Halloween Museum

[Marmooset]

Well now, it's October.

And time again for what is arguably the oldest and most widely celebrated (and IMO best) holiday of the year: Halloween.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I am, as always, psyched (please note the avater). So I'm gonna prattle on for the next 31[footnote]Did it last year on another forum for 61 days, but that's just too much work![/footnote] days about all things Halloween. Film, TV, games, history, personal experiences, anything that makes brings the holiday to mind - even if the connection only makes sense to you. Maybe I'll be talking to myself for the next month, but you're certainly welcome to join in. It's just too good a holiday not to waste everyone's time with!
[DISCLAIMER: I'd like to give props to, and recommend the Scary Thread [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.211546-The-scary-thread?page=1], but that's more about all things creepy, while this thread's focus is Halloween.]

OK, enough of that.
[HEADING=1]First Topic:[/HEADING]
Since if you hadn't been thinking about it, you'd better get off your duff and start: Are you planning on a costume for Halloween? If so, what? And where are you wearing it?

 

[Cazza]

Not here. I live in Australia. It's not celebrated widely. Although it isn't uncommon to see some people trying.

 

[nuqneh1]

I don't have a costume. I was going to go as Firefox but I couldn't find the costume pieces I needed for cheap.

 

[Marmooset]

Not here. I live in Australia. It's not celebrated widely. Although it isn't uncommon to see some people trying.

Really? That's kind of sad. Maybe we should send over missionaries or something.

I don't have a costume. I was going to go as Firefox but I couldn't find the costume pieces I needed for cheap.

I'd think it mainly be a matter geting the logo on something. What were you planning to do for it?

 

[JRCB]

I'm planning to go as Captain Jack Harkness from Torchwood/ Doctor Who. I'm planning on picking up the coat tomorrow.

 

[DefunctTheory]

I'm thinking that for Halloween, I may get drunk for the first time in 3 years out of depression.

The Neuro Doctor's will be pissed at me, but fuck'em. I'm lonely and in physical pain.

EDIT: So I guess I'm dressing up as a drunk for halloween.

 

[Dark Knifer]

Since I'm in Australia, it won't really be celebrated. Might see people trick or treating but I can't be bothered dressing up for halloween. Also, this is definently not the most widely celebrated holiday. Chirstmas would probally win that.

 

[Cazza]

Not here. I live in Australia. It's not celebrated widely. Although it isn't uncommon to see some people trying.

Really? That's kind of sad. Maybe we should send over missionaries or something.

Not Really Halloween's origins celebrating the end of summer. Which doesn't make sense seeing as we are finishing winter. Other reasons are cultural which as Australia has a large diverse background many people won't have cultural roots in that holiday.

Although now it it's seen to be just a fun holiday which everyone can enjoy. I believe the reason for it to be celebrated should still be the main reason to celebrated a day. Just look what happened to Chirstmas. Completely commercialized.

 

[2fish]

I will have just finished a test a few days before it and will be preparing for my entry into grad school by dressing up as a gamer playing TF2. There is only one power that can get me out of that room and she is not a fan of dressing up and going out.

 

[Nedoras]

In the area I live in, you can't trick or treat or even be walking around in costume until 4pm and you can only be trick or treating or be in your costume until 9pm. The police patrol around all night and catch people every year (I don't know what happens if you get caught though, never happened to me or anyone that I know). Because of that annoyance, I don't dress up every year. I'm probably just going to hand out candy with my girlfriend again.

 

[smurf_you]

In the area I live in, you can't trick or treat or even be walking around in costume until 4pm and you can only be trick or treating or be in your costume until 9pm. The police patrol around all night and catch people every year (I don't know what happens if you get caught though, never happened to me or anyone that I know). Because of that annoyance, I don't dress up every year. I'm probably just going to hand out candy with my girlfriend again.

I fail to see why this happens, care to elaborate? Sounds like they're afraid of 10 year olds robbing a bank in mummy costumes or something

OT: probably just going to a party with a few friends, watching bad movies, dressed as a female gangster from the 50's

 

[Nedoras]

In the area I live in, you can't trick or treat or even be walking around in costume until 4pm and you can only be trick or treating or be in your costume until 9pm. The police patrol around all night and catch people every year (I don't know what happens if you get caught though, never happened to me or anyone that I know). Because of that annoyance, I don't dress up every year. I'm probably just going to hand out candy with my girlfriend again.

I fail to see why this happens, care to elaborate? Sounds like they're afraid of 10 year olds robbing a bank in mummy costumes or something

OT: probably just going to a party with a few friends, watching bad movies, dressed as a female gangster from the 50's

I honestly don't know why it happens, it just does. I guess the police are just overly paranoid in my area. Hell this year they wouldn't let anyone light any fireworks on the 4th of July, they wouldn't even allow those fireworks display things that some people or places hold. All the displays were done on the 3rd of July instead. I really hate the town I live in -_-

 

[smurf_you]

In the area I live in, you can't trick or treat or even be walking around in costume until 4pm and you can only be trick or treating or be in your costume until 9pm. The police patrol around all night and catch people every year (I don't know what happens if you get caught though, never happened to me or anyone that I know). Because of that annoyance, I don't dress up every year. I'm probably just going to hand out candy with my girlfriend again.

I fail to see why this happens, care to elaborate? Sounds like they're afraid of 10 year olds robbing a bank in mummy costumes or something

OT: probably just going to a party with a few friends, watching bad movies, dressed as a female gangster from the 50's

I honestly don't know why it happens, it just does. I guess the police are just overly paranoid in my area. Hell this year they wouldn't let anyone light any fireworks on the 4th of July, they wouldn't even allow those fireworks display things that some people or places hold. All the displays were done on the 3rd of July instead. I really hate the town I live in -_-

Wow sounds like a fun place...

 

[nuqneh1]

Not here. I live in Australia. It's not celebrated widely. Although it isn't uncommon to see some people trying.

Really? That's kind of sad. Maybe we should send over missionaries or something.

I don't have a costume. I was going to go as Firefox but I couldn't find the costume pieces I needed for cheap.

I'd think it mainly be a matter geting the logo on something. What were you planning to do for it?

I was going to carry around a keyboard with a t-shirt of the logo and a browser screenshot on it. Along with a tail and fox ears. The problem was with the last few items because they go for $50 each on the internet.

 

[Aglynugga]

Last year I was Snake from the Simpsons. This year I want to try for Bender. I can't burp fire without setting my head on fire though.

 

[Marmooset]

I'm thinking that for Halloween, I may get drunk for the first time in 3 years out of depression.

The Neuro Doctor's will be pissed at me, but fuck'em. I'm lonely and in physical pain.

EDIT: So I guess I'm dressing up as a drunk for halloween.

Hey, there's a costume store for that just around the corner from here!
(on a more serious note: is there anything about your situation you'd like to share?)

Also, this is definently not the most widely celebrated holiday. Chirstmas would probally win that.

That's why I said arguably, and widely rather than most popular. Now, throw together Christmas and all its yuletide placeholders (Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Yule, Ramadan (every 30 years or so), etc.) it stomps Halloween in the ground. But Halloween in some form is observed by many cultures that don't touch Christmas. And being pro-Halloween (don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good Christmas), I like to look at the glass as half full - possibly of blood.

Not Really Halloween's origins celebrating the end of summer. Which doesn't make sense seeing as we are finishing winter.

Ooh, good point!
Maybe you guys could have an Easter zombie egg hunt or something.

Me? I'm going to look through the Scary Thread on the Escapist, and maybe download that horror themed mod for Half Life 2. Unfortunately, I'm also moving to an another apartment at the end of the month, so that might interrupt my "festivities".

Stick with the scary thread. Moving's too frightening, and all too real. And like any really scary situation, you're all to likely to end up doing it all alone...

OT: probably just going to a party with a few friends, watching bad movies, dressed as a female gangster from the 50's

I gotta say that's interesting because you're going against the whole gangsters=20's standard.

In the area I live in, you can't trick or treat or even be walking around in costume until 4pm and you can only be trick or treating or be in your costume until 9pm. The police patrol around all night and catch people every year (I don't know what happens if you get caught though, never happened to me or anyone that I know). Because of that annoyance, I don't dress up every year. I'm probably just going to hand out candy with my girlfriend again.

That sounds like the basis for a great scary story in and of itself! No one knows what happens to the kids who step outta line. Call it "Curfew" or something. I get 15% of the ancillary film rights.

I was going to carry around a keyboard with a t-shirt of the logo and a browser screenshot on it. Along with a tail and fox ears. The problem was with the last few items because they go for $50 each on the internet.

Don't they have any of those cheapo "Spirit" stores or the like near you? I bet you could get something like that there fer less than $20. If not, grab a fake devil horns/tail set, and glue orange fur on it.

Last year I was Snake from the Simpsons. This year I want to try for Bender. I can't burp fire without setting my head on fire though.

Go as Fry. You just need a pair of tighty whities, orange hair dye, and maybe some cereal on your head.

 

[Marmooset]

Feel free to discuss costumes or whatnot (oh yeah, in OT: the little ones are going as Buzz Lightyear and a Martian, so I'm probably just gonna wear a black T-Shirt with a skull on it to escort 'em on Beggar's Night), but I'm throwing another fish in the pool:
If it's Halloween night and nothing else is going on, you could do a lot worse than to curl up with a nice short story. I've got a few recommendations:

• 6) Stephen King's The Boogeyman: Read this when I was a kid. Scared the crap outta me. Read it again after having kids, and it's even worse.
  5) H.P. Lovecraft's The Dreams in the Witch House: A fine way to get introduced into Lovecraft for those who haven't. More accessible than a lot of his work, and it straddles the border between cosmic horror and old-fashioned witchcraft. And pound fer pound, Brown Jenkin is one of the creepiest henchmen ever.
  4) T.E.D. Klein's Black Man with a Horn: Possibly the best Lovecraftian mythos short story ever written - maybe even including Lovecraft's works. And if you're reading this in New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, be sure not to miss A.A. Attanasio's The Star Pools, or David Drake's Than Curse the Darkness.
  3) Clive Barker's In the Hills, the Cities: One of the most imaginative of Barker's works, and that's saying a lot. Actually, just about any of his first 3 books of blood are worthwhile reads, as there is innovation in them that dwarf many horror writers' entire careers - including, unfortunately, the latter half of his.
  2) Ramsey Campbell's The Companion: Possibly the ultimate quality of "WTF just happened, and why am I feeling so unsettled without knowing why?" generated by the master of uncomfortable horror. His stories aren't easy reads (especially for us 'Mericans who have to look up half his slang), but well worth the investment. I cannot read this without getting chills, and I still couldn't tell you why.
  1) Karl Edward Wagner's Sticks: Taken from the actual experience of an artist (Lee Brown Coye) lost in the Appalachian woods, the atmosphere is so thick that the final act is actually sort of anti-climactic, for all its doom. And his lawyers should contact the makers of the Blair Witch Project.

OK, I've shelled out. What're some of your suggestions?

 

[Marmooset]

I am determined to continue with this, as i cannot take a hint.
Spooky. Scary. Skeletons.
Tomorrow: movies.

 

[iLikeHippos]

I WANT to wear a costume! I want to spunk on some stylish hair, dress in full black, put in fangs and colored contact lenses.

... But, to my dismay, no one ever wants to join me. "Too many difficulties ensues".