This is an odd series of days to report on the nightlife, as it so happens Halloween is just past the clutches of this writer's ichorous, undead claws. By which I mean it falls on a Thursday so I have to kick the can for another week before I can deliver the goods. But most of us aren't children anymore and we all know that Halloween is a state of mind as well as a vague carnival of spooky tailgating until the main event. Haunted houses never seem to have the "one night only" marquee showing, stretching out well behind the big night itself. Personally, I don't stop enjoying the creepier sides of culture until the lilacs bloom again, but I understand that I am a freak and an outlier. Please enjoy this prelude, with the promise of more to come. And check out my contribution to the world of flash fiction which I planted in the corpse of a (mostly) dead Monday evening. Hey, even if you hate it, it's fewer than 100 words long.

Booooooooooooooooo!

Thursday

I don't often get to write about shows in Garberville so I am happy to report that there is going to be a real sharp one at Stone Junction tonight at 10 p.m. ($10). Napa's wild and dark psych-rock western quartet Samvega is returning to Humboldt County for a couple of shows. Also on the bill is the ever inscrutable desert cloud-walkers in Opossum Sun Trail. If you live up north and don't feel like making the trek, never fear: This same fine line-up will be at the Alibi tomorrow night at 11 p.m. for a mere $5.

Friday

The Outer Space has a fun indie rock lineup tonight at 7:30 p.m. ($5-$20 sliding scale). All the way from Whidbey Island, Washington, the trio Memory Boys returns to town to showcase its primal Pacific Northwest rawk. Also on the bill are two Arcata bands with the loud sounds and the drums and guitar: Two Platoon and Wild Omar.

RampArt skatepark is hosting another all-ages metal show and tonight's bands span the entire country in place of origin and run the gamut in style from melodic black metal to progressive death — which would be a good name for PG&E's current rural service policy. Hey-o! In terms of the former, there is Anicom from New York and Haunter from San Antonio, Texas, at 8 p.m. ($7). San Francisco's WrätH fills up the latter genre description nicely. I am told that there will be local support but as yet it is still TBA.

Saturday

Local singer/songwriter Michael Dayvid — known around these parts for his work in the Gatehouse Well — is holding a record release party at Phatsy Kline's for his new solo album Solveig's Shadow at 8 p.m. Just $15 gets you in the door and a copy of the CD. Singer/songwriter Georgia Ruth will also be performing.

Meanwhile, an hour later over at Humbrews, it's a spooky early Halloween edition of Soul Party, the strictly vinyl dance-stravaganza. Tonight's entertainers will be the evil twins of the usual cast of characters, with DJ Redrum, Jay Morgue and Terrifying T Rex. This cast of killers will be joined by Philly Fresh Kill and Shrieking Maxwell. There will be a costume contest with a cash prize for the winners and a photo booth on site to capture the carnage. If you manage to snag a ticket, it's $10.

Sunday

It wouldn't be the end of October without a solid dusting-off of that magical, musical, non-binary camp horror tradition. No, I'm not talking about Sleepaway Camp with its infamous twist ending, but rather the much tamer by comparison Rocky Horror Picture Show. It's playing at the Minor Theatre tonight at 7:30 p.m. as part of an ongoing series of showings which will feature a costume contest and a live shadow cast ($9.50). Hey, has anyone thought of going as one of Tim Curry's other iconic characters from dark cinema, like Wadsworth the Butler from Clue or Pennywise the Clown? No, I suppose that would be annoying.

Monday

You are awakened by a scream. You rush out of your apartment into the night, toward the sound. You can see a figure against the fence, hair loose in the breeze, mouth open like a shattered window. You step toward it trying to discern the features, bracing yourself for another scream. It doesn't come. Instead there's a shock of recognition in spite of the broken teeth and bleeding eyes. Your face. The figure points behind you, wetly, to your bedroom window, where a man raises a hammer again above your bed. It falls hard. You are no longer screaming.

Tuesday

Car Made of Glass, the central Humboldt County noise and grind group, is playing its last show at 7 p.m. tonight at the Outer Space before going on an indefinite hiatus ($6-$20 sliding scale). Joining the quintet will be Arcata's matrimonial power trio Droll Weevil and Upstate New York's freak-prog collective Guerilla Toss, helmed by the talented Kassie Carlson and touring on its newest E.P. What Would the Odd Do?

Wednesday

It's the eve of Hallow's Eve and Richards' Goat and the Miniplex have a free monster mash-up dance event for you. It's a Tiki Lounge, it's a Monster's Ball, it's a dance party and it's a showcase for your pre-Halloween costumes. Have you ever wanted to mix kitsch '60s island culture with a haunted vinyl dance party? Would you prefer it if the Beach Boys and the casts of Gilligan's Island, Gidget and The Love Boat all got The Walking Dead treatment? Well, this is the gig for you. DJs Dacin, Danica and Red will be joined by the theremin-wielding Nicodemus for a fruity drink-dance party at 9 p.m.

Full show listings in the Journal's Music and More grid, the Calendar and online. Bands and promoters, send your gig info, preferably with a high-res photo or two, to music@northcoastjournal.com.

Collin Yeo exists in a media-sphere purgatory where horror films are a gentle escape from the slow collapse of the world at the hands of the ruling class. He prefers he/him and gets his mail in Arcata.