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Halloween Memories

My Halloween: Caffeinated Joe

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NikDaveHalloween2009 Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o’Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds…in between mouthfuls of candy corn…and coffie with Caffeinated Joe…

Why is Halloween important to you?

Well, first off, Autumn is my favorite season, so right off the bat, Halloween falls in the right spot. Second, horror films are my favorite genre, so it gets to be a win-win here. Just have always loved the crunch of leaves, the smell in the air, the sun setting earlier. Yeah, I know most people like it the opposite, but not me. Bring on the dark nights! From the spooky decorations, the TV specials and movie marathons, there really isn’t much that isn’t great about Halloween to me!

Describe your ideal Halloween.

Right now, an ideal Halloween involves my kids ending up in the costumes they want, whether they are hand made or store bought or a little of both. Them enjoying trick-or-treating and the Halloween parade in town is priority number one. But, once they are in bed, I situate myself in front of the TV and watch whatever horror goodness is airing. I do this all October, really, between AMC’s Monsterfest (or whatever it is called now), TCM’s classic films and whatever else is airing around the tube. Lots and lots of late nights every October! And I ALWAYS make sure to watch my favorite movie of all-time, Carpenter’s Halloween. I never tire of it.

What Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?

We have a bunch of stuff, Halloween-decoration-wise. We have a skeleton/ghost that descends while playing creepy music. Also have a haunted light-up village and other odds and ends. And I have horror movie stuff, collectibles from Halloween, Friday the 13th, etc. One of my favorites is a Jason mask I was given as a gift. Also have 1/4” scale Jason statue and a Michael Myers that plays the theme.

When was your very first Halloween, the one where “you really knew” it was Halloween, and how was it?

Well, I don’t remember my first Halloween. But I do remember my mother making our costumes and going as a clown one year. And then buying those Ben Cooper costumes, with the crappy masks that hurt and the ties that snapped after three houses. And coming home with a buttload of candy and swapping pieces out with my brothers and sister and cousins. And watching creepy shows on TV, including Charlie Brown.

What’s the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what’s your answer?

I don’t know. Maybe “What’s the oddest Halloween memory you have?” I would answer that one year, my brother, my sister and my cousins went trick-or-treating and then later that night going into the cemetery that was right behind our house. We walked all the way through to the far end, which was quite a walk. And they had this big religious statue. One of my cousins walked up to it and she pretended to be ‘entranced’. None of us were buying her act, but she laid down on the grass and then waited and when she stood she acted possessed. I have to admit, for a moment, my heart jumped. Not because of her non-acting, but just because of the mystery Halloween night has, especially being in a dark cemetery as the hours ticked closer to midnight!

I have no pictures of me from Halloween handy right now, but attached is one of my two younger kids from two Halloweens ago, at Disney World in Florida. My daughter is dressed up as Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd and my son is dressed up as Ghost Charlie Brown from It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. They got to trick-or-treat at Downtown Disney, which was a lot of fun, and then at my sister-in-law’s neighborhood, which was also fun – and warm, which was different, since we are from New England!

Thanks for letting me play!

My Halloween: John Skeleton

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John SkeletonFive questions asked over a glowing Jack o’Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds…in between mouthfuls of candy corn…with John Skeleton (John Skeleton’s Horror Blog)…and also writing for Scream magazine when the lights are low…

Why is Halloween important to you?

Halloween, All Hallow’s Eve, Samhain…whatever name you call it by, there’s something thrilling about the 31st of October that sends shivers down my spine…in the very best way possible!  I am fascinated with the origins of the holiday, especially the idea that on that evening all of the witches, demons, evil spirits, and sorcerers hold sway and celebrate their revelries under the tenebrous cover of night.

The fire festivals of Britain, the Scottish traditions, and the Celtic celebrations of Samhain have all filtered down through history and somehow manifested themselves in the only holiday dedicated to those things that go bump in the night. For a fan of horror and the Gothic such as myself, I feel like Halloween is the one day of the year that I can be myself, and also watch the “normal” folks get into the spirit of devilish delight! The gleefully ghoulish house decorations, the creepy costumes, the long hours of horror marathons running on the television, mountains of candy…I love every minute of it!

Describe your ideal Halloween.

My ideal All Hallow’s Eve falls upon the night of the full moon, with a few wisps of clouds above and a chill breeze rattling through hoary tree branches that stretch into the sky like decrepit and decaying fingers of the dead. Eldritch sounds can be heard echoing through the wood, emanating not from evil spirits of the forest, but from a large house situated deep among the trees, where the children of the night have gathered to celebrate the forces of Darkness.

Massive and well-constructed, the numerous rooms of the old Victorian now serve as chambers of the morbid and macabre. Classic gems of horror cinema spray blood and gore across a massive projector screen in one room, while another contains multiple gaming consoles where eager players battle against the undead and other unholy creatures…or take on their personas themselves. Sepulchral melodies echo from a room where bodies twist and writhe in unholy ecstasy, and for the more adventurous there is even a fully equipped “torture” room where pleasure and pain melt and congeal together until they are one and the same.

The highlight of the evening comes at the witching hour, when an authentic Black Mass is performed deep in the bowels of the sanctuary…Okay, well I may have gotten a bit carried away there, but a man can dream, can’t he?

What Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?

As I currently live in Japan, there is a tragic dearth of Halloween collectibles to be had here in the Land of the Rising Sun. That said, I like to keep things in my bedroom that many people might find at least a little bit odd. Some of my favorite pieces that could be considered vaguely Halloween-related are my life-size skeleton model, two anatomical models, a bottle of some mysterious liquor with a cobra and scorpion inside, and my stuffed and mounted bat. Factor in my pet snake, scorpion, and tarantula, and it’s pretty much Halloween every day around here!

When was your very first Halloween, the one where you really knew it was Halloween, and how was it?

To be honest, while the memories have faded with time I still have photos of a Halloween night long ago when my parents dressed me up as a black cat, complete with a nose and whiskers supplied courtesy of my mother’s makeup box. I trace the roots of my urge to dress up and my love for Halloween back to that point.  As early as I can remember I always loved adorning my bedroom with fake spider webs, skeletons, and all manner of spooky paraphernalia, and in the end my parents always had to remove them, for if I had had my way it would have been like that all year round!

What’s the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what’s your answer?

Q: Who’s the zombie chick in the photo?

A: That would be yours truly last Halloween! While I wasn’t able to get so elaborate with the makeup, I had a blast with my friends at a big Goth party in Tokyo.

My Halloween: Scott M. Baker

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Halloween 4Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds…in between mouthfuls of candy corn…with author Scott M. Baker (The Vampire Hunters)…

Why is Halloween important to you?

It’s the one day of the year where everyone wants to be scared. It gives those who ignore the genre for the other 364 days of the year an opportunity to know the thrill and enticement us genre fans experience daily.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

My ideal Halloween would be to own a home with a large enough front yard to set up a really awesome nightmare display. I dream of having desiccated zombies crawling out of the dirt along the driveway, corpses hanging from the tree, a giant spider precariously perched above the front door, and anything else my twisted imagination can dream up.  In my hometown lived a guy who used to deck out his house with so many Christmas lights that people would drive from miles around just to see it; I want people to do the same for my Halloween display.

What Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?

I like most of the Halloween decorations I put up around my place. The vampire bat with the four-foot wingspan that hangs over my garage. The decaying skeleton torso I hang from my bedroom window. The life-size Angel of Death I hang from the door knocker.

The collectible that is nearest to me is a simple ceramic skull that I set up on the dining room table every year. Back when I was a kid, my Aunt Bobby made it for me in art class because she knew that, as a Monster Kid, I would appreciate it. Today it wouldn’t scare a three-year-old, but that doesn’t matter. It reminds me of my aunt, who passed away almost ten years ago, and how she was one of the many family members who encouraged that weird little kid who loved monsters.

When was your very first Halloween, the one where you really knew it was Halloween, and how was it?

I don’t remember my very first Halloween. I do remember, however, Halloween as a kid in general. A few weeks before the holiday, my parents would take me to the costume section of the local department store to choose what I wanted to be that year. Back then, the costumes came in small boxes and consisted of a cheap, flimsy, overall-type outfit with an accompanying plastic face mask with eye holes so small they scraped the hell out of your lids. (You Monster Kids out there know exactly what I’m talking about.) Then on the hallowed night I would go out and prowl the neighborhood, where I thought I was the scariest/coolest monster on the block, and return home to eat myself into a self-induced sugar high.  I miss those simple times.

What's the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what's your answer?

Q: What would be your ultimate Halloween costume? A: I would want a make-up artist to deck me out as a rotting zombie with the whole nine yards: grotesque, oozing neck wound; ripped open abdomen with the obligatory intestines hanging out; and torn up face with exposed jaw.

I also have a standing invitation from a close author fiend to go out one Halloween with her and her daughter as Gomez, Morticia, and Wednesday Addams. I’m hoping to cash in on that someday.

My Halloween: C. Michael Forsyth

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PirateFive questions asked over a glowing Jack o’Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds…in between mouthfuls of candy corn…with author C. Michael Forsyth (Hour of the Beast)…

Why is Halloween important to you?

It’s the one day of the year when adults are allowed to play make-believe.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

A great big house party where everyone comes in costume and scary movies are playing on screens in every room.

What Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?

Mnnn, I don’t collect much…does a flexible skeleton you can hang from a noose count?

When was your very first Halloween, the one where you really knew it was Halloween, and how was it?

I must have been about seven and was wearing a rubber Frankenstein mask. It was awful because I could hardly breathe or see through it without my glasses, which didn’t fit properly under it. Still hate the smell of those darned masks.

What’s the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what’s your answer?

Q: What’s your all-time favorite Halloween costume?  A: I’d have to go with Zorro. What man doesn’t think he looks dashing with a black cape, mask, and a piece of cold steel (okay, plastic) in his hand?

My Halloween: Dan Dillard

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Dansmall1 Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o’Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds…in between mouthfuls of candy corn…author Dan Dillard writes mostly horror, but not always. Sometimes he writes about Halloween.

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

Not sure what it is about Halloween that is so magical. It could be the lore or the mystery. It’s like our one time to become one with the paranormal and there’s an odd feeling of safety about the day. Seems like I read that it was once a festival where families would light bonfires to warm the bones of their deceased ancestors who walked the earth on that evening. I like that idea. I’m also a huge fan of horror and the ghostly tales that seem to surround Halloween… and secretly I like the costumes and the candy. I like watching my children enjoy that aspect of it as well.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

My ideal Halloween would start with a well decorated house. That includes carved jack-o-lanterns. There would be a party with friends and family (in costumes of course). It needs to be a cool night, not too cold, and there has to be hundreds of kids bebopping from house to house with bags of treasure. Each of them ringing doorbells in hopes of scaring someone on the inside. After the kids come home with their loot, the wife and I get to watch a movie and steal all the Reese’s cups.

What Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?

Wow, collectibles? I’m not sure. I love the figurines from the movies…Nightmare Before Christmas is a favorite. I’d love to have Jack and Sally maquettes… maybe Oogie Boogie as well.

Demons cover When was your very first Halloween, the one where “you really knew” it was Halloween, and how was it?

My family always celebrated Halloween. I remember when I was really young seeing my brother dressed as the Hunchback… he had latex scars on his face and fake teeth and the whole nine… That was pretty cool. I might have been 4 or 5. Think I was superman that year.

At 7 or 8 years old, I wanted to be a Tusken Raider from Star Wars…I think my mother helped sew the costume out of a tan bathrobe and my dad made the gaffi stick out of wood and styrofoam…it was pretty awesome. Pop on a little vacuformed mask and I looked great in the mirror… I also remember being Batman, Freddy Kruger, a Ghostbuster, a werewolf, and this year I’m…wait, that’s top secret.

What’s the one Halloween question you want to be asked, and what’s your answer?

Q: Where can I get your book?

A: That’s a shameless plug. I hope to hear a bunch of hopeful “Trick or Treat” s… That will be enough.

But you can still buy his book, Demons and Other Inconveniences, and What Tangled Webs, too.

My Halloween: Scooby Stole the Snacks

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Scooby_Doo_Halloween Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o’Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds…in between mouthfuls of candy corn…Sammy from Scooby Stole the Snacks leaves the Mystery Machine for a moment to talk about Halloween.

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

Halloween has always been the only time of the year where I could go out in a Scooby Doo outfit and not receive any weird looks from the general population. Also, it has been a great opportunity for my family, primarily my 8-year old brother, to actually have fun together. Plus, free candy! That’s always a bonus. See, I go trick-r’-treating every year, and I just overall love that time of the year.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

My ideal Halloween? Well, honestly, I’m one of those simple people. My ideal Halloween would consist of it being on a weekend, so I wouldn’t have to go to school. There would have to be homemade Halloween goodies, like my peppermint patty spiders and mummy hot dogs. My family and I would carve jack-o-lanterns in the morning, then relax and watch good old black and white movies, such as Bela Lugosi’s Dracula. Then, we would go trick-‘r-treating, and come home and indulge on all the free chocolate.

What Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?

I personally cherish my old glow in the dark plastic skeleton that I hang on my door every Halloween. It’s cheap and simple, sure, but it’s a classic. I don’t particularly like those candy bowls that have the hand that grabs you when you reach into the bowl. It was creepy at first, but it’s really getting old every year. I both hate/cherish those fake spiderwebs that you can hang on bushes, trees, etc. They’re awesome looking, but just a pain in the butt to actually hang up.

When was your very first Halloween, the one where “you really knew” it was Halloween, and how was it?

The first Halloween I remember was the year I dressed up as a Hershey’s Kiss. I must have been around 2-3 years old at the time. My mom handmade the costume and I was the cutest Hershey’s Kiss ever. I don’t quite remember how it was, but I’m sure it was enjoyable, since I was smiling in all the pictures my mom took of me that night.

What’s the one Halloween question you want to be asked, and what’s your answer?

Q: What is the worst possible outfit that you can find at any Halloween store?

A: Any outfit involving Jersey Shore, or Lady Gaga

My Halloween: Nathicana

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Hadehat Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o’Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds…in between mouthfuls of candy corn…while Nathicana impatiently waits for the inevitable zombie apocalypse, she shares some Halloween spirit with us.

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

Candy. Lots of candy. OK, OK, not candy. Halloween is the only holiday I celebrate. I love that it doesn’t have all the baggage that the other holidays have; no worrying about gifts, no arguing with family members over a dried out turkey dinner, no secret Santa crap. It’s just pure fun. Honestly, it’s the only time of year where people seem to take pleasure in the holiday itself. Plus it lets me inflict my love of creepy things upon others.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

I’m pretty low key in my old age so I suppose my ideal Halloween is what we usually do every year. Two-day horror movie marathon (Hey, I grew up outside of Detroit: Halloween starts on Devil’s Night), then we have some friends over for a bonfire, and drinks. Maybe later we’ll terrorize the neighbors, howl at the moon, conduct a few virgin sacrifices. You know, nothing too exciting.

What Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?

They’re not collectibles but I just hate, hate those damn inflatable cutesy decorations people put on their lawns. They absolutely drive me crazy. Halloween is supposed to be spooky. Ugh, I’ll stop now before I go on a tangent about how I think Halloween has been sissified over the years.

Obviously, I love anything really creepy but my favorite item isn’t really a Halloween collectible. It’s a little statue of St. Francis of Assisi that I got from a church sale. It looks like it was created by Francis Bacon. It’s disturbing and hideous and it’s awesome. I don’t really have anything that would be considered a collectible when I think about it, mostly just decorations.

When was your very first Halloween, the one where you really knew it was Halloween, and how was it?

The very first Halloween that I remember distinctly was when I was seven. I was stuck at my Grandparents house sick with something or other so I didn’t get to go trick or treating. I did, however, get to stay up late that night and watch the local channel’s thriller double-feature: Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things and Night of the Living Dead. It was terrifying and gave me nightmares and I loved every second of it. That was the point where I began to love everything to do with horror, anything dark, macabre, or creepy. I might not have gotten any candy that Halloween but it was the best Halloween ever.

What’s the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what’s your answer?

Q: What’s your favorite movie to watch on Halloween?

A: Prince of Darkness. It’s an excellent film that I think is totally underrated which is a shame since it really has some great moments. Come on! “I have a message for you and you’re not going to like it. Pray for death”. That’s a freaking great line. I use it quite often, in fact.

My Halloween: Sideshow Cinema

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Fijimermaid Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o’Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds…in between mouthfuls of candy corn…Fiji Mermaid of Sideshow Cinema steps out of the Black Lagoon to celebrate Halloween with us…

Why is Halloween important to you?

Halloween is important to me because as far back as I can remember I’ve always liked monsters, whether it be toys, songs, movies and such. That interest is still there to this day and thankfully there is a Holiday and a month that really puts that monstrous vibe out there for everyone to enjoy. As soon as I see the first Halloween store open, or decorations start to appear, it gives me that feeling of scary fun that only Halloween can bring.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

My ideal Halloween would be to set up some spooky decorations around the house and have some of the haunted house sound effects I’ve collected over the years playing on loop through some speakers positioned in the windows to set the mood. Dressing in costume to hand out treats seems like the only way to do the job right, so I’d pick out one of my costumes from the “Halloween” bin. I think surprising or giving a bit of a scare to the kids coming to get candy will help to pass on that fun of Halloween. If years down the road they can sit back and think about their own Halloween memories of the scary guy who was handing out candy then I’ve done my job of keeping Halloween alive.

What Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?

I don’t have any Halloween specific collectibles, oddly. I love the season so much, but there hasn’t been a collectible outside of various scary film characters that were put into toy figure form that I can deem as collectible and fit into the spirit of Halloween.

When was your very first Halloween, the one where you really knew it was Halloween, and how was it?

My first memory of Halloween was pre-school Halloween party/parade and dressing up as Dracula. My mom had some small little handmade witch cape with yellow moons and stars on it that I wore over some “Sunday best” type of clothing. My mom did my make up for me. I had the slicked back hair, white face and blood dripping down the sides of my mouth. I’ve looked at pictures of this day and the other kids are clowns, cowboys, Luke Skywalker and such. I look like the only scary kid in the bunch.

What’s the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what’s your answer?

Ipodsongs Q: Do you have a Halloween playlist on your iPod and if you do what are you listening to?

A: Yes, of course. There are certain genres and artists I stick to with my general music listening, but when it comes to Halloween I’m all over the board. If the content of the song has any even flimsy Halloween reference, or scary topic, it shows up in the “Halloween playlist”. If it’s about Halloween or appeared in a horror movie, that grants it access to the list.

I’ll not bore you guys with my complete 2+hrs long list of songs, but here are some highlights. I recommend tracking these down if you don’t have them and adding to your own Halloween mix. They are sure to liven up any party this time of year.

  • Tim Curry – “Anything Can Happen on Halloween”
  • 3-Speed – “Once Bitten”
  • John Carpenter – “Halloween Theme”
  • Elvira – “Monsta’ Rap”
  • DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – “Nightmare on My Street”
  • Misfits – “Dig Up Her Bones”
  • The Cramps – “Surfin’ Dead”
  • Wild Beasts – “Hooting & Howling”
  • Motorhead – “Hellraiser”
  • Dru Down – “Bloodsucker”
  • Henry Hall – “Here Comes the Boogeyman”
  • Classics IV – “Spooky”

 

My Halloween: Creeping Bride

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Halloween 1971 Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o’Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds…in between mouthfuls of candy corn…the Creeping Bride has just begun a SHOCK! and Son of SHOCK! viewing project this October, covering the 72 Universal and Columbia movies released to television in 1957 and 1958…

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

I love how subversive Halloween is. Halloween is a rupture in the day-to-day miseries of quotidian existence—it’s like Mardi Gras but with less drunken idiots in the street and fewer puddles of vomit everywhere.

First of all, people dress up in crazy outfits and stroll the streets and it’s never an issue (have you ever wondered what would happen to you if you tried to wear a werewolf mask in public on the Fourth of July or Memorial Day?). Secondly, you give away fun stuff to total strangers (cheap candy, mostly, but I also sometimes give out DVD-Rs that I’ve made of public domain horror and sci fi flicks). So you’ve got this complete undermining of normal, respectable decorum and the dull mechanics of capitalist exchange.

Halloween also undermines the edifices of Christianity that tower over daily life in the U.S. It is, after all, a vestigial reminder of the distant pre-Christian and pre-industrial agricultural past: a polytheistic pagan harvest ceremony and festival of the dead. In Europe, the Church tried in vain to eliminate festivals like Samhain among the Celtic people by creating All Saints and All Souls holidays, but the stubborn persistence of Halloween suggests that this effort to Christianize the pagans has failed. In fact, I would argue that the evangelical “hell houses”—those haunted attractions put on by fundamentalist Christian groups in late October that substitute drug addicts, porn-addicted chronic masturbators, Muslim terrorists, ob-gyn doctors who perform abortions, and gay men for ghosts, vampires, and other monsters—illustrate how harvest-time pagan festivals of the dead have had a profound influence on Christianity. If you can’t beat the pagan ideas that underlie Halloween, then join ‘em, I guess.

Finally, I like that Halloween is so geared towards children. Kids have a very loose grasp on what is real—they are not bound by the confines of language, instrumental rationality, or career-mindedness, so theirs is much more like a world of imagination and instinct and emotion. Celebrating Halloween is giving them a time when they have the run of the roost of the Real World, and this makes the day all the more subversive. I know a lot of people like New Year’s Eve and Fat Tuesday as holidays, where the world is turned upside down, but for me, there’s only ever Halloween. (At least until we figure out a way to get folks to celebrate Walpurgis Night, too…)

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My Halloween: Polka Haunt Us

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HellgaGoofy Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o’Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds…in between mouthfuls of candy corn…Veronique Chevalier of Polka Haunt Us, haunts us with her Halloween…

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

Besides the opportunity to masquerade as a different character than the person I am in daily life, I love Halloween because it’s a socially-acceptable way to celebrate our “Shadow Selves”- those dark portions of the collective consciousness that we try to keep at bay most of the time.

Because our society is so “Darkness Phobic” for want of a better term, Halloween is a welcome safety valve for many people to poke fun at, and with, the things that most folks would rather not have to address directly. And of course, it gives humans a ritual focal point for harvest season. Even though we are no longer an agrarian-based culture, we still seem to have a collective need to celebrate the change of seasons.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

I love performing at Halloween time as my “Hellga The Devil’s Beer Maid” character, because it’s one of the rare occasions when I get a chance to interact with people of all ages, be it private parties, Harvest Festivals, Halloween Carnivals, etc. Last year I performed at an all-ages punk show, and the kids accepted me as one of their own!

As someone who didn’t replicate, I am saddened that our society is so compartmentalized- families with kids interact only with other families and their offspring; and the singles mingle with others in similar situations, and the old folks are all warehoused together, off to the side. Dressing up in costume removes some of the barriers that separate us during the rest of the year.

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My Halloween: Too Much Horror Fiction

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Sleestak


Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o’Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds…in between mouthfuls of candy corn…

Will Errickson of Too Much Horror Fiction will never say there’s too much of Halloween.

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

I’ve loved monsters and the macabre and summer turning into autumn since I was a kid. And candy! Most people will say their favorite season is fall. I have lots of good memories associated with those things. It’s a time when I can really indulge my love of horror, although truthfully I do that all year long. Still, it’s fun to take an entire month and watch and read nothing but. And over the years Halloween has really become a huge money-making industry with decorations and costumes being more and more prominent, which I dig. I think it’s the mainstreaming of the early 1980s Goth-punk subculture, melding that with the kid-friendly environment of Halloween. Thank Tim Burton, I guess.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

Throwing a big Halloween party! My girlfriend and I did this a couple years ago, but we had it a week before, so it didn’t conflict with other parties—that’s always a problem. We also didn’t insist that people dress up because honestly, some people don’t like to do that. We made tons of food, got lots of booze, and decorated her apartment like crazy. It took us nearly a week to get it all ready! We had three or four TVs going with horror movies on—Hammer Draculas, Universals, Fulci, Price/Poe—and mix CDs filled with horror movie soundtracks and artists like the Misfits, the Cramps, Roky Erickson, Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Black Sabbath, etc. It was a huge success but we haven’t been able to recreate it since.

Candy-scaryskeletonsWhat Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?

I love monsters toys and whatnot and decorating with Halloween tchochkes all year ’round. I’m amazed at what a place like Target has for Halloween, so much fun monstrous stuff you can use anytime. Recently on eBay I found some kids’ monster books that I had when I was young; those bring back fun memories for me. And I love those skeleton candies that come in a little plastic coffin.

  When was your very first Halloween, the one where you really knew it was Halloween, and how was it?

My elementary school would have a Halloween fair in the gymnasium, complete with a haunted house and bobbing for apples and all that stuff. I can remember the cool fall night, walking over to the school in a costume—I believe a Ben Cooper Sleestak—and then winning some kind of Halloween toy. Probably came home and watched the Charlie Brown Halloween special afterwards! I was around 6 or 7 and knew about Halloween of course, but I think that was what made me a lifelong fan.

Monster1 What’s the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what’s your answer?

Q: Do you know what Mischief Night is?

A: Yes, yes I do. Google it if you don’t know!

My Halloween: Scared Silly

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Horror_comedy

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o’Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds…in between mouthfuls of candy corn…with Paul Castiglia of Scared Silly: Classic Hollywood Horror-Comedies …

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

“Important” is too strong a word for me to use in this case. My relationship with Halloween is one of “pure fun.” Specifically for me it’s become a time to revisit some old-school horror flicks (the more black & white the better). I’m not a big costume guy – used to do that more when I was younger. And I’m on a diet so I’m trying to limit my candy consumption!

But there is one thing that has become a Halloween tradition for me: I hold an annual Halloween movie night at my office. I try to keep things on the light side with classic horror films and horror-comedies, or films that fall into the PG realm without graphic content (whether it’s classic TV movies like “The Night Stalker” or recent animated hits like “Monsters vs. Aliens”).

Describe your ideal Halloween.

I think I just did – as long as I can watch some fun spooky movies I’m set!

What Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?

I love movie posters and lobby cards, old movie magazines, trading cards, comic books, books about old movies and the films themselves (when I was a kid in the 1970s that meant Super 8 digest versions of the classics; as an adult it’s the entire films on DVD). Not that I actively collect any of the above with the exception of the movies and books about them. But from time-to-time if I run across an interesting item I pick it up.

When was your very first Halloween, the one whereyou really knew it was Halloween, and how was it?

I can’t recall the year but it had to the early 1970s. I had a Batman costume, but it wasn’t one of the cheesy vinyl costumes with the plastic masks – this was a cloth costume with a cloth cape and I believe it may have had a cloth pull-over cowl as well. I’m guessing this was from Sears or some other department store. Within a year or two of that Halloween, my sister and I made a Spider-Man Costume – she sewed it and I used permanent marker to draw all the webbing onto it! It was cool because it had a pull-over mask that fully covered my head and I insisted that we use gauze for the eyes so they could be white (enabling me to still see-through the mask).

What’s the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what’s your answer?

Q: If you could go back in time and watch any movie you wanted in a theater for Halloween, what would it be?

A: My answer would have to be the classic William Castle-directed Vincent Price starrer “The Tingler” – complete with the rigged seats!