THE 1981 HALLOWEEN PARTY FROM HELL

2007 UPDATE

This is the absolute true story of the longest and most frightening night of my entire life. 

I have always loved throwing my Halloween Party.  Dancing and Costumes go so well together and it is always fun to promote a little mischief.   People appreciate my efforts.  They compliment me on hosting such a well-run party.  Of course I enjoy the kind words, but inwardly I always smile at the part about the 'well-run party'.  These people of course have no idea about all the screw-ups I made in the early years while I was learning my lessons. 

Of course most of the screw-ups occurred at one particular party.  The 1981 Halloween Party from Hell was a catastrophe of unbelievable proportions.  Sit back and be amazed at all the crazy stuff that happened.  I promise you will not be disappointed.  This is definitely one hell of a good story.

PART ONE - BACKGROUND

THE PICTURES TELL THE STORY

In the weeks leading up to the 1981 Halloween Party there were three important developments.  The first significant development was an offer made by my friend Jim Fogo to take photographs. 

The 1981 Party was our fourth party in a growing tradition.  Up till now other than a snapshot here and there, we hadn't taken pictures very seriously at the previous parties.  Fogo's offer to take pictures of all the guests seemed like a great idea.  Without any hesitation I gave him permission to snap away. At the time I never anticipated that these pictures would help catapult our Halloween Party to fame.

There were about 80 pictures, 40 of Cindy and 40 of the other guests.  I glued the best pictures on the poster.  Then I hung the poster up at the studio for all the world to see.  As a result, the 1981 Halloween Party became our first party to ever have a Halloween Poster.  

The guests absolutely loved seeing the poster.  I grinned as everyone who had been at the party circled around the poster to laugh and tease each other.  I was surprised to realize that even the people who didn't come to the party were interested.  Several of them whispered to me how much they regretted missing the party now that they had seen the pictures.  They were so taken aback with all the fun we were having that they became determined to make the next year's party.  

Thanks to Jim Fogo, I discovered how much people appreciated getting their picture taken and having it displayed.  The 1981 Halloween Party marked the way for photos to become a major part of our formula for success.  These pictures were so phenomenal at promoting future parties, taking pictures became a focal point from that point on.  

Also thanks to Fogo, for the purposes of this unusual tale, we also get to see some pictures to help explain how crazy things were as this story unfolds. 

A couple days before the party, my married friend told me over the phone that she wouldn't be with me at the party this year.  This announcement was a surprise.  My lady friend had been instrumental in organizing the first three Halloween Parties.  As you can see from our 1979 and 1980 Halloween pictures, we were partners.

The Halloween Party had been just as important to her as it was to me, but this year she had chosen to spend the evening with her former husband.  As they say, this was a major omen.  I could see this was the beginning of the end.  For her to miss this party meant the time she would still be in my life was growing short. 

Despite my sadness, I was completely okay with her decision.  In fact, I had been hoping for this moment for some time.  I had been waiting for the chance to get my freedom back. 

Back in those days, I had a different much approach to the Halloween Party.  I was more interested in having a good time than I was in being a responsible studio owner who keeps a close and sober eye on the proceedings.   I figured the Halloween Party would pretty much run itself. 

Being free is kind of fun sometimes.  Although I had no intention of chasing women at the party that night, I was definitely ready to let loose.  I had a great time being a wild and crazy Sailor Boy.  I danced with abandon, I flirted at every opportunity, and did whatever I felt like as the evening wore on. 

As it turned out, there was a major consequence of my independent status that night.  Since I didn't have to answer to anyone, I was free to drink as much of Bob's amazing punch as I wanted to.  However, no one was around to keep me in line when my drinking got out of control.  This small detail would play a very significant role in the evening's outcome.

BOB JOB TWISTS MY ARM

Bob Job was my best friend.  In his spare time, he was a brilliant chemist who worked for Shell.  But his greatest love was the Texas Twostep.  Throughout 1981, Bob and I had been working out the kinks in this new dance we called the Western Swing.  He and I spent a lot of time together at the old Winchester Club,  the place where SSQQ got its name.

I loved Bob, but he was always getting me into trouble.  For example, one time he almost got me beat up by a bunch of Mexicans in Acapulco.  And of course he led the 1981 Halloween Party to ruin.   With friends like Bob, who needs enemies? 

Everything seemed so promising.  Back in the early years of the Halloween Party, I was always looking for ways to make my Party better.  This year I was more determined than ever to do well.  I had some serious atonement to attend to.

PART TWO - THE 1981 HALLOWEEN PARTY

THE PARTY BEGINS

You would have never guessed we were on the Eve of Destruction if you came to the Party early.  The 1981 Halloween Party was fabulous right from the very start.  The dance floor was crowded and people were chatting.  Fogo was going around taking pictures and everyone was smiling for the camera.  I could not have been more pleased.

Truth be told, if the 1981 Party had ended at 11 pm, this party would have gone down in history as our best Halloween Party to date.

As you can see from the picture, Bob's punch was DEFINITELY the hit of the party!!   His strange brew was popular with everyone.

Back in those days, the SSQQ Halloween Party was BYOB.  We didn't have a cooler. Nor did we have beer, wine, or soft drinks.  Therefore Bob's Magic Punch was the place to go if you didn't bring your own stuff and wished to become chemically altered.

There was a long line as many of us availed ourselves of the delicious punch.  Yum. It tasted great!

Throughout the night, Bob hovered over his Wizard's Cauldron making sure there was an ample supply for everyone.  Bob's concoction not only tasted delicious, it had our guests smiling from the get-go.  Everyone was misbehaving and people were having a great time.

As you can see, Bob had found the perfect costume for the occasion.  Dressed as the Mad Wizard with cloak and conical Magician's hat, Bob certainly looked the part as he stirred his strange brew.  It didn't hurt that he had Carol as his beautiful Magician's Assistant to help serve the brew  (Bob's duties carried some impressive perks).

Adding to the Magic was the eerie smoke that emanated from the Cauldron. Bob had added dry ice to give his work the mystical appearance of a Wizard's Potion.  The illusion was very impressive!  There were plenty of people ready to try some.  

Thanks to Bob's Wicked Wizard Punch, the party quickly burst into animation.  Everyone was having a great time!   We danced, we laughed, we carried on, we made complete fools of ourselves.  Gosh we were having fun! 

For the first two hours, the 1981 Halloween Party was a spectacular success. 

And now it was time for my big surprise!

THE DANCERS ARRIVE

Two hours into the party we were treated to some spectacular dancing entertainment.  I hadn't told anyone about hiring some professional dancers.  It was an idea I had to boost the energy of the party.  However I had arranged things at the last moment and wasn't sure the dancers would actually show up, so I kept it my little secret.

Back in the early days of SSQQ, we subleased space in the back rooms of our Bissonnet location from Dance Arts Unlimited.  

Dance Arts was owned by Glen Hunsucker.  He was my landlord & he was also the man who taught me how to dance.

Glen was a very gifted dancer in his own right. However he took his greatest pride in training his dance company.  Glen was a marvelous choreographer & his dancers reflected his creativity. 

Glen agreed to let me hire his dance company to perform at our party. However he said he had another engagement, so he wouldn't be there himself.  He said to look for the dancers to arrive around 11 pm.

That night a gasp went out as 5 women and one man appeared to perform for us.  The moment I saw them, I took a deep gulp.

I had not been told which routine they were going to perform, but I didn't expect the Jungle Fever act.  The men's eyes lit up!  The girls were almost naked! 

Watching their dates and husbands make fools of themselves was very unpleasant. The men were hootin' and hollerin' like they were at some titty bar and the women didn't like it one bit. 

So the moment the Jazz Dancers made their escape, many of the women in the audience grabbed the men by the hair and hauled them out of the building.  Seeing their men were barely under control as it was, the women were determined to get their men out of there before he did something else he would come to regret. 

Interestingly, one of the female backlash casualties was my friend Bob.  He was not in the picture because his date told him it was time to go. 

As for the Survivors of the Female Backlash, the people who stuck around began an embarrassing descent into wickedness.

Jungle Fever  had ruined the men for the rest of the evening.  The dancing had made the men so horny, they were out of control.  The men couldn't even begin to concentrate on Twostep or Swing dancing anymore.  They were flush with sexual excitement and more than a little crazy. 

After the Group Photo, like a herd of buffalos, the men got up and stampeded for another round of Bob's Wicked Wizard Punch.... and then another. 

From the looks of the picture, I guess the women did their share of drinking too.  Maybe they got caught up in the men's fervor. 

What I remember was that I had never seen so much drinking at an SSQQ party before.  Unfortunately I was way too blitzed to do anything about it. 

The sexy jazz performance had totally altered the rhythm of my party.  I was being given a first-hand lesson on how Men's Clubs stay in business -

Watching naked women dance makes men want to drink.

We took the Group Photo around 11:30 pm.  We were now about 2 1/2 hours into the party. Typically the party is still going strong at Midnight.  That's when I announce "Last Song", then many of the guests are kind enough to stay and help me clean up.  With everyone pitching in, the place is clean in about 30 minutes. Then we all go home and get some rest. 

But something was very different tonight.  For one thing, the dance floor was deserted.  That was very strange.  Of course the reason was Bob's Punch.

Social dancing and drinking don't actually mix very well.  Sure, a drink or two relaxes everyone, but too much drinking destroys the mental aspect necessary to remember patterns and leads. 

Once the men began drinking to drown out their arousal, they discovered they were useless on the dance floor.  Unable to dance, they drank some more.

At this point, the men could barely contain their libido much longer. Too much booze and too many naked women.  There were roving eyes everywhere.

Meanwhile the Survivors, i.e. the people who stayed, were going insane.  

As I pointed out, the dancing had a lot of trouble starting up again.  It wasn't like we didn't try.  After the Group Photo, I put the music back on and the guests attempted to dance but it was obvious they weren't doing very well.  The men staggered around and realized with embarrassment they couldn't remember any moves. After one or two songs, people gave up in frustration and left the dance floor. 

They were too clumsy to dance, but they were also too impaired to drive.  So they were forced to stick around.  Now a curious thing started to happen - people began to act like stark raving maniacs!   People began to wander around the studio aimlessly like zombies.  The men started grabbing the women and dragged them over to the couches in the hallway.  The women didn't seem to mind a bit. 

The picture was pretty bizarre.   Of course Halloween is all about letting loose and getting a little crazy, but something was clearly wrong here.  These people were way beyond "a little crazy".  They were drunk out of their minds and definitely feeling no pain.  I have never had a studio party where the entire group was this drunk (except perhaps the 1989 Toga Party).  

The place was filled with mad men from an asylum!  What in the hell had happened?

THE WICKED WIZARD LEAVES A PRESENT FOR US

While I am correct in blaming the Jazz Performance for sending the party downhill, the Jazz Dancers were definitely not the only culprits.  They had plenty of help from a certain Wizard.

Unbeknownst to the remaining guests, our Wicked Wizard had cast an evil spell over us. 

Obviously the drinking explains the bizarre behavior, but the degree to which we lost control was new.  It is true that most us were somewhat drunk before the Jazz dancers made their appearance, but our condition was nothing compared to this insanity. 

Throughout the evening, Bob had spiked the punch with Ever Clear, an alcoholic additive that had no taste and no smell.  And Bob did not hold back. He used a lot of Ever Clear.

However we were big kids.  No one was fooled.  We all knew the Punch was spiked.  And by continuing to dance, we kept it under control.  We danced so hard that the alcohol really didn't affect us that much. 

It was AFTER the Performance that our Wizard took us down the desolate path to destruction.  That is when the Halloween Party from Hell began.

After the Dance Performance, Fogo rounded us all up for the Group Photo.    While we were getting our picture taken in Room One, something very peculiar happened during the Group Photo shoot.  Remember that Bob was missing from the picture?  At the same time we were getting our picture taken, my friend Bob was over in the Punch Room making some last minute alterations to his Wicked Wizards Punch.

Bob had to leave early because his date insisted it was time to go.  Like many of the other women, Carol had decided the Jungle Frenzy marked the official end of the party for her and for Robert as well. 

Bob didn't protest one bit.  By the look in her eyes, Bob knew she meant it. 

However our Wizard had a problem.  He still had some extra bottles of Ever Clear left.  In his haste to leave, Bob decided he didn't have the time to bag it all up and take it home. 

Bob decided there wasn't that much left anyway.  So he poured all his remaining supply of Ever Clear into the punch. 

Then Bob and his date left the party without bothering to warn anyone. 

Maybe Bob was a little drunk himself and not thinking clearly, but this move was a killer.  His decision completely pushed us over the Edge of No Return. 

By the time we made our Buffalo Stampede to the Punch Room after the Group Photo, Bob had already left the scene of the crime. 

There sitting unattended on the table was the smoking cauldron with its delicious punch.  This deadly Cauldron had been left behind to seal our doom.

We never had a chance. The Cauldron with its seductive brew was irresistible. The Cauldron called to us - Drink me!  You know you want me.  Drink me!  

And drink we did.  We drank as if there were no consequences.  We had no idea Bob had made his Wicked Wizard Punch twice as deadly.  As a result, soon many of us were in big big trouble.  We all began to fall off the cliff into the Abyss.

Talk about never seeing the Punch coming!  We never knew the punch was double-spiked.  And like idiots we kept going back for more because we were too far gone to know any better.

Soon there was not even one remotely sober person in the whole building! 

This time we couldn't dance it off.  We were too tired and we were so drunk that none of us could even dance!!  In fact, even standing up was a problem. The floor quickly became deserted.  A couple people who could still move left, but the remaining twenty people drifted to the Hallway where the couches were.  They realized they were way too drunk to drive.  It was time to find a place to collapse. 

The partiers staggered around like extras from the Night of the Living Dead hoping to find a chair or a couch to fall down on.  Soon every seat in the house was occupied.  The rest of the people sat down wherever they happened to be talking because they were too damn drunk to stand up any more.  Some people would fall on top of someone already sitting on a couch.  Or the men would drag the women onto the couches with them.  The women were far too gone to put up much resistance.

That's when the hysterical laughter began.  They were laughing their drunken butts off.  For a while, the scene resembled a Roman Bacchanalia (see picture).  I don't remember much, but I believe this was also the point were people began to engage in serious hugging and smooching.  

And I am not even sure if they knew exactly who they were smooching and hugging... it was very dark and there were a lot of bodies crowded onto those couches. 

He said there were two couples who saw him get up.  They stopped smooching and looked around. Whey they saw everyone else was asleep, they decided to follow him out the door.

As he walked out, there were about ten people left.  Like me, they were completely passed out on those couches.  Sorry to be gruesome, but the Hallway looked exactly like the infamous Jim Jones massacre in Guyana years back.   Bodies were strewn everywhere!!

Murder.   Bob had killed every single one of us.

I don't have many details to share about the SSQQ Orgy because I was one of the people who was out cold.   It had been a really long day.  I had started decorating at 10 am and had not sat down once till now.  I was barely conscious when the smooching began.

I can at least assure you I didn't do any of the smooching.  Not that I didn't want to, but I was still committed to behaving myself for a change.  Actually I didn't have any problems with temptation for a simple reason.  I was on the verge of collapse.  My head was spinning so I staggered over to the nearest couch.  I closed my eyes to rest for a moment. 

Five seconds later I passed out.

PART THREE - MY RUDE AWAKENING

I was one of the worst.  No, that's not me in the picture, but that picture pretty much sums up my state of being.  I was totally and completely blotto.

I had drunk as much and maybe more than anyone.  I had started drinking the moment Bob got to the studio and hadn't stopped since.  

I was way way way over the cliff.  My head was spinning.  

Like I said, after the dancing disappeared, I found a couch in the hallway and sat down to close my eyes for a just a brief moment.  

Big mistake.  I soon passed out. 

There were three dance rooms.   Glen used Room One every night.  I conducted my dance classes in both Room 2 and Room 3.  I have labeled Room 2 as the Punch Room because that's where Bob had mixed his brew. 

There were two long Hallways.  One hallway passed between the Punch Room and Room 3. It went out to the front door and Bissonnet.

Me and the rest of the Zombies had passed out on the couches lining the Hallway from Hell.

When I awoke from my drunken stupor, I was surrounded by an empty sea of darkness.

Someone had turned off every light in the building.    The studio appeared to me exactly like the picture on the left. 

The black area of the map represents all the different rooms with lights turned out.  However thanks to a nearby Coke machine I had some dim light to see by.  I had passed out near Room One at the far end of the Hallway from Hell  (see the gray portion of the map). 

HELPLESS

As I sobered up, I was stunned at my vulnerability.  Not only had every guest left me behind while I was unconscious, this studio was wide open on Halloween Night, the night when all the Psychos go trick or treating!  Any monster, pervert or criminal could have wandered in while I was passed out and defenseless.  At this thought I was seized by fear.  The possibilities were horrible.  

Maybe I was in danger right now!  Holy Guacamole!  Was there still someone left in the building?  I had no idea what the status of the studio was.  If someone was still here, I would never know because it was too dark to see.  The studio gets very dark when the lights are out because there are no windows.  Weirder still, the music was playing.  The loud rock music coming from the empty dark room down the hall scared me.  I couldn't possibly hear if there was someone sneaking up on me. 

No eyes.  No ears.  No one to call for help.  I was alone in the dark.  I felt completely helpless. 

I was alone in this spooky dark studio with that damn music bouncing off the walls.

Now what do I do?  It was 4 in the morning.  Someone had obviously turned out the lights on their way out.  I was alone in the dark and defenseless on the creepiest night of the entire year.  I could be attacked or I could be robbed and there was little I could do to protect myself.

As I sat there struggling to comprehend my lousy situation, I wondered why no one had awakened me.  I felt so creepy to realize I had been laying there unconscious for four hours. 

Then I began to think how lucky I was to be alive!  I had been completely out of control. 

I shouldn't tell you this, but I have always been worried when cleaning up at the end of Halloween Parties.  Everyone who comes to our parties is always so friendly and appreciative, but you know and I know that there is always an element of danger from complete strangers who come to the SSQQ Halloween Party.  

As a result, I have always been extremely cautious at the end of our parties... except for this night.  This was the only time I have ever let my guard down.  You just never know.   It would only take one weirdo to hide in the shadows till everyone left and then...

I couldn't stand it.  The thought of laying there unconscious and defenseless for 4 hours upset me a great deal.  I could easily have been robbed or attacked.   

Talk about paranoid!  One horrible possibility after another kept haunting me. 

I could not get my brain to shut up. Spooked by the darkness and that awful music playing in the pitch black room to my left, one gruesome possibility after another flashed across my mind's eye.  This moment was playing out just like a scene from a horror movie like Scream or Halloween and I wasn't a bit happy about it.

Visions of Michael Myers and his slashing knife from Halloween crossed my mind. Right now this huge empty dance studio was much creepier than I wanted it to be!

My head throbbed from all the booze.  I was weak.  I ached everywhere and I had an upset stomach.  I was so angry at myself for losing control.   How stupid can you get?  This was one of my most miserable moments ever.    

And you know what?   It was about to get worse.  Much worse.

ALONE IN THE DARK

Finally I got a grip on my nerves. I decided to take stock of the situation.   I realized I had one heck of a problem - even in the dim light I could see the mess from the party was still sitting there in the Hallway!!  I couldn't see very far, but within my range of sight there was trash laying everywhere.  I was in big trouble.  

My mind drifted back to the previous year's Halloween Party when I had stupidly let someone put down dance wax on the floor.  The morning after the party, Glen Hunsucker and his dancers could barely stand up, much less dance.   Glen warned me if I ever pulled a stunt like that again, I could look for a new studio...

There was a dance rehearsal scheduled for 9 am that Sunday morning.   After the fiasco of last year's party, I knew Glen Hunsucker would kill me if I left this trash till later.  I had four, maybe five hours to straighten this place up before they arrived.  The drinks and the food had to come up NOW or I was toast. 

But I was exhausted.  My head throbbed and I felt too weak to even move.  I was sick with nausea.  I just wanted to lay back down and go back to sleep.  I was in a bind.  What was I going to do? 

I sat there feeling sorry for myself for a long time.  Finally my paranoia got me going.  I wanted to go back to sleep, but I knew I couldn't go back to sleep as long as the door was unlocked.   So I made a deal with myself.  Go lock the door and I could come back and take another nap.  So about ten minutes after I woke up, I reluctantly got up and went to the front of the building to lock the door.  

On my way back, I passed garbage and spilled drinks everywhere.  I groaned as I realized what a colossal mistake I had made by falling asleep.  Normally people stay and help clean up. Not this time - everyone was gone and the place was a total wreck!!

The place reeked.  My ass was grass.  If some axe murderer didn't get me first, Glen might kill me instead.  If I didn't get this place cleaned up, I might as well start looking for another location.   But I was too weak to clean this huge place by myself.   How would I ever get myself out of this mess?

I DISCOVER I AM NOT ALONE...

As I lay on my couch staring into the dark gloom, I heard a strange moan. 

Woooooh... 

I jumped up off that couch faster than you can say 'Frankenstein'.  

I was damn scared!!  What in the hell was that sound!!??

The sound had come from my right.  Frantically I peered down the hallway, but saw nothing. Horrified, I continued to stare into the semi-darkness.  I wondered what on earth I had heard. 

The sound had not been repeated.  Now I didn't hear a thing.  Total silence.  I was sweating with fear.  Was this my imagination?  I swore to myself I had heard something.  Every hair on my body was standing on edge.  I got in touch with the meaning of the phrase 'spine-tingling terror'. 

I trembled with near panic.  I kept turning my head in every direction looking for some sign of movement.  Whatever that sound had been, it had been REAL SCARY...

My mind raced through the possibilities.  Had someone from the party stayed behind?  Was someone sticking around to play a sick joke on me?  Or was this real danger?

For the second time that night, I thought I was in a scene from Halloween or Scream.  That is how scared I was. 

My imagination was running wild.  I was alone in the dark and someone had just moaned like a ghost in a haunted mansion.  It was House on Haunted Hill all over again.  Or was it Psycho?   This was not a dream.   Or was it?   In my shock, I was completely disoriented.   What should I do?

I reflexively closed the Hallway door behind me.  Big mistake!  I was shocked to see Room One plunge into total darkness.  I was blind!!

If I were to do it over again, I would have simply retreated a few feet into the shadows of Room One and left the door open so I could see down the Hallway.  That way I would have been invisible to anyone entering the Hallway, but I would have a good vantage point to see what was going on. 

Meanwhile over in my corner I waited.  And waited.  And waited.   Where was the intruder?   Why didn't he come for me?

As I stood there shaking, I realized how pathetic my situation was.  For starters I was completely and utterly trapped.  Back in those days, the Hallway was the only way in and out of that room.  

I was completely blind.  By closing that door, I had plunged the room into complete darkness.  The room was devoid of any light at all.  If there was indeed an attacker, he had control over the entrance to the room and the light switch beside it.

Furthermore I did not even have the advantage of being hidden!  That really upset me.  One flip of the light switch and I would be as exposed as a deer in headlights.  Sooner or later someone was going to enter this room and see me over in the corner.

I was blind. 
I had no way to escape.
I was not even concealed.
I did not know the nature of my assailant.

This was the worst imaginable position to be in.  I was a sitting duck!!

I had no idea what was going on.  I thought of calling out to ask "Who is there?", but stopped.  Bad idea.  That would give away my position.  I clung to the hope my nemesis did not know I was there. Better to be still and stay out of sight till I could figure out what was going on.  

I was going crazy because I couldn't see!  I cursed the darkness!  Was someone were creeping up on me at this very moment?  Beads of sweat rolled down my face. This was the most terror I had ever felt in my life.