Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Halloween slippage in north Escondido

Only 10 kids showed up for monster movies

Valentino Frankenstein
Valentino Frankenstein

Halloween is “Valentino Frankenstein’s” favorite holiday.

The north Escondido resident plays guitar for local Duran Duran and The Cars tribute bands and his monster-moniker is his stage name, partially because he stands 6 feet 4 inches and he regularly wears boxy-shoulder-jackets.

“Last night on Halloween,” he said, “I dressed as vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. I pulled out my foldable table, set up my 16mm projector and purple strobe light, and projected a one-hour film on the side of my house.”

“What movie did you play?” I asked him.

“I got a bunch of film prints,” he responded, “like old TV commercials and monster movie previews of Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy’s Hand, Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Werewolf, and cartoons that were about Halloween. I then had my friend splice up a reel for our trick-or-treaters.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Valentino is used to having “about 300 kids” rush his house, and watch classic-monster movies in his yard, as they chomp on their treats. On this year’s Halloween though, there was an eerie silence in his neighborhood, located southwest of Daley Ranch.

“Only ten kids showed up,” he said, “it’s my worst Halloween ever.”

M.J. Ferrat from San Diego remembers when Valentino used to play monster movies at an old theatre in North Park in the 1990s; almost 25 years later, they still trade monster memorabilia with one another. “Some of the parents are bringing their kids trunk-or-treating to churches because churches have generators,” Ferrat said, “and in case there’s a blackout they’ll be safer there, than on the dark streets. ”

On October 30, SDG&E shut off power to 25,000 customers throughout San Diego County, including parts of Escondido and Valley Center — “due to high winds and dangerous weather conditions.”

On Halloween the next day, at 4 pm, power was restored to about 20,000 customers affected by the safety power shut offs, and 5,000 customers remained without power. By 6 pm, SDG&E said that everyone, with the exception of one, got their power restored.

Some residents that lived in the power outage areas, said on their neighborhood online forums, that they had extra candies leftover due to less trick-or-treaters.

Valentino attains his “lowest Halloween attendance ever” to the blackouts.

“The parents didn’t want to come here because it is super dark with the big trees,” he said. “And if the power went out again, it would be chaos.”

Ferrat agrees. “Valentino’s house reminds me of the house in Poltergeist,” he said, “I wouldn’t want to be there if his projector went down. Even with the street lights on, his street’s dark.”

Valentino said there were break-ins on his street in the summertime.

“This used to be a good neighborhood,” he continued, “but in the last couple of years, crime has gotten worse in Escondido. I don’t blame our neighbors for not coming out to trick-or-treat, they have to stay home and protect their family and belongings. If there was another blackout while they’re out trick-or-treating, their house [was vulnerable].

“Halloween used to be balls-to-the-wall wonderful. I’ve gone from having school buses full of kids coming, with more than 50 kids in my front yard at a time, for years — to last night: there were like ten kids the whole night.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Downtown thrift shop offers three bands in one show

Come nightfall, Humble Heart hosts The Beat
Valentino Frankenstein
Valentino Frankenstein

Halloween is “Valentino Frankenstein’s” favorite holiday.

The north Escondido resident plays guitar for local Duran Duran and The Cars tribute bands and his monster-moniker is his stage name, partially because he stands 6 feet 4 inches and he regularly wears boxy-shoulder-jackets.

“Last night on Halloween,” he said, “I dressed as vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. I pulled out my foldable table, set up my 16mm projector and purple strobe light, and projected a one-hour film on the side of my house.”

“What movie did you play?” I asked him.

“I got a bunch of film prints,” he responded, “like old TV commercials and monster movie previews of Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy’s Hand, Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Werewolf, and cartoons that were about Halloween. I then had my friend splice up a reel for our trick-or-treaters.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Valentino is used to having “about 300 kids” rush his house, and watch classic-monster movies in his yard, as they chomp on their treats. On this year’s Halloween though, there was an eerie silence in his neighborhood, located southwest of Daley Ranch.

“Only ten kids showed up,” he said, “it’s my worst Halloween ever.”

M.J. Ferrat from San Diego remembers when Valentino used to play monster movies at an old theatre in North Park in the 1990s; almost 25 years later, they still trade monster memorabilia with one another. “Some of the parents are bringing their kids trunk-or-treating to churches because churches have generators,” Ferrat said, “and in case there’s a blackout they’ll be safer there, than on the dark streets. ”

On October 30, SDG&E shut off power to 25,000 customers throughout San Diego County, including parts of Escondido and Valley Center — “due to high winds and dangerous weather conditions.”

On Halloween the next day, at 4 pm, power was restored to about 20,000 customers affected by the safety power shut offs, and 5,000 customers remained without power. By 6 pm, SDG&E said that everyone, with the exception of one, got their power restored.

Some residents that lived in the power outage areas, said on their neighborhood online forums, that they had extra candies leftover due to less trick-or-treaters.

Valentino attains his “lowest Halloween attendance ever” to the blackouts.

“The parents didn’t want to come here because it is super dark with the big trees,” he said. “And if the power went out again, it would be chaos.”

Ferrat agrees. “Valentino’s house reminds me of the house in Poltergeist,” he said, “I wouldn’t want to be there if his projector went down. Even with the street lights on, his street’s dark.”

Valentino said there were break-ins on his street in the summertime.

“This used to be a good neighborhood,” he continued, “but in the last couple of years, crime has gotten worse in Escondido. I don’t blame our neighbors for not coming out to trick-or-treat, they have to stay home and protect their family and belongings. If there was another blackout while they’re out trick-or-treating, their house [was vulnerable].

“Halloween used to be balls-to-the-wall wonderful. I’ve gone from having school buses full of kids coming, with more than 50 kids in my front yard at a time, for years — to last night: there were like ten kids the whole night.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Thanksgiving Lunch Cruise, The Avengers and Zeros ‘77, Small Business Saturday In Escondido

Events November 28-November 30, 2024
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader