The Horror Show
Halloween Special 2019
It’s that glorious, wonderful time of year again: Halloween! Here at HMS, The Horror Show crew always enjoys sharing during this season and we’re excited to share with you our reasons for loving Halloween and some of our favorite traditions! So, keep reading and get nostalgic with us, you might even get a few new ideas for yourselves!
Stevie
Halloween has never been just a day for me, it’s always been a full season, and I think more people should treat it much like they do the Winter Holiday season.
As a kid, we always decorated the house, inside and out. Ghosts swayed in the chilly breeze, skeletons hung on doors, glowing Jack o’ Lanterns sat smiling out at you from each step on the front porch. Almost every night we’d watch a different spooky movie, some family friendly, some extra scary — my sister still remembers me sneaking into her room to sleep when I’d have Michael Meyers inspired nightmares. Pumpkin picking, Harvest Festivals, and Halloween parties everywhere you went, it was truly a time to look back on fondly. No matter what we did, every day was a special build up to Halloween. One of my favorite things about any season is seeing people decorate their homes. I really wish more people decorated for Halloween these days with lights and trees and all that good stuff!
As an adult, the Halloween tradition has of course changed to be slightly more party centric with New Orleans being the destination. There’s something enchanting about the Crescent City that draws you in this time of year. Ghost tours, Voodoo, and historical legends might have something to do with it, and of course there’s always Voodoo Fest. Any excuse to dress up every day of a Halloween season music festival and then party on Bourbon Street is alright by me!
One thing is for sure though, no matter how old I am I will always throw down with a horror movie marathon this time of year. As my husband and I get ready to welcome our first child into the world, I can’t help but get excited thinking of all the great Halloween traditions we will get to start with our own little family next year!
PJ
Fall has always been my favorite season and the fact that it also is synonymous with being Halloweentime is no coincidence; to me, all the elements are linked together in that way. Every element of the season, whether it be the crisp air or the leaves changing makes me think of masked strangers, creepy decorations, and everyone allowing themselves to be a little more invested in the strange and unusual. As an adult, I love to turn to the same things I did as a kid if they are still available; horror movies, of course, but also real-life ghost stories and the like. Back in the day, many places repurposed their businesses and spare properties as haunted houses and I went to many.
I always loved when the Travel Channel would do their “Most Haunted Places” countdowns and shows had a ghoulish tint and theme. Episodes of sitcoms and especially those on Nickelodeon and, even more specifically, SNICK, would have Halloween themed episodes. The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror would make its annual presence and all seemed right with the world and beyond. I guess I’m my most comfortable when the portals between our realm and the others are opened and we can all exist in spooky harmony.
Robin
This Halloween my fellow monsters and I have decided to share with you some of our favorite things about the spooky season. My favorite thing about Halloween has always been the costumes! It’s always been a big part of the holiday around my house. My Mommers, Jane, has always been my partner for costuming. Store bought costumes were not good enough, oh no, we made my stuff. Now, when I say “we,” I mean I came up with the ideas and my Mommers would take vacation days from her job that she specifically saved for Halloween and we would break out the sewing machine!
Last year my costume was a crazy cat lady. I wore cat ears, a tail, kitty make up, a collar, and a handmade straight jacket she made from a men’s shirt pattern. She once made me a Magenta from The Rocky Horror Picture Show costume by sitting and watching the movie over and over until it was perfect. There’s also been Lydia from Beetlejuice the cartoon, Fiona from Adventure time, Regan from The Exorcist, Mother Firefly from House of 1000 Corpses… my Mommers helped me with them all.
Halloween means so much to me because it’s my time to be spooky in public without weird looks, but it’s also a special time I get to spend with my Mommers and that’s better than any full-sized candy bar in the world!
Maria
Up until a few years ago, in my mind, Halloween was everything I saw in American movies and, of course, John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic. Being a Greek, in Greece this day was never celebrated - not even well known.
It wasn’t until I moved to London, back in 2013, when I began to realize what this day really is and how it is celebrated, at least UK style. Nothing unexpected there: preparations at least a month in advance, costume discussions, Halloween parties, and a lot of candy.
Things didn’t change much after I moved to the Netherlands where I am currently living. Still the same preparations like costume discussions, Halloween parties ,and a lot of candy! What I like, though, is that on this day it is completely fine to celebrate horror. That is why in my first ever corporate office Halloween party, where the theme was ‘Dress as your Superhero’, I showed up as Jigsaw.
Did I truly experience the real thing? Probably not… well, of course not. At least nothing like what I would have experienced in the US, but, at the end of the day, no matter how everyone perceives Halloween - a night of horror goofiness, an evening of candy, or just a great excuse to put on a costume - in my mind, nothing tops John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic.
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