A Night at the Drive-In
On Wisconsin's Satanic Highway
What do Barbie and The Goonies have to do with Wisconsin?
I’ll tell you.
But first…the Satanic Highway.
Earlier this year the Wisconsin congregation of The Satanic Temple hit the road to clean up a stretch of Highway 18 near Lake Mills and Jefferson.
Their official Adopt-A-Highway signs recently went up, so we made the pilgrimage to visit them.
If you want to do the same, you can find it here.
It just so happens that this particular stretch of highway is also home to a place I’ve been wanting to visit for years: Highway 18 Outdoor Theatre.
It’s only an hour from Wisconsin Frights HQ, so I have no good excuse for never going before now. But let me tell you, this was the perfect way to close the coffin lid on summer.
Highway 18 is an original and authentic drive-in with all the feels.
They did upgrade to a digital projector a while back for better picture quality, but you can still see the old behemoth in the concessions lobby.
I had no idea that when going to see Barbie, I’d also meet Wisconsin horror royalty. Madison horror host Dr. Ivan Cryptosis was there on Saturday to promote his screening of The Fury of the Wolfman the following night.
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This was the last weekend of the season for Highway 18, but there’s one more chance to experience the drive-in this year as they host the Madison 48-Hour Film Project’s Wisconsin Thrillers film festival of Wisconsin-made short horror and sci-fi films.
That event is happening Sept. 22-23rd, 2023.
Kick off the season with a classic drive-in experience and check out spooky Wisconsin horror films on a giant 90-foot outdoor screen!
Halloween Events & Activities
Speaking of Spooky Season, I’ve revamped the Halloween guide! It’s still a work in progress, but I’m pretty happy with the direction it’s going.
Included are our featured haunted houses such as Sheboygan’s frightful Dominion of Terror (now in it’s 49th haunt season!) and some great Halloween events. Check it out and let me know what you think!
It Came from Wisconsin!
So…what connections do Barbie and The Goonies have with Wisconsin?
In books published by Mattel in the 1960s, it’s stated that Barbie lived in the (fictional) town of Willows, Wisconsin. So forget about that dreamy pink plastic Barbieland. Barbie’s a born-and-bred Wisconsinite. It’s all beer and cheese for this bombshell.
As for The Goonies: Sloth was from Oak Creek, WI. John Matuszak, the actor under all that makeup, was born on October 25th, 1950 in Milwaukee. The “Tooz,” as he was known, was drafted into the NFL in 1973. He spent most of his career with the Oakland Raiders and won two Super Bowls.
John died in 1989, and is buried in Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Cudahy.
RIP Sloth