This particular Halloweentober has flown by! It's the same old story, the older I get. But I went with the flow, watched a ton of movies and Halloween specials, ate more than my fair share of junk food, and enjoyed the Autumn season. I only managed to carve one pumpkin this year, transforming the gourd into a magical, mystical totem to ward off dark spirits. Here it is below. This past month I read a bunch of my Halloween short stories books, such as The End of Summer , by J. Tonzelli. And This is Halloween , by James A. Moore. I also picked up the book A Season with the Witch , by J.W. Ocker, while in Salem and briefly read through it. It's a great love letter to the Witch City. During the day T and I watched a bunch of spooky and funny Halloween movies, from Sleepy Hollow and Casper and Hubie Halloween to a few slashers and some Roseanne specials. We gorged on cheesesteak and ice cream (not at the same time, of course). It was an absolutely gorgeous Halloween today, with s...

Here's a link . This is a quick little read about Halloween and its development in the "New World". I've been a stanch believer that Halloween in America today is well and truly crafted here, though very much of traditions from the "Old World". But the conglomeration of the holiday is well and formed here in the States, from the carving of the first jack-o'-lanterns to trick or treating as a homegrown manifestation. A lot of these Halloween traditions were simultaneously developed up north with our Canadian cousins too, I'm sure. But with the bigger population Halloween became larger here in the States. And this story gives us some insight into the idea that while Halloween has some traditions that date back to pre-Christ times, what we celebrate here today in America is very much a melting pot of our own construction. This is important to me as this holiday is very much a part of the American experience and identity. If I have to say it aloud, I hav...

We just returned home from Salem, and I...enjoyed it. I did. We did. But I have to say that I fell for the trap that movies can do to your perception of a place. Watching Hubie Halloween or Hocus Pocus a dozen times had prepared me for a Salem that only exists in imagination and fiction. Arriving in Salem I expected a town where every house was decorated for turbo-charged Halloween. I thought every home would look like Hubie's, but what we found was that Salem, at least in the neighborhoods, and while unofficially the town of Halloween in America, looked just like home. Every home was not decorated, nor were half the homes. It was more like 1 in 10. It was sad, at first, until I realized I am a nearly 50-year-old dude with real world problems like bills and stuff. This should be the least of my problems. But it was a bit disappointing, I've got to admit. I had expected a living, breathing Halloween wonderland! I expected it to look like Hubie Halloween...

This link is for a New York Times article from 1986 in which it was coming clear that Halloween was becoming the big business holiday that we know and love today. It's an interesting read, to see insight of Halloween from a time when I was just a wee tyke. During this time I was worried about my McDonald's pumpkin pail not being large enough for trick or treating. I was nine years old. I had real problems then.  This is the year that would see the first notch on the timeline which would give rise to stores like Halloween Adventure and Spirit Halloween to exist, and destinations like Universal's Halloween Horror Nights opened for their inaugural show. HHN is still going strong to this day at Universal Studios. And here's this little time capsule  courtesy of WEDF. And if you want to watch something a bit longer, here's Elvira and her Halloween Special from Salem, Mass.

Halloweentober is here, and to be honest it feels like it came out of nowhere! I woke up one morning, and it was October 1. That's usually how it works, right? So it's time to do the Spooky Season! I'm starting the spooky movies watchlist tonight with Rosemary's Baby. I own the Criterion Collection bluray and have for many years, but it's just never made it to my viewing list. Until now. I'm a John Cassavetes fan, and this is one of his I have yet to see. Decorations are going up as I type. I've pulled a slew of my original paper decorations from my days as a toddler and they're going up on walls presently. Vinyl copy of WNUF TV28 Frank Stewart Investigates is on the record player for some background ambiance, pumpkin and apple candles lit for that sweet autumn aroma. I Hope you all have a great October! Enjoy your Pumpkin Spice Lattes one and all!!

All my life, or most of it, I have been infatuated with spring and summer. The warm weather has always sustained my soul. But as I get older the summer doesn't fill that sweet spot in my heart that it once did. Anxiety plays a large role in the change, I think. I've had a lot of physical health problems the past few years, and many began in the summer in the afternoon or middle of the night. And my mind has not forgotten those moments of terror and realization, and it sticks with me. As I've gotten healthier, I'm trying to leave behind those memories that are imprinted into my body. The changing of the seasons helps. The past so many years I've fallen in love with Autumn. Hard. The chill in the air and sweater weather with the changing of the leaves brings new cozy moments to enjoy. The sun, especially in the morning and the evening, takes on this warm golden hue that you just don't see in the summer. It hits differently. You get to light the fireplace in the ev...

These Jim Henson Monster cereals are hitting store shelves now. I must have them. They need to make Muppets of these cereal Monsters. We nerds will buy them all... They are already blowing up the internets because of Dinosaur Dracula and his ilk.  I started looking everywhere for these boxes, not realizing until I had zero luck, that Matt has them first because of his influencer status. They do not come out in stores until early October. But I keep seeing people finding them in the wild... These monsters are elusive.  These will go down as Legendary. Muppet Monster Cereals

This small clip takes us back to the better, simpler days of 1985 New Orleans, getting ready for another wonderful Halloween. From this short throwback clip we can see Frank Davis of 4WWL take a horsecar hearse around town to the Saint Louis Cemetery Number One and the tomb of Marie Laveau. Then he's onto Madame LaLaurie House on Royal Street.  One thing I would love to see is Halloween become a bigger celebration than Mardi Gras in the Crescent City. But that's just a dream, I know. But here's the video link below. It's a neat little look into the past. 4WWL Halloween 1985

After a decade of thinking about it and bailing on the idea until "next year," we've decided to finally rent a room in Salem for Halloween this year. We are not going to spend actual Halloween night in Salem, as I can't justify being stuck in that many seas of people, but maybe a week in the middle of the October. Hopefully the trees will be changing colors, and the chill will be in the air by this time. I'd like to be there with a lot of people, mind, but not the truly maddening crowds that the Home of Halloween gets on Halloween night. I've watched dozens of videos on YouTube, and it seems that it's difficult to drive around town and get a seat to eat dinner is nigh impossible. So, I'll leave those crowds to the younger folk and head up a bit early. I'm debating whether to dress up in costume this year. I'm not sure folks will dress up in the middle of October evenings. I'm going to do all the touristy stuff, like visit the Hocus Pocus l...

WNUF Halloween Special is by far one of my absolute favorite Halloween movies. It's a local film I've talked about before on here. It's more cute than groundbreaking, but a wholly enjoyable experience. A while back I talked to the creator (not in person, via social media) and we were "talking" about politics, and more specifically the person who was recently elected to POTUS. I knew it was a bad move immediately, but I spoke my feelings on the issue, which were a stark contrast from his views. I won't mention his name, because I don't want to bad mouth someone without representation to defend themself. But this conversation quickly went sideways, and I felt he insulted me more than one too many times, and I stopped following him on social media. He proved to me that he was incapable of having a normal, civilized conversation about the man in the White House without reverting to childish accusations and insults. You want the truth? It hurt my feelings. I k...

I read Lisa W. Cantrell's The Manse last October. At first, I thought it was OK but nothing special. But I thought about it often and realized maybe I had enjoyed it more than I had thought. I saw some less than positive reviews on Goodreads, and maybe that changed my opinion; I didn't think the book deserved the hate I was seeing from other readers. So, I began to reread it a week ago. And I enjoyed it again. The story revolves around an old mansion in the center of fake town Merrillville, North Carolina. Each year the town's Jaycees rent the home from the owners and put on a haunted house in the Manse and it's usually a huge hit. The book is from 1986 or 1987 and set in 1985 through 1987, but you wouldn't necessarily notice this while reading. The story is not in your face '80s in any way. I still enjoy this regardless due to its 1980s setting in general. This is the year McDonald's release their Halloween pumpkin pail Happy Meals, after all. This is the ...

McDonald's is an American icon, a symbol of innovation. And today, the Golden Arches are a shadow of its former self. Eating out at McDonald's was something that American families could look forward to for decades. The food was usually inexpensive, and decent for what it was. I've talked about McDonald's nostalgia for a while now, especially in the Halloween season. In the 1970s and through pre-pandemic, McDonald's was a hub for folks to gather and sit and enjoy a meal or dessert together. The Mansard Roof era is the building that most of us Gen Xers and later will undoubtedly remember, and fondly. The Play Place was a revelation! A playground in the middle of a restaurant, c'mon son! That was genius. (Unless you had to clean them on the weekends like I had to...) I had the privilege to work in two different Mansard Roof McDonald's in the '90s. Back then it was nothing special, more a rite of passage and some summer spending money requisite. I bought a l...