Cryptoquote Solved – 10/31/22

“I have never met a vampire personally, but I don’t know what might happen tomorrow.”   —   Bela Lugosi

(My first exposure to Bela Lugosi was in “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein”!  That’s where I also first saw Lon Chaney Jr., as The Wolf Man, and Glenn Strange as – Frankenstein’s – Monster too.  It wasn’t until some years later that I saw any of the original horror films.  It seems to me that a lot of actors are kind of shrimpy guys, but Bela Lugosi was 6′ 1″!  Bela was disappointed with the studio’s constant type-casting, but he made a decent living making horror films.  Happy Halloween, everybody!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Halloween Jumble Solved – 10/31/22

Visual Description:  Complete costume.

HMETE  =  THEME,  YORFE  =  FOYER,  OMSOHT  =  SMOOTH,  DMRADE  =  MADDER   —   Giving us:  TEEFOROOTHMAD

Clue/Question:  Sleepy hollow’s infamous horseman dressed up for Halloween – – –

Answer:  FROM HEAD TO TOE

(Like Edgar Allan Poe!  Or, Shoeless Joe . . . from Kokomo!  This is one of those literal puns, and one that I did NOT initially pick up on.  I think I was looking for something a little creepier/scarier.  Even though the jack-o-lantern head is not very menacing.  It’s kinda smiling!  But the whole thing works.  And, there appears to be some backstory to this Jumble.  In the actual Sleepy Hollow Middle School there is a sixth-grade teacher named Kirk Dietz, who has a working relationship with our very own David L. Hoyt.  They have collaborated on Word Roundup, and other Hoyt Word Search World Traveler type games.  It looks like David L. has done a tribute Jumble for Mr. Dietz and his class.  Nice going, Cuz!

All four of today’s clue words were . . . hauntingly familiar.  I guess that’s because they’re all on the world famous ralis95 clue word database!  Three of the jumbles are coming up as new, but our old friend “yorfe” appears to be . . . back from the dead.  They all came to me immediately, as if in a dream . . . or nightmare!  The answer letter layout was a foreboding thirteen letters long.  Coincidence???  I think not!  Well, I do think.  Not always as coherently as you guys might like, but the gears are turning.  I thought the answer letter layout was creepily cryptic.  It did not scream out the final answer.

Great Halloween cartoon!  David L. got Jeff to give us the facade of the current Sleepy Hollow combined High School/Middle School.  And, it’s featuring the actual Mr. Dietz!  I’m guessing he’s dressed as Ichabod Crane.  I’ll also venture a guess that our very own David L. Hoyt is inside the Headless Horseman costume.  Figuratively, that is!  Loads of fun.  Drive very carefully this evening!  Trick-or-treaters don’t always practice safe street etiquette on Halloween.  It’s the sugar rush, and/or the anticipation of such.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google