****DON'T FORGET THE DAILY TRIVIA LINK LOCATED ON THE MAIN PAGE IN THE RIGHT COLUMN UNDER THE NEWS LINK.

SPECIAL CONTESTS WITH WHIPPY

TRICK OR TREATING TOURS: 1 OF WHIPPY'S TOURS PER WEEK IN OCT WILL HAVE EITHER BINGO, DD, BJ, ACES UP, OR NIL BUSTERS ON THEM.
THEY WILL NOT BE ANNOUNCED IN ADVANCE; PLAYER WHO WINS MOST WILL WIN $25 E-CARD OR 1 MONTH DIAMOND.

5 O'CLOCK TREAT TOURS: WHOEVER WINS THE MOST 5:00 PM TOURS IN OCTOBER WILL WIN $25 E-CARD OR 1 MONTH DIAMOND.

GAME OF THE MONTH FOR OCTOBER WILL BE TRUTH OR DARE. / WINNER OF MOST TRUTH OR DARE TOURS WINS 1 MONTH DIAMOND.

IMPORTANT NOTE!!!!! IF YOU WON ANY OF WHIPPY'S EVENTS IN THE PREVIOUS MONTH YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO WIN THIS MONTH!!

SPECIAL THANKS TO:*WHISPER & *WHIPPY FOR FUNDING OCTOBER GAMES!

  OCTOBER RECIPE CONTEST
Win a $20 gift certificate by identifying who contributed this CREEPY recipe for VAMPYRE CAKE.
Email Selsi (selsi9901@gmail.com) First correct response wins! One guess per day!

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh or frozen cherries, pitted / 1/2 c. (100 g.) granulated sugar / 1/2 c. water
2 Tbsp. cornstarch / 1/4 tsp. kosher salt / Cooking spray / Any standard white cake mix
1 1/2 c. heavy cream / 3 Tbsp. powdered sugar / 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Cherry Sauce
In a small pot, combine cherries, granulated sugar, water, cornstarch, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Reduce heat to low and cook, mashing occasionally, until cherries are broken down and mixture is thickened, about 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool. Using a blender, puree until smooth. Cherry sauce can be made 1 day ahead.
Let cool, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before using.

Cake
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13"-by-9" pan with cooking spray and line with parchment, leaving an overhang on 2 long sides.
Prepare any standard white cake mix according to pkg instructions. Bake cake until risen and firm to the touch, 25 to 35 minutes.
While still warm, using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes all over cake, spacing about 1" apart and forming a grid of about 12-by-8 holes.
Set aside 1/4 cup cherry sauce for serving. Using a small spoon or a piping bag, fill holes with remaining cherry sauce.
(Sauce may soak into cake after sitting a few minutes, leaving room for more sauce; continue to top up holes as much as possible.)
Let cool completely, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

Topping
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, whip cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until medium peaks form.
Using parchment overhang, remove chilled cake from pan. Spread whipped cream over cake.
With 2-tined fork, poke holes in whipped cream to resemble fangs, then fill with reserved cherry sauce.
Splatter remaining cake topping with remaining cherry sauce as desired.

LITERARY CORNER

All Souls'

A thin moon faints in the sky o'erhead,
And dumb in the churchyard lie the dead.
Walk we not, Sweet, by garden ways,
Where the late rose hangs and the phlox delays,
But forth of the gate and down the road,
Past the church and the yews, to their dim abode.
For it's turn of the year and All Souls' night,
When the dead can hear and the dead have sight.
Fear not that sound like wind in the trees:
It is only their call that comes on the breeze;
Fear not the shudder that seems to pass:
It is only the tread of their feet on the grass;
Fear not the drip of the bough as you stoop:
It is only the touch of their hands that grope--
For the year's on the turn, and it's All Souls' night,
When the dead can yearn and the dead can smite.
--Edith Wharton

For Homer

Darkness is falling
On Halloween night
Witches and goblins
Give kids a bad fright.

I'm barely seven
And gazing in fear
At a zombie named Evan
With freckles severe.

My hand grips my grandpa's
His knuckles all skint
As we tramp over leaves
To score Mars bars and mints.

When my treat bag is full
I'm so tired from the trek
I'm carried back home
My arms round his neck.

He'll tuck me in bed
Bless my cheek with a kiss
My candy beside me
To bring morning bliss.

You can have Christmas
And all its delights
Just give me back Grandpa
And Halloween nights.
--Selsi

"My fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country."
--John Fitzgerald Kennedy