Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid…

I really like to be scared. Since I can remember, I have had a strange love affair with horror movies. I remember watching Alien for the first time, hiding under my mom’s covers, peeking out with just one eye (my mom told me not to watch).

I remember seeing the Howling at a friends house and being terrified and completely riveted as a man morphed into a werewolf in the bloodiest, gooiest, and icky-est of transformations.

And I remember convincing my mom, at the age of 11, that I was old enough and brave enough to watch Stephen King’s It. She agreed, but with one requirement: I had to watch it alone, in the dark. She was trying to teach me a lesson. Well, lesson failed…except that I was afraid to brush my teeth for a week, for fear that an evil clown hand would come up through the drain and grab me.

Since I like being scared, for many years Halloween was the perfect time to be freaked out! But alas, I have little kids now. They are easily frightened. I cannot dress up as a tormented zombie or a dead bride any more {sigh}. I have to be semi-responsible.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t sneak in the occasional horror flick from time to time. Or enjoy seeing and hearing about other people’s fright nights. Here are some images of just what Halloween is all about to me–the costumes, the good scares, and of course, the candy. Enjoy…

Ever heard of the Nightmare Fear Factory in Niagara Falls? Well, apparently it is one of the scariest haunted houses around. But what makes it really awesome, is the fact that they snap photos of people at their most frightened moments. The resulting pictures are some of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. I actually cried, I was laughing so hard.

What I really love, what really makes me smile, is kids tricked out in Halloween costumes that aren’t your standard issue. The creativity, the surprise, the hilarity of some kids costumes makes it all worth it. This guy had a childhood full of some of the greatest kid costumes ever. One in particular had me rolling. Can you guess which one?

Finally, candy and a sweet little boy named Evan, trying his first ever Warhead. His reaction is priceless:

Happy Halloween!

What are your plans for Halloween? Do you celebrate or not? When were you the most “good scared” in your life?

post image props

9 thoughts on “Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid…”

  1. I’m dressing up as a hipster this year for Halloween! I’ve go the thick rimmed glasses (prescription because I’m blind as a bat), v-neck tee, skinny jeans (well, they’re actually “regular” cut jeans, but since I’m overweight they fit like skinny jeans), and Converse All-Stars. I was going to carry around a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon, but work won’t allow that.

  2. I took my kids to various trunk or treats this past weekend because they were here for visitation. I’m swinging between getting candy to give out tonight and keeping the light off and not doing it because it reminds me my kids aren’t here with me.

    I love the Warheads vid. Good training for when he gets married and his wife brings him something that’s not very tasty…eat it and say it’s good no matter what!

  3. I don’t celebrate Halloween, I celebrate Horrorween. Every year I stock up on some of the scariest movies I can find and watch them all at night. I will not compromise this for my kids, I already feel very very sorry for them.

    I LOVE horror movies, me and the wife watched Paranormal Activity 3 the night it aired. One word, awesome. We finally got to watch REC which was waaaay better than Quarantine.

    Thanks to the internet though, I’m so desensitized now. I ate Lasagna while watching one of the SAW movies before, a lot of people I tell that to freak out. I can eat while watching pretty much anything.

  4. I’m giving away candy! And I’ll be a zombie in the process!
    My roommate and I decorated the house, so it would be rude not to (plus, I don’t want to get egged).
    This past weekend, I went to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Hollywood… best scary, yet safe time I’ve had with my gal pals in a long while… they do Halloween proper! It feels like you’ve been dropped in the middle of a scary movie… the details are crazy good (the temperatures match the season of the theme of their mazes, you can even smell the pine when you’re in the woods surrounded by werewolves, and if some guy get whacked, they hit you with a bit of water… eww, haha).
    I just got by voice back. ( :

    1. nadia,
      I’m so jealous!! I love stuff like that. Soon enough when my kiddos are bigger I can take them with me. I hope you are a gruesome zombie for giving out candy.

      Have fun!

  5. Not much Halloween-ness down here in Paraguay. We won’t be doing anything, except posting comments on a rad blog like yours. I am totally Jonse-ing for some free, good candy.

    BTW- Why do they call those tiny candy bars Fun Size? They aren’t fun that small, they irritate me cause I barely get the flavor in my mouth and it’s gone. Just an observation.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *