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Anyone planning anything special for this year?
I want to make a Halloween tree.I plan to take those mini plastic pumpkins they sell and hang them from the branches of the tree in front.Then
the little monsters and the big ones too, can
empty the contents of each pumpkin into their bags.That way I only have to check a few times
back throughout the night to see if they need
refilling.Sure beats answering the door every
time someone shouts "Trick or Treat!"
 
Posts: 16 | Location: LA,CA,USA | Registered: 25 July 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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For Halloween this year, I'm going to dress up as a corporate executive. Oh, I'm sorry, is my bitterness showing through? (Telecom Layoff victim speaking!)

I plan a re-reading of both "The Halloween Tree" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes" between now and Halloween. My personal tradition is to watch "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle" every year after I'm done handing out candy. (I violated that tradition last Halloween to watch "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" -- which I thought was pretty good. (The Cristinna Ricci and Johnny Depp version.)(I also recommend the movies, "Carrie" and "Play Misty For Me")

Some good short stories to read (Taken from a collective dialog on another message board you might enjoy -- if you're interested in Halloween things -- at <Ray Bradbury Discussion Board> then <Favorite Book/Story> then <A little let down> ) would include:

-- The Black Ferris
-- The October Game
-- The April Witch
-- The Coffin
-- Uncle Einer
-- Homecoming
-- The Dwarf
-- The Skeleton
-- The Next in Line
-- The Emissary
-- The Candy Skull
-- Fever Dream

When I had little kids at home (my youngest is now a 9th grader) we would always take an evening and carve pumpkins. When we lived in California we went to the Halloween festival in Half Moon Bay (a gorgeous place) where they had a fantastic Halloween celebratory event, and then go to a massive pumpkin patch in the foothills to let the kids wander through and pick their own pumpkins off the vine. It was very cool, Very traditional. I think Ray would have enjoyed it. We also took them out for trick-or-treating.

Also, when the kids were younger, I would have them gather around (that sounds kind of nostalgic, doesn't it?) and would read some of Poe's stories to them. My favorites to read aloud were "The Telltale Heart", "The Fall of the House of Usher", "Ligeia" and "The Black Cat". I also read the poems, "The Raven" and "Anabelle Lee". I still love the rhythm of reading them out loud.

When I was a kid myself (Southern California suburbs) we would go out with pillow cases and fill them almost to the breaking point. Although my parents had rules about the amount and rapidity with which we ate the spoils, the rules were essentially non-enforceable (there were, after all, seven kids!). We used to go after our "enemies" and do the traditional evil things, like salting, gassing and toothpicking lawns and the traditional TP'ing parties. Back then, these involved purchasing TP for a month or two before. We had a virually endless supply when we went out. When we TP'd a house, it was so completely covered it looked like it had snowed. We lived near some rich neighborhoods where they gave out full-size candy bars to kids. It was a good place to grow up.

We also had an asylum where albinos were housed (I know this isn't politically correct -- or morally correct, for that matter), and on Halloween, we (the high school kids) would sneak up onto the property and watch them "come out" at night and play volleyball and stuff. It was an old hospital up on a hill surrounded by a wrought-iron fence and acres of trees. When we got close, we would creep up on our hands and knees. I know it sounds like I'm making this up, but I'm not.

So, we had a lot of memories of Halloween. My kids' Halloweens were pretty cool, but somewhat less mischievious than were mine.

You've certainly gotten me in the Halloween spirit!


[This message has been edited by Mr. Dark (edited 09-13-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Mr. Dark (edited 09-14-2002).]
 
Posts: 2769 | Location: McKinney, Texas | Registered: 11 May 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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When I was growing up in rural Northeast Ohio, my mother would have to drive us into town to go trick-or-treating.

But my favorite part of Halloween was carving the one large pumpkin my father would buy into the most hideous face I could manage. Then I would take it to the massive boulder on the far side of the pond behind our house and light it with a large candle. I can still see those insidious orange grins floating in the night. My mother would roast the seeds in the oven, and to this day I still carve the jack-o-lantern and roast the seeds (even though I have no children).
 
Posts: 31 | Location: Newbury Park, CA, USA | Registered: 28 April 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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This Halloween I am donating, some of my collected paperback story collections, and one novel, I have duplicates of my own that I was given on my Birthday Oct 1st my 12th B-day. The Friends of the Stewart Library are gathering library materials to be donated to a the school district that my children attend. I asked my daughters permission first if I could give them my copies of "The Golden Apples of the Sun" or 2 other collections , and the classic The Halloween Tree to get someone going.. I hope
one of those kids gets a good chill like I first did, and stays up late loses
sleep to read till the end of a story!
Uncle
 
Posts: 247 | Location: Utah, U.S.A. | Registered: 10 December 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Mr. Dark,
Maybe you've already done this, but have you written about the asylum? I sense the beginning of a novel or a great short story.
 
Posts: 333 | Registered: 12 January 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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That's a good idea. I may talk to some of my old friends, accumulate more detail and see if I can put something together. Thanks for the thought!

(Although I am a bit embarrassed about it. On the other hand, it didn't seem so politically incorrect back then . . . Not making excuses. . . well, maybe I am!)
 
Posts: 2769 | Location: McKinney, Texas | Registered: 11 May 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Great question as Mr. Bradbury's favorite holiday nears!

I am now getting my henchman's robe, boots, and full mask ready to serve as guide for an annual Haunted House (nearly 20 years running) that has been a major event in our downtown's public square location - yes, such places actually do still exist.

Afternoon hours are geared for fun and the kids. While the evenings are full-chilled for the adults. No "blood and guts" affair but rather an ensemble of wonderful classic frights. The team of nearly 100 presenters and behind the scenes engineers, bring all the technical apparatus and year to year improvements one could imagine. Make-up artists, guides with assistants, greeters, and, of course, the real stars of the Haunted Halls -(Imagine fully constructed chambers & convincing characterizations!):

Frankenstein's monster comes to life
The Werewolf's moonlit forest
The curse of the Mummy's ancient tomb
A visit to Count Dracula's coffin
Poe's Cask of Amontillado, "In Pace Requescat"
The Gypsy Fortuneteller and her Crystal Ball
From Dr. Jekyl draught's comes Mr. Hyde
The Graveyard awakens as visitors pass
A call to the Mad Doctor's Office
A visit with the Invisible Man
The 3 Witches' cave & their boiling cauldron
Walking, whispering, glowing skeleton
The Hunchback's crazed escape
King Kong unchained
Floating pumpkins, crawling tarantulas, and an uncaged python
Tiny aliens, screaming faces, & the ghost of a Lost R.R. Lanternman
A Cryptkeeper and his ghouls
The Phantom of the Opera's & his music
and more...

All set in an expansive stonewalled basement of one of the oldest (1800's) small business arcades in the USA.

A "spirited" downtown event from the past:
3 days of cider, donuts, treats, with kids/parents screaming, tugging, and eyes wide or closed tight!!
Best part...proceeds promote youth programs and community development.

Oh, yes! To help set the mood upstairs in the arcade while the visitors await their "turns", old b&w movies play on an overhead screen (Karloff, Lugosi, Chaney & Jr., Rathbone, Price, and other such friends).


This has gotten me psyched!
"Walk this way...Do not touch the creatures!"




[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 09-18-2002).]
 
Posts: 732 | Registered: 29 November 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Very cool.

I just got my copy of "Dark Carnival" in the mail today (ordered it through Amazon.com), so I'll have plenty of cool stuff to read between now and Halloween. I also plan on reading The Halloween Tree and Something Wicked This Way Comes.
 
Posts: 2769 | Location: McKinney, Texas | Registered: 11 May 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by twelthnite:
Anyone planning anything special for this year?
I want to make a Halloween tree.I plan to take those mini plastic pumpkins they sell and hang them from the branches of the tree in front.Then
the little monsters and the big ones too, can
empty the contents of each pumpkin into their bags.That way I only have to check a few times
back throughout the night to see if they need
refilling.Sure beats answering the door every
time someone shouts "Trick or Treat!"
 
Posts: 16 | Location: LA,CA,USA | Registered: 25 July 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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fjpalumbo, your Haunted House sounds like so much fun! All the attractions like that around here are too "slasher" oriented. I'd really love to go to a classic Halloween house like yours.

Every year at work, I run a month-long daily Halloween trivia contest for October. (This is the third year.) I'm always pleasantly surprised at how popular it is. Lots of movie nuts at biotech companies! It's harder each year to get good, difficult trivia about old monster movies. But hey, it's a labor of love...
 
Posts: 1 | Location: El Cerrito, CA | Registered: 20 October 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Here is a column I just submitted to my local paper:

WHY HALLOWEEN?

As October draws to a close and Halloween approaches, letters come in to newspapers, churches hold discussions and neighbors and family members argue about the value of retaining Halloween in a �Christian� nation. The argument is that Halloween represents a return to the days of demons, witches, ghosts and death; and has no place in a modern nation with America�s religious sensitivities. Just yesterday I was talking with my sister and she (a wonderful mother of six) said she wouldn�t mind if Halloween just disappeared. I told her I always enjoy Halloween and she asked why? A legitimate question.

For me, Halloween brings back a sense of nostalgia for earlier, less stressful times. When I was younger, I looked forward to dressing up and going out trick-or-treating. It was a time to throw off your normal, ineffectual childish self and �become� something scary � something that had impact on others. In my costume, I felt like I could scare others, and because of that, I felt an uncommon sense of power. For a kid, that sense of power was a rush.

Obviously, it was also fun to wander around various neighborhoods in disguise getting candy from all kinds of people and seeing their reaction to my costumes. I still remember their smiles and friendliness. In those days, we took pillow cases with us, and would see how full we could make them. I had six brothers and sisters, and when we got home, we would dump out our �loot� and begin a wonderful hour of trading for candy we liked better. With seven kids, there was active bartering. Two attorneys came out of this! Our parents tried to enforce strict rules about the speed with which we ate the candy, but with seven kids, monitoring was a difficult task, at best.

We also gathered around the kitchen table and carved jack-o-lanterns. Sometimes we went for a humorous face, sometimes we went for a scary look. Some of my fondest memories of growing up in a large family are those evenings where we scooped out the �guts� of the pumpkin, drew faces on it, and then cut those faces out. When we were younger, mom or dad would draw the face and help us cut them out.

As we got older, Halloween became less a family event and more an event we did with friends. Supervised parties, and trick-or-treating in small groups were an important and fun part of hanging out with our friends. Sometimes minor mischief was involved (TP-ing, that wonderful American pastime!)

Halloween represents cultural traditions as well. Halloween has been a national celebration in America for years. Not too long ago, we knew that our trick-or-treating was being replicated across the country by all the kids our age. We had art projects in school � drawing and coloring witches, ghosts, demons, moonlit scenes, etc. In more and more venues, Halloween has been so watered down, that our kids today barely get to share in that sense of fun and excitement. This one time kids have to deal with the dark and the supernatural � an important part of coming to grips with our fears � is being denied to our kids because of the over-reaction by many well-meaning parents and by self-appointed watchdog groups.

As I became a parent and raised my four kids, family Halloween traditions were continued. We went out, we carved pumpkins into living jack-o-lanterns and I added a new tradition of reading stories to them on Halloween night. The stories were typically by Edgar Allan Poe, but sometimes we read Ray Bradbury. Some years my older son did not want to go out, so he would be the door greeter and candy-hander-outer. He seemed to enjoy that as much as going out himself. Fortunately, his brother and sisters would always share some of their gatherings with him when they got home. My kids and I enjoyed Halloween � not as a way of worshipping the dead, or following Satan � but as a way of having something fun to do together that we do just once a year.

As I�ve gotten older, I�ve begun to do more Halloween-specific reading on my own � stories by Poe, Hawthorne, Bradbury and Irving have all been added to my reading. This year I read Bradbury�s novel, �Halloween�, and have begun re-reading his wonderful novel, �Something Wicked This Way Comes�. I also choose one horror film each year to watch after the trick-or-treaters have stopped coming and my kids have gone to bed.

Halloween is a holiday that is about the use of the imagination, and about addressing fears of darkness and death through story and play-acting. It is about remembering man�s past fear of death and the unknown. It is a recognition of the mysteries of death and the unseen. While Halloween is perhaps not my favorite holiday, it definitely ranks up there at the top. I see its diminishment in modern society as a blow to fun and to our kids� use of their imaginations to deal with mystery and the unknown.
 
Posts: 2769 | Location: McKinney, Texas | Registered: 11 May 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Well done, Mr. Dark. My thoughts exactly, though being a born-again Baptist, I think you may have been a little hard on us. We get a bum rap for trying to gut the holiday at times but, hey, isn't the alternative, these "Harvest Celebrations," the very same thing that Halloween celebrates?

Nevertheless, at the risk of sounding like a middle-aged grump, things today aren't as good as they used to be.

Thanks for putting my feelings into words.

Pete

[This message has been edited by pterran (edited 10-22-2002).]
 
Posts: 614 | Location: Oklahoma City, OK | Registered: 30 April 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I didn't mean to imply a hammering on Baptists (or other fundamentalists, for that matter). Some people have a narrow view on life in different areas. I tend to value time and get cranky with kids who waste time here at the Bradbury site. Others are a bit squeamish about several aspects of Halloween. I don't begrudge them. I just think we have lost some of the cultural traditions that helped bind us together in the use of the imagination. I see this as a loss.

Years ago, late at night, after dropping off a date, I saw a small fire in an open field. Good citizen that I am, I stopped the car and began to walk across the field to put it out. (I assumed some kids had been fooling around and left the fire unattended.) When I got there, the fire was in the shape of a cross, and there was some kind of dead animal on the ground. Feeling very queasy, I looked around me, and in the trees there were several people in hooded cloaks who had apparently backed away when they saw me coming. I backed away a few steps and then ran. I'm still not sure what I interrupted . . . witches, satanic worship, a voodoo ritual . . . ? I did not have a good feeling. The point is, I am sympathetic to groups who fear the potential of a satanic element in Halloween.

I see symbolism as being redefined in each generation, but (as Bradbury points out in The Halloween Tree, which I just re-read yesterday) Halloween does contain the seeds of many of the dark periods in man's history. Death, demons, etc., are a part of the tradition of Halloween. But, I think these kinds of things are not absolute, but contain the meaning that each of us brings to our own understanding of the symbolism and to our own individual celebrations.

Sorry so long-winded.
 
Posts: 2769 | Location: McKinney, Texas | Registered: 11 May 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Although I am a Christian, I believe it is okay to take part in the celebration of Halloween as it is today. Let's face it, Halloween nowadays is about lighting candles and telling scary stories, dressing up in costumes, riding a hayride at the pumpkin patch in the crisp autumn air, carving a pumkin in a funny face, and visiting local haunted houses. It's kindof a celebration of autumn and the feelings that come with autumn. A certain darkness mixed with delight.

Although Halloween may have begun as evil (and may continue to be celebrated as such by some), I focus on the fun of Halloween and am happily halfway through The Halloween Tree to get in the mood for the season.
 
Posts: 32 | Location: San Diego, CA, US | Registered: 10 September 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Mr. Dark,

Naw, you weren't that hard on us Baptists. I know our church is offering a Halloween "alternative" which seems to me to be celebrating the same thing as Halloween, sort of. I mean, my take on it - and I believe it's Bradbury's as well - is that Halloween is a time to sort of spit in the eye of death. Thus, we hand out goodies to appease the demons until next time around. It's an acknowledgement of good winning over evil, if only for a short time. We Christians, and others, know the war over evil is ongoing and that only battles can be won. Same thing for Halloween. So I don't see it as some kind of satanic ritual, like some of my Christian brethren, but simply a good time to be had. Essentially, it's harmless, good fun. (I especially like your take, in your column, of how this is a good chance for the family to participate in an activity together.) I guess there are those out there who see the occassion to ramp up their satanic tendencies but you always have a few who'd like to ruin a good thing. (Like your discussion board vandals. Grrr.)

Now, as a side point, I will say that some of the costumes that kids wear nowadays are getting a little extreme. My two lovely daughters recently spent an afternoon with me in the Halloween shop at the local mall and were immediately drawn to the most gruesome, bloody, gooey costumes they had. Ah, well.

(Which leads to another point, I guess: Kids seem to be naturally drawn to the gruesome side of Halloween because, well, they're kids. The grosser the better. A dark side of children that Bradbury understands all too well.)

Talk about rambling. . .

Pete
 
Posts: 614 | Location: Oklahoma City, OK | Registered: 30 April 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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