It is now ten, TEN days until Halloween and I"m getting very excited about this! This is the time when my decorations are already up, baking has kicked into high gear, my costume has been chosen and is in development, and I'm watching all sorts of creepy movies. So, some of you might be so busy that you've totally forgotten that Halloween is around the corner. Some of you might has been a huge fan of the spooky holiday since childhood and have lost touch with it. This post is to help those of you catch up with some ideas of what you can do to begin celebrating.
Books Worth Reading:
The Harry Potter Series By J.K. Rowling- Witches, wizards, werewolves and faeries. Spells, enchantments, good fitting evil and He Who Shall Not Be Named....
Wicked By Gregory Maguire- The beginning to the Wicked Witch of the West's story and all the things that happened in Oz before a farm house crash landed there.
Frankenstein By Mary Shelley- Old school science fiction/horror. This story makes you really think about science and how it can go too far, with a tragic outcome.
Dracula By Bram Stoker- Certainly, one haunting tale. This is perfect to read on rainy and stormy October nights.
The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Stories by Edgar Allan Poe- Practically every creepy short story you could read from Poe, truly a masterpiece of fright.
Roald Dahl's Book Of Ghost Stories and Skin by Roald Dahl- Very different from his beloved children's stories. These stories are witty, dry and totally creepy. If you grew up reading his stories, you'll be surprised by these tales.
Spooky New England: Tales Of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore Retold By S. E. Schlosser- Classic New England folklore involving ghosts of pirates, weeping ladies, ghost animals and more.
Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark By Alvin Schwartz- I still have this series from my childhood. I discovered this in the fifth grade and the stories have stayed with me. Classic slumber party horror stories. These are just a hoot to read as a grown-up and they still maintain their creep factor.
These are books that I enjoy reading this time of year. Obviously, there are plenty of Steven King stories to read. However, his horror novels terrify me and I can't read them because I'm a big baby. You'd think that a person who loves spooky things would be all up on that, but no thank you. I'll stick to his short stories that don't involve horror.
Movies Worth Watching:
Carrie- This is a classic horror movie based on a Steven King novel. Those high school girls wear worse than bullies, they were horrid. However, I do think they got a little more than they deserved, don't you think?
Nosferatu- For a silent film, this is darn frightening. Put this on at shut out the lights and you'll be surprised at how scary a silent film can be.
Halloween- The first movie of this franchise is incredibly creepy, a guy in the mask that follows you around all the time is very unnerving. Even the theme song to this movie gives me the heebeejeebees!
The Others- Oh gosh, things that go bump in the night and in the day, too! If you grew up in a haunted house, like I did, this movie totally takes on a whole other meaning. Freaky stuff!
The Omen- Made me hate the name "Damien." This movie terrifies me, a cute little boy who isn't such a cutie pie.
The Exorcist- This movie, where do I begin? It is wrong, just wrong and makes split pea soup very unappealing. This movie will spook you.
Rosemary's Baby- Poor Rosemary, her maternal instincts are dead on and everybody is out to make her feel crazy. This is a very scary movie to watch.
Poltergeist- This movie doesn't scare me as much as it did when I was younger. However, it is a tradition for me to watch this film. Some aspects of the movie are scary, while others are overly dramatic.
Carnival Of Souls- Hands down, my favorite "B" movie. This horror classic from the 60's was a DVD that I happened upon at Walmart when they sold $1.00 DVD's I bought it and I adore it. If you can find this online, you should watch this gem, it's really great.
Spooky Kids Movies Worth Watching:
Coraline- Based on Neil Gaiman's story, this is such a great story with adorable animation. I dressed up as Coraline, last year for Halloween. The animation is beautiful and this movie is very moody.
The Nightmare Before Christmas- This movie came out when I was in high school and all of my friends and myself went nuts for this. It's based on a poem by Tim Burton and it is typical Burton style.
Corpse Bride- Again, another animation type movie using puppets and stop motion, this is such a fun movie with great music by Danny Elfman.
Hocus Pocus- You read this right, this is a classic and you know it!
Teen Witch- Because I am a child of the 80's this is sort of a must. The acting isn't great, there is an awkward moment when two suburban teenagers engage a a rap duel. The weird psychic lady from "Poltergeist" is in this too and as creepy as ever. Watch this gem!
The Worst Witch- I watched this dozens of times as a little girl and bought it on DVD years later. Tim Curry plays a warlock in this, it is very adorable and one I'll be watching soon.
Return To Oz- Not intended to be a Halloween type movie, but way scarier than people anticipate it to be. I never saw this when I was little, and I couldn't get my hands on the DVD until a few years ago. This is so scary compared to the musical movie made in 1939. Dorothy was going to get electro shock therapy! Seriously, watch this if you can find it, it is amazing!
Television Shows To Give You The Creeps:
Twilight Zone- All kinds of freaky stories to unnerve you.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents- Even more creepy stuff, hosted by Alfred Hitchcock.
The Outer Limits- More bizarre stories that keep you up at night.
Dark Shadows- The tragic soul of Barnabus, mastered brooding long before Edward Cullen.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer- The chosen one, stabs vamps with stakes, but loves them too!
Vampire Diaries- Modern teenagers falling in love with centuries old teenage vampires. Such drama!
Hemlock Grove- For most of season one, you don't know what's going on, creepy as all heck. Season two, totally messed up but fun to watch a great show if you like monsters- which I do!
The Walking Dead- This grew on me, I'm watching new shows as they air and watching older shows on Netflix to catch up. This show sucks you in, it is so well written and acted. The makeup and costumes are amazing. This show, by the way, is terrifying!
Sleepy Hollow- This show is so fun! IT is spooky. It recalls classic early American folklore and it is so great how the writers are able to connect stories with historical events and figures. The actors are very great at what they do, such a charming show.
Haven- I've written about this show before, but again, I love this show. Set in fictitious "Haven" Maine, the "troubles" make life difficult in the otherwise sleepy coastal village.
Supernatural- Two brothers fighting evil for nearly a decade. There are a lot of demons on this show
Harper's Island- I caught this show when it aired on the channel CHiller. This show is terrifying, I can't believe it was on CBS. It was like a slasher movie in 60 minute episodes. Such a twisted story and the ending is crazy. I think you can find this on Netflix (although, I'm not certain of this.)
Witches Of East End- Two generations of witches that just want to live normal lives in a quiet town, but life won't settle down.
The Originals- A spin-off of THe Vampire Diaries, set in New Orleans, lots of scary (and attractive) monsters.
Food Stuff:
-Pretty much anything that involves pumpkin.
-Treats that are shaped like pumpkins, ghosts, or bats.
-Treats that look like zombies
-Treats with candy corns
-Caramel apples
-Caramel corn
This zombie cake I made a few weeks ago. I used a devil's food cake mix with raspberry pie filling in the middle. I also used 1 can store bought chocolate frosting that I mixed with 4 ounces of cream cheese and 23 tablespoons of cocoa powder and I mixed it all together. Then, I bought these gummy eyes in the cake /cookie decorating area at Walmart. It was super easy and a hit with my nephews.
Spooky Music:
I searched and found all kinds of Halloween classics like "The Time Warp" and "Monster Mash" even scary movie themes all on Spotify and I bet many other music streaming stations have the same thing. Create a great song list, I had a lot of fun creating a Halloween list on Spotify. Also, I know that premium cable has a seasonal music channel on their music channels. They have a few channels to help you get in the spirit of Halloween.
So friends, get creative, pop some popcorn brew some cider punch and get ready for the big day! The internet is an excellent resource for recipes, craft ideas and even has great sights for watching spooky things. Go to the thrift store and gather supplies for a unique costume and have fun!
Until next time~ Toodahloo!
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