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From the time Troy began putting
the group back together in July until early October, preparations
remained almost completely at a standstill.
KISS was getting ready to release a new album, and since the
band usually changed or modified its costumes with each album,
Troy was waiting for photographs of the new outfits before
beginning work on the group's costumes.
While waiting for the photographs to appear, Troy found a
replacement for Joey. His friend Henry Gibson joined the group
as its new Ace Frehley.
With Halloween rapidly approaching and no photographs of the
new costumes available, Troy began to worry that there wouldn't
be enough time to make them.
He was still living more than an hour away from the other
members, and this was long before the internet, when new photographs
and information appeared much more slowly in magazines and
other printed publications. Television appearances by KISS
were also rare.
Finally, on October 22, 16 magazine published several photographs
of KISS wearing their new costumes.
The band's new look was considerably more subdued than its
previous outfits, but Troy still had only nine days to make
four costumes.
This time, Troy was responsible for the entire costume-making
process. With Joey and Jack no longer in the group, he had
taken on all the work himself, from creating the patterns
and cutting the material to assembling and sewing the costumes.
Having never been taught to sew, Troy simply began using his
mother's sewing machine and figured things out as he went
along.
The odds were stacked against him. With the members living
miles apart and Troy working a regular job, getting everything
finished in time seemed nearly impossible.
Nevertheless, Troy was determined to make it happen. He worked
against the clock to complete all four costumes before Halloween.
When Halloween arrived, the group was in surprisingly good
shape. The costumes still needed some final adjustments and
finishing touches, but everything was completed that afternoon.
Unfortunately, unlike the previous year, there was no newspaper
interview, no school carnivals, and very few opportunities
for the group to make an appearance.
This year, the guys gathered at Troy's girlfriend's house
in Newark to get ready. They began applying their makeup around
5:00 p.m., and by 7:00 p.m., everyone was dressed and ready
to go.
After taking a few photographs, they headed out for the evening.
The group had decided to visit Marriott's Great America in
Santa Clara, where a costume contest was being held. With
few other options available, they hoped the park would give
them an opportunity to be seen and perhaps even win a prize.
They arrived at the park around 8:00 p.m. and quickly discovered
that it was practically deserted. They had asked about the
costume contest when entering, but the employees didn't have
any details. Once inside, there were so few people around
that even finding someone who could provide information proved
difficult.
It was like walking through a ghost town, and not because
of the Halloween decorations.
Unfortunately, by the time they finally learned about the
contest, it had already taken place.
To make matters worse, the more subdued costumes failed to
attract the attention their elaborate outfits had received
in previous years. With the contest already over and hardly
anyone around to see them, there was little reason to stay.
The guys eventually decided to head home.
Halloween 1981 had turned out to be a disappointment. Despite
the tremendous effort involved in completing four costumes
in just nine days, the group had little opportunity to show
them off.
After the excitement and success of 1980, the evening was
a letdown, much like Halloween 1979 had been.
The Halloween 1981 lineup consisted of Bin Avery as Eric Carr,
Tim Branson as Paul Stanley, Troy Correia as Gene Simmons,
and Henry Gibson as Ace Frehley.
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