You guys, Halloween is pretty much my Christmas. As such I'd like to think of this week as sort of a vacation week, a holy (or rather, hallowed) week of observation -- by that I mean, I pretty much just want to phone it in. And so, here are the five best things about Halloween. In pictures and video.Oh, let's also not forget the thing that makes Halloween that absolute greatest: the season. The leaves change color, the air is crisp, the sky is gloomy but the kind of gloomy that is welcome after 187 consecutive days of glaring sunlight, there's the apple orchards, the pumpkin patches, sweater weather, Fall Beer Fest ... GAH Halloween is just the BEST.
PS, some local trivia: Harry Houdini died in Detroit on Halloween day, 1926.
#1 The Costumes
I'm a fan of the sexy/slutty this-or-that costumes and have been known in the past to don one or two myself (Leeloo from the Fifth Element was probably my favorite, though I did make a damn fine Jessica Rabbit). But some people ... MAN. They just get it. Like this guy:
And her:
(That's Heidi Klum, btw.)
#2 The Parties
There's plenty of parties leading up to the actual day of Halloween, everything from zombie walks to musicals to bands playing other bands to opulent Opera House balls and "one of the greatest Halloween parties in the world." Granted, Theatre Bizarre has already passed. But you can live it vicariously through YouTube videos, including this one of the wonderful one-woman circus show that is Miss Exotic World 2010, Roxi DLite:
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| Skull by Niagara. |
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#3 The Pumpkins
It seems like this year high pumpkin art went "boo"ber-viral. (Was that pun extra lame? PHONING IT IN.)
But if that weren't enough, our very own local boy Tom Nardone of Detroit Mower Gang was featured on Conan O'Brien for his XTREME carving skills.
#4 The Movies (and other media)
There are the classic classics: Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and all the many monster movies and creature features of the 1930s through the 1960s featuring the likes of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Then there are the modern classics: Halloween, The Exorcist, Nightmare on Elm Street. (Which will also help you lose weight! Really!) And the more whimsical favorites, like Nightmare Before Christmas and Beetlejuice. Sleepy Hallow. Sweeney Todd. Okay, really anything Tim Burton. And all of the vampires, werewolves, witches, warlocks, zombies, aliens, chainsaw murderers and Jigsaw wannabes that the human mind in all of its infinite horrors has conceived.
Plus there are also the many TV shows and specials that air around Halloween, from the infamous "Treehouse of Horrors" on the Simpsons (this year marked the 23rd installment of this annual Halloween special, and possibly the last one ever as this *might* be the final season of the Simpsons) to old favorites like "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."
And let's not forget new favorites like the Walking Dead. Here is a handy infographic from Boing Boing about what every Walking Dead episode is like:
Most importantly, every Halloween episode of Roseanne available in syndication.
Over at Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, today marks the release of several new Halloween-themed comics, including GHOSTS #1, a new spookshow anthology from some of the biggest names in the industry.
#5 The Beer
Obviously. And Michigan has some of the best pumpkin beers on the market, so says this and this and this. As we damn well should, what with being the home of Jolly Pumpkin and all.
