Why is this board so dead this year??

[hippieluvn]

Is it just me or does it seem like everyone is missing this year? I've only seen a handful of the old regular guard. What's going on? Any ideas?

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

This place is a ghost town this year, even the regulars haven't posted in awhile. At least last year there were still people posting here, we even had some new members join in, myself included, but this year nobody is around.

I've noticed this on almost every forum that I'm on, it seems that Facebook killed the forums, so most people use it to stay in touch these days instead of forums.

Anyway, I hope that if anyone actually reads this that you have a Happy Halloween.

[Andybev01]

I'm here but admittedly not as much as in the past.

...and I don't know why that is.

[hippieluvn]

This board was always so much fun, a special place where we would all meet in October each year--it's so sad

[Andybev01]

It was pretty deserted in 2008 when I joined.

It was me, a kid who went by RDM, Spookymufu, Mac Phantom, Witchy, and a few more, then about 10 years ago it picked up quite a bit.

There was an annual gift exchange that was really well organized and fun.

Perhaps its cyclical; ebbs & flows...and we're in a lean period.

I will hang around and haunt these empty rooms as long as halloween.com keeps the servers connected.

I would like to see the site's 30th anniversary in 2024.

[Pumpkin_Head]

I do wish forums like these would make a come-back. I remember when I posted here as Pumpkin_Man, and it was great.
I agree, though. It seems that everyone wants to post on Facebook any more, and for me it's the only way I have in staying in touch with a lot of people I know, including various family members. The problem with Facebook is there's so much political arguing it detracts from all the fun. I did try to start a Halloween conversation on Facebook last year, and all anyone did was argue politics.

At least here, it's all about jack o'lanterns, black cats, costumes, ToT and HALLOWEEN!!!

Mike

[Andybev01]

I'm proud to say that i have never created a f***b*** account.

We had a steady parade of TOT'ERS yesterday; it was so nice!!

[ancient whitelighter]

Same here, Andy...never have had a fb account.

No totters in my neighborhood this year, not a one. I heard mention of people going to "trunk or treat" this year (new to me), but it doesn't seem as though that would even come close to creating the same atmosphere, fun, & excitement as a traditional Halloween TOT experience would.

I do miss the activity here on this forum. Not quite sure about the fallout. Simple pleasures to be found here, but no interest? I'll continue to haunt this space, too, until it's nevermore. Speaking of Nevermore...

[Pumpkin_Head]

I've been running around like the proverbial chicken with it's head cut off for the past two months or so with my brother's move to a new house in his neighborhood and my nephew's move to South Carolina. That's a big part of the reason why I haven't been here until now.
At any rate, I agree. I much prefer the traditional ToT as I did it when I was a kid. I also got quite a few ToTers, too though not as many as last year.
I guess there is some wisdom in 'Trunk or Treat,' as it is safer in this "wonderful" modern age of human trafficking. But I don't like to think about things like that. I just wish that we could get back to all the old beloved Holiday traditions, be they Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other holiday. I finally got together with loved ones last Thanksgiving, and am very much looking forward to getting together with them on Christmas Eve, though it's nothing like the way it was back in my day. Well, I suppose that 'ne fangled' ideas will likely become the 'beloved old traditions' as the 21st century progress, as a lot of what we knew and loved about Halloween started happening in the early 20th. The unfortunate happenstance is that door-to-door ToT, as portrayed in "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" will most likely disappear, and the afore mentioned tv special will become an historical look at what people use to do back in the 2oth.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

Hey Mike, it's good to have you back on the forums.

I agree with you that the Holidays we know are changing, as civilizations and societies evolve the traditions that were once held in high regard inevitably change and eventually become unrecognizable or just fade away.

Just look at Christmas for example, first it was to celebrate the the birth of Christ and people gave gifts to other people to represent the gifts that were given to him at birth. Then somewhere along the way someone came up with the idea of Santa making Christmas more about commercialism and giving gifts and pushing religion into the background. Today greedy companies push the message that gifts are the only thing that matters during the Holidays, going as far as to eliminate any mention or connection to religion, Santa, or anything that has to do with the Christmas traditions we have known, as they are viewed as symbols that are offensive to certain people.

I know that where I live some people get offended when you say Merry Christmas, they prefer if you say Happy Holidays to be inclusive of other cultures, and I get that and I respect their right to celebrate any way they want to, but they shouldn't make people that celebrate Christmas feel shame just because they are not included with us. I still say Merry Christmas, and I don't care if people look at me bad for it.

The truth is that one day the various Holidays we celebrate won't even exist, our civilization will be gone and another will rise with their own traditions, so we should be thankful that we're here now and that we can share these traditions with our families from generation to generation in our lifetime.

[Andybev01]

Nicely put, HH.

If you have not watched the movie called 'The Man Who Invented Christmas' I recommend doing so.

It's the story of the creation of the book 'A Christmas Carol' and of the ordeal that Charles Dickens went through to write and publish it in only six weeks.

At the time the book came out Christmas was primarily a religious observance, and bore little resemblance to the spectacle we now know & love (or hate, depending on your view).

It's brilliantly done, funny and engaging.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

Thanks Andy. I remember hearing about the movie but haven't watched it yet, I'll be sure to check it out soon as it's the right season for it.

Also, for any Peanuts fans here, I just saw the new Peanuts New Year’s special on Apple TV and it certainly put a smile on my face. It was a good story, and it felt like it was written by Charles Schulz himself. I should also mention that earlier this year they made a new version of The Snoopy Show, there were only 6 episodes but 1 of them was a Halloween show, it had some funny moments in there.

[Pumpkin_Head]

I will NEVER bow to the 'god' of political correctness no matter how much disdain someone may have for me for doing so.
Christmas is exactly that, and I STILL wish the people I meat a "Merry Christmas." Halloween, on the other hand, has a few minor religious overtones, so I think it's for that reason why so many still embrace it. The only problem, is that all the beloved Halloween traditions will probably be replace with 'new fangles' ones in the name of safety.

At any rate, I will always celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years with gusto until the day I die.

Mike

[Andybev01]

At the beginning of the year I do a holiday rewind, meaning I observe Christmas throughout January, I observe Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year then a small revamp of Thanksgiving in march, and on walpurgisnacht, the calendar opposite of Halloween, I have another small Halloween observance.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

Andy - That's interesting, is there any particular reason you celebrate the holidays that way? Was it a tradition growing up, or just something you do for yourself now?