Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love everything about it - the scary movies, the zillions of shows about ghosts, the candy, the costumes, the ability to dress the way you really want to without being looked at strangely. Oh, is that just me?
There are certain movies and shows that I have to watch every year. You know, like the way some people have to watch "It's A Wonderful Life" every Christmas. *shiver*
Disney's "Legend of Sleepy Hollow." A Halloween staple for me since grade school. We got to watch movies for fun twice each year; once for Halloween when we got to watch this, and once in the spring when we watched The Lorax. They'd pull down the screen, pop popcorn, shut off the lights and we just sat there, hypnotized by the clicking, whirring sound of the film going through the projector. As for the movie itself, it was just the right mixture of humor and elementary horror. It seemed so much longer back then though. I'd still take this one over the Tim Burton movie any time. (Apologies to Mr. Depp)
The Exorcist. This movie still creeps the begeezus out of me. The first time I tried watching it at a friends' house, we hid under the covers once things got going. Never saw the full thing until about 5 years later. It was that dang face that kept flashing on the screen. Now when I watch it, I watch the director's cut with that dang crab walk that's just not humanly possible and...well...uber-creepy.
A Nightmare on Elm Street. The original. The best. The first modern horror movie I had ever seen and I loved it. Today it's campy and a bit dated, but it's still a necessity. Oh - and I suppose this would give Johnny Depp a little Halloween list redemption.
Vincent Price movies. House on Haunted Hill, The Pit and the Pendulum, House of Wax... Campy, creepy, full of screams and classic.
"Scariest Places on Earth" marathons. There's one on some channel every year. What is it about the show that I love? The macho families deciding to investigate haunted locations, losing their cool and screaming like children? The melodramatic host? Linda Blair in leather? Zelda Rubenstein's awesome narration? Yes. All of the above. And speaking of Zelda...
Poltergeist. Or as my son used to call it - Poultrygeist. The face peeling, the clown doll, the living steak and Zelda's "This house is clean." Classic! Of course, I have to watch it in conjunction with Poltergeist II. "God is in his holy tem...ple."
The list goes on. There's the original Halloween, Blair Witch, Nightmare Before Christmas and I might add Paranormal Activity to the list as well. Then throw in every show about hauntings and staged haunted houses and I think we have it. If you're wondering if I've forgotten Charlie Brown...no, I haven't. I am probably one of the few people who can live without it. I don't really care about the Great Pumpkin.
Happy Hauntings everyone!
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