BOO! It's Halloween Time

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

To some people Halloween is their Christmas.
I love this time of the year. So I created this thread for those who enjoy the spooky festival. Some of it is cheesier than Chevy Chase. I decided to make this thread family friendly. So, if you have a party or got people round or your kids or if you simply enjoy all of this, open this thread on Halloween night and have some fun. It's exactly that, a fun Halloween thread.
So I’m going to share some stuff with you.

To start off the chills let's take a little look at history and what it has to say about Halloween;

Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31, which commonly includes activities such as trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

HISTORY

Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain, whose original spelling was Samuin (pronounced sow-an or sow-in)".[1] The name of the festival historically kept by the Gaels and Celts in the British Isles which is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end".[1][2][3] However, according to the Oxford Dictionary of English folk lore: "Certainly Samhain was a time for festive gatherings, and medieval Irish texts and later Irish, Welsh, and Scottish folklore use it as a setting for supernatural encounters, but there is no evidence that it was connected with the dead in pre-Christian times, or that pagan religious ceremonies were held." [4] The Irish myths which mention Samhain were written in the 10th and 11th centuries by Christian monks. This is around 200 years after the Catholic church inaugurated All Saints Day and at least 400 years after Ireland became Christian

ORIGIN OF NAME

The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Even ("evening"), that is, the night before All Hallows Day.[5] Although the phrase All Hallows is found in Old English (ealra hālgena mæssedæg, mass-day of all saints), All-Hallows-Even is itself not attested until 1556

en.wikipedia.org...

So we have a bit of background on the history of Halloween, the rest can be found at wiki.
Now let's begin the spirit of Halloween with some family friendly Halloween music and vids.

Let's take a trip down memory lane.
Here's some fun stuff.
I'll begin with this cartoon called 'The Skeleton Dance'

The Skeleton Dance is a 1929 Silly Symphonies animated short subject produced and directed by Walt Disney and animated by Ub Iwerks. In the film, four human skeletons dance and make music around a spooky graveyard. It is the first entry in the Silly Symphonies series. In 1994, it was voted #18 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field.

en.wikipedia.org...

Next up is a cartoon character who we all know Donald Duck. This is a nice cartoon to watch with the family.



I'm a cartoon fan especially the old stuff.
Here are a few others you'll enjoy.
This one is very old, 1931.

The family cat, out for the night, stalks and catches a bird singing atop the weathervane, but it flies off, pulling the cat and weathervane down and knocking the cat out. The cat has a vision of giant birds, lacking the tail feathers he pulled out, tormenting him, and soon, everything in the autumn landscape is animated and scary.

www.imdb.com...



I hope you enjoyed that one as much as I do.

This one is even older but also a great cartoon.
Mickey Mouse, the Haunted House 1929.

This is the description in the YouTube video;

This is another classic black and white Mickey Mouse cartoon. This cartoon was released on December 2th 1929. In a stormy night, Mickey Mouse takes refuge in an old house, where some ghosts and some dancing skeletons live there.

Are we having fun yet?
I hope so.
Here's another one from Mickey Mouse this time with friends...

Lonesome Ghosts is a 1937 Disney animated cartoon featuring the Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy trio as members of the agency "Ajax Ghost Exterminators" (often described later as precursors to the Ghostbusters).

PLOT

Mickey and his best friends are hired by telephone to evict a number of ghosts from a haunted house. Unknown to them, they were hired by the ghosts themselves, four lonesome ghosts who are bored because nobody has visited the house they are haunting for a long time (one ghost assumes that none of the locals were scared, another ghost implies that they scared them all away). They wish to play tricks on the mortals. And they do so through a series of inventive gags, annoying the trio, eventually, by the end, the trio has actually managed to scare the very same ghosts out of the house when a mixture of flour and molasses accidentally spilled over them. Goofy offers what is considered the short's most memorable quote while warily looking around him: "I'm brave but I'm careful." Other quotes include Donald's observation: "So you can't take it, you big sissies!", or another Goofy quip: "I ain't scared of no ghosts!

en.wikipedia.org...



A dark Cave. In the middle, a Caldron boiling. Thunder. Enter the three Witches - William Shakespeare

I remember a time when Halloween was special. We used to get all dressed up and go trick or treating then back home and share all the goodies people gave us. At home we used to tell ghost stories and some of the older cousins used to either read a ghost story or tell one that they knew, it didn't matter, the effect was the same.
When I got older I still loved Halloween and all the cheesiness that came with it, I mean this thread is a mainstream Halloween thread purely for fun.
Now I go to parties or arrange parties myself, normally family and friends and I love it. All the stuff I’m posting is what we listen to and sees in Halloween.

THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN

I'm a traditional kind of guy. Here is one old story everyone knows about.
The Headless Horseman.

The Headless Horseman is a fictional character from the short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by American author Washington Irving. The story, from Irving's collection of short stories entitled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, has worked itself into known American folklore/legend through literature and film.

The legend of the Headless Horseman begins in Sleepy Hollow, New York. The Horseman was a Hessian of unknown rank, one of many hired to suppress the American Revolution. During the war, the Horseman was one of 51 Hessians killed in a battle for Chatterton Hill, wherein his head was severed by an American cannonball. He was buried in a graveyard outside a church. Thereafter he appears as a ghost, who presents to nightly travelers an actual danger (rather than the largely harmless fright produced by the majority of ghosts), presumably of decapitation.

en.wikipedia.org...

Ghosts are bad but the one that's cursed is the headless horseman, he's the worst - Bing Crosby

Music is always a part of any festival and the first song I’ll be posting in connection to the Headless Horseman from Sleepy Hollow story is Bing Crosbys - The Headless Horseman;



Hush, Hush, Hush, here comes 'The Boogey Man'.
Some of us have heard before "don’t be naughty or the boogeyman will come".

"The Boogeyman" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the March 1973 issue of the magazine Cavalier, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift.

The majority of the story occurs in the office of Dr. Harper, a psychiatrist, where a man named Lester Billings talks to the doctor about the "murders" of his three young children. Billings seems paranoid and possibly schizophrenic as he describes the circumstances of the death of his children. His first two children died mysteriously of apparently unrelated causes (diagnosed as crib death and convulsions, respectively) when left alone in their bedrooms. The only commonalities were that the children cried "Boogeyman!" before being left alone, and the closet door was open slightly after finding their corpses, even though Billings was certain the door was shut.

en.wikipedia.org...

Hush, Hush, Hush.



I saw the movie Jeepers Creepers and loved this song and thought it would be a good addition to the thread.
The Artists are 'The Four Modernaries'.
"Let's boogie to the oogie"



Here's the movie;

A brother and sister driving home for spring break encounter a flesh-eating creature in the isolated countryside that is on the last day of its ritualistic eating spree.

www.imdb.com...

I like this next song very much by Rich Kienle & the Monsters.
It's called 'Please don’t be a witch for Halloween'. I must say the western sounds are great for this time of the year. It’s Great song for the family.



The kids will love this one and although it's the Nightmare before Christmas, this song comes straight from Halloween Land with the Oogie Boogie in the centre of the stage about to eat Santa Clause.
The video contains lyrics so everyone can sing along.



Some more interesting vids for you and the family;





My Halloween signature comes from this poem which is a scene from Macbeth written by William Shakespeare in 1606, enjoy.

The Witches Spell

1 WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.
2 WITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin’d.
3 WITCH. Harpier cries:—’tis time! ’tis time!
1 WITCH. Round about the caldron go;
In the poison’d entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot!
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
3 WITCH. Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches’ mummy; maw and gulf
Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark;
Root of hemlock digg’d i the dark;
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,—
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron,
For the ingrediants of our caldron.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Cool it with a baboon’s blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

A Halloween thread must contain the 'Master of Macabre' himself, Vincent Price. Here he recites a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, 'The Raven'.



My favorite cartoon character of all time without a doubt is Donald Duck. This 1952 cartoon called 'Trick or Treat' will be exactly that, a treat.



There will probably be many other threads about movies i'll just be posting 10 of my fav classics for Halloween.

1 The Exorcist
2 Halloween
3 A Nightmare On Elm Street
4 Poltergeist
4 Childs Play
5 Scream
6 The Omen
7 Friday The 13th
8 Jeepers Creepers
9 Night Of The Living Dead
10 Hellraiser

Bonus movie - The Haunted Palace

To finish off here is a couple of interesting bits.

In 1897, a family named Otto lived in a nearby house in Key West, Florida. They owned a plantation and had a lot of servants working for them who they treated very badly. One servant girl gave their son, Gene, a present of a doll. What the Ottos didn’t realise was that this servant girl knew voodoo. Gene's full name was Robert Eugene Otto. His parents had always called him "Gene", so he decided to give the doll his real name, "Robert". Many Strange things began to occur in the Otto household. Many neighbors claimed to see Robert move about from window to window, when the family were out. Gene began to blame Robert for mishaps that would occur. The Otto's claimed to hear the doll giggle, and swear they caught glimpses of the doll running about the house. Gene began to have nightmares and scream out in the night, when his parents would enter the room, they would find furniture over turned, their child in a fright, and Robert at the foot of the bed, with his glaring gaze! "Robert Did It".... The doll was eventually put up into the attic. Where he resided for many years. But Robert had other plans. Visitors that entered the house could hear something walking back and forth in the attic, and strange giggling sounds. Guests no longer wanted to visit the Otto home. Gene Otto died in 1972.The home was sold to a new family, and the tale of Robert had died do.... But Robert waited patiently up in the attic to be discovered, once again. The 10 year old daughter of the new owners. Was quick to find Robert in the attic. It was not long before Robert unleashed his displeasure on the child… The little girl claiming that the doll tortured her, and made her life a hell. Even after more than thirty years later, she steadfastly claims that "the doll was alive and wanted to kill her." Robert, still dressed in his white sailor's suit and clutching his stuffed lion, lives quite comfortably, though well guarded, at the Key West Martello Museum. Employees at the museum continue to give accounts of Robert being up to his old tricks still today....

The Flying Dutchman is a legendary cursed ship that was doomed to travel around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa for all eternity. It was made famous in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. The legend of The Flying Dutchman started in 1641 when a Dutch ship sank off the coast of the Cape of Good Hope. The captain, VanderDecken, failed to notice the dark clouds looming and only when he heard the lookout scream out in terror did he realise that they had sailed straight into a fierce storm. The captain and his crew battled for hours to get out of the storm and at one stage it looked like they would make it. Then they heard a sickening crunch - the ship had hit treacherous rocks and began to sink. As the ship plunged downwards, Captain VanderDecken knew that death was approaching. He was not ready to die and screamed out a curse: 'I WILL round this Cape even if I have to keep sailing until the end of time!" So, even today whenever a storm brews off the Cape of Good Hope, if you look into the eye of the storm, you will be able to see the ship and its captain - The Flying Dutchman. The legend goes that whoever sees the ship will die a terrible death. Many people have claimed to have seen The Flying Dutchman, including the crew of a German submarine boat during World War II. On 11 July 1881, the Royal Navy ship, the Bacchante, was rounding the tip of Africa when they were confronted with the sight of The Flying Dutchman. The midshipman, a prince who later became King George V, recorded that the lookout man and the officer of the watch had seen The Flying Dutchman and he used these words to describe the ship: "A strange red light as of a phantom ship all aglow, in the midst of which light the mast, spars and sails of a brig 200 yards distant stood out in strong relief." It's pity that the lookout saw the Flying Dutchman, for soon after on the same trip, he accidentally fell from a mast and died. Fortunately for the English royal family, the young midshipman survived the curse to become The King of England! The Flying Dutchman appeared as the ghost ship in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s also featured in the novel "Castaways of the Flying Dutchman" by Brian Jacques.

It's one for the kids.

I'm going to link a ghost story thread from another member here incase you want to visit and post a scary tale.
Thread by member Silo13

HALLOWEEN 2011 Post Your Scary Stories

reply to post by Suspiria


Haha I love that song!
I was going to post it but then I thought i'll let you guys post some also.
Niceone.

Some more interesting Halloween bits.



Room 712 Castle of the Paranormal

A Paranormal Rock of Gibraltar

ATS Live Halloween - Paranormal Special

Very nice thread by Ats resident Chef, mblahnikluver;

Traditional Samhain (Halloween) Meals

Halloween Bars More Halloween food!

The Doom & Gloom Halloween Writing Contest

Halloween Movie Monster Tournament

Best Pumpkin Carvings Ever!! Fun pumpkin thread!

Kat's Halloween Thread & Costume Contest

The origins of Halloween and how we celebrate it

The Best Halloween Party Music

MAGIC POTIONS

Mystic Punch

Serving Size: Party.

Ingredients:

1 pint bottled cranberry juice
2 1/2 cups peach juice
1 cup lime juice
2 cups orange juice
Add sugar for taste

Directions:

To start make ice cubes with raisens in them. In a punch bowl mix in juices and sugar (if wanted). Chill punch. When ready to serve add the frozen bugs (ice cubes).

Pumpkin Milkshake

Serving Size: 2 halloween cows.

Ingredients:

4 ounces chilled pumpkins (the canned variety)
1 1/2 cups cold skim milk
8 teaspoons sugar ("or" substitute sweetener)
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions: Ready!?

Combine all ingredients in a blender. ...Whew! I'm tired after that one. hehe!

Eerie Witches Brew

Serving Size: Makes 5 quarts; allow about 1-1/2 cups per serving.

Ingredients:

4 c Cranberry juice cocktail
1 c Chopped candied ginger (1-jar)
3 md Oranges
1 cn (12-oz) thawed frozen apple - juice concentrate
1 cn (6-oz) thawed frozen - limeade concentrate
2 c Seedless grapes
4 c Water
2 Bottles (32 oz each) ginger ale
1 lb Dry ice - up to 2 lbs (optional)

Directions:

A SERIOUS CAUTION: NEVER touch dry ice; use tongs to handle.

A smoking cauldron of punch made with grapes and orange peel masquerading as eyeballs and worms. In a 1 to 2 quart pan, bring 1 cup of cranberry juice and candied ginger to a boil over high heat. Boil, uncovered, about 2 minutes, set aside. With a vegetable peeler, pare peel (colored part only) from oranges; cut peel into thin 2-inch-long worms; or use an Oriental shredder to make long shreds. Add orange peel to cranberry mixture. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or as long as overnight.

Juice oranges; put juice in a 6 to 8 quart pan or heavy bowl. Stir in cranberry-ginger mixture, the 3 cups cranberry juice, apple concentrate, limeade, grapes and water. If made ahead, cover and chill up to 2 hours. Add ginger ale and about a 1 pound piece of dry ice (DO NOT put small pieces in punch or cups); ice should smolder at least 30 minutes. Ladle into cups. Add any remaining ice when bubbling ceases.

Here's a great REAL listen for Halloween!



Interesting stuff!!!

HALLOWEEN GAMES

Bobbing For Apples

A classic game for all ages, really. This Halloween favorite may not be adored by anyone with excess Halloween face makeup, but everyone else should have a blast. Using a large metal basin tub or a plastic kiddie pool, you’ll want to play either outdoors or somewhere you don’t mind the floor getting wet. Add your water and your apples and then let everyone take a turn at dunking their heads in the water and trying to retrieve an apple. Players are not permitted to use their hands. Usually, a small group competes and whoever gets the first apple or the most apples, wins.

“Witch Hunt” Scavenger Hunt

This is generally more enjoyable if you can use more than one room and possibly even the outdoors. Make a list of five to ten things guests are supposed to find and try to weave in the Halloween theme. So, for instance, if you have “something you might find in a graveyard” guests can do their own interpretation by bringing back a rock, a worm or a handful of dirt. This can also be played more like a version of an Easter egg hunt. Hide clues in plastic pumpkins and plan out where guests should go during the hunt. Each team starts with a clue that is meant to lead them to the next hidden clue. The first team to get all of their items or clues wins.

Mummy Wrap

In this game, couples work together to beat out all the other couples playing. Using toilet paper, one person wraps and the other person is the mummy. The first team to wrap their mummy completely from head to toe is declared the winning team. Other variations of this game include having more than one person wrapping or using a blindfold on the wrapper so the mummy has to verbally lead the couple to victory.

Pin the Tail on the Devil

As one of the Halloween games for adults, this can be changed to anything Halloween related. There’s pin the nose on the jack-o’-lantern or witch, for example. You can use any decoration from a Halloween store and either cut a section off, or trace and make your own body part to get pinned. Blindfold the guests, spin them a few times to disorient them and let them take off in the direction of the wall. Whoever gets closest, wins the game.

Pass the Organ

Using a good sized sponge or partly peeled orange, the object is to pass the item down the line without using your hands. The party gets divided up into two teams and blindfolds are an option. If the guests are blindfolded then they aren’t expecting the damp, squishy object that feels like a heart being passed to them. The first player starts with the object grasped between his chin and neck and works with the next person to pass it to the same spot. Whoever gets the “organ” to the end of the line first, without using their hands, wins.

Name that Yuck

Before the party, plan to have a row of bowls, usually five or six is fine, and fill them with something that feels yucky to the touch and have guests guess what is in the bowls. Peeled grapes can feel like eyeballs or make a gelatin brain mold, for example. Allowing things to be at room temperature for a while can add to the grossness factor. The guests waiting to play are in another room, and the guest taking his turn to guess is blindfolded. Whoever gets the most right answers wins. If some people tie, then decide who guessed their items the quickest.

www.halloween.com...

CLASSIC MOVIES

The Devil Rides Out

In the countryside of England, the Duc de Richleau a.k.a Nicholas welcomes his old friend Rex Van Ryn that has flown to meet him and Simon Aron, who is the son of an old friend of them that had passed away but charged them the task of watching the youngster. Nicholas and Rex unexpectedly visit Simon that is receiving twelve mysterious friends. Sooner Nicholas, who is proficient in black magic, learns that the guests are member of a satanic cult and Simon and his friend Tanith Carlisle will be baptized by the powerful leader Mocata to serve the devil.

Angel Of Death Scene



The Mummy

In the 1890s a team of British archaeologists discover the untouched tomb of Princess Ananka but accidentally bring the mummified body of her High Priest back to life. Three years later back in England a follower of the same Egyptian religion unleashes the mummy to exact grisly revenge on the despoilers of the sacred past.

www.imdb.com...



The Revenge Of Frankenstein

We watch Baron Frankenstein escaping from the guillotine and going to Germany. There, he names himself Dr. Stein and plans to restart his experiments by using parts of dead bodies.

www.imdb.com...



The Brides Of Dracula

Vampire hunter Van Helsing returns to Transylvania to destroy handsome bloodsucker Baron Meinster, who has designs on beautiful young schoolteacher Marianne.

The Haunted Palace

Charles Dexter Ward arrives at a small village to visit the house he inherited from his ancestor who died there 100 years ago.

www.imdb.com...