04/24/2005: X-E goes Upstate! X-E buys a Vader doll!
Here's that trip report I promised — a visit to my friend's creepy old vacation home in Delhi, New York. On the outskirts of a farm town, the place is in the middle of nowhere, plagued with ghost stories and stocked with enough cheap beer to convince anyone that they're actually seeing ghosts. I love the filthy ol' place. The very long article features every last nuance of the trips we take there, or at least, the ones I feel comfortable mentioning in a public forum. If you and your circle don't have a place like this to escape to, I strongly suggest finding one. Just leave your good clothes at home. If you like looking at stale Pepsi, this article is for voo.
Had to pick up a few kiddy birthday presents last night. While at Toys 'R' Us, I spotted this Darth Vader "Wrestling Buddy," made by the same company who put out all of those WWF/WWE/WCW dolls of the same stature through the years. Basically, they're dolls made soft and durable enough for kids to pound the Holy Hell out of without worry. I've only had one other, striking the likeness of "Macho King" Randy Savage, but I think it's pretty safe to say that Vader's set a new standard when it comes to wrestling buddies. It even shouts various Vader-phrases when you punch its stomach. A bit steep at twenty bucks, but it definitely has that conversational couch pillow appeal deal going for it.
There's a new Revenge of the Sith cereal, too…
I guess it's only called "Star Wars Cereal," arriving in boxes either with Darth Vader or Yoda featured. The cereal itself tastes fine, though the marshmallows are just recolored rehashes from previous Star Wars cereals and other completely unrelated cereals. At least they snuck a General Grievous head in there.
This week, I'll show you a much better example of a Sith-based food product — Pop Tarts, with lava inside. Yayyyy.
Discussion Thread: 103 comments
What are those blue things? Are they supposed to be R2? They look like public mailboxes… or Batman.
I can just imagine my dog dry-humping poor Darthy a la Marcel and Rachel's Curious George doll.
Never in my life did I expect to make a Friends shout-out at X-E. I must be getting old.

Posted by
trajeal @ 04/24/2005 2:33 PM EDT
Great, I just poured coffee, too!

Posted by
Kim @ 04/24/2005 2:46 PM EDT
Finally, I can fulfill my week-long dream of a completely star wars-y breakfast: Darth Vader Marshmallow Cereal? Check.Darth Vader Lava-themed Pop-Tarts? Check. Darth Vader Orange Juice? Well…that doesn't exist, but the stuff I've got does have black things floating in it, so that'll do. Let's get geek-ed.

Posted by
Road Block @ 04/24/2005 3:03 PM EDT
On an additional note, what is that grey pudgy marshmallow on the box? It's…unsettling.

Posted by
Road Block @ 04/24/2005 3:05 PM EDT
I'm confused about the picture on the box. Is Darth shoving a bowl of cereal at the viewer, like a pie in the face? Or was the bowl of cereal sitting on his shoulder and it just fell off? Or is the bowl of cereal imbedded in his body armor? Oh, and those white and blue marshmallows do look like mailboxes, the light saber ones look more like the magical sword in The Legend Of Zelda, and the grey ones look like, well, pebbles.

Posted by
Destro @ 04/24/2005 3:28 PM EDT
Well Matt, congrats on the Delhi article. You've added to my anticipation of finishing finals, getting out of DC's inner beltway, and back to upstate with plenty of beer and places epitomized by the Delhi house tour.

Posted by
Carri @ 04/24/2005 3:39 PM EDT
I used to have a Hulk Hogan beat em up doll. It was the only time I could say I owned a doll without getting beat up.
Awesome trip article. But have you been outside yet? How do you know that you didn't die on that bridge on the drive home? BEWARE OF SANDWORMS!

Posted by
Eddie Lightning Frog @ 04/24/2005 3:45 PM EDT
Even with fingerprints all over my monitor I saw the ghostly evidence in that graveyard picture. Moisture my foot. That house is creepy to the max.
I think I saw Ralph Macchio's face in one of those orbs.
I love how the unmentionables in that Pepsi have decided to stop defying gravity and let themselves sink to the bottom of the bottle, leaving the soda tu-tone. It's like a Tequila Sunrise in soda form.
Does anyone else remember a PDA for fire prevention starring the two and only R2-D2 and C-3PO? I seem to recall some robotic coughing and waving of metallic appendages. I seriously doubt that they would have approved of your Bonfire of the Hangover-ees, Matt.
See, it all comes back around to the House. It always does.

Posted by
trajeal @ 04/24/2005 4:34 PM EDT
Oh, yeah. I wanted to show you all a picture I took yesterday at a Mini Traj's friend's birthday party. Check out the sensei or instructor or whoever he is: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/KermitD.Frog/Claudais... His face is just one big moisture mask, apparently. Here's another pic w/ him looking normal: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/KermitD.Frog/Claudais...
Before I forget, can someone explain to me how to do a link here? I tried awhile ago and didn't get it right, so I gave up. I tried the < url=http:www.blahblah.com > Blahdibbyblahblah < /url > thing. What corrections do I need to make? Thankee-sai in advance.

Posted by
trajeal @ 04/24/2005 4:45 PM EDT
Simple, traj!
(a href="http://www.thewebsite.com/theimage.jpg")click here(/a)
Replace the parenthesis with < and >, respectively.

Posted by
Matt @ 04/24/2005 4:47 PM EDT
Matt is still alive! So what if the Christmas design is still up?
The article on the house was very nice, though. Here's hoping I can find a place like that when I'm as ancient sa you are.

Posted by
The ORIGINAL Paul @ 04/24/2005 4:51 PM EDT
Let's try this.
Asston Kutcher missed out on Punk'ding the dead Pope. Dick.

Posted by
trajeal @ 04/24/2005 5:00 PM EDT
I can't help staring at the picture of the orbs and trying to connect the dots….
…Whoa! Kinda makes out Vaders mask if you connect them just right…

Posted by
Mr mango @ 04/24/2005 5:15 PM EDT
I love finding cabinets with stuff in it that hasn't been moved in 20 years. I consider it the equivilent of finding a time capsule.

Posted by
ed @ 04/24/2005 5:27 PM EDT
I grew up in the sticks, so every weekend was a booze-soaked holiday retreat into densely-forested back roads. I'm glad that the appeal of such dangerous forays isn't lost on you big-city folk.

Posted by
The Yeti @ 04/24/2005 5:33 PM EDT
Hey Matt, I just picked up the Toyfare magazine with you in it, and reading through the article, I found one ver…very…fatal error.
it was Fact #37: Peter did NOT create the G.I. Jew Doll. Look at the pic they used in the magazine, it's not even him!
Now to read the article!

Posted by
Invader Norbert @ 04/24/2005 6:50 PM EDT
Wow, I haven't had Tato Skins in years. I wish they'd sell it again, that stuff was great, and that TGIFriday's stuff they sell today don't come anywhere near it.
Also, I know how you feel about people selling chicken on the side of the road. In some parts of suburban Raleigh they do that, and it makes me question whether or not anyone actually stops buy to get chicken inside little tents on the side of the road. And I thought the Triangle was one of the more progressive parts of the country…

Posted by
mjf7583 @ 04/24/2005 7:30 PM EDT
They have Tato Skins at the Dollar Tree near my house. They also have mozzarella sticks in puffy chip form. Yum.

Posted by
trajeal @ 04/24/2005 9:12 PM EDT
It sounds like you had a fun weekend, Matt, even if you were drunk for most of it. At least you got away from it all AND found great X-E fodder in the bargain.
Cape May County is filled with houses like The House, from the better-kept versions in Cape May to the huge old farmhouses and summer homes in Middle and Upper Townships that come complete with large plots of land and old graveyards. For me, going to one of these places now is more than a getaway; it's memories. I grew up in at least two houses like the House. Yes, they were spooky. One was so full of bugs, my parents had to call the exterminators twice in one year. We couldn't use the smaller bathroom in one house because of all the bugs. That same house's 20s-era heating system almost gave my family carbon monoxide poisoning.
Even with all the problems, I retain a fondness for old homes and buildings to this very day. Maybe that's why I'm in my current apartment. I don't think it pre-dates the House, but it's plenty old enough - the heater alone takes up a good chunk of the living room.

Posted by
starwenn @ 04/24/2005 9:18 PM EDT
Man that house really brings back memories of my aunt's house in Ohio. She lived on a old farm so far away from other people, it literally was a 20 minute drive if you wanted to go get food or rent a movie or something. It was so quiet and peaceful and relaxing. I was only there a few times, since it was several states away, but I loved every second of it.
Sadly she passed away in September and the farm was sold. I will never stop missing her or the farm.

Posted by
Punisher Bass @ 04/24/2005 11:19 PM EDT
I would so have to keep that G.I. Joe thermos. Forget the Pepsi bottle, I'd be more upset about them throwing away that thermos.
So why is it that I don't have a place like this to go to? Oh yeah, it's because I'm too busy with school, and whenver I'm at home, there isn't a place like this for hours. There might've been like a place like this close by like 10 years ago, but such a place has most certainly been torn down and had suburban homes built on the property. I hate California.

Posted by
Nate @ 04/24/2005 11:35 PM EDT
The vaguely R2D2-ish shape of the blue-and-white marshmallow actually reminds me more of the little-known character Seņor from Homestar Runner. Change the white to red and add a trunk and a couple of stars, and it could be a passable Republican National Committee logo.
I'm still pissed that George Lucas changed fast food allegiances from Pepsico's Yum! brands to Burger King, as that measn we won't get Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC festooned as one of three planets this time around. And Pepsi's running a Revenge of the Sith promotion, yet Burger King is a Coke restaurant, so will BK not be able to put the Coke logo on cups while this promotion is in effect, or is Darth Vader going to endorse both sides of the cola aisle depending on whether or not you happen to be inside or outside of a Burger King at the time? (I know, I think way too much about stupid things…)
Seems like a sorta cool place. I would have played the Spy game just to do a future article. Same with the stores you mentioned.
Since you mentioned Corey Feldman, he's mentioned in this week's Entertainment Weekly in an interview with Corey Haim about the DVD release of License to Drive.
We still got those tato skins where I live. They're good. But I prefer the TGIFriday's Chili Chese flavor ones. Also, didn't the Poore Bros use to make pizza-flavor tortilla chips? I don't remember what they were called though.
Off topic, I felt sorta old yesterday watching a show on tv last night. It was the 10th anniversary "reunion" of All That on Nick. 10 years? I still remember when it first premiered. It rocked.

Posted by
JLAJRC @ 04/25/2005 1:34 AM EDT
Wow, this is late April and every single tree I saw in those photographs had no leaves. They must be like that all year. Yeah, that place is depressing all right…

Posted by
Mars @ 04/25/2005 1:51 AM EDT
JLAJRC…ya I fell old too. I missed it cause of work, but I taped it. It got really, really, really HORRIBLE after all of the old cast left. The nerve that Jaime Spears was there…
After reading the article: Holy….Crap. This has got to be one of your best articles that you've written, right up there with the Photog Blog, the Chia Plot, the Advent Calendars, and the Jones Soda Holiday Pack Test (which I got greenlit on Fark)
If this article doesnt get on fark, it would be a serious crime.

Posted by
Invader Norbert @ 04/25/2005 1:54 AM EDT
Tato Skins were started by Keebler, yet that bag has no Keebler logo on it. The theory I'll go on is that a smaller company bought the rights to make Tato Skins when Keebler wasn't making enough money off 'em, and only sells them in small rural places.

Posted by
Mars @ 04/25/2005 1:54 AM EDT
Mars- I gotta say, I had no idea Tato skins even still existed. When I first saw Matt's photo of that bag, I thought it was an expired treasure of the past. Man, the things you learn about America from X-E. It's been too long since I've been out of rural parts of this lovely country of ours.

Posted by
Nate @ 04/25/2005 6:21 AM EDT
Hey, Matt, doesn't burning styrofoam make the flames turn green? I know burning wrapping paper will make pretty colors. Although, I can't imagine the birthday celebtration that would occur at the House.
Hey, I bet if you follow that attic crawlspace, you'll fund Jimmie. Watch out for zombies, though.
So, today is my 30th birthday. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Posted by
trajeal @ 04/25/2005 8:23 AM EDT
Is it just me, or am I the only one who thinks Matt ought to get someone else to help update the site? With his busy schedule, X-E is practically dead to the world.

Posted by
Hogwash @ 04/25/2005 9:47 AM EDT
Now that isn't very nice.

Posted by
Matt @ 04/25/2005 9:53 AM EDT
Christ…this is nothing. I created a wrestling website back in college and I haven't updated the damn thing in SIX YEARS! I'd happily provide a link to it, but I've forgotten the address…

Posted by
The Yeti @ 04/25/2005 10:03 AM EDT
Invader- I was kind of surprised that Kevin Kopelow and Lorri beth Denberg weren't there. What exactly are they doing lately? If Kenan Thompson can do it, you would think they would too.
I live in Iowa and Tato Skins are in many grocery stores cheaply.
By the way, were those other chips called Pizzarias or something? I know they came in cheese, pepperoni (yech), and supreme (my favorite).

Posted by
JLAJRC @ 04/25/2005 10:04 AM EDT
Hogwash -
Leave him alone - if you think you could do a better job of maintaining a website, working full-time, seeking out and taking pictures of nauseatingly ancient foods and beverages, obscure toys, etc., then go for it.
Perhaps instead of bitching about the lack of updates, why not consider them as rare jewels or something?
DAY-amn.

Posted by
Gretchen @ 04/25/2005 10:21 AM EDT
Matt, the article on the house was some of your best work to date. It ranks up there as one of my favorite X-E articles, my all-time favorite being the Casino Arcade feature from a few months back.

Posted by
Kathodos @ 04/25/2005 12:02 PM EDT
Ok, here's what ya do before your next trip out there: get someone you trust to help out. Go up there days before the actual weekend, and gather some twigs and sticks. Make you some "Blair Witch" style figures. Various sizes. Stash them out of the way. Sometime during the weekend, you and your cohort do the sneaky-sneaky out and set up as many of the sticky-men as possible. If you can hang up a big one from a tree branch, groovy. Don't even mention or watch BWP, and let the others find the figures, like, early the next morning. While they're freaking out, go stand in the corner. It helps if they're wasted, and you're not. Remember, kids: Don't do drugs, but take advantage of those that do. They are excellent for trying out your repretoire of bar bets.

Posted by
kingklash @ 04/25/2005 12:10 PM EDT
My sympathies, P. Bass.

Posted by
The Yeti @ 04/25/2005 12:11 PM EDT
Actually, those TGIFriday's potato skins seem to be exactly the same as Tato Skins. Erm, at least, they're made by the same company. The Meijer stores around here sell both brands side-by-side.

Posted by
steve-o @ 04/25/2005 12:25 PM EDT
General Grievous marshmallow heads.. genius!
Hello all. I have been keeping up but haven't had much to say.
I have been meaning to send in some pics of the classroom all of the SW stuff in it but…been…so ….busy….

Posted by
The Manimal @ 04/25/2005 12:34 PM EDT
remember that song. . . . . .
"tato skins got baked potato appeal, cause they're made with potatoes and skins that are real"
p.s. i found this site googleing scratchandsniff stickers and the pictures never showed, but i did enjoy your commercial page

Posted by
k-b @ 04/25/2005 2:11 PM EDT
Hey Matt!
New to the site. Let me say "thanks" for one of the most entertaining websites I've uncovered yet. Great stuff! The Delhi "House of Horrors" article was perfect. I spend much time adventuring in those parts and know the area well. How about a review of that 'Spy vs. Spy' game in the near future? It would make an excellent addition to your 'Shitty Board Games' collection. Tell you what . . . I am going to clean out my Generation X'er rented 'packed with shit' storage bin, and send you any 'historic' treasures I find. There should be some gems tucked away in there. Much better than trashing the shit, huh? If you're interested, contact me. I'd be glad to do my part to keep X-Entertainment alive!
Take care, Bro! Keep up the good work!

Posted by
REBLYELL @ 04/25/2005 3:09 PM EDT
Oh yeah, that was one of the more interesting things I've read lately, on the site or off. We also have that Spy Vs. Spy board game, and we've also played it just once, if even that. I'd say that I have an identical television, a standard model mid-priced, mid-sized, mid-Nineties Sony Trinitron, to the one at the house, but the version of the television I have has a full-sized "SET UP" button on the left, not the tiny button that the television in the photos has. There also seems to be a lot of crud on the left speaker… at first, I thought that someone had actually kicked the speaker in a bit.
Weirdly, I have always thought Pepsi was an even "solution", where all the liquids are more or less evenly dissolved, but, as it appears that the liquid at the top of the bottle is fairly clear, I guess Pepsi is more of a "suspension", where, given a long enough period of time, the heavier ingredients will sink towards the bottom.
Is "alcoffee" a typo? Or is it just shorthand for drinking both coffee and alcohol at night?
If anyone's interested in seeing more alleged ghost photos, I've got one of my own, though it's one taken in the daytime, on a racetrack, in front of a large crowd. (Not saying it's a ghost, just something weird I can't quite identify that looks kind of like a face.)
"tato skins got baked potato appeal/cause they're made from potato skins that're real"
that damn jingle has been running through my head since i read this article.
and thanks for giving a girl from oklahoma a view of what upstate new york is like. i always wondered why people said it was NYC and the rest is "upstate"…now i think i understand.
definitely one of the best articles on X-E. Thanks!

Posted by
Rosella @ 04/25/2005 3:58 PM EDT
Matt,
I commend you on another great read. And I have to be honest, sometimes when you write lengthy articles like this I skim through them, but this one I read from beginning to end and I thought it was fantastic. Maybe it was the creepy aspects of it, maybe it's because my boyfriend and I love vacationing in Lake George but at least that's a living breathing area…your friend chose to live here why?? And that photo of the house at night is DAMN spooky. Keep up the great work!

Posted by
Melissa Y. @ 04/25/2005 4:12 PM EDT
Matt,
Great site, I have been a loyal reader for well over a year now and love all the articles. I think I hold a new record for your site, I read your entire blog from day one to today in only three days while "working" at my office. Great stuff, keep up the good work. Ahh… the memories.

Posted by
Tigerfan @ 04/25/2005 4:21 PM EDT
Steve, I think I figured out what you have a picture of, and I can't believe you have photo evidence of him in the wild: Headshot Costume

Posted by
Backwards Barry Wins Everytime @ 04/25/2005 5:00 PM EDT
"This is Darth Vader, he's my buddy. We like to wrestle. Tee-hee!"

Posted by
kingklash knows a few haunts in Oklahoma. @ 04/25/2005 5:07 PM EDT
I have to say The Delhi house article was kick assI've only ever seen one other place so totally and utterly frozen in time and that was a rental cabin in a camp ground on Deep Creek Lake in the mountains of the MD panhandle the place did have cable but said cable box HAD A FREAKIN DIAL ON IT. I would also venture to guess that that field guide to demons might have been put there as reference material for whomeever read that copy of Darkfall by Dean R. Koontz. Its one of my favorite Koontz novels chock full of creepy voodoo diagrams and various dieties and demons and little gremlins that torment the main character little daughter but that paticular copy is rendered FAR SCARIER by the fact that its bound in a BRIGHT PINK cover very scary indeed

Posted by
The Krypt Angel @ 04/25/2005 5:15 PM EDT
Read his entire blog in 3 days? egads man that can cause serious damage to a psyche. Gotta pace it out, once you accept that your reading something a less then sane person wrote it's ok. almost said thing, what has all the strage old food done to him?

Posted by
RAS @ 04/25/2005 5:19 PM EDT
You read the whole thing? What the heck are you gonna do tomorrow?
Uncle Bob's Diary O'Chuckles is a decent place to start.

Posted by
trajeal @ 04/25/2005 5:34 PM EDT
Oh man, that article reminded me so much of my farm, well, family farm. No more animals any more, but we still have the bugs. Actually, best thing for them are those little hand-held dirt devil things and then you suck them all up when they're frozen in the winter!
That Spy vs. Spy game looks like fun! We have an old Jurassic park game, several Jenga sets, an old Ewok game that doesn't have any pieces and a crap load of puzzles.

Posted by
Kimert @ 04/25/2005 5:50 PM EDT
Long-time reader, few-time poster.
Awesome article. Reminds me of home, frighteningly enough. There are a few old outbuildings at my Mom's house and at the neighbor's place. I spent just as much time playing around the streams, broken glass and moldy underground root-cellers as I did playing Atari. Lot's of ghost stories a-boud.
Thanks for making my day better Matt!
Delhi isn't upstate- its the Southern Tier… Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo- now thats Upstate
My RA in college lives in Delhi, he says he's been on that same bridge a gazillion times

Posted by
ANdrew @ 04/25/2005 7:30 PM EDT
Long time reader, first time poster. I can't be the only one that wants to hear the Delhi house's ghost stories. Matt mentioned them but didn't go into detail.
Anyway, here's a link to the music video for Mr. T's immortal classic "Treat Your Mother Right."

Posted by
Brandon @ 04/25/2005 9:17 PM EDT
Matt, I absolutely LOVE the House article. I read it rather late at night last night and had to keep myself from busting out laughing too hard, so I wouldn't wake anyone else up.
OH! I wanted to ask you something. Remember long ago when you told us that your commercial was circulating for that hotel in Florida? Well… I think I may have seen the commercial today! It was advertising nickhotel.com I believe… Did it have a lot of like, bubbles pop up on the screen with the different Nick jr. characters in them? I'm pretty sure I saw a person in a Dora costume in one of them. I was suffering from sleep deprivation when I saw it, so forgive me for not remembering more. But, I hope that was it!

Posted by
Ryane @ 04/25/2005 10:03 PM EDT
I just wanted to say that I really loved the article about the old house. Places like that just have character that new plastic fantastic houses just don't have.
I've never even been to this place but somehow I felt nostalgic too! I guess because I've known houses like it.
I was kind of sad there weren't more pics of the graveyard because I'm a gravestone nut; but you said they were unmarked so I guess I'm not missing much!
All around great article.

Posted by
snowcalico @ 04/25/2005 10:23 PM EDT
Happy Birthday, Trajeal!!

Posted by
kidneyboy @ 04/26/2005 2:17 AM EDT
I've already commented once on this blog entry, but I read the upstate article last night and I've got to congratulate you on the excellent piece. Well done, Matt! It's a lot of fun to read.
P.S. - I'm coming for that G.I. Joe thermos. k. thanx.
"Orbs" are nothing more than light from the camera's flash being reflected off of dust.
Shake out a dusty rug and then snap
a picture. There are your orbs right there.

Posted by
Blue Eagle @ 04/26/2005 6:59 AM EDT
With all of the articles posted here over the years, its amazing that one of the most attention-holding and entertaining ones is about… a house!
Not to mention that its also pretty damn long.
Great job Matt. Next time you're there, I suggest BBQ-ing the newts.

Posted by
CWH @ 04/26/2005 9:17 AM EDT
Not only did I read the blog but most of the articles attached to each. I can't get enough of the site. Thanks Matt!

Posted by
Tigerfan @ 04/26/2005 9:24 AM EDT
MAN, I remember those cheesy ass dolls, and how stupid their voices sounded! They sounded as bad as that voice on those speak and spell toys. If they were to make updated versions of those things today, they could use the digital technology to put britney spears songs in them so when the kid hits em in the stomach, that's what they would hear….a scary thought, I know, but it would still be kinda cool :-p
I had never even heard of this bodunk towns, and I thought I knew most of the bodunk towns Upstate. I myself hail from Skaneateles, NY. It's one of the 1,000 places to see before you die. Gorgeous, gorgeous area.

Posted by
Jeff Mack @ 04/26/2005 11:42 AM EDT
Speaking of those Anti-Drug PSAs being mentioned, I'm glad you finally got the snakeman one on the web, but what about CRACK BABIES KILLING BABIES OH LORDY LORD

Posted by
Teirusu @ 04/26/2005 12:05 PM EDT
Trajeal's birthday?! Woo-hoo!
Time to do the ChocoDile dance!
Choco-croco 1 2 3……

Posted by
kingklash @ 04/26/2005 12:09 PM EDT
The House is OBVIOUSLY haunted by Mr. Coffee boxes, as evidenced in at least two of your pictures.

Posted by
Jill-o @ 04/26/2005 12:13 PM EDT
I work at a store and we just got those Star Wars cereal and Pop-Tarts. I was the one who was stocking our cereal aisle so I got to to be the first there to see the boxes. I have to get me some.
And that picture with the books. I found it funny that the Demon book was right next to a book about going to bed.
Awesome stuff.

Posted by
Chris @ 04/26/2005 1:49 PM EDT
I just noticed the header on the homepage…"X-Entertainment thinks Jesus was born in April". That's one of the best ones yet…gave me a good chuckle.

Posted by
Y2JB78 @ 04/26/2005 5:08 PM EDT
Happy Birthday Trajeal!!!!

Posted by
The Manimal @ 04/26/2005 5:46 PM EDT
Aww, thanks, guys!

Posted by
trajeal @ 04/26/2005 7:37 PM EDT
Hey Matt,
I give you props for that article. It was very classic and hope to see more like this in the future. I like when you pull the old stuff out like the Pepsi. That's cool. But I still liked when you found that old jar of HiC at the store where I think you buy smokes from? Does that store have any more old junk in it?

Posted by
Heathtown @ 04/27/2005 2:13 AM EDT
Speaking of Star Wars cereal, I once went to a Big Lots store a few months after Attack of the Clones came out. And they had the cereal there for like a buck or so. It was going to expire in like a month in a half. So I bought I don't know how many boxes of the cereal and by the time the expiration date rolled around, I was sick at the mere site of the cereal. But I think I finished it.

Posted by
Heathtown @ 04/27/2005 2:15 AM EDT
That bedroom with the drums is insane!

Posted by
dfgfd @ 04/27/2005 8:38 AM EDT
The article about the house in Delhi is HILARIOUS! The house really does look sketchy. I love you're webpage-it's great

Posted by
Kos22Mos @ 04/27/2005 3:32 PM EDT
That was a very, very cool story. I have had many stories like this - I grew up in Upstate NY (Kingston, about half way between Albany and NYC) Delhi is quite a bit farther. We passed through it headed to Cooperstown.
I remember the town well - they have a SUNY (State University of NY) school there. One time, going to the Baseball Hall of Fame. We stop there, hoping to find a diner. No dice - I guess all they have is chicken. But they did have a Pizza Hut so we stop. We wait an eternity to be seated, get a booth, then are told to leave. Why? Because there was… wait for it…
A BOMB THREAT. In 1997. In Delhi NY. It was a college kid being stupid pre-9/11.
So we're thrown out of Pizza Hut. But that's not the funny part. The funny part is that when we got out,got into the car, my father decides to drive around the building following the lines. my mother is screaming at him, "THERE COULD BE A FUCKING BOMB IN THERE", while my brother and I are laughing a storm up. We ate at McDonalds down the road, and eventually did get to Cooperstown.
And yes, they did eventually find the Psudo-bomber.

Posted by
Saint Stryfe @ 04/28/2005 1:22 AM EDT
The Delphi house makes me remeber my uncle and aunt's new house just outside Lima. it doesn't have furniture yet!!
i like the Dart Vader wrestling doll.

Posted by
Yelinna @ 04/28/2005 1:23 AM EDT
"The article about the house in Delhi is HILARIOUS! The house really does look sketchy. I love you're webpage-it's great
Posted by Kos22Mos @ 04/27/2005 03:32 PM EST"
What's ironic is I was listening to Final Crisis from Xenosaga Episode II when I read that.
And you want creepy?
www.lostdestinations.com
You wnt reaaallly creepy?
Rosie O'Donnell now, in her leather outfit from Exit to Eden.
If your skin doesn't crawl, then it's on too tight.

Posted by
kingklash @ 04/28/2005 11:29 AM EDT
Wow, 81 comments and no response to this; it's Macho Man, sir.

Posted by
Some Guy @ 04/28/2005 9:21 PM EDT
Oh, but it used to be Macho King, and that's the Wrestling Buddy I had.

Posted by
Matt @ 04/28/2005 9:59 PM EDT
I've had piss the color of that old bottle of Pepsi.
What does that expiration date say on that bottle cap? 1996?

Posted by
Anita @ 04/29/2005 1:23 AM EDT
You know, The House sounds a lot like 'The Cabin', where my family goes on holiday weekends.
Except we don't have nothing as fancy as televisions.

Posted by
Silkenray @ 04/29/2005 12:11 PM EDT
This was a really cool article, Matt. It's tone seemed different compared to other articles, and whatever it's voice I liked it.( I like the tone of all of your articles, but this one was striking in particular for me.) Of course, I'm also an insomniac having a bad patch, so what do I know?
Several of my family members have homes in a similar vein to this one; cluttered and strange, like the angles meet in wrong places. And there's something unsettling about being surrounded by someone else's clutter, especially when you have no idea who put it there or why.
On an obscure note, you should make the text blue everytime you typed in House.
This was an enjoyable read as always, Matt. Thanks!

Posted by
LemonWitch @ 04/29/2005 12:59 PM EDT
Hey, great article, but I am curious about the stories that these folks tell about the house. What happens in them that is so horrifying?

Posted by
genjigirl @ 04/29/2005 1:52 PM EDT
I used to go to school in that shithole town. I just remember that the cops went off duty at 2 AM, and we used to go to the only bar in town and get trashed with our professors. Nothing beats buying chicken from the side of the road though.

Posted by
nodak @ 04/29/2005 3:37 PM EDT
Nice article Madd Matt. I really enjoyed reading it.

Posted by
Texican @ 04/29/2005 4:28 PM EDT
I'm from Upstate and have been gone about a year, you pretty much nailed my life from 15-21 in your article, it rocked. thanks

Posted by
Colin @ 04/30/2005 9:26 PM EDT
I'm surprised nobody pointed out that the 'Field Guide to Demons' is shelved next to 'In Cold Blood' - Truman Capote's classic tale of a grisly murder in small town America. So, I'm pointing it out now. For no good reason.

Posted by
Duffaholic @ 05/01/2005 6:45 PM EDT
Andrew: "Delhi isn't upstate- its the Southern Tier… Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo- now thats Upstate"
To anybody from the city or Long Island, anything north of Westchester and Rockland is called "upstate".
And with the Tato Skins, Poore Brothers bought the rights to make them from Keebler in the late 90's, sold them for a year or two (along with Pizzarias) and then discontinued the Pizzarias and introduced the TGIF line of Tato Skins. They're the same thing (and I've seen them a lot here in the tri-state region, they've made new flavors too - Chili Cheese)
I just saw that Shocktober article you did last year. I wish Channel 11 would bring back the circle 11 logo (obviously the 11 was supposed to be the WTC)

Posted by
AK @ 05/02/2005 8:19 AM EDT
Andrew: "Delhi isn't upstate- its the Southern Tier… Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo- now thats Upstate"
To anybody from the city or Long Island, anything north of Westchester and Rockland is called "upstate".
And with the Tato Skins, Poore Brothers bought the rights to make them from Keebler in the late 90's, sold them for a year or two (along with Pizzarias) and then discontinued the Pizzarias and introduced the TGIF line of Tato Skins. They're the same thing (and I've seen them a lot here in the tri-state region, they've made new flavors too - Chili Cheese)
I just saw that Shocktober article you did last year. I wish Channel 11 would bring back the circle 11 logo (obviously the 11 was supposed to be the WTC)

Posted by
AK @ 05/02/2005 8:28 AM EDT
Wish I'd have joined you at The House. I love how the east coast (I too am in California) is full of creepy old places like that. The closest I can come to your experiences is my Uncle Ted's family cabin on a lake in Maine. Talk about the boonies. No ghosts though. But my cousin lives out in the Connecticut woods and one of his friends swears his house is haunted. Once a chess piece floated across his bedroom. :0

Posted by
Andrew @ 05/03/2005 1:06 AM EDT
I was agashed to discover that my passionate desire of viewing photographic memoirs of you and your distraughten future serial killer victims at the "House" went unsatiated. Lest I sink into a pit of despair no bottle of fermented beverage could bring me out of, I beg of thee to spare me such fate and cyber-netically publish at least one digital manifestation, even if it is accompanied by those ghastly orbs, of you and your compatriots at the previously mentioned abandonment of refuge. This I beg of thee not only as a faithful follower of your inscribed wisdom, but as a brethren in arms of the X-generation and one who so badly needs such things to fulfill my often wanting life. Not to mention it would be cool to see what states of inebriated disfunction you guys were in while being there…lol.
Thanks again for such a wonderful website. Wish there were more like yours around.
Scott Hix
scfireman@yahoo.com

Posted by
Scott @ 05/03/2005 8:33 PM EDT
MAN GET THAT GI JOE THERMAS!!!!

Posted by
D @ 05/05/2005 12:25 PM EDT
No you don't, Scott. That happened in 1999 and the internet was almost consumed by the sheer, wonderful stupidity of it all.

Posted by
Mel. @ 05/06/2005 4:27 AM EDT
Great article, Matt. I'm always a sucker for your horror-related stuff. I think your 'trip' updates are some of the best material on the site. After reading this, it makes me want to round up some people and spend the night just hanging out: drinks, giant fires, horror flicks, pizza, etc.
Actually, that whole place/area just screams "Ohio" to me. OH has a really creepy atmosphere in some of the more peaceful and ghost town areas. Especially at campgrounds.
I notice the Christmas design is still up. I happen to dig it, I would actually like it if X-E only had 2 main designs all year round.. Christmas & Halloween. Let one stay up untill the other rolls around, I say. It'd be a lot less work. The only negative I could see is that it might drive some readers away sooner or later. But at least you'd still have your faithfuls, right?
Who knows. Anyway, that house/area is amazing. I envy your weekend. My head would probably explode if the Pepsi bottle was gone the next time I went back, too.

Posted by
Matt(#2?) @ 05/07/2005 4:28 PM EDT
Of course, as soon as people seem to be getting used to the idea of a summer Christmas design, Brian is making major progress in getting the new design done.
Holiday designs will have to be thought out different from this point forth, considering my new time crunches and whatnot. That said, I'm already looking forward to next year's Halloween Countdown.

Posted by
Matt @ 05/07/2005 5:01 PM EDT
Wrestling buddies are made out of an unstable material that causes the flesh to burn and tear off. The threads are made of barbed wire, and the "padding" as they call it is nothing more than a thin sheet of aluminum foil.

Posted by
theCurse @ 05/10/2005 4:39 AM EDT
Ha ha….My mother lives a few miles away from Delhi in a town called Smyrna. Her house looks just like the one you stayed at and its just as scary. Rumor has it some guy hung himself in one of the old barns on the property around 100 or so years ago. The nearest supermarket is around 8 miles from her house. Scary…….

Posted by
Derek @ 05/13/2005 1:24 AM EDT
HEY! I live 45 minutes/2 valleys away from Delhi (and that's relatively close). I started out on X-E reading the Kwik-E-Mart story and ended up here. It's a small world, darn it.

Posted by
Amanda @ 07/03/2007 11:14 PM EDT
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