Here's the playlist for my Halloween-adjacent trivia games:

Ghost riders in the sky - Johnny Cash
I'm in love with a monster - Fifth Harmony
Sympathy for the Devil - Jane's Addiction (cover)
Welcome to my nightmare - Alice Cooper
Highway to Hell - AC/DC
I put a Spell on You - CCR
Don't fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
This is Halloween - Danny Elfman
Dream Warriors - Riverdale cast (cover)
Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
Thriller - Michael Jackson
The Devil Went Down To Georgia - Charlie Daniels
Addams Groove - Hammer
Maneater - Hall & Oates
Feed my Frankenstein - Alice Cooper
Season of the Witch - Donovan
Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett
Flip City - Glenn Frey (from Ghostbusters 2)
Jump in the Line - Harry Belafonte
Nature Trail to Hell - Weird Al Yankovic
Hungry like the Wolf - Duran Duran
Evil Woman - Electric Light Orchestra
Somebody's Watching Me - Rockwell
Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jr
Mysterious Ways - U2
Skullcrusher Mountain - Jonathan Coulton

So it makes sense that I wouldn't have normal influences.
The one on my mind at the moment is a guy named Ted White. You probably would have to look him up. He was doubling for John Wayne in the early 50's and had a long career afterwards.
At one point, Ted agreed to play Jason in one of the Friday the 13th sequels. He wasn't fond of the series, but needed the money.
The gig workers are starting to nod, while the 9-to-5'ers are a bit confused.
Yes, after 30 years in the business, he took a gig because he needed the money.
It happens to all of us. Sometimes we take roles we're not very excited about. Sometimes we take ones that are uncomfortable or even dangerous.
Anyways, Ted was a bit method. He refused to talk to anyone else in the cast, figuring he wanted to keep them scared of Jason.
But not being social didn't mean he didn't care.
As it turned out, Ted was not happy with the way his castmates were treated.
It came to a head one night when Jason's victim du jur was left on a raft in a lake. In December. Naked. And because nighttime and water are both complications, the crew was taking their sweet time setting up. To the point where the actor was visibly crying from the cold.
Ted went to the director and demanded they bring the actor back in to warm her up. The director balked.
Ted told the director to warm her up or he could find himself a new Jason.
That story didn't hit me as hard as it should have until after I'd done uncomfortable gigs because the bills were waiting for me. But think about it.
The man was in his late fifties.
He took the gig because he needed the cash.
He never so much as talked to the other actor.
And he still played the only card he had and risked his meal ticket for her sake.
The director backed off and the actor was brought in and warmed up.
Just in time, as she wound up being treated for hypothermia.
I'm more than a little angry that I work in a field where pointing out a safety hazard still puts someone at risk of losing their job and not being hired again.
But if, gods forbid, that remains the case?
And if, gods again forbid, I'm still taking what gigs I can because I need the cash in twenty-odd years?
Then I hope I have the courage to keep my integrity when it counts.
After all, Ted did.
Happy Halloween season, folks.
Take care of yourselves out there.

Now I got something to say about just props.
Insisting on referring to a weapon of any kind as a prop instead of just calling it a weapon is a bit of disingenuous negligence that contributes to hazards like what happened Thursday.
With the rare exceptions of "money," "drugs," and "food," no other object that goes through the props department undergoes anything approaching this treatment.
They're. Still. Weapons.
We can and do use them in ways that make sure our cast and crew all go home safely at the end of the day.
Doesn't change the fact that. they're. still. weapons.
And let's be honest, it's done to soothe ruffled feathers. Weapons are scary. Props are safe.
Well, I hate to be the buzzkill, but there's already a word for something that looks like a weapon and handles like a weapon but isn't a weapon.
That word is "toy."
And now we're surprised that people treated weapons like toys and tragedy ensued.
If you work with weapons and insist on calling them props instead of weapons because honesty gives you the willies?
Then you're part of the problem and you need to either unfuck your head or leave the business.
Preferably before your hangups get someone else hurt.
If you're beholden to a person or institution who insists on calling them props instead of weapons?
Then you're beholden to a chickenshit, still part of the problem, and still have a binary solution set to choose from as described above.
If you're really that bent out of shape about weapons you shouldn't be working on projects that use them in the first place.
I should have screamed this from the rooftops the first time I encountered this asinine case of mental gymnastics: Eight fucking years ago.
At least I'm fucking saying it now. A day late and a dollar short.
Take care of yourselves out there.