... continued from Cover
world. One of the country’s most renowned haunts is the Labyrinth of Fear, located at the amusement park Fuji-Q Highland. Not only is it one of the scariest haunted houses in the world, but it’s also one of the largest. The Labyrinth of Fear is set up in a former hospital, and it takes about 40 minutes to walk through the two-story building from start to finish. Japanese people and visitors can usually enjoy these frights year-round. During a typical summer, many cities across Japan open haunted houses for the sheer enjoyment of visitors who travel from all over to get their scares in early. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses had to shut down across the country this summer, and things were looking bleak. However, there was one production company, Kowagarasetai, that did not give up. Kenta Iwana, a Kowagarasetai producer, decided the company could still offer a haunted house while practicing safe distancing by setting up a drive-thru haunted house. Although this
may sound dangerous at first, the car itself remains stationary throughout the production. In this attraction, guests sit in a car and watch as horror opens up around them — zombies crawl across the hood of the car and press their faces against the windshield, and visitors can hear the shrieks of terror through the radio as an unlucky soul is trapped outside.
This new and innovative way to enjoy these annual frights could be just what everyone needs this Halloween. No matter what’s in store for the spooky holiday this year, be safe, have fun, and enjoy Halloween!
THE SPOOKY‘STARWARS’ SHORTAGE OF 1977
A long time ago … in October of 1977 to be exact, Halloween was fast approaching and many parents faced a major dilemma. That year, kids didn’t want to go trick-or- treating dressed as vampires, witches, or ghosts. The classic costumes simply wouldn’t do. That Halloween, almost every child in the United States wanted to dress as their favorite character from the new hit movie, “Star Wars.” Today, you can walk into a Halloween City on Oct. 30 and easily pick up a costume for Rey, Darth Vader, or Princess Leia. But in 1977, less than five months after the release of the first movie in the popular franchise, getting your hands on “Star Wars” merchandise was a bit more difficult. Ben Cooper, a costume company in Brooklyn, had the foresight to license “Star Wars” for costumes right after the movie came out. Unfortunately, they didn’t foresee how great the demand for these costumes would be.
lucky. But kids who arrived at the store to find the costume shelves empty didn’t throw in the towel. Instead, they went and found some brown towels to make their own Chewbacca costumes. In the current age of cosplay, homemade costumes based on movie characters are commonplace, but in 1977, this was uncharted territory. Kids searched for white dresses to be Princess Leia and bathrobes they could cut short to mimic Luke Skywalker. Moms everywhere broke out their sewing machines and created costumes using only action figures for reference. It was grueling work, but it showed how much kids wanted to spend Halloween in a galaxy far, far away. The “Star Wars” costume shortage marked a new era for Halloween — one where making your own costume was just as cool, if not better, than buying it.
Retailers across the country were selling out of “Star Wars” costumes as fast as they came in. Some stores reported selling more “Star Wars” costumes than pumpkins. Kids who got their hands on an authentic Han Solo or C-3PO costume were considered
2 • www.lawyersreadytofight.com
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator