trivia below will power you with the knowledge to wow your friends, come Halloween 2012!  Did you know that:

• A pumpkin is not a vegetable, as most folks think. It is a fruit!  Pumpkins are a type of squash and are in the gourd family (Cucurbitacae).  This same family includes cucumbers, squash, melons and gherkins.
• In the New World, the colonists would slice off the top of the pumpkin, remove its seeds and fill it up with milk, honey, and spices.  They would then bake this in hot ash.  This was the original pumpkin pie, and perhaps the reason that we enjoy pumpkin pie with a dollop of whipped cream so much this time of year.
• Old home remedies hold that you can cure snake bites and remove freckles – with pumpkin!
• The biggest pumpkin pie on record to be baked weighed in at just over a ton, back in 2005.
• Pumpkins are nothing new.  They have been growing in North American for five millennia, or five thousand years.  Pumpkins are indigenous to our side of the globe.
• The name pumpkin came into use in the late 1500s when Jacques Cartier, while exploring the St. Lawrence region of North American, reported that he found what he called “gros melons”.  The name “gros melons” was translated into English to pomions, and that name evolved later on into the world pumpkin, which is what we call them now!
• Pumpkins are not that tasty, without all the spices and sugar that are added to them to make pumpkin pie.  But they are low in fat, sodium, and calories, and a good source of fiber.  They are also good sources of Vitamins A and B, potassium, iron, and protein.
• The traditional American pumpkin is the Connecticut field pumpkin.
• Pumpkins are made from 90 percent water.
• When growing pumpkins, they should be planted anywhere between the last of May and middle of June.  Pumpkins take around three to four months to grow, just ready for the October harvest.

We thought it would be fun (since we have a sweet tooth that doesn’t go away with Halloween) to look at some facts and figures on Halloween, Halloween candy, and trick-or-treating.  Most of our figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Potential number of trick-or-treaters that could go door to door on Halloween night, collecting treats and offering up tricks: 41 million.  This is an estimate that is based on children aged five to fourteen, trick-or-treating each year. That doesn’t include those older kids who go out trick-or-treating, nor does it include the little toddlers and babies (or even your pets) that venture out on All Hallows’ Eve in search of a treat.

Potential number of stops for trick-or-treaters: 117 million.  That’s a whole lot of candy going out the door.

Households where the resident considers the neighborhood they live in to be safe: 92%.  That’s welcome news!  In fact, seventy-eight percent of those surveyed by the Census Bureau said that they wouldn’t be afraid to walk anywhere within a one mile radius of their homes, alone, and at a night.

Amount of pumpkins available for Jack-o-Lanterns and for making pumpkin pies: over one BILLION pounds. Yes, billion, with a “b”.  Illinois is a top-producing state for pumpkins, producing over 425 million pounds of our favorite orange-colored gourd.  Ohio, New York, and California are also major pumpkin producing states, each producing at least 100 million pounds each.

Places to go to get in the mood for Halloween, year round: Transylvania County, North Carolina; Tombstone, Arizona; Cape Fear, North Carolina; and Skull Creek, Nebraska.

Amount of candy consumed by each person in America, each year: 25 pounds, give or take a Tootsie Roll or a gummy worm.

So there you have it!

A few stats on your favorite time of the year to keep you busy until next Halloween 2012!