The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

Yours truly, as monster hunting reporter, Carl Kolchak.

Hello again everyone! I know it's been a while since I've written. Life's always so hectic, especially when you work full time and you have a 5 year old who just started kindergarten. Yes, it's now late september. The time that school is back in session and everyone is bummed that the summer is over. So with no vacations left, 8 hours of school drudgery plus homework, what could come along at just the right time to turn those frowns upside down? If you answered football you probably stumbled on to this blog by accident.

No silly! HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

Doctor Octopus!

Yes Halloween! All Hallow's Eve. Samhain. Whatever you choose to call it, the holiday that kicks off the chain of holidays that ends with New Years Eve.

Now each holiday is a good one, and each has it's fans. It's hard to argue with the fun of Christmas. New Years is okay I guess. Thanksgiving is all about family, which is alright, but which of the big holidays is all about fun? All about friends? All about a sort of counter culture rebelliousness? Yup...Halloween.

Tara as Fix-It Felix Jr.

Now I could write an entire blog about the origins of Halloween, but then again this forum isn't about that. It's the world funelled through my eyes. My vision, So here I am to talk about why Halloween means so very much to me.

To start a talk about Halloween we really need to go back to childhood. When we were kids, Halloween was all about carving pumpkins, picking out a costume and candy. I'm sure if you ask most kids what the best part of Halloween is they'd say the candy.

Sure candy is great but all my life I preferred the fun costumes and decorations. The fact that you didn't have to sit around a table for some big meal with relatives. On Halloween we came home from school, ate a quick meal, got into our costumes and sat anxiously awaiting sundown so we could roam the streets with our Dad.

Halloween was the one holiday where Dad took a more active role. Mom stayed home watching Halloween specials on tv and handing out candy. She rarely handed out much because we lived close to a busy road. Most kids preferred to head in the opposite direction where there just happened to be row homes. One walkway...2 doors! It was a no-brainer.

2015 and making our own Halloween family traditions.

So Dad would take the night off and walk my sister and I around. I started with the old boxed Ben Cooper costumes. Cheap plastic bodysuits with plastic masks of your favorite characters held on by an elastic band. I can't remember them all but I know I had a JAWS one once.

A few years later I moved onto higher quality rubber masks and later more elaborate makeup. I was The Riddler, The Invisible Man, The Mummy. The latter two both involving some degree of wrapping in bandages.

The Invisible Man of course.

I turned 18 and I threw my first Halloween Party. It had a Batman theme and all the guests dressed up as Batman villains. I was Mr. Freeze, That was cool...pardon the pun. A couple of years later I was living in North Carolina and we threw a big party at my parents place. Dad set up a great hayride through the woods on their property. I had been bitten by the bug. I LOVED Halloween parties. There would be many more, but not for a few years.

A Bat Rogues Gallery!

The early 2000's came along and I settled down in New Hampshire and truly began the golden age of my Halloween Parties. They were so much fun, and the costumes so elaborate, and the themed food and drinks so impressive, that a few of my friends still travel 8 hours to attend my contemporary bashes over a decade later. That's not too shabby.

Halloween: The New Hampshire Days.

Now Dawn and I continue to host an annual party. It doesn't always have the huge number of guests that I had in my 20's, but the costumes just get better and better. Every year we deck the place out in creepy and festively freakish decor and invite everyone over. There's only one rule, everyone must wear a costume.

My first Halloween Party back in PA....and more Batman villains.

Speaking of costumes, I never cease to be amazed by some of the ones people come up with. Nate Paro and Stacie Husted in particular have truly wowed us year after year. Still, I appreciate all costumes and all levels of skill. There's no costume shaming here.

Every year as the night winds on, I mingle with the guests and begin taking their votes as to who has the best male and best female costumes. Once I tally the votes we announce the winners of the costume contest and prizes are awarded. It's one of my favorite parts of the evening.

Winners 2011: Julia Phipps as Princess Leia and Nate Paro as Sgt. Slaughter.

Winners 2012: Dan Ritchie as Green Arrow and Jennifer Diem as Liberty Belle.

Winners 2013: Nate Paro as Macho Man Randy Savage and Stacie Husted as Mary Poppins.

Winners 2014: J.P. Riley as Inspector Gadget and Tara Krause as Buddy The Elf.

Winners 2015: Tara Krause as The Riddler and Alex Hallman as Colonel Sanders.

Much like Christmas, Halloween for me is a month long event. There are some movies and classic specials that just have to be watched every year. Some of my must-see entertainment are the following films:

Halloween - The John Carpenter classic and the introduction to Michael Myers.

Frankenstein and The Bride Of Frankenstein - The two classic Boris Karloff movies are classics for a reason. The director, James Whale was no hack, and the quality of the two Universal Monser films shines.

Dawn's great Punky Brewster costume.

The Wolfman - Another Universal classic. This one owes less to direction and more to the wonderfully sympathetic performance by Lon Chaney Jr.

Something Wicked This Way Comes - This is a wonderful October themed horror film. The fall season is just as much a character as the sinister Autumn Carnival people who come to corrupt the small town it takes place in.

Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein - Genuinely funny and the final appearance of the classic Universal Monsters. The beauty of this is the fact that they never mock the monsters. They're played straight...and to perfection.

The Monster Squad - The 80's cult classic involving a group of kids who have a monster fan club, having to stop a plot by Dracula and the other classic monsters. Way more fun and edgy than it sounds.

Trick r Treat - A great recent movie that captures the true spirit of Halloween better than almost anything else I can think of.

Dawn and Dave as Velma and Shaggy.

Also let's not forget the holiday specials that must be seen yearly...

It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown - Obviously.

Disney's The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad - The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow segment is a wonderfully atmospheric gem.

and of course classic animated shorts like...

"Lonesome Ghosts", where Mickey, Donald and Goofy work as prototype Ghostbusters to investigate a haunted house.

"The Flying Sorceress", where Tom and Jerry get mixed up with a witch.

"Hair Raising Hare", in which Bugs Bunny runs afoul of a mad scientist and his big hairy monster.

Our Halloween poster signed by John Carpenter and some of the cast.

Of course I'm sure you all have your own favorites and I'd love to know what they are!

See? That's the great thing about Halloween. It's a deeply personal holiday. It can mean as much or as little as you want it to. It can be all about traditions or you can just wing it. It can be a fun night spent with family, or a fun night spent with the friends who've become like family. Whatever you want!

Speaking of deeply personal. Halloween is also our wedding anniversary. Yes Dawn and I got married on Halloween. Many were invited. The only rule? Everyone had to wear a costume!

Yup. Married on Halloween!

I love Halloween because I love the traditions. I love dressing up! I love handing out candy. Now I love to help my own boy with his costumes. I love helping friends with their costumes! I love watching all the aforementioned specials and movies. I love throwing a big party and laughing and drinking and eating.

Nate Paro as The Big Boss Man.

Sam as Honey Boo Boo and Nate as Mankind.

Nate as Jerry The King Lawler.

I love the imagery. Jack O'Lanterns. Monsters. Bats. You name it! Mostly I love giving others something to love about Halloween. I can't wait for this years party. I'm excited to deck the place out and to see the costumes and foods that people bring. If you've been to one before I thank you and hope to see you again. If you're coming for the first time or the 10th, it'll be great to see you!

The evenings are getting chilly. The days are cooling down. The leaves are changing colors. Pumpkin flavored crap is everywhere. Halloween is coming....let's make the best of it!

The Author, proud of his Shoveler costume.