Community

Alfred Hitchcock promotes his 1963 film “The Birds.” This image is from a vintage postcard.

As All Hallows’ Eve approaches, let us move like a mist over the mountains that mark the boundary between our sheltered valley and the sea. If we float like a fog, we can settle over the tiny coastal community of Capitola and recall a night half a century ago so eerie that it made director Alfred Hitchcock’s hair stand on end. Or it would have, if Hitchcock’s hair had not been in such short supply at the time.

The real events of the night of Aug. 18, 1961, along the Santa Cruz coast had a direct impact on the plot of “The Birds,” one of the most famous Hitchcock movies of all time.

Halina Jasinska/Special to the Town Crier
Los Altos native Jason Tseng, center, works with actors in a scene for “Final Diagnosis,” a medical thriller based on a novel he wrote.

Jason Tseng took his passion for storytelling across continents over the summer. The Los Altos resident worked in Póznan, Poland, to adapt his novel “No Second Chances” into a movie that is now under consideration for film festivals as he and his team complete post-production.

Billed as a medical thriller, the story follows Dr. Gregory Tseng and his crew of fellow medical experts, who seek cures for their patients while confronting more sinister enemies, according to Tseng.

Thursday

Halloween Spook-tacular, sponsored by the Los Altos Village Association, noon to 4 p.m. in downtown Los Altos. Information: downtownlosaltos.org.

Nov. 8

Holiday Stroll, sponsored by the Los Altos Village Association, 5-9 p.m. in downtown Los Altos. Information: downtownlosaltos.org.

The French Fair Bay Area, the largest regional event devoted to French culture, food and fashion, is scheduled 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Lucie Stern Community Center, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will support the Los Altos-based nonprofit Mentor Tutor Connection, which trains and places adult mentors and tutors at local schools.

Iris Cooper-Page/Special to the Town Crier

”Creepy Pumpkins”

Welcome once again to the Town Crier’s annual Spooky Stories Contest. Following are reader-submitted tales. This year, we received 23 entries, second-most in the history of the contest.

Halloween was impending! Ghostville was buzzing with excitement. Each year, a few lucky “ghosters” were selected to thrill children of the human world on this night. This year, Cornella McCandy had applied to be a ghoster for the first time. But she was nervous. The McCandys were the Candy Corn family and nobody considered them truly scary.

When the results were delivered. Cornella’s mother received the letter and read it out loud.