From Zombos' Closet

My Halloween: The Moon Is a Dead World

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...with Ryne who beams some Halloween rays from The Moon Is a Dead World to light up the night...

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

I can't remember when Halloween first became a staple of my life. Each Halloween in my younger years gets jumbled together into one big happy, spooky memory. I think, strangely enough, my love of Halloween began when I was eight or nine years old. My family was eating dinner in the living room on Halloween night when trick-or-treaters showed up at 5 o'clock! Trick-or-treating wasn't supposed to start until 7, and it was a surprise to us that anyone would begin so  early. For some reason, this memory sticks with me as the biggest reason of why I love Halloween so much. Maybe it was the fact that I was with my family on that fateful Halloween, or maybe it was the enthusiasm of the trick-or-treaters that visited so early. Either way, Halloween became one of my favorite times of year, and it still holds that magical feeling from when I was a kid.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

I prefer my Halloween spooky rather than playful, so the trick-or-treaters in my ideal Halloween would have to be decked out in scary apparel - no princesses or pirates allowed! Also, you know that scene in Trick 'r Treat where Anna Paquin walks down a forested path decorated on either side by jack-o-lanterns? That would be included as well, because the whole town gets caught up in the festivities.

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

This is a little embarrassing, but I really enjoy the old McDonald's Halloween Happy Meal toys they gave out in the '90s - the ones that feature the Hamburgler, Grimace, and Ronald McDonald, where their costumes can be interchanged. It's a nostalgic thing for me, I guess, because it reminds me of my childhood. We've had them for years, and still never hesitate to put them around the house each Halloween.

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

My very first Halloween...like I said, my past Halloweens are all a jumble of memories, but I think I had to have been 4 or 5. I was Frankenstein, and I had a fuzzy, puffy Frankenstein mask and clogs to make me taller. We put something on my neck to look like bolts, although I can't remember what we used.

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

Q: Trick, or treat?

A: TRICK! For me, it's never about the candy!

My Halloween: Fascination With Fear

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...with Christine of Fascination With Fear who tells us what else holds her fascination...

Why is Halloween important to you?

Halloween is my favorite day of the year.  Has been since I was small enough to know what a favorite is.  It's rather funny to think I love the holiday so much when I'm not really a big fan of kids (that alone should get me burned at the stake).  But it is such a fabulous time of the year.  In addition, October is my favorite month, and it's just capped off by the holiday.  Over the years, I've always tried to take off work on October 31st, and sometimes November 1st as well - as the horror movies run late into the night.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

Well I might piss the parents off here, but I don't have kids - so my Halloween is sans children.  Though I can very much appreciate kids in their costumes wandering aimlessly around my small town - I remember when I was a kid how much it meant to me.   But my perfect Halloween would consist of driving up to our cabin in the woods about an hour north of home (the one we lovingly dubbed the Evil Dead cabin, due to its similar look).  We'd have to take along our jack-o-lantern, cause that's only right.  I'd sit outside and read in the crisp fall air so I could smell the dead leaves and feel the last of the autumn sunshine, then I'd have the hubby start a campfire and we'd hang out around that toasting up some marshmallows and such.  Then of course, it would be horror movie central for the rest of the evening, capped off by a trip to the outhouse in the dead of night right at the edge of the (Blair Witch) woods.

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

My movie (DVD/VHS) collection would have to be my biggest horror/Halloween collection, but I do have a ton of Halloween decor. As I get older I cringe at the thought of putting it all away in November, so I haven't been putting out quite as much. But I love antique looking Halloween collectibles - things that look decades old. Oh, and I collect witches.  Lots of them.

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

I grew up in western Pennsylvania, so sometimes it can actually snow around Halloween. I recall one year when I was quite young and wanting to be a veterinarian for Halloween (you know, scrubs and a stuffed dog -real inspired), but it turned out to be like, thirty degrees outside. Hence, my hunter costume. Yep, camo and a shotgun.  Unloaded of course, but this was back in the day when a seven year old could tote a gun around town without getting thrown in juvie. Oh well, that big coat held a lot of extra candy.

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

Q: Why doesn't my town hold Trick-or-Treat AT NIGHT???

A: I've been asking myself that question for over thirty years.  Runs in my mind when I was small, we trick-or-treated at night.  Folks with the porch light on were handing out candy, if the house was dark you steered clear (or threw corn at it later on). Later in my teens, my town changed it to daylight only. From around noon till 4pm. And no, my town is not full of crime.  At all.  There is no real reason why kids can't trick-or-treat at night here.  It makes me so mad when I think about it, them taking away our fun and making kids even more afraid of the dark than usual.

My Halloween: Spooky Little Girl

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...with Zombie Ballerina dancing at Spooky Little Girl all Halloween Night long...

Why is Halloween important to you?

Halloween is, needless to say, my favorite time of year. It has an air of mystery and magic about it, and no matter how old I get, that magic never quite fades. I think Halloween gives people a great opportunity to have a little fun with "the dark side," something that is ignored or abhorred all too often throughout the rest of the year. During the entire month of October, there are things that appeal directly to my interests everywhere I look; even a mundane trip to the drugstore can be fun. TV programming is just a little bit better, there are haunted houses and horror movie revival screenings everywhere, and finally - finally! - it feels like everyone is on the same page as me.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

I would love to throw an amazing Halloween party in a quintessentially spooky old mansion. (Think 1313 Mockingbird Lane, or Hill House.) Someplace vast and eerie and unsettling. Themed food, including an array of pumpkin-based dishes, both savory and sweet. No one is admitted without a scary costume; no joke costumes or T-shirts that say "THIS IS MY COSTUME" allowed.

Ideally, during the course of the evening, myself and my partygoers would somehow manage to raise the dead, who would emerge from the backyard cemetery to perform an elaborately choreographed creepy dance, a la Thriller.

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

My boyfriend and I have a small but much loved collection of Spooky Town houses and similar Halloween figurines, which we display year round. I also have a soft spot in my heart for old school paper decorations - cutouts of Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolfman, etc., the likes of which you can buy at any party supply store for like 50 cents.

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

I think I was around 3 or 4 years old. I remember piles of dead leaves and cheap black capes and crying when I saw how ugly I looked in my witch costume, with my carefully applied green makeup and spirit gum wart (courtesy of my mom). I remember trick-or-treating shyly and feeling intimidated by the older kids and their rambunctiousness, but I also remember feeling excited and intensely curious about what was going on.

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

Q: What is your favorite Halloween-appropriate song?

And the answer is a tie: "Spooky" by the Classics IV (of course!) and "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult.

My Halloween: Freddy In Space

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...Johnny Boots of Freddy In Space has this thing for Freddy and Halloween. Is it just me, or do you think this photo is as creepy as all Hell, too?

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

Because it's the one time of the year where everyone embraces the things that I embrace all year round and I love to see that. Stores I would otherwise never step foot in are loaded with cool stuff that's right up my alley, both new and old horror films hit DVD and the theatres left and right, and pop up all over television networks that normally show no love for the genre. People decorate their homes the way I decorate mine all year long - it's as if all is right with the world for a month or so out of the year.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

As much as one might expect that I go all out on Halloween and do all kinds of wild things to celebrate my favorite day of the year, my ideal way to spend the day is with my girlfriend, some pumpkin beer, a handful of horror flicks, and a bunch of candy to hand out to trick or treaters - and of course to feast on. That's all I need to have a great Halloween. I remember how thrilling it was when I was a kid to be given a big size candy bar or an extra little special treat in my bucket, and I love to give those little thrills to the new kids in town. It's for this reason that I try to stay home during the day and night of Halloween and always feel like I missed out when I end up going out for the night.

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

While I cherish each and every one of my Halloween collectibles - which my dad and I have amassed a ton of and proudly display most throughout the entire year - i've gotta say I really have a love for this weird squishy pumpkinheaded dude that my family has had since as far back as I can remember. He always puts a smile on my face when I pluck his tattered ass out of a bucket come mid September and just the sight of him really gets me in the spirit.  Unfortunately that's a sight that I at the moment cannot share because I can't seem to find him!

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

The earliest Halloween memories I can remember were at my elementary school. We would have a parade every year where we all dressed up and walked around the gym or parking lot, depending on the weather. I remember loving that and cherishing the difference of it from normal day to day school life. Not a very exciting answer, but that's the first I can remember experiencing Halloween.

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

I guess i'd like to be asked what I am doing for Halloween this year. Reason being, this will be the very first Halloween my girlfriend and I spend in our very own place. I absolutely cannot wait to decorate the place and to hand out candy to our own batch of trick or treaters. At the same time it's bittersweet because not only will I for the first time not spend the day in my childhood home, but my dog - who passed away late last year - won't be there to notify me when the kids are headed towards the front door.  She always bothered the living hell out of me on Halloween, but i'm definitely gonna miss that incessant barking now that she's gone.

Things will be different, but i'm highy looking forward to what seems like it'll be my first 'grown up' Halloween experience.  Rest assured though, come October 31st, I will still be as giddy and excited as the kids who come to my door looking for candy - this is something that I hope never changes.

My Halloween: The Halloween Blues

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...Sam Hain of The Halloween Blues let's it all hang out.

 

Why is Halloween Important to You?

Because it's one of the few holidays where it's okay for me to be a total a-hole to the people I love. I can also jump out of the bushes and scare little children without worrying about the cops arresting me.

Describe Your Ideal Halloween.

Honestly, I have no ideal Halloween. There is no one way in particular that Halloween is perfect to me.  Every Halloween is different. When I start the day I never quite know how it's going to end and that's the way I like it. Halloween should be more than just a planned series of events, it should be an adventure.

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

I don't have many relics of Halloween past, but there's this one mask that I've kept for a few years now that I don't think I'll ever get rid of.  Which is funny considering I bought it at the Dollar Store. I used it to scare the hell out of a bunch of my students for Halloween and they absolutely loved it. Now I use it mostly to scare family members and on occasion, my dog.  It has a lot of sentimental value, so I don't see myself ever getting rid of it. One day I want to scare my grandchildren with it.

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

I have terrible memory, so this question is super hard. I think the earliest Halloween I remember was when I was like in 3rd or 4th grade. Yeah, that's how bad my memory is. That year my school was sponsoring a maze in their parking lot that featured blood and gore! The 90s were so awesome, people weren't as PC back then. The most significant thing I remember from that year is that I wore some fake blood around my mouth and some of it got inside, so I was tasting it the whole night. In fact, I can still taste it till this day, which is why I've never worn fake blood since.

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

Q: Who is the Pumpkin King?

A: That's a good question...

My Halloween: Halloween Overkill

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...Halloween Man666 of Halloween Overkill keeps asking the questions "Can you really have Halloween overkill? Can you ever have too much of that October 31st  rush of candy, costumes, and creepy fun?" And he always comes up with the same answer: Hell No!

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

I think the thing that makes Halloween so important to me today is because of the memories I have of Halloweens long past and the feelings of past Halloweens that it invokes. The Halloween nights growing up where I was Dracula, and a ninja turtle, and the devil, and even a clown are all nights that I can still remember to this day. The smell of grease paint and scorched pumpkin guts. The smell of pumpkin seeds roasting in the oven and that smell of the plastic insides of those masks we used to wear.  Even that odd scent of burning fog machine liquid are all sensations I can actually smell right now if I try hard enough. I have these vague memories of it always being slightly rainy on Halloween growing up and now it just seems to be ice cold up in Michigan where I travel to be with my parents every Halloween. So mostly I think it is just reliving and remembering those memories of old Halloween's and my youth that makes Halloween so special to me.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

My ideal Halloween would be waking on a warm autumn Saturday Halloween to the smell of doughnuts from Blake's Apple Orchard and the scent of cider coming from the kitchen at my parents' house. My wife and I would finish setting up the front yard haunt that we do every year at my parents' house. A few people would show up for a small Halloween party and after it gets slightly dark outside we would kick it into high gear with the theatrics and fog machines and makeup and masks. The yard haunt would run for a few hours during which a few more close family members and friends would all show up to celebrate and watch the madness unfold on the front lawn.  After the actual trick or treating is done we might pile into the car, speeding away from the city lights into the eerie darkness of the farm countryside to enjoy a professional haunted house and hayride. When all that is done we would all come home to a nice warm pizza, a few gallons of pop and a few pounds of candy. We would relax watching all of our favorite Halloween classics on the t.v. We would all stay up past midnight (I haven't missed a Halloween midnight since I was about 5 years old). Then we would all wind down and say goodnight as everybody heads home.

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

The Halloween collectibles I cherish are the ones from my youth. The '70s and '80s Halloween decorations are the best, and I consider them collectibles. Aside from that I have many different little Halloween trinkets I've collected over the years which I hold very dear to my heart. The Halloween collectibles I hate are some of the more modern ones that are too cutesy (such as the bejeweled skulls) for the holiday, although there have been a few modern collectibles here and there that I would proudly add to my collection. I'd have to say one of my all-time favorite Halloween collectibles was actually featured right here on Zombos Closet: the Halloween Haunted House Nite-Lite, which can be seen here.

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

I think the first time I knew that Halloween was "THE day" was the year I was dressed up as Dracula. I can still remember my parents helping me put the makeup on and helping out with the costume and the accessories. To this day I don't know how, but I can replay most of the night in my head as if it had just happened yesterday.

Here is one of my most cherished pictures of me on that night (photo top right). That is my dad behind me in the chair and I don't know what it is about the picture but as an adult it just tugs at my heart strings to see myself as a little Dracula boy and my dad behind me growling and showing off his "Vampiric" side as well. I often credit my parents as being the ones who I can blame for my Halloween and horror obsession and this picture reminds me of that.

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

Q: Hi Jason, would you like to come work for our Halloween mask/decorations/haunted house/design/screenwriting company?

A: Hell yes I would!

By the way that's my wife and I (photo right). Trick or Treat!

My Halloween: Slammed and Damned

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...Slammed and Damned's Theron tells us what just is his childhood. And it starts with the letter "H."

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

Whoa, how to answer this? Halloween epitomizes everything I love. It’s monsters and autumn and childhood memories and scary movies and jack-o’-lanterns and candy and Ben Cooper costumes, and the joy and wonder in the eyes of my children. It’s everything that’s good about living, I suppose. To me, Halloween is about being a kid—being hopeful, alive and in awe. Sure, adults have co-opted it, but that’s why. Halloween allows us to get back in touch with those feelings, if only for a night.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

I suppose it begins before Halloween, because the atmosphere must be created. There are decorations to arrange and pumpkins to carve. Then, Halloween evening, the air fills with a palpable excitement as the kids put on their costumes and prepare for the night’s festivities. The candy is put into a bowl by the door in anticipation of the ghouls and goblins to come. We take our littlest out for a quick tour of the neighborhood while the older one goes out with friends, but we have to make it back with plenty of time to hand out some treats. Then, when the trick-or-treaters have slowed down, we all gather and unwind by eating gobs of candy and watching some classic Universal horror until the little monster is asleep, at which point we ramp it up and watch something that’s more fun for the big kids—Kevin Tenney’s Night of the Demons is always a Halloween fave.

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

All I have of consequence are those memories, which are more than precious.

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

I’m not exactly sure, but what comes to mind is a Halloween when I was around 8 years old. This  was back in “the age of innocence,” when young kids could roam the neighborhood without adult supervision. It was a cool, dark night and my friends and I were running from house to house, not paying attention to anything but the next score. We were whipping through yards without thought and had given up using walkways and sidewalks—they just slowed us down. As I raced through one unfamiliar yard, I ran face-first into a virtually invisible chain link fence…which answers that age-old question: What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? Answer: An 8-year-old kid with a sugar rush ends up flat on his back, sporting a bloody nose and surrounded by scattered candy. Good times…

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

Question: What is the best Halloween-themed entertainment?

Answer: There is but one answer. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is the alpha and the omega.

My Halloween: Kindertrauma

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...Kindertrauma's Unkle Lancifer tells us, in-between mouthfuls of candy, all about his night of beaming spirits.

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

As an avid despiser of all things summer, the entire month of October is my friend. It makes due on a promise that September is unable to fulfill, the promise of the complete death of summer. Halloween is the best night in the best month of the year. On Halloween everyone behaves in the way that they want to all year round but are afraid to. Also I firmly believe that the wall between our world and that of the supernatural world is onionskin thin on Halloween night provided you drink enough.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

I would like to spend Halloween being chased by a psychopathic killer in a Leonard Nimoy mask. Unfortunately, I am currently too long in the tooth to be proper psycho bait so that boat has regrettably sailed.

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

I have a plastic pumpkin-head man that used to be filled with candy but is now filled with crushed leaves from a cemetery in Salem. I created it about twenty years ago and I believe it has magical powers of some sort. He hangs out with my one-armed mummy action figure.

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

When I was a wee child I was severely injured whilst performing a temper tantrum. I was left with a scar on my forehead, which has faded a great deal at this point but was pronounced in my youth. A bunch of kids (who eventually met mysterious ends) used to tease me and call me “Frankenstein.” (I know, Frankenstein is the doctor and not the monster but these kids were morons.) The first Halloween I remember fondly involved me dressing up as Frankenstein’s monster as a response to my tormentors. It was on this day that I vowed to use my freaky nature to my advantage whenever possible and to celebrate my slew of deformities.

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

Q: What are you going to dress up as this year and what are you going to drink on Halloween night?

A: The answer is “The Legend of Boggy Creek” and Jim Beam.

My Halloween: Horror Host Dr. Gangrene

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...Horror Host Dr. Gangrene of Tales From the Lab steps away from his test tubes and beakers for a moment to mix a monstrous potion for our Halloween enjoyment.

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

Halloween was the first thing I remember really latching on to. It may have been because of the candy, certainly, but there was always more than just that. The entire feel of the holiday was magical, and still is to me. The sights, sounds, hell, even the smells of Halloween to this day give me that warm feeling inside.

Certainly a big part of it was the costumes. Dressing up as someone else, even for just one night, and not only getting the okay to be as ghoulish, gory and scary as you want from adults but actually being rewarded for it (candy) – what could be better than that?

Halloween is still important to me to this day, and I’ve enjoyed passing along traditions to my kids.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to the holiday. My ideal Halloween definitely centers around trick or treating. I am a parent on the later end of raising kids – they’re all either grown up or are growing up and getting too old for trick or treating any longer. The oldest two are in college and my youngest is 13 now, so he’s just about done with the door to door thing. Makes me kind of sad, but I realize that when we aren’t walking around with him any longer I’ll be able to stay at home and hand out candy, which is very cool too.

Our house is THAT house – every neighborhood has one. It’s the one in the neighborhood that is all decorated for the holiday. It’s the one you can see from the end of the street, lights, props, smoke and music all rolling out like a scary beacon in the night. For the past twelve years we’ve lived in our house we’ve had my parents come house sit and hand out candy while we made the rounds with the boys. Kind of gave us a second go-around at trick or treat vicariously through them. It’s fun to get out, meet the neighbors, and see what decorations they’ve put up.

I kind of envision doing a small scale Bob Burns type thing one day, decorating the place and handing out candy and scares in equal proportions. Then when trick or treat wraps up, around 10 or so, it’s time to snuggle up with a cold beer, hot pumpkin stew and scary movies.

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

The Halloween items I cherish most are probably the photographs of myself as a kid around Halloween time – my mom found several and gave them to me a few years back. They’re my favorite Halloween item – you can really see the love of the holiday in my eyes in those pictures. I also found a couple of items on ebay that are in these photos – a plastic orange pumpkin lamp and a Ben Cooper skeleton costume. So those are pretty neat as well.

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

I don’t think there is one specific one, just a bunch of random memories that all run together. Wearing those plastic Ben Cooper masks, the elastic strap pulling the hair on the back of your head, sweat beading on your upper lip. That certain smell the plastic had. Running from house to house with a bucket full of candy, trying desperately to hit as many houses as possible before the night ended. Getting popcorn balls and apples among the candy. Taking trips to Woolworth’s to pick out my Halloween costume, the Ben Cooper and Collegeville costumes lining the shelves. Carving pumpkins and trying to decide whether it would have a friendly or scary face (scary would almost always win out).

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

Q: What’s your favorite Halloween memory?

A: For me it would be the year my son, Ian, dressed as me for Halloween. We walked around as a father and son version of Dr. Gangrene that Halloween – now how cool is that? My only regret is that, like a dumbass, I didn’t take any pictures. But I’ll always have the memory!

My Halloween: Orange and Black Spirit of Halloween

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...Halloween Spirit of Orange and Black shares the colors of Halloween with us.

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

Halloween is important to me because it's the only holiday of the year on which imagination, creativity and pure fun are given free rein. It's a time of year I have loved and looked forward to for as long as I can remember.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

My ideal Halloween takes place on a crisp autumn night under a full moon as a light breeze swirls through the dry leaves. It's a night in which every house in the neighborhood participates.  Jack-o-lanterns glowing.  Spooky sounds carried on the wind.  Both children and adults in costume.  Streets filled with trick-or-treaters. But with enough treats left over at the end of the evening for a feast of potato chips and Mars bars and a classic Universal horror film.

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

My favourite collectibles are vintage Halloween items from the first half of the 20th century. (I don't actually own any originals, but someday...) Postcards, noisemakers, candles...The images are a perfect combination of innocence and creepiness.

My most disliked collectible (not sure I would call it a collectible; let's say "decoration"): yellow caution tape.

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

The first Halloween I can clearly recall was in the late sixties when I was four or five.  Oddly, I have no memory of my costume but it was likely one of those vinyl outfits with the plastic mask held in place with the flimsiest of elastic bands. We lived in the country, next door to my cousins, and my mother, dressed as Red Skelton's "hobo" character, walked with me to their house where, together with my aunt and young cousin, we were to go trick-or-treating.  Because we were small and the distance between houses was big, we went by car with my aunt stopping at each driveway as my cousin and I ran up to each house for treats.

Until the time he refused to get out of the car.  Another trick-or-treater, much older, probably a teenager, was dressed as a police officer. My cousin was terrified.  Apparently, he had been told that if he misbehaved, the police would one day come for him, and he now feared that his day had come.  He was scared to death.  In tears.  So I had to get back into the car as we drove off to the next house in the opposite direction of the "police officer".  Then, and for a long time afterward, I could only wonder what treats I had missed out on thanks to my spineless little cousin.

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

Hmmmm . . . I'll keep it simple.

Q: What did you most (and least) like seeing dropped into your trick-or-treat bag as a child?

A: Most: full-size chocolate bars (with Hot Dog potato chips a close second), Least: candy apples--how I hated them (but that's another story...)

My Halloween: The Terror Trap

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...Dan at The Terror Trap opens wide to snare us with his Halloween spirit.

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

Halloween is important to me because as a horror movie fan and lover of the macabre, I appreciate any day that brings out the witches, ghosts, zombies and vampires in all of us.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

As an adult, my ideal Halloween is one in which I see many kids walking around the neighborhood in colorful costumes and I give away tons of candy. An ideal October 31st is always capped by a good terror or monster flick.

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

I love the classic Ben Cooper costumes from the ‘60s and ’70s and I have a few in my collection. I also collect miniature PVC figures and the Halloween and monster characters are some of my favorites. Each year as Halloween approaches, I add to my displays.

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

The earliest I can remember is when I was about five. That would be 1974 and I wore a Fred Flintstone costume. I had a blast. I grew up in a large apartment complex in New York City and we did what I would call “vertical trick-or-treating.” Which means that rather than go from house to house as you would in the suburbs, my friends and I went up and down the staircases and elevators in 13-story buildings. It’s a different experience - but no less fun.

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

Q: Can Halloween be a treat for adults?

A: Absolutely! As the “Roseanne” series showed with their excellent Halloween-themed storylines, October 31st can be as much fun for adults as children. In many ways, it has become a holiday for adults. Have a costume party. Carve pumpkins. Decorate your windows and/or patios. Be Creative. In New York, the Greenwich Village parade has grown from a little neighborhood festivity into a huge televised event that attracts as many as two million people.

It’s truly a day that I look forward to every year. Celebrate and enjoy!

My Halloween: Classic Movie Monsters

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...Robert at Classic Movie Monsters digs up his best for Halloween, and piles it on into a nice neat mound of everlasting Universal Horror.

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

Halloween is important to me because it is the only time of year where I can literally be surrounded by the things I love. I am a huge fan of horror movies, especially those of the 1930s and 1940s. During Halloween time, every store has an image of Frankenstein or Dracula in its window and every television station is playing a Halloween themed program.  The world just seems to have monsters in the air.

Simply put: It makes me happy.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

Well my ideal Halloween isn't about partying or drinking, but just having a nice relaxing time.  I try to watch at least one Universal Monster movie on Halloween, then I answer the door for the trick-or-treaters.  But what I really love to do is visit Haunted House attractions.  I'm not crazy about the big ones like Knott's Scary Farm or Universal's Halloween Horror Nights though.  I prefer going to neighborhood haunted house walk throughs where everything is handmade and done for the pure love of it.  There is really something special about that, but as I get older, less of them seem to be around.

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

There is nothing that I can possibly hate that has something to do with Halloween.  If we are talking about collectibles that have to do with strictly the Holiday, I don't have many.  But I have an endless amount of books, figures, statues, models, posters from all of my favorite horror movies.  I can't even tell you how many Frankenstein figures I have!  Looking to my right as I type this, I see a three foot tall statue of a hitchhiking ghost from Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, a bust of Boris Karloff as he appeared in "Bride of Frankenstein", and a model that I built and painted of Claude Rains as "The Invisible Man".  These are the types of things that I love and surround myself with.

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

Well I guess the first Halloween that I remember was when I was three years old back in 1987.  I dressed up as Frankenstein that year.  It was one of those plastic masks with the string in the back.  I don't remember what we did that Halloween though.  I just remember the costume.

All Halloweens were the same growing up.  All the neighborhood kids would dress up and go trick-or-treating.  The local elementary school also had a Halloween fair that we would spend time at as well.  The thing that really made each Halloween different were the costumes I would be wearing.  I dressed up as many movie monsters including Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, and the Hunchback.  I remember the mummy was a great one where I was literally wrapped from head to toe with toilet paper and gauze.  I wish I had a picture of that costume.

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

One thing that I'm always interested in is if someone has ever decorated their house for Halloween and if so, what theme was it?  We did it a couple of times.  Our best one was in the year 2000 when we made our house look like a scene from "The Blair Witch Project".  We set up a tent, put red handprints on the wall, had a human figure facing the wall, and we made many of those iconic stick figures.  It was very creepy and it really worked out well.