Ghost Upon the Floor

It's finally here! All the jack o' lanterns are carved, the decorations up, John Carpenter's "Halloween" playing... And outside it's dreary, rainy, windy and wonderful. I am, however, trying to figure out how to put Spirit Halloween Vampire teeth on that come with no instructions. Perhaps that will be a future blog post... but no negativity today!

Wishing you and yours a wonderfully wicked and spooky All Hallow's Eve!

At Margaret Hamilton.

I was thinking the other day about why we love Halloween, and how that love began in childhood and strengthens for many of us through the years. And I thought of how perfectly these two pieces, Edgar Allan Poe's poem "Alone" and Tim Burton's 1982 short animated film "Vincent," illustrate that childhood love, that bent, for the dark.




Alone
By Edgar Allan Poe

From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life- was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.

Thank goodness (or, wickedness?) that Michael Dougherty's "Trick R Treat" has finally been released to the masses. It is now cliche to say so, but in a horror film market so saturated with the latest Saw installment and remake, I do not understand why a film of such quality, like "Trick R Treat," has to wait two years to receive a direct-to-video release. Having said that, I will now descend my soapbox to tell you what I think of this film.

See it. This is the kind of Halloween movie we have been waiting for: a movie actually about Halloween. I like to think that this is what John Carpenter might have had in mind when he decided to make Halloween III: The Season of the Witch and have the Halloween series be about movies centered around October 31. In a way, this film makes films like the original (real) "Halloween" and "Creepshow" proud. "Trick R Treat's" narrative is over the top. You are bombarded by creepy scenarios, odd characters, murder and other things that go bump in the night like a bursting bowl of Halloween candy. A child murdering principle, a young girl named Laurie who does not seem to follow the rest of her peers, children telling ghost stories to each other and an old man being terrorized by a trick or treater. The interweaving stories do so smoothly, and the effect is an excellent over-the-top horror film. Yes, this is an instant seasonal classic. Every character is memorable, and the acting talent here-- Anna Paquin, Brian Cox-- is stellar. And I do believe we have a horror character here who belongs up alongside Michael, Jason, Chucky and Freedy in Sam.

See it.

Thank God that the Town Supervisor in Dunkard, Pennsylvania knows what is best for his town's residents. Local town officials have officially banned the practice of trick or treating in their town this October, and will host a 4 hour long Halloween party at a fire hall, instead.

Assistant Fire Chief David Pritchard, surprised at all the negative feedback from his and fellow officials' tyrannical actions, listed a series of recent break ins as a safety concern that factored into the Town's decision. Because, apparently, when the little ones go out trick or treating, they force their way into your house after you've given them candy and commit robberies. Pritchard is currently running unopposed for election this year-- let's hope that changes, the next time around.

From Dunkard local media coverage:
"Supervisors in Dunkard Township say they are taking the steps for safety reasons.

The party will be held at the Bobtown-Dunkard Volunteer Fire Station, but not everyone is pleased with the idea.

"When they try to take away trick-or-treating for our children, we have to step up and fight back," Parent Michael Skumlien told KDKA-TV.

"I think they're taking all the fun from our kids. This is a small town and our children need something," Freda Menear, a Bobtown grandparent, said.

Hannah, a student at Bobtown Elementary School, said all the kids she knew have been talking about it and are disappointed by the supervisors' decision."