Halloween Discussion Forums, Costumes, Horror!

. . . because I thought for sure this weekend folks in my neighborhood would get into the Halloween spirit and put up some decorations. I was wrong! Nothing! Only two houses have any sort of Halloween decorations happening: one has a plastic skeleton on their front door, the other has of one those stickers that says "BEWARE" in dripping blood - and that is all, my friends. And I live in Humboldt County where there are hundreds of Victorian houses well over 100 years old - perfect for Halloween!
I've thought about doing the house "booing" thing, described in other threads, but I honestly think that in my PC and paranoid neck of the northern california woods, people would think a bowl of mysterious candy on the porch and a paper ghost on their door is an act of terrorism . . .

And something else I've noticed is that NONE of the TV stations, like Travel Channel, Discovery, etc. are airing any shows remotely Halloween related. Last year, Travel Channel had it's "Most Haunted Places" marathon; I've been keeping my eyes peeled for stuff, but it doesn't seem to be out there.

Furthermore, and this is what REALLY pisses me off, I've seen commercials for that friggin' Santa Claus movie THREE times! It's not even November! I really can foresee a day when the media starts cramming Christmas down our throats in March or April.

I think we should all chip in on an island, move there, and celebrate Halloween every damn day!

I'm a fellow Northern Californian (Lake County at the moment.) And I know what you mean about the Booing thing. I was thinking about doing it but I keep thinking maybe not.

Some people in my neighborhood have stuff up, and I'm glad. Our house is back behind trees, in what would usually be a neighborhood court, so my problem is getting people to see the decorations! But a lot of the time I think, if you decorate, eventually others will do so too. Force them to become a community!

I agree. You know I am really irked too about people in general.

I get sick and tired of people being so mean and so rude, for absolutely no reason what so ever. My son was in to playing this game on the internet...I didn't like it at first, but he was doing magical stuff, and baking pies, and building houses and things that were kind of cool, but then there's this side to the game that other players can lure you in to the woods and kill you...and I don't like that at all, and then tonight one of the kids that he thought was his friend was really super mean, and then I had it with the game, and decided that a game should be fun...and I made him delete his membership.

This is where people don't maybe understand me, because I love Halloween so much...that maybe people think I have a dark side...or something, but I hate violence...not in the way that it is portrayed in horror movies from the 80's....there is something "different" about the stuff being put on TV today.....

I was looking tonight for a good scary movie on regular TV...you know it is October, and there's so many good movies they could play...and all that is on...are these real life homicide shows, that show people who were murdered in real life...and that's all that ever seems to be on TV....every time I flip through a channel...it is some cop show, or some murder investigation...and it is real life stuff.... and there's one tragic story after another after another on TV...I am sick of it.

I feel the same way about people not getting in to the holidays....it's like what is there in life when it comes down to it? I feel you get 1 life, and you ought to appreciate it, and make the time you have here... be the most fun that you can, cause it could all be over tomorrow...so this whole bitterness and weirdness in people, that has taken over society...it just starts to smother out everything that is fun.

Just like someone writing on here about the one guy that wanted to get rid of Halloween....why is it right that if one person doesn't like something...that they set out to ruin it for the rest of the world.

I LOVE Halloween because it makes me connected back to being a kid again, and I loved my childhood, I feel like sometimes I am the one and only person on the planet that actually can say that and mean it. I had a great time as a kid, and I had great memories, and I want that so bad for my kid and it doesn't seem to exist anymore. People keep getting more and more hateful and more and more distrusting of each other...and it's no wonder. My kid doesn't know what's it's like to run around your own neighbor hood in the dark at night with a bunch of kids his own age, and feel safe...because you knew every single person in every house, and you knew that if you needed help they would help you, and you felt a part of a community.

I feel the same way about the BOO thing....because I would love that.
But, I live in a total redneck area full of people that are so bitter about life, and you can't change it, believe me...we have invited everyone to our house...and kids don't socialize any more with each other....it is so hard to get kids to come to our Halloween party...when they do, they have a blast, but it seems like you have to twist their arm to get them here, and the parents look at you like your doing something crazy. Also, people are so jealous of each other any more.....if someone is having a good time...that bugs certain people, it really does...it's like some people are just so depressed, and so self centered that they don't like seeing other people having any fun.


So...I have felt this way for a long time about people in general...and I put the effort out there to be as nice a person as I can, but when another person is down right mean...they are history to me....I don't want it in my life, I don't need it.

I like having fun, I like the little things in life that I feel make me happy...like good music, and hanging with my friends and HALLOWEEN, and I want to make the best of everything that I am in control of, if everyone else wants to stay miserable then that is totally up to them, and I say...that sucks to be them. I wanna have a good time.

Everyone in my neighbourhood decorated this weekend and through the week last week. I started decorating this weekend, though without the support of my folks. They kept saying everything was tacky. I have an inflatable frankenstine that looks like he's breaking through a wall, caution tape, bones, skulls on the fenceposts and cobwebs everywhere. NOW WHERE'S THE HALLOWEEN SPIRIT?

Spooky, you should read this. You reminded me of it while reading your post:

http://www.samizdat.com/blog/?p=170

You will see my response to this article attached at the bottom. And here is the original link, before the author moved it to his blog, with several responses from all over the world:

http://www.samizdat.com/hallow.html

Enjoy!

thislazylife: what a great article! Thanks for the link. Spooky, I agree, life's too short, do what makes you happy, and don't give any attention to those people who would derail you from that goal. Let them be miserable...we'll have fun!!

I know we are the only house on our block with anything up. It makes no sense. Where's the Halloween love, people?

We have our house decorated like crazy!

In our neighborhood there are actually quite a few houses that are decorated to at least some extent...a few even have tombstones and things in the lawn.

Here they do a Halloween parade at 6pm (not even after dark) and then the kids trick-or-treat afterwards. Unfortunately, the parade starts on our end of the neighborhood and ends way on the other side...meaning that our end gets fewer trick-or-treaters. BUT I have a plan...

I carve pumpkins really well (yes, I use those pumpkin masters kits). So my plan is to carve a bunch of pumpkins leading kids to my house. The first one will be on the corner (right near where the parade starts) and it will be one of those "Fright this way" pumpkins. It has a skeleton hand pointing, so I will aim it towards my house and when the kids go by in the parade...well...I hope it will draw them in (or at least peak their parents' interest).

So that's my plan! I seriously hope it works because I am going to have to take the day off work to carve all those pumpkins. hah hah.

I'm having it both ways up here. On the one hand, the stores are crammed with stuff and quite a few people are decorating in my neighborhood. We have THREE BOXES of pumpkins for sale at the A&P..and by the way, Spooky, did I tell you they don't give out the trading stamps anymore?? The old red logo is also gone.
Anyway, the boxes are about four feet wide, but almost five feet hight.
Everything is going great guns, but BEHIND the decorations at Wal mart and the dollar store, is Christmas,already in the chamber and loaded. I feel like Jack Skelington and his girl are going to poke their heads overtop of the display and start to sing "this is Halloween, this is Halloween.."
Spooky, so sad to hear about your son. Hopefully he finds nice people to play with both on the net and in the neighbourhood. As for the red necks, the politically correct and the just plain miserable, joke them if they can't take a...wait a minute, THAT'S NOT the right slogan..well..maybe it is..let's face it, campers, they will be miserable at the next holiday ("Where's the REAL Christmas??? I better cut down..") Miserable at the next long weekend ("We spend good time and money to COME here, ENJOY it, you PUKES"..)..miserable all their lives ("I guess holding a grudge against my neighbour for 40 years wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be..his fault..)..and then WONDER why they die alone,mean, and neglected by everybody.
Well, hoss, it sure is MYSTERY TO ME..("I'll go to the funeral..but I must be fed..")
As for local or network t.v., it doesn't come on till sometime in Novemeber..I have HALLOWEEN movies to go through..
By the way, the neighbours gave me a great idea..I'm using some of my official DO NOT CROSS POLICE LINE tape to ring off the killer baby buggy I'm making. They put out the orange Halloween stuff every year. I'll use the REAL thing..(No, DON'T ask HOW I got it...)

Noooooo.
Puttign up Halloween decorations already is just plain wrong!

I'm really not for the watering down of the event. I like to put mine up towards the end of October, it's still sunny in the UK (though the nights are getting colder), and Halloween decorations in the post-Summer weather look absurd!


People who put up Xmas decorations in November drive me nuts!!!

I read the article. I am glad that so many people took the time to reply back.

It is absolutely true. I don't get many kids that come TOTing at my house cause of the location, so we leave a bunch of stuff on the front porch...just incase...and then my husband and I go with my son....and it is exactly how we have met our neighbors....and it is about the only time of the year where we ever get a chance to talk to them. We make sure we actually introduce ourselves to them, so that they know who we are, and meet my son, because it use to be...where your neighbors had to guess who you were.....but people don't know each other any more...that is the saddest part of it all.

I was so excited that a few years ago....at Halloween, one church on the corner of our town....had a little party going on for kids, to stop and play some games outside in the parking lot, and they had a table full of cookies, and cocoa and apple cider and it was so nice to see people in a group together doing things that were fun.

It is like that has become almost unheard of any more.

We use to go to Haunted Houses when I was a kid that the firemen use to get together and build for a fundraiser...now that is unheard of...because people are such jerks that they will fall down and sue someone.

Kids are living in a world that is just so overwhelming full of hatred...the music that is being played today is so horrible...my mom will say you never hear a "love" song anymore...like they wrote about in the 50's and the 60's...where they talked about the person they loved with such kindness...you don't hear "love" songs anymore at all on the radio. It is all a bunch of screaming and cursing and depression. It is a bunch of angry people taking out their personal problems by screaming horrible words over the radio.

I wish every day that something would snap people out of these miserable attitudes.

But, it just seems every time you turn on the TV...there's another school shooting..there's someone committing suicide, kids being molested, drunk driving accidents.

I honestly do believe the internet has made it really super easy for people who maybe otherwise wouldn't have had access to sleazy stuff...to be able to tap in to all kinds of messed up stuff. It is affects their minds, and it creates real life monsters.

The stuff I use to be scared about as a kid, is nothing in comparison to what is really going on in the world now.

Halloween seems about the most uplifting thing out there.

Spooky, I cannot agree with you more about pop music these days, at least the TOP 40 variety. It's all such <deleted>. I'm starting to honestly believe that there is not one original thought left in the world; that one person does something totally unoriginal and it's a success, so everyone follows suit. But I work at an independent record store (yes, we still sell records), so I can hip you to all sorts of great bands making great muisc, but that is a topic for another message board all together . . .

And just so everyone knows, I live in a basement studio apartment - well, it's not a basement per se (it's not underground, at least), but the front door is below and behind the main part of the house. So I could decorate the hell out of my little yard down here and no one up on the street would see it. However, I do plan on builing a little cemetery for TOTers, and I have hatched an evil scheme to lure them down here:

First, I'm going to make flyers and hang them up on telephone poles within, say, a mile radius. The flyers will read something like: "Hey kids! Like candy? Then don't miss the haunted cemetery at (my address here). That is, unless you're too CHICKEN!"
Second, I'm going to put little candles in paper bags and create a walkway that will lead from the street all the way down to my yard, which will house the haunt.
Third, I have a few friends that are excited about helping me scare the kids, so I will be free to stand up on the street dressed like the Grim Reaper and lure kids down to the haunt.
Fourth, I have a GREAT collection of Halloween sound effects (on vinyl, of course) of which I will make a CD compliation and play at maximum volume.
If these four elements don't come together to make my Halloween haunt a success, then I will be forced to throw in the towel and go live in the hills a hermit. Wish me luck, and I DO plan on posting some pics when this sucker's done.

But I do have some good news: last night as I was driving over to my GF's house, I noticed another yard that had some cool orange lights, cobwebs, etc. Then on the way home, I took a slightly different route and noticed what appeared to be a coffin on someone's porch.
Furthermore, the other day I bought these flashing lights shaped like eyes at K-Mart which look great in the bushes at night. I was so pleased with them, that I figured I'd go buy a few more. When I returned to K-mart, there were very few left, meaning that someone, somewhere is sharing in the Halloween spirit; that the Halloween love is growing . . . I guess it just takes longer for the Halloween blahblah to kick in around here . . .

It happens here too. It's like a ghost town (pun intended) in the Halloween aisles that I haunt all October until the last week and then it's mayhem as people go nuts fighting over the last bits. It looks like a war zone after that. I never could understand that philosophy. Halloween comes on the SAME DAY every year. Sheesh!! Plan better..and maybe Junior won't be wearing that mismatched costume or you're putting up Christmas lights that you found on the very next aisle 'cause ALL the real lights were gone.

Perfect thread for me to voice my frustration with Wally World...they have already started replacing Halloween decor with Christmas!!! I was so pissed off the other day when I went to the Halloween section and was greeted by a 6' singing Santa. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Santa...it's just not quite time for him yet! And all of the folks who like to let their Halloween decorating and costuming stuff go 'til, well, actually 'til HALLOWEEN are going to be out of luck, 'cause everything will be put away!! There, thanks for listening to my ranting, I feel much better.

Christmas decorations in October??!!

Rage....building.....