My Favorite Nightmares

Been having so many nightmares lately. It reminds me of when I was a kid, back when the nightmares were due to my indulging in the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series by Alvin Schwartz, illustrated by the amazing Stephen Gammell. I love looking at Stephen Gammell's work this time of year anyway, so why not revisit the old nightmares? At least they were more interesting back then...

    I usually share the classics, from the Scary Stories series, but here are a few rare illustrations from other books featuring Gammell's work. I found them on Pinterest (here's my #HaunterLife for more goodies) which led me to a great blog called Razorwire Pictures, featuring even more rare illustrations. It also included a few other Halloween-themed/spooky throwback books from childhood - not illustrated by Gammell, but are still part of a great trip down memory lane!

Oh, and then there's these... I want them. 

Pinterest Link

Sabrina the Teenage Witch - Halloween Episodes

     To this day, I'm not a morning person - I'm just a night owl, can't help it. I've never fit in with my family this way, so growing up, every morning was difficult dealing with me. I was ALWAYS late, and if not late, I was throwing a fit for everyone rushing me out of the house before I wanted to go. Fridays however, were different. Most mornings, I'd roll over and remain cozy in bed until it was absolutely necessary to get up (in other words, five minutes before class started). But when I did this on Fridays, my mom would say, "hey don't you want to get up? It's Friday, Sabrina the Teenage Witch will be on tonight." Sure enough, it'd do the trick, and all day I'd look forward to seeing Salem talk on TV (always secretly wishing my black cat, Bagheera, would talk and make jokes like he did).

Luckily I found a few episodes on YouTube, so here are the Halloween episodes, Happy Haunting 90's kids! 

Season 1- A Halloween Story (Click Below)

Season 3 - (Click Below)

Season 4 - (Click Below)

Season 5 - (Click Below)

Season 6 - (Click Below)

Couldn't find the Season 2 Halloween Episode, but figured I'd share "The Crucible" episode, one of my favorites. 

(Click Below)

Halloween Movie Countdown: Hocus Pocus

     I know it's completely ridiculous that I am just now throwing out a mini Halloween Movie Countdown for this season, but I figured, "why not post about at least two or three?" Anyway I thought I'd first bring up my all-time favorite this time since it's the film's 20th anniversary: Hocus Pocus.

     Need I say anything more? Hocus Pocus is without a doubt my ultimate, nostalgic, and festive Halloween go-to movie. This film is definitely one for my generation, but I think most can agree that it's silliness still contains enough charm, sense of adventure, and overall "spookery" that will appeal to all.

    Hocus Pocus is a classic Disney holiday film. Charm, humor, sometimes far-fetched or complicated plot-lines (particularly when dealing with the supernatural), and let's not forget the festive and fun set dressing. All of these factors make for a great and silly Halloween adventure directed by the talented Kenny Ortega and starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker.

    One of my other favorite actors in the film is Doug Jones who plays Billy Butcherson. I love his performance and look so much that I even dressed up as him for Halloween in 2009. Not only have I always loved Billy's character design, but Doug Jones' performance really stood out to me as a young kid as I was afraid of all things scary... especially decapitation. The whole concept freaked me out more than anything, but when Billy lost his head, it was funny. And not the kind of cheesy funny we always see in family films trying to mix magic or the supernatural with humor. Doug Jones had some real talent. I guess you could say it was one of the first times I noticed true comedy (brought on by the great performance) being mixed with horror and spookiness- dark comedy- from then on, I was inspired.

    Another first brought on by Hocus Pocus was finding out about the Salem witch trials. Of course, the film depicts the tragedy as just kind of a... bummer, as most Disney films tend to do when it comes to tragedy. I quickly found out, of course, that the trials were a much bigger deal and a huge part of American history. To this day, it is still, out of the many historical events that interest me, the one that peaks my interest the most. I have read several books on the subject and continue to research more information, mostly because it inspires a lot of my writing, but also I guess you could say I'm just naturally curious about it, probably all thanks to Hocus Pocus.

    Thackery Binx was also a character I truly loved in the film, mostly because I had a black cat, when I was little. We called her Bagura, from The Jungle Book. She was chubby black cat with a knack for hunting anything and everything. She was probably also the reason I loved (and still do) Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I guess I just wished the my own black cat would speak like those in my favorite spooky movies and shows.

    Hocus Pocus is truly a Halloween classic, a must-watch every year. Obviously, I have a major nostalgic attachment to it, but regardless, anyone can see that the film is filled with Halloween spirit, great atmosphere, and a story filled with adventure, humor, and Halloween fun!

I Put a Spell On You!

The Witch of Halloween

I took a walk in my old neighborhood recently, the one I grew up in. Now that I live closer to it, it's my new favorite place to take a walk and clear my head. One of the things I liked most about being there was that I realized I had many memories from past Halloweens. I mean, if you think about it, Halloween is the one night of the year when you really get to explore the neighborhood and see the most of it while trick 'r treating. On my walk I past a little house with a huge garden in the front yard with a rot iron gate surrounding it- this was one of those houses I had gone to on one of the Halloweens I had had there.

This particular Halloween, I was pretty little, probably about eight years old and I remember walking up to this house I had never been to before. It was a cute little house like the others, but the garden looked so wild and neat, especially because whoever lived here had put some beautiful green lights out, and plenty of candle light too. As I approached the house, an older woman came to greet me with a bowl of candy. She smiled at me and told me my costume was lovely. Something about this lady was very intriguing to me. I believe she was dressed up as a witch, which I admired as well, but I think I was just really inspired to see a grown-up have such an appreciation for Halloween.

I began to wonder if she really was a witch just because she was obviously really into this. And when I thought she could have been a witch I remember thinking that that was really cool and neat and interesting and not bad like what I had always read in fairy tales. This woman was nice and she had the whole Halloween thing down. She was having a little party with her friends in this garden where they were all eating and drinking and she invited my friends and I to come grab some snacks from their big table of goodies. The whole garden was so atmospheric and beautiful and of course the food was amazing too... I think this was my first experience that made me really fall in love with Halloween, because after all we can celebrate it even as grown-ups.