Halloween for Pets

Do you dress your pets up for Halloween?  I have to admit, I have on some Halloweens.  One year, my girl chihuahua as a ladybug.  I also dressed her brother up, but I think it was just some kind of hat and he wouldn't wear it.  This year, I haven't decided yet about costumes for the dogs.  What about cats?  Has anyone ever dressed up their cat?

Spirit Halloween!

The Spirit Halloween store finally opened in my area (actually a couple of them).  I visited both tonight and was impressed.  They have nearly everything you could possibly want for Halloween.  From talking Freddies and Jasons to costumes galore, there isn't much you can't get here or at their online store.  I would recommend more than one visit.   I saw this Scarecrow mask that just might be the basis for my Halloween costume!  What do you think?

Cultural Connections

We all know that Halloween has Celtic roots, but in a country as diverse as the United States, the holiday is taking on new traditions.  Universal Studios Hollywood is introducing "La Llorona" (The Wailer) as a character in their annual Halloween events.  La Llorona is "a folktale about a woman who drowned her children after she was abandoned by their father. Tormented by what she has done, the woman's spirit wanders the earth, crying out for her dead children."    What additions do you suggest for Halloween?

Here's a picture of La Llorona from a movie about her:

Picture link here.

FOOD!

Even though we dress in costumes, watch scary movies and attend parties to celebrate Halloween, everyone knows that Halloween Treats are an indispensable part of Halloween.  Not just candy, but cakes, drinks, ice cream, cookies, waffles.... the list goes on and on.  The Food Network has set up a page full of delicious ideas for Halloween treats.  Check it out get your appetite ready!

Halloween Parade NYC Needs Help!

It looks like the Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village, New York City, needs our help!  This is the largest Halloween parade in the United States (probably the world) and it is cool. I've been a couple of times and there are SO MANY people.  It is a lot of fun and virtually anyone can march in the parade if you are in costume.   Apparently, there are some funding problems this year so, if you plan on attending the parade, maybe everyone can give a few buck and help them out.  Or, if you have never been, consider going this year for something unique to do on Halloween!

$5.8 Billion on Halloween?

I don't think I'll spend that much, but that's the amount expected to be spent in the US this year on Halloween.  Amazing!  No wonder so many business advertise and sell Halloween items.  The article says that the average American spends $66 for Halloween, including about $20 for candy!  How much do you usually spend?

Celebrate the 1980's!

This website offers cool costumes if you want to be a 1980's icon for Halloween.   I remember that I was E.T. for two years in a row during the 80's because my mother had sewn a costume herself.  It was too much work for just one Halloween- so I wore it twice!  I would love to be E.T. again this Halloween, but I think I'm a little too tall.  Maybe a Star Wars character- Darth Vader!  Lol. 

Halloween at an Amusement Park?

Have any of you gone to any of the big amusement parks' Halloween events?  I know that many of the big parks in the north are open during October even though it is cold so that people can enjoy Halloween-themed events.  I have never been but I am really looking forward to going someday.   This link is to Six Flags in New Jersey, but I think all Six Flags do something for Halloween.

Top Halloween Episodes

What is your favorite Halloween episode of a TV show?   I remember, when I was a child, I really looked forward every year to all the Halloween episodes of my favorites shows and I was disappointed if a baseball game or something was on TV instead.  Halloween episodes helped define the season and spice up the nights around Halloween when you had school and couldn't really celebrate properly.

I think my favorite last year was "The Office," where they set up a haunted house inside the warehouse. So funny!

Interesting and "Different" Halloween Candy

Tired of passing out the same old Halloween candy every year?  Try something different from this website!  No, they didn't pay me to post this, so let me know if it's any good.  I look and found a lot of cool candy that would be fun to pass out.  Personally, I love the little Brach's pumpkin-shape mellowcreme's, but it is hard to pass those out.  A better idea might be the Pumpkin Patch Pop Rocks!

A Blaze of Jack O'Lanterns!

Do you like Jack O'Lanterns?  For me, it's one of my favorite parts of Halloween.  The unique designs, connection to harvest and nature, the "spookiness" of it!   One of the biggest displays in the country is at the "Blaze" in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, right up the road from Sleepy Hollow.  I've gone several times and every year it really puts me in the mood for Halloween.  There are thousands of carved Jack O'Lanterns made up into unique displays.  It's really cool.  If you will be in the area, get your tickets quick because they sell out early.

$2 Billion on Halloween Candy? I Don't Think It's Enough!

This site has some interesting facts about Halloween- some you have probably read before, others that might be new.  What stood out to me was the $2 Billion in Halloween candy!  Wow!  That's a lot of money on candy.  It also says that 25% of all the candy sold in a year.  What was your favorite candy to get on Halloween when you Trick or Treated as a child?  For me, I think that Snickers and/or any whole candy bar was my favorite.  I hated getting those Bit O' Honeys.  Yuck! 

My Soul to Take

I just saw this preview for a new Wes Craven movie opening October 29, 2010.  The preview looks really good, especially if you are a fan of "teen scream" movies like "Scream," "I Know What You Did Last Summer," etc.   If I had to pick a movie to see Halloween weekend, this one is it.  I'm a big fan of these kind of movies.

Haunted Houses, Hayrides, Hollows, etc.

Do you make it a tradition to go a "haunted" event every year?  By "haunted event," I mean one of the places where you pay an entrance fee (usually), tour around the house only to have people in costumes jump out at you, view scary displays, etc.   I have gone to several over the years and I think they are a lot of fun.  I am not too big a fan of being startled, but with a group of people and cool, well done displays, I enjoy it.

Here in New York, one of the most popular is "Blood Manor" in the city.  I've never been buy might go this year.  I live about 5 minutes from the Sleepy Hollow, NY "Horseman's Hollow" may go there, too.  Why not do both?  Lol.  

In case you are looking for your area, hauntedworld.com has lists for every part of the United States, Canada, and even an "international" section.   Take a look and enjoy whatever you do!

Blood Manor Video from the NY Daily News

A Halloween Musical!

Well, not exactly Halloween, but the Addams Family Musical, playing in New York City, seems like the best show to see for the Halloween season this year.  I heard some of the music live today in New York (during the Broadway on Broadway event) and enjoyed it.   I hope I get to see it before Halloween!

What are You Going to be For Halloween?

Have you decided?  Do you usually wear a costume or do you prefer to help your kids/spouse/bf/gf, etc.?   I only wear a costume when I am going to a Halloween party or event, not the whole day.  Last year, I wore a black "Scream-type" robe with a shiny gold mask.  I am going out this year, but I haven't decided yet what I want to wear.  It's usually decided in the last couple weeks before Halloween. 

This site, Costume Kingdom, seems to offer some of the best assortment of costumes I have seem online.  It gave me some good ideas, even if I end up buying it somewhere else!  

Great Ghosts!

What's more Halloween than ghosts?  But where can you find some ghosts to visit this Halloween?  There is a great website called Ghosts of America where you can not only find ghosts, but add your own sightings as well!  Just visit the site and find your state.  It looks like than even have a map of the presently "ghostly" parts of the United States. Sounds like a great way to make for an interesting Halloween!

The Perfect Storm

I really hope that Halloween does not bring the "perfect storm" to any part of the country this year.  For me, perfect Halloween weather is a sunny day in the 70's, followed by a cool, crisp autumn night in the low 60's, high 50's.  That way, if you have a heavy costume, you won't get too hot!  Some clouds are ok, too, but no rain and definitely no snow!   Snow is the absolute worst on Halloween.

The link above is to a NOAA site about the terrible East Coast storm in 1991 that sank the Andrea Gail and inspired the movie, "A Perfect Storm."  Hopefully, that kind of awful disaster can be avoided this Halloween!  I like a scary Halloween, but not that kind of scary.

Halloween Party Ideas

Having a Halloween party? No matter if it's for adults or children, Halloween parties are all about fun, eerie ambiance. But sometimes it's hard to think of new ideas and we end up buying a whole bunch stuff last minute. Here's a great link for Halloween party ideas.  There's a ton of ideas that you can use whether your party is for adults or kids.  I especially like the pumpkin cocktails!  

This Year's Big Halloween Movie?

Did you like "Paranormal Activity?"   Well, only a week before Halloween comes Paranormal Activity 2!  I'm kind of excited about it because I liked the first movie.  I know it wasn't the scariest movie I've ever seen or the mostly "Halloweeny," but it makes you think about the people you know- are they really as normal as you think?  Are you the crazy one or, like the woman in Paranormal Activity, is there something truly bizarre going on?  Plus, Paranormal Activity was eerie, not gory.  I like eerie better!   But, if you love gory, Saw 3D will open Halloween weekend for your bloody enjoyment.

However, the most Halloweeny movie of this year has to be Horrorween.  I had never even heard of this movie until tonight.  Apparently, it's sort of an adult "merry, not scary" movie, so it might be good for some light-hearted (maybe drunken) fun.  Worth a look.

Our First Post!

I know what you're thinking..."Another Halloween blog?  Great."   LOL.  You're right.  But I love Halloween and it's coming soon. I am only going to post truly unique and interesting things I find about Halloween this year- not the same stuff I see in every Halloween blog out there!  Living in the Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow, New York dual Halloween towns, I think I'll have a lot of inspiration.  That being said, check out the link and read one of America's greatest short stories- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Image by Leonard Everett Fisher