Autumn and Halloween

[Panache]

Every year I look forward to this time of year with its playful winds and falling leaves, digging out my turtlenecks and sweaters to ward against the slight chill, making spicy pumpkin pies (with cinnamon whipped cream), enjoying hot buttered rum and nightcaps, and relishing the slight chill of the shortening days.

I realize that there are those on this forum who take no delight in the coming of All Hallows Eve, but ever since I was a wee lad, I have always loved the spooky fun of Halloween. I find that the following helps put me in the mood for this season.

Reading spooky tales by Stoker, Poe, M.R. James, and H.P. Lovecraft (and the his circle).

Watching Robert Wise’s wonderfully spooky “The Haunting” and Jacques Tournier’s slightly flawed but very atmospheric “Night of the Demon”. I also find “Creature from the Black Lagoon“, “The Thing from Another World”, and the very campy “Trollenberg Terror” (a.k.a. “The Crawling Eye”) to be loads of fun. For more spooky silliness I also pull out my old VHS tapes of “Kolchak: The Nightstalker” to watch the episodes “Horror in the Heights”, “Zombie”, “The Sentry”, and my favorite “The Spanish Moss Murders”.

Decorating the front yard. We have a giant spider web across the lawn with an arachnid I made out of PVC pipes with a spread of legs with a six foot diameter. The F-H.C.A.G. made a wonderfully creepy victim out of old clothes, a plastic skeleton and a pair of nylons.

Making elaborate Halloween costumes.

On Halloween itself my family enjoys watching Disney’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hallow” after the children have gone trick or treating (perhaps with a slice of that pumpkin pie and a small dram).

So for those of you among the good members who also delight in this time of year, here his a place to share what you do to put you in “the Spirit” of the season.


Cheers

Jamie