This was a scream. I was laughing so hard, repeatedly throughout the day, that my stomach actually hurt. I don’t know about you guys, but when they play those short films on airplanes showing practical jokes, I always burst into uncontrollable laughter… to the point of crying sometimes. I have observed that it’s a guy thing, most women giggle and smirk, but don’t take it to heart like the guys who watch the practical jokes… the guys just laugh unabashedly, probably hinting at some deep emotional shortcoming, taking joy in seeing others tricked… Halloween was “celebrated” in our area on Saturday, the 29th of October, instead of the 31st. And here are some of the reactions to the “thing” that we set up for the annual droves of kids and adults who all want treats, and rarely get tricks played on them. The setting, a simple cooler with a sign, in the photo above… Below, some of the reactions — and let me say now that we missed a dozen priceless sets of photos, because a still camera can’t capture split second reactions. Mrs. MM had to figure out the continuous shutter mode on my camera to capture these pictures…
1. First up, we tried it out on a village security guard, armed no less, and used to apprehending petty crime offenders and mediating disputes over delayed garbage collection, a neighbor not curbing their dog, etc. He was a sport, but clearly startled by whatever the cooler contained… what could it be?
2. Next up, two kids probably 10-12 years old, just barely tall enough to have a peek inside the cooler to get their free ice cream (we did this on purpose, so that small kids wouldn’t be damaged for life, or have nightmares when they got home)… The boys opened the cover together, and while stoic and surprised, they only reacted a second or two later, pounding hard on the cover, furious they had been fooled!
3. Neighbors and foreigners seemed to find the contents of the cooler funny, but only after they had jumped back after viewing the contents… this guy was so amused he waited and made sure his friends and their kids got their ice creams as well… needless to say, a crowd was gathering in front of the house, everyone waiting for the next hapless/unsuspecting group of trick or treaters to come by and reach in for their ice creams…
4. We worked hard to trick everyone. The cooler is real, the sign clear. I went to the grocery earlier in the day, to buy two boxes of twin popsies, and begged for empty boxes of Cornettos so that we could position them strategically around the cooler, as if consumed. Spent wrappers were placed in the empty boxes, and of the crew’s kids stood around on the street licking their ice cream cones… So it is inevitable that the neighborhood nannies would be duped, like this lady whose reactions are well captured in the next four photos…
5. This princess, shocked at first, was really truly disturbed that her prince had indeed turned into a frog! Note the pink tiara, please. :)
6. This tough guy, probably in charge of the security of his ward, approached warily and flipped open the cooler from a good distance but was still surprised, albeit in a dignified way…
7. But guy #6 had so much fun, he waited around for someone else to be victimized, as he watched and had a hearty chuckle himself, again. But the lady seems more amused that shocked, so what could be inside the cooler???
8. But NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, can compare with these ladies in terms of facial and bodily reaction. I have looked at this trio of photos two dozen times since and I still burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter. Notice the facial expressions, the initial shock of recognition when they first opened the cooler, the classic and (should be) award winning second photo with the whiplash worthy jerk away from the cooler, the cover caught in mid-flight, and the pained almost horrified look on her face… followed by a rapid flight after fright, running away at break neck speed… Gosh, I wish we had videotaped these reactions… :)
So what the heck was in the cooler? Marketman’s HEAD, of course. And when they opened the cooler to reach in to grab an ice cream, they were greeted with a powdered pale head, severed from it’s body, that screamed the bejesus out of everyone who tried. It was an incredible success, a huge hit, and a source of much laughter for many folks I am sure. I know, it generally isn’t nice to give folks a fright, but it was “halloween trick or treating” after all, and too many folks take the easy route and simply give out treats…
I had originally intended just to scare the kids of the crew who are with us every year to trick or treat, and they are VERY careful in our house, precisely because I have played tricks on them before. So this time around, we crafted a hole in a styrofoam cooler, through which my head could fit, then rested the cooler on a really old table that was about to be thrown out. It was sawed to provide a comfortable space for my neck and padded with foam to avoid injury. The table was given sides and covered in a black cloth…
I sat as comfortably as I could on a little bangkito, the crew covered up the cooler, and we waited… As soon as someone was told to just help themselves to a free ice cream, they approached opened the cooler and the yelled at them, startling them out of their wits! It worked so well with a foreign friend over for lunch, then on the crew’s kids, that we decided to set it up in our garage for an hour or less just to spice up the neighborhood experience. Naughty, no?
Not to worry, we gave out thousands of candies that day, though no ice creams, just “I SCREAMS”… get it? Also, for the crew and kids, they each got a humongous loot bag with lots of goodies, and got to pick one of these halloween themed cookies…
…and took home all of the foil wrapped halloween chocolate.
But not before they had the main course of their merienda cena, Zubuchon dinuguan or blood stew, of course, served with two kinds of puto. We also had spaghetti, barbecued pork, fried lumpia, fruit salad, cakes and drinks. It was a wonderful halloween, and proof positive that you don’t need to be a kid to enjoy it! Happy Halloween to you and your family!
63 Responses
I thought it was a bloody raw pig’s head that was in the cooler. The gruesomely made live head is even better. Did you yell BULAGA?? LOL. Happy Halloween Mr MM and Family and to all of your readers.
Trust MM to come up with pranks! You are a genius!
On our block, we do have a local MM who like you does this kind of pranks and it scares the ….of the little adorable kids….so much that they pass up going to that house. Only the bigger kids and the teen-agers look forward to going and getting their candies from her!
If you want to capture people’s reaction unsuspectingly, there is a camera that you could install say for instance a few feet above the cooler. It is battery operated. That is what people use to capture the stages a flower undergoes from bud to all its regal beauty overnight.
That is so cool!!!!!!
Betty Q, something like this https://tumblr.photojojo.com/post/11886752496/the-delen-memory-table-has-a-built-in-camera-that ?
MM, haha! I love it. Good thing you can do that in your neighborhood. It wouldn’t be effective here, as our subdivision’s trick-or-treat activity is too ‘organized’. They assemble the kids into one group and troop around chaperoned. So a big group arrives in front of your house and they all just hurry through. It’s no fun.
What a hoot, MM! The reactions of the people are too funny, grabe!
PS. Hindi ba mainit or stuffy dun sa cooler?!
Vyan, I only did this for 5-10 minutes at a time, and crew would take the cover off when there was no one in the vicinity. Then we would just give candy out, until a new group came down the street and I hurriedly got back in the cooler… :)
Faith…the mechanics must be the same…the garden type is not attached to the table but free standing and you can hook it up to a pole or a wall. It will blend with MM’s gate for it is colored olive green as well.
Salbahe si MM. That was a lot of fun!
That was funny. Now i’d like to see how your face looked like!
Ha!Ha!Ha! scary sense of humor! Did you cover your face in blood? The reaction of the blue ladies was over the top! I like that it was captured in continuous mode of the camera instead of a video…..it was more emphasized! Happy Halloween to all!
MM, you’re really one big impish kid at heart! Still laughing heartily! :)
HAHAHAHA….MM, No picture of your head inside the cooler box?
That’s so funny!!! lol
I wished we also get a “peek” at what’s inside the cooler. hehehe
that was a great trick..so funny I have to control my self from scrolling down the page hoping you post a picture of your head/face inside that cooler. hehehe
great job MM!
Kids in photo number 3 are playmates of my daughter in the village. Good thing she didn
‘t go trick or treating with them and so had a different route or she would have been “damaged” if she took a peek in that ice cream box :) happy halloween, Mr. MM! Stay a kid at heart
HAHAHA! THIS IS GREAT! I WAS ALREADY LAUGHING AND STILL HAD TO SEE WHAT WAS ACTUALLY IN THE BOX … HAHAHA!
Note: if anyone in these photos is offended or even just does not want their mugs in this post, just send me an email and I will remove the photos immediately. Thanks. The photos of my head in the box were just too revealing, too close up, so I have left them out. I could have put blood, and rags around my neck, but didn’t. Hopefully no one has nightmares about the cooler…
I never thought you would pull a trick like that as I perceived you more as a serious type looking person, :-) I’m sure you made a lot of kids and adults happy. Kudos for giving them a good laugh afterall its the best medicine!
ps, i spend one week vacation in malapascua island so onmy way back i had the opportunity to buy your zubuchon lechon. I ate it with my sisters and we must admit it is the best lechon we’ve ever tasted! Congratulations and thank you. I arrived around midnight in cavite but we didnt care eating the lechon right away ! The smell was really inviting! hehehe
Glad it all went well. Happy to hear that tricking isn’t a common occurence for you. I remember eggs and toilet paper, every year.
Never mind the classic – flaming bag of dog poop. Stomp out the fire, find the treat inside! Ugh.
Played it safe, and took a lap around Power Plant Mall with the li’l Devil this year :D
Ha ha ha…you’re really crazy MM!!! Stay young….that’s great. You really look funny seated that way. All the sacrifice just to make kalokohan….ha ha ha…
Very funny! Hehe.
Bwahahahahah!!!!!! Hilarious!!!! Not to mention inspired!! The screaming ladies picture was absolutely priceless LOL!!!
Ha ha ha ! You are a genius MM! Happy Halloween!
Great job! Happy Halloween! :D
Azteg! What a scream! LOL!
Hahaha! Winner MM! I sooooo love the blue ladies reaction!
dear marketman, why deny metro manila of the magic that is Zubuchon?
i was in cebu last month and finally tasted the lechon and boy even from afar i am still smacking my lips and dreaming of it.
please, have the conscience and charity to feed us here.
That was incredible!! I asked my husband to do the same but he said the bratty expat kids will just spit on his face! hahaha… so we settled for the boring stuff, candies, as usual for this afternoon’s event.
hahahaha! i would have fainted on the spot! clever and naughty, MM! am just baking witches’ fingers (with almonds dipped in red food color for the nails) today.
that’s an awesome halloween trick! happy halloween to you and your family po! =)
Love it! Happy Halloween!
hahaha. nice!
How ingenious, MM!
Loved that prank! Very funny!
Crazy-fantastic idea!!! LOL! I was smiling from ear to ear while reading and looking at the “victims”!
I was really waiting, and hoping, to see a photo of you in that box until the very end of this post :)
yummy merienda you had there.
Boo! LOL. Good thing nobody dumped anything on your head in fright. If I were holding a drink and opened that box, I’d probably drop it on you in terror whilst running away screaming!
Ha, ha, ha!!! you take the cake, MM!!
MM, I would have LOVED to see your face, gore and all. XD
You are a sick man, but I love you. The desire, ability, and wherewithal to execute really creative harmless but hilarious practical jokes must be in our genes. That made my halloween…and I am sure all the kids will be talking about that forever.
This is funny. Never thought that you would do this kind of thing since you are more of the serious-looking type.
i Like =)
That was brilliant! And I can see why you would be rolling with laughter! Now, how will you top that next halloween?
This post was really fun to read. It was like I was there wondering what the fuss was all about and being kept in suspense and then discovering that brilliant trick! I really enjoyed it!
OMG MM!!! As I was reading this post, I kept wondering what was inside the cooler that would make them laugh or scared…Towards the end of your post, now I understand your uncontrollable laughter, of which I am doing now. I cannot laugh out loud here in the office while reading it and the comments…but I am in tears, honestly! Grabe! I wish I can do this in my area…
Galing!!!!! Happy Halloween!
too funny!!! i just showed my daughter your halloween post and she said, “mom, can you work for MM?” hahaha :D
MM – just make sure this doesn’t happen to you:
https://youtu.be/ibO4LCSbiP8
Haha, that’s awesome! It would’ve been perfect for a Candid Camera segment. :)
omg hahaah too funny!
you never fail to amaze us!!!! such humor. hahahahahaha!!!
That was amazing MM! I’m sure they had loads of fun with your I-Scream treat. I can’t stop laughing with the reactions!
What a funny trick MM!? Halloween surely was interesting in your neighborhood! :)
… i was laughing so hard that people look at me like “hey are you out of your mind?” … love the joke MM.. Happy Halloween!
These photos are priceless! Good job on setting up the shutter speed thing Mrs. MM! I love pranks, back in college we made a whole production out of gags based on common presumptions about UP students (rallying, UP ikot etc.) and I was laughing all throughout the pranks as well. Buti everyone else who was around was able to keep a straight face while the victims approached.
High five MM for your trick AND treat!
I am at my Lola’s wake but the whole family laughed while reading this post with me. So, it’s not a guy thing to laugh at people getting duped. =P
Happy Halloween everyone!
Kasseopeia, so sorry to hear of the family’s loss… and how outrageous in a nice way that you would be reading this post during a wake…
At first I thought that there was something gross inside the cooler such as a big fat ugly toad or earthworms or something. Now I’m curious to see what your face looked like inside the box. Great job with the props (loitering kids eating ice cream, cornetto boxes) lulling kids into a false sense of security.
MM…next time you pull a prank, put subtitles, please!….would love to see their comments alongside the pics!
Kudos, MM! What a novel and hilarious way to scare! This post made me laugh! :)
I love it! Thanks for the laugh!
i was guessing what might be inside the cooler, but never got it right. very funny MM. i had a good laugh.
Hi MM great job on the Halloween trick, I used to join my cousins in creating elaborate tricks for the trick or treaters, before they finally get their treats in Alabang. This is such a simple trick, and yet it worked so well!
LOVE the pics of the terrified girls, complete with “flying” hair!!!
ha, ha, ha. very funny, MM. loved your trick. And what a nice treat for the crew and kids, what with all the food afterwards. Missed the dinuguan, looked yummy.
hahaha! can we do this next halloween?