No rock star of any age is more qualified to talk about all things Halloween than Alice Cooper.
The singer pioneered the use of costumes, makeup and props like guillotines and live snakes in rock shows.
He's penned such chilling tunes as "Welcome to My Nightmare," "The Black Widow," "Sick Things and Killer," and there's a Halloween mask of his mascara-laden likeness sold nationally.
Even shock-rocker Marilyn Manson is intimidated by Cooper. He recently said that meeting Cooper was "like meeting Santa Claus when you're 5."
We caught up with Cooper, 59, on the phone as he prepared for his favorite holiday, which he'll spend performing in his hometown of Phoenix.
Question:What were a few of your favorite costumes as a kid?
Answer: I was always one thing — Zorro. I related to Zorro: all black, a little mustache, a mask, a sword, kind of romantic, kind of dangerous. And there's a little bit of Zorro in Alice Cooper if you look onstage. I actually use one of the swords that belonged to Erroll Flynn. Even though he never played Zorro, it was the same era.
Question:So you avoided ghoulish costumes?
Answer: It was funny that it was never scary. You would think that Alice Cooper would have been the scary guy. But I was always more the classic character.
Question:What are the key ingredients for a good costume?
Answer: You have to make one. I don't think you go and buy a costume. You have to be more original than that. My parents never bought costumes for us. It doesn't have to be a scary thing to be original. You could tie an eggbeater to your head and go as a motorboat.
Question:What about makeup?
Answer: Now, you go to these Halloween stores, and we never had makeup kits that are almost like Hollywood makeup kits. Kids can really do it up.
Question:Any costume ideas for trick-or-treaters this year?
Answer: If I were a girl, I would definitely go as one of the divas. I'd go as Lindsay Lohan, but I'd be in jail, have a ball and chain. Britney (Spears) would be great this year. You could shave your head, put a T-shirt on, have a big umbrella and beat cars.
Question:Does it startle you to bump into people on Halloween dressed up like you?
Answer: No, that's always a compliment. My ego was stroked when I went into a Halloween store and right next to Wolf Man and Frankenstein was an Alice Cooper mask, with the correct makeup, broken nose and the whole thing. I went, "Wow, that's it. I'm actually a Halloween character now."
Question:What's the best Alice Cooper album to blast out the front window to scare trick-or-treaters?
Answer: "Welcome to My Nightmare." I'm thinking about doing a compilation of "Alice's Scariest Hits: The Halloween Mix." I could put about 20 songs on a CD that would be truly frightening — songs from different eras, like "Former Lee Warmer," "Sick Things," "Dangerous Tonight" that were little gems that were not radio hits but really scary songs. There was a trilogy called "Chop, Chop, Chop," "Gail" and "Roses on White Lace." That was a scary little trilogy.
Question:What's a good fright flick to put on after all the trick-or-treaters are done for the night?
Answer: You can't go wrong with original "Halloween" — John Carpenter's movie with Jamie Lee Curtis. That's truly a scary movie. If you really want to get scared-scared, go with something like Dario Argento's "Susperia" or "Demons," also by Dario Argento. Also, "The Exorcist." It was really frightening because it was based in reality. Demon possession is a thing that has been documented.
A sampling of scary tunes by Alice Cooper
Here is a sampling of Halloween-worthy songs by Alice Cooper:
• "Welcome to My Nightmare"
• "The Black Widow"
• "The Ballad of Dwight Fry"
• "Sick Things"
• "Teenage Frankenstein"