Pay close attention the next time you ride the London Underground: a group of creative commuters are shaking things up by re-labeling signage inside “the Tube.” The subversive street artists are cheering up riders by slightly modifying signs that passengers see over and over again on their daily commutes, including maps and warnings (plus a few of their own creations for good measure).
In what is probably an illegal act, the artists are making cracks at how people on public transportation tend to avoid eye contact at all costs and modifying maps using good old British humor. Click through the gallery below to see a collection of hacked signs collected on Reddit, and feel free to clue us in on others you’ve seen in the comments below!
The state of Vermont thinks it has plenty of ghosts and is looking to share them with the world, at least during the witching month of October. In the southwest part of the state, known as “Bennington Triangle,” hikers mysteriously went missing between 1920 and 1950. At Lake Memphremagog in the north, the ghost of General “Mad” Anthony Wayne has been spotted walking across the top of the lake. To share stories, Vermont has launched Haunted Highways, a collection of ghost stories with lodging packages available statewide.
“Ghosts have been part of the Vermont landscape for hundreds of years, marking each phase of Vermont’s historical development,” said Joseph Citro, Vermont’s official Ghost-Master General and author of “The Vermont Ghost Guide” in a statement. “Across all corners of the state, vengeful vagrants, lovelorn ladies, and lonely lads lurk in Vermont’s eternal shadows, and it’s wonderful how the state is embracing its spooky past.”
Travelers hoping to catch a glimpse of one of these elusive figures can follow Vermont’s highway system, starting in the southern part of the state in Bennington, then driving North on Route 7 to The Equinoxresort off exit three to historic Manchester Village where the spirit of Mary Todd Lincoln is said to haunt the third and fourth floors of the resort’s south wing.
Along the way, several spooky Vermont inns and bed-and-breakfasts close to ghost sighting areas – some with haunted rooms and the home to strange events – have special seasonal offers.
The Green Mountain Inn in Stowe, Vermont, wants guests to listen for the tap dancing steps of the inn’s former horseman Boots Berry. Born in 1840 in the servant’s quarters of the Green Mountain Inn, Boots Berry was a local hero before he was fired for excessive drinking. Legend has it, he saved a little girl stuck on the Inn’s roof during a snowstorm before slipping and falling to his death. During severe winter storms, Boots can still be heard tap dancing on the third floor of the hotel. From October 21 through November 30, 2012, rates start at $96 per night based on double occupancy.
The Readmore Bed & Breakfast in Bellows Falls, Vermont, is offering a bottle of local Spooky Sparkling Cider and scary tales about the haunted “Cook’s Room” to travelers who book a two-night stay with breakfast through November 30, 2012. Total package price starts at $300, based on double occupancy.
The White House Inn in Wilmington, Vermont, haunted by the presence of the baroness who originally occupied the inn, is hosting a special séance/haunted tour with dinner on October 27, 2012. Rates for a two-night stay through November 30, 2012 start at $349, based on double occupancy.
The Golden Stage Inn- Interstate 91 in eastern Vermont, where guests and staff alike have noticed strange events in the “new” wing, and where innkeepers have become familiar with a young friendly spirit they’ve named George, who appears dressed in a traveling cloak and some say bears a remarkable resemblance to Robert Redford. The Golden Stage Innis encouraging curious visitors to have their own ghostly experience through November 30, 2012, with rates beginning at $165 per person based on double occupancy.
Forty Putney Road Bed & Breakfast in Brattleboro, Vermont, is showcasing the spooky side of town at locations such as the Retreat Cemetery, just steps away from the inn, where numerous ghost sightings have occurred. Through November 30, 2012, rates start at $159 per night based on double occupancy.
This video has more on the ghosts of Brattleboro, which seem to center on the cemetery of the former Vermont Asylum and a stone tower built by Asylum patients as well as a haunted castle.
Kicking off Halloween season, haunted houses around the United States are opening their doors to brave travelers who come to experience spooky, scary things that go bump in the night. Between now and October 31, a variety of events around the country make for a great weekend diversion or road trip. Centrally located St. Louis is an easy drive from most mid-west states and offers Scare Fest, a trilogy of terror with three haunted attractions known as some of the best across the nation.
The Darkness is a two-story haunted house in downtown St Louis. Now in its 19th year of screams and scares, The Darkness has flying and flesh-eating zombies, Hollywood-quality sets and animated zombie effects and more. Included is admission to their Monster Museum and TerrorVisions 3-D, one of America’s first 3-D haunted houses featuring freaky crazed clowns in a 3-D environment where the walls appear to be moving, floors are floating and everything is right in the face of visitors.
The Haunting of Lemp Brewery takes visitors several stories below ground into real caves and caverns, just a block away from the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. In an interactive pre-show, sprits and ghosts of brewery founder William Lemp come back from the underworld to warn visitors of demons that haunt the caves under the brewery.
The Screampark in Fenton has the longest maze of scare inducing “hauntings” in the country that last more than one hour and feature more live actors than any other haunted house. New this year are Twisted Torture 3D, Demons Dominion, Grisly’s Gore Zone, the Zombie Town theme for the haunted hayride and the world’s largest Famous Faces Pumpkin Display.
Find zombies, ghosts, haunted houses or more at HauntWorld, a site that has listings for the United States and Canada as well as international attractions in the UK and other parts of the world.
In a parody of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” YouTube video, the Austrian Tourism Board is front and center with their rendition. The video was actually filmed in New York City as part of the Austria Dirndl Temptation campaign.
Have no clue what that means? Dirndl is a type of traditional dress worn in Austria based on the historical costume of Alpine peasants. Lederhosen are pants, either short or knee-length. Both are still quite popular today in Austria, and are worn at weddings, festivals and even in daily life in the Lake District, a resort area also called the Salzkammergut.
Since June, a group of Dirndl and Lederhosen ambassadors chosen by the Austria Tourist office have been going on outings all around NYC in traditional costume. As they interact with New Yorkers, they spread the word about Austria.
Like what you see? Follow Austria on a discovery tour of all things Dirndl-related, and if, along the way, you like them on Facebook, you’ll get the chance to win a trip for two to the heart of Dirndl-country along with your own Dirndl and Lederhosen.
If you plan to travel to Mexico soon, look out for the latest fashion craze young men are embracing: pointy boots. Said to have originated in Matehuala in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí, the fashion trend has men elongating the toes of their boots as much as five feet, curling the tips upwards toward the knees. Men who can’t afford to have their boots extended by a shoemaker will stretch out their boots themselves, using pliable PVC, garden hoses and tires as extensions. The boots are then painted, sequined and otherwise embellished, sometimes going so far as to incorporate blinking lights and disco balls.
To further accentuate the boots, skinny jeans and cowboy shirts are also in vogue. The easiest way to spot the shoes is in nightclubs, where troupes of men in matching outfits show off their boots (and dance moves) to the sounds of tribal guarachero music, a mixture of pre-Columbian and African sounds mixed with electronic beats. However, the boots are becoming so widely worn that the dancers are being asked to perform at weddings and other events. The above video gives a more detailed primer into the trend, which is now making its way up into the United States and farther south into Central America.