Editorials
[Special Feature] 10 Awful Ways To Die This Halloween
Halloween is supposed to be a night for celebrating the darker sides of human nature. But just like with Christmas, it’s original meaning has been adulterated by consumerism. Instead of worrying about demons and zombies, we now spend Halloween collecting buckets of candy and/or ogling sexy maids/nurses/teachers/adult babies.
Let’s bring the focus back on what Halloween’s really about: Death. While you’re out trick or treating this year, keep these wonderful Halloween-themed threats in mind.
Razor-Blade Candy

A classic, and for good reason. The only idea worse than biting into an unseen razor blade is the idea that you might unknowingly swallow one. With a razor blade slicing through all your insides, it’s only a matter of time before you’re barfing up your whole digestive track. And yes, that means you die with a mouth full of your own poo.
Michael Myers

He doesn’t come around as much as he used to, but you’re can never be sure when Michael Myers will attack next. Back in the day, Myers attacks were more common but they weren’t so bad. You’d get stabbed or chocked or dropped or whatever, but it’d go by relatively quickly. This more recent Michael Myers is a bit different. He doesn’t just stab you, he punches through your head with a knife, not just once but twenty to thirty times. He’s also kind of a hobo, so he smells just awful.
Making your Jack-O-Lantern

It’s amazing how many children make Jack-O-Lanterns during for Halloween. The supposedly fun activity just begs for premature death. Kids usually aren’t that smart. And even the smart ones still suffer from poor hand-eye coordination and body control. So the idea that we let them use knives to cut faces into hollowed-out pumpkins seems especially ludicrous. And even worse, we then expect them to play with fire lighting them up. It’s a wonder Halloween emergency rooms aren’t filled with flaming pen-knife victims year after year. This could be the year.
Circus Peanut Asphyxiation

You thought circus peanuts were bad because they’re basically packing peanuts with a little sugar sprinkled on them? No way. They’re bad because when you eat them they purposefully try to stick in your throat, choking you to death. You didn’t know they were alive? Well, they are. Circus Peanuts are actually alien organisms meant to infiltrate earth by laying eggs in stomachs of decomposing human corpses. The only reason this Circus Peanut Invasion has yet to take off is because anyone who ever ate one spit it out immediately.
Corn Maze

Corn mazes are a tried and true Halloween tradition, but people underestimate how dangerous they are. Simply put: a well designed labyrinth can keep people confused and mixed up for days. It only takes a few of those before dehydration sets in, less if you’ve been drinking alcohol (and if you’re doing a corn maze you’re either drunk, a child, or both). And even if you have water, you still face starvation. Yeah, you can eat all the corn you want, but you’ll still die because your body won’t digest it, kind of like dying of thirst in the middle of the ocean.
Christian Wackos

Christian wackos have problems with almost everything that’s cool, so it should come as no surprise that some Christian wackos dislike a holiday that glorifies gluttony, demon worship, and cleavage. Since Christian activity works as kind of an afterlife credit system, they’re less inclined to worry about terrestrial concerns such as jail time and the electric chair if it means an addition on the golden mansion awaiting them in Heaven. As a result, you never know when one might abduct you and bore you with extremely long sermons before wrapping your face in plastic wrap and shooting the top of your head off.
Monster Apocalypse

Don’t laugh or roll your eyes. Being called impossible is the number one way things become possible. It could happen. Don’t talk to me about science. I don’t want to hear about your science.
So let’s hypothetically say the worse happens and everyone turns into their Halloween costumes like in that episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. All in one night, we would suddenly have to deal with a massive increase in ghost, zombie, vampire, werewolf, Bane, and Borat activity across the nation. Even worse, the only people left behind to fight back would be all the princesses and Yodas. To say we’re doomed would be putting it lightly.
Smashing Pumpkins

The human head isn’t as hard as you think. If you and your friends are out smashing pumpkins without helmets on, you may be courting Halloween death. As we all know, smashing those things is a blast. But the more fun you have, the less you aim. And the less you aim, the more likely it is that you’ll accidentally hit someone in the head, replacing their face with pumpkin pie.
It’s a horrible way to go. Victims don’t die automatically, but suffocate on pumpkins guts while running around wildly like a goofball. Usually, they run into traffic. Rarely does a Smashing Pumpkin death supply a corpse clean enough for an open casket. Beware.
Kid Gangs

Kids may look cute, but in large groups they can be deadly. Halloween exasperates their threat immensely. Not only are they roaming the streets in loosely organized gangs, but they’re hopped up on sugar highs. Even worse, their costumes grant them anonymity, allowing them to act without fear of repercussion.They may only smash your heads with pumpkins. Or perhaps they will force circus peanuts down your throat. The most unlucky victims are stoned to death with popcorn balls. Get them before they get you.
Life
Because cancer doesn’t care if it’s Halloween or not.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.

For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
![]()
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!

You must be logged in to post a comment.