Holidays

[wifeofsmartass]

I'm just curious; what is your favorite holiday? For me, it's Halloween all the way.

[Fatal hilarity]

For me it's definitely (in order of "favoriteness"):
1. Christmas
2. Halloween
...It's possible that Tim Burton is to blame.

Christmastime doesn't feel like any other time of the year. There's a certain atmosphere and mood whenever I go to some event- it's as though people are finally getting around to enjoying themselves. And there's so much to do... festivals, open house, concerts, restaurants... the music, the movies, the specials, the food... I have a huge amount of Christmas memories and traditions. And there's nothing quite like Christmas music. I especially like getting together with my relatives and going a little nuts.

Halloween has a similar effect. There's just so much fun to be had in indulging your inner vampire and satisfying that old human tendency to be attracted to the dark and macabre. There's old horror movies on all month and your thoughts lean towards ghosts and werewolves. But best of all, for me anyway, is decorating our house Halloween afternoon and transforming it into a house of terror. And guess what? Most of the decorations are on the porch, and everything is very subtle. The only SFX are a tape of real wolf howls, dim lighting, and scented herbs to step on. And yet we're always the scariest house on the block. I get a real kick out of scaring the Casper the Friendly Ghosts in our neighborhood.

[wifeofsmartass]

I used to looove Christmas, and i still like parts of it; the music and lights in paticular. But somewhere along the passing of my father i sort of lost enthusiasm. Pardon being a bit personal; i'm not seeking pity, i'm just being honest. I adore my memories of the holiday, but now i just wanna celebrate the coming of winter. I still intend to give gifts to people, just like Christmas. That's fun! ;D But what i lack in spirit with Christmas, i make up for with my love for Halloween. Costumes are a blast. And more than that, Halloween has become sorta spiritual to me. Last Halloween my family and i went to an old 19th century cemetery a bit before dusk. We just walked around, reading the markers and simply acknowledging their important existances on this earth. I wish i could gain more knowledge of them than that.

[Fatal hilarity]

Well, Halloween was originally meant to scare off demons and things, and then you'd party. So why not?

Last year I had my most successful and frightening costume ever. I was kind of just a Victorian dead guy- sort of a cross between the top-hatted Hitchhiking Ghost and Dracula from Bram Stoker's Dracula. A big top hat, a long coat, black gloves, an ascot, black round sunglasses, and a large branch for a walking stick. Then of course I had my long hair and thin beard, coupled with white, corpse-like make-up.
What I basically did is stand on the corner of our front lawn and stood absolutely still. When somebody passed by, I'd turn my head and stare at them. I took cues from the Dracula in the silent film Nosferatu. This had a tremendous effect- some people thought I was an animatronic! Others thought I wore a wig. But people actually screamed, especially the teenage girls. If they approached, I'd raise my hand and reach for them, which really freaked them out.

This year I'm going to be a hunchback with this Chinese fiddle I've been teaching myself to play. That way I'll be able to move around and not have to murder my lower back. And the fiddle can sound like a dying animal, so that should be fun.

[wifeofsmartass]

How cool! Funny; a few months ago my brother and i were discussing how we'd like to round up all our friends and we'd all dress as ghosts from the Victorian era on Halloween. Man, i wish i was a fly on the wall watching you freak people out in your costume! The costume that i didn't think was scary, but others thought it was, was my home made tribal headhunter costume. I had the mask with a mane of grass, a Zulu-styled sheild, a spear, and an assortment of shells and beads that...

[wifeofsmartass]

... dangled from my waist, not to mention the shrunken heads. I sorta based my costume on the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland; i was inspired by the guy at the end trying to sell shrunken heads to everyone. I get a kick outta that! I was also inspired by the memory of my grandpa telling me how when he was in Brazil during WW2, he came across some people that tried to sell him shrunken heads. That was when i was 16, when i made that costume. When i was 15 i made a Nala one from the Lion King play, and at 17 i made a full-bodied Brer Fox costume. (sorry i post like this... my cell phone is odd)

[Larissa Gaines. (:]

im not ALLOWED to like Halloween, because my parents are over Christian. but i do like it. I enjoy Christmas the most, and the 4th of July 2nd(i like this holiday bcuz its the only holiday really close to my birthday). My 3rd fav holiday is Halloween, but i have to make homemade costumes. This year I am going to be Micheal Jackson XD im gonna chase people and yell "Give me your candy! Oh!!!!" with a Micheal Jackson voice I have perfected. I cant wait for that XD

[wifeofsmartass]

Ooooh, man, Biskits! That will be hilarious! Do it, dude! Awww, i sooo wish i'd be able to see you do that to trick-or-treaters. XD Now whenever i hear of Michael Jackson, i'll think of you! Lolz!

[wifeofsmartass]

If i have time i may whip up a Zero costume from Nightmare Before Christmas. Or i may simply where this long, lacey, elegant dress and a cat tail and ears. And paint my face like a cat. Sort of inspiration from the anthropomorphic cats Louis Wain would paint.

[Nidhiki]

mine....
1. Christmas
2. Easter...because i get Chocolate..i like chocolate
3. Halloween

[wifeofsmartass]

Easter was my fave holiday for a period once, actually. I like the soft pastel colors and the warm, springy atmosphere. And chocolate bunnies! Sooo good! I always go for the eyes first! xD And painting eggs was always fun. I'm 21, and i still dye eggs. They're just so pretty. I end up giving them to people, and eating them myself too, of course.

[Fatal hilarity]

Being a hunchback this year should be fun. I haven't gotten the pieces of the costume yet, and money's fairly tight, but I think it's feasible.

Have you ever noticed that Zero has a tiny glowing jack-o'-lantern for a nose? I'd never noticed that before until I saw it in 3-D in theaters. Before that I only saw it on VHS or on television. Once we get an HD TV and a Blu-ray player, I want to get the Blu-ray DVD.

Great news- you remember that tape of real wolf howls that I mentioned? Well, now we've got the technology to convert it to a digital format and we burned onto CD. We cleaned it up, removed hiss and hum, beefed up the EQ a bit and everything. So now our long-used secret weapon of terror sounds better than it has in years.
What we really want, though, is to get the original vinyl copy that our grandma has that the tape is originally derived from. Luckily it was very rarely played, so it should sound even cleaner and clearer!
(Yes, I'll admit it- I'm an audiophile.)

Decorating the house for Halloween has been a very creative process for us for many years. There's the placing of the props just so, and most of them are small and subtle, the dim lighting, the designing of the jack-o'-lanterns, and the gathering of dead leaves from nearby streets to spread around the lawn... it's all very intricate, and covers all the senses. (Even taste, if you count the candy.)
One thing that really tops it off is the black crepe paper streamers we use to create a huge spiderweb. If we do it just right, the wind will tear it slightly and give it a ragged look, and some parts will hang down over and brush against the trick-or-treaters. Yes, we even use texture as part of the effect.
Another is the green porch light that we have, which of course gives the porch an eerie green glow. We have it there all year, actually, but we never turn it on until that night.
That's another thing: we always start decorating a few hours before the fun begins, so the house's transformation can be a complete surprise. We also get that effect with the spiderwebs, too.

A few words of advice: Only buy your pumpkins a couple of days before Halloween, and only carve it the same day as Halloween. That way, it'll be fresh and new and never rotted before the fun and festivities begin.
And if you want to be scary, for love of God, don't use cute stuff. If you want to just give little kids candy, that's fine. But cute will never be scary, and usually it's kind of a dumbing down of it all, anyway.
Loud, in-your-face, knee-jerk response stuff is usually cheap and kills that wonderful chill down your spine. If you're just going to jump out and scream, you just kick in a instinctive reaction instead of truly causing fear and nervousness.

That's why we've always been the spookiest house on the block. A low-key, spooky atmosphere is the real secret to our success.

EDIT: Oh, yeah?? What about Jesus??
I like the movie Here Comes Peter Cottontail the best, actually, as well as the candy.

[wifeofsmartass]

Yeah, Zero's glowing nose is cool. I actually figured out a way to put a blinking pumpkin nose in the mask, but i can't find where i put the stuff. It figures. Whoa, too bad i wouldn't be able to hear those wolf sounds or see your decorations, which sound really cool! We want to maybe have a party in our backyard. We don't really get trick-or-treaters anymore. Last year no kids at all, and prior to that, one family. It sucks. Oh well, more candy for us. Lol. And Easter! =D I pretty much celebrate the Pagan aspect of a renewed earth and springtime, and i also celebrate chocolate! ;D lolz

[Fatal hilarity]

Some more good news- I've gotten all that I want for my hunchback costume. All I really have to do now is make the hump out paper maché so it can look solid and give the impression that it's real and has an actual spine.

[wifeofsmartass]

That sounds so cool!! I'm glad u got all the materials you need. That'll be a killer costume. Me, i think i'm just gonna get out my lioness ears and tail, paint my face, and where my African fabric stuff.