PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Most of us horror fiends can’t get enough of October and everything that comes with it. It’s the most wonderful time of year and Halloween traditions are the best. Whether it’s watching your favorite horror movie, carving a pumpkin, going to a haunted house, everyone has their favorite things to do. The PopHorror writers are no different.
Here are PopHorror’s Halloween Traditions:
Paige Davis – Halloween tradition: watching Scream and the first three Halloween movies, and going to haunted houses. I usually go to one every year.
Anna Ace – A tradition I’ve started with my daughter starts the week before Halloween. We watch as many horror movies as possible. When she was younger, we would have more kid/family-friendly movies. About 5 years ago, we would include costume touch-ups, baking, and making treat bags for her class. The day before, we hang up our costumes and carve our pumpkins while watching all the Halloween movies. Not necessarily a tradition, but every year when we’re washing our faces and it’s all coming to an end, I get emotional lol.
Brandon Long – When I was a kid, I had a tradition of watching at least one horror movie leading up to Halloween, picking out a horror related costume and, like many other kids, going door to door trick or treating. Growing up, Halloween was not a big holiday in my family. That is probably why I’m drawn to the idea that Halloween is every day and I go crazy during the season. Eventually, I made it a personal tradition to watch John Carpenter’s original Halloween on or as close as possible to Halloween day. I added to the tradition when Rob Zombie’s remakes came out, being sure to watch the original and Zombie’s first installment as close to Halloween as possible. In recent years, I watch as many horror film favorites as possible in late September and October in the weeks leading up to Halloween day. However, since I have worked every Halloween evening since I moved into the city limits of my town, I have been unable to add to my tradition as an adult with no kids. This Halloween lands on a day/night where I can finally participate on the adult side of trick or treating. This year, I will be watching Halloween, Halloween II and the remakes while dressed as Zombie’s version of Michael Myers, rocking the worn and decrepit mask and ready to hand out candy to any kids brave enough to stay on my doorstep when I answer the door.
Zachary Howard – When I lived in Texas, my friends and I regularly turned his house and junkyard into a haunted junkyard. The last year I was in Texas, we really outdid ourselves and converted his younger brother’s trailer park into a haunted trailer park! We had a decent set up where a tour guide would guide kids through a graveyard where my cousin would sit in a coffin and shoot them with a squirt gun, and a random hunter would bump into them to lead them to safety where I would attack the hunter! The final piece would be a butcher shop set up where a friend of ours would be duct taped to a table and have one of her legs hiding in a slot and some raw hamburger placed in her knee, giving the impression that her leg had been chopped off! As they try to make their way through my 7-foot tall buddy Marc would jump out, dressed like Leatherface, and chase them with a chainsaw! We had one little tyke go through three times, the first time scared shitless, the second and third times he would walk through telling the other kids what to expect! Each time though, he’d always get scared of Marc, which was hilarious because the third time he singled the kid out and the kid ran off in a random direction. We only found him thanks to the trail of urine he left behind!
Gus Wood – Every year, I watch Theatre of Blood starring Vincent Price. When I was ten and moving into a new house with my family, we set up the cable and that movie was on. From then on, that movie will always mean “you’re home” to me. And it’s a badass film. I also always listen to Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds radio.
Samantha McCabe – I’m in South Africa and unfortunately, they don’t do Halloween here – it sucks! However, I love Trick r Treat and Nightmare Before Christmas because that’s watchable at least twice a year… I’ll watch any horror, I guess, that involves ghouls/monsters and things that go bump in the night.
JayLynn Merrill – My Halloween traditions have changed over the years. Becoming a mom, I have certainly done things differently. I always take my son to the pumpkin patch, and we pick out the best pumpkin, eat donuts and drink cider. We also do a hayride there as well. The last couple of years, we have been going to haunted houses. After this year, he will be ready for the really good ones! He and I have also done random make-up just to have fun with it! We always watch movies, but around Halloween, we definitely go towards horror or Halloween-themed movies. Of course, Nightmare Before Christmas is a must! I also love to make some sort of Halloween-themed meal at some point. Then, there is trick or treating for him, and I usually try to go out as an adult to some sort of Halloween party or event so I can dress up as well. Of course, we always decorate our house! Each year for a while though, I watched Halloween 3 Season of the Witch, because it’s the best in my eyes! I love all things spooky all year round, but for the month of October, I take it to the next level. It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Scott Crawford – Due to my previous job, I had to miss out on Halloween a lot of the time, but what I could do was challenge myself to watch at least one horror movie a day until Halloween. I ended with around 40 films watched last year, and this year, I am already at 48. Usually the week before Halloween, I will just get out my Halloween themed movies such as Hocus Pocus, Night of the Demons, Trick or Treat, Trick r Treat, Ernest Scared Stupid, Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and of course, Halloween 1-3. Before I had become a hermit who hides in his house all day, I would throw a yearly Halloween costume party and would have at least 40 people over to celebrate and have fun. This is a tradition that I hope to pick up again now that I have a normal job. My goal this year was to do as many fun activities as possible during the month of October, and I feel I have succeeded. I went to the special showing of Victor Crowley and got to meet Adam Green, went to see a couple of other horror films in the theater, and even had a bonfire where we watched Pet Semetary and Trick R Treat on a projector outside.
Lacy Lou – I like going to haunted houses… I hate being chased by anything that sounds like a chainsaw, but it definitely gets the heart pumping lol. And I love carving pumpkins, although I totally suck at it.
Kenn Hoekstra – Historically on Halloween, I try to take the day off from work (or at least do a half day) and watch as many classic horror films as I can fit in. I generally focus on the Halloween series and various other John Carpenter films. Occasionally a Friday the 13th movie makes a guest appearance. Now that I’m a father, I’m more focused on my son (I have a daughter on the way) and his enjoyment of the holiday. I take him trick or treating and we carve jack o’lanterns. I plan on showing him a kid-friendly monster movie like Monster Squad this year. Although the focus is now on my children, I will still make time to watch my special edition of Halloween and spend the day annoying my wife with my bad Doctor Loomis impression and quotes.
“I shot him six times! I shot him six times! I shot him in the heart!”
“You don’t know what death is!”
“Michael…it’s time.”
“Six bodies! Sheriff! That’s what I’ve seen between here and Ridgemont. A filling station in flames! I tell you Michael Myers is HERE…in this town!”
I’ve got a million of ’em. She’ll be thrilled.
Jennifer Bonges – I don’t really have a tradition. Back when I had my office job, I usually took that day off and watched Halloween marathons. Carved my pumpkin… Now I have to work lol, but I used to love going to farms and getting cider and pumpkins. I have never been to a haunted house. I’m not sure my anxiety can handle it. When I tell people I like scary stuff and then they find out I haven’t been, they are shocked. 😉 I watch a lot of classics on Halloween. As a Michael Myers fan, the Halloween series a must, in particular, the 1978 version.
Preston Holt – Like most horror fans, my planning for Halloween starts a month or two before the actual holiday. I go back and forth on whether I want to have a Halloween party (I never actually do) and inevitably do what I’ve always done. This year, I’m shaking it up a bit, but not much. My activities include a casino trip, snacks, and a movie marathon that will include some of my favorites. The line-up of films will include some classics and a few new ones. Every year, John Carpenter’s Halloween will grace my TV and as soon as it goes off, the sequel will be popped in. I also plan on watching Hellraiser, Scream, Night of the Demons, and one of the Saw films. Any movie marathon requires snacks, so there will be plenty of those. They also are amazing when you have someone to snuggle up with. I will be having all of that along with a dog and a cat in attendance, so my Halloween is pretty much all set. The only thing that would make it better would be if I hit it big at the casino. A tentative plan is to do face make-up and make my hubby and I into two scary clowns as we have the movie marathon. That is my plan for Halloween 2017 and I couldn’t be more blessed in my life. I hope everyone else enjoys it just as much!
Tracy Allen – When my kids were babies, I actually had time to make their costumes every year. Those days are long gone. When they got older, they would each figure out what they wanted to be and we would spend the month of October scouring thrift stores for costume parts that we could get on the cheap. Now that they’re older, they tend to figure out their costumes on their own, but I’m still the designated face painter. This year, I have to work until eight on Halloween, so they’re on their own, but considering two of them are in high school and one is in college, I think they can handle it. We also carve pumpkins every year. I usually get excited for it in September, so by Halloween, they’re all rotted and disgusting, but that just adds to the spooky atmosphere, right? We don’t decorate since my husband is not a Halloween/scary movie fan (I know! What was I thinking?), but the kids and I do watch a ton of old Goosebumps episodes together for nostalgia’s sake.
D.D. Crowley – The one tradition that has stuck around from my childhood has been pumpkin carving. When I was younger, it was the job of my mother and I to clean and thin the walls of the pumpkin and then my dad would design and carve the pumpkin. As I got older, the job of carving was left to me. Even with my own family now, I am the designated pumpkin carver. I have special tools and as my father before me, I draw up the design and spend hours sometimes carving intricate designs. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t but the fun of it all never changes.
Charlie Michael Cargile – My tradition has always been fairly basic: stay in and watch as much horror as possible. This year marks a significant change, as I recently started dating someone with an 18-month-old daughter. This year, the plan is to go to my girlfriend’s dad’s house with her and her daughter. Their tradition is having a cookout and passing out hot dogs and Capri Suns to the trick or treaters so they have food in their stomach before indulging on candy. Hopefully, this becomes a new tradition for me.
Queen Malvolia – When I was younger, I used to host parties from dusk until dawn… Easy access to victims, what can I say? But since I’ve become older, I like to have a more casual night in. I love to begin the night with welcoming my new so-called guests! Their ferocious victim’s cries set the tone for the evening. Unless there are any volunteers, which usually there aren’t, I choose a couple of victims. As Victor prepares them, I often have an Ill-Will Cocktail while conjuring up some relatives via my Ouija Board to chat with until it is time for my favorite activity, to carve human heads! Then, I finish the night with a great slasher film. I always choose a film starring Leatherface, a man after my own heart, because he, of all people, knows how to take good care of his victims! Happy All Hallow’s Eve, everyone! Hope you have more treats than tricks!
Tori Danielle – October is a magical time for me and every day is Halloween. I try to make the best out of every day and discover new films as well as revisiting my favorites. On Halloween night, I typically watch some of my favorites including Trick R Treat, Halloween 3, A Nightmare Before Christmas, Pet Sematary. This year is a little bit different as my boyfriend and I now live together. Luckily for me, he loves horror just as much as me and we’re making a new tradition this year as we go along.
