Happy Halloween....

[Fazor]

...weekend. Just a quick poll to see how many of you have actually dressed up as the solar system or sputnik or anything along those lines. As a kid, as an adult, whatever.

Also wonder what the ratio of skywalkers to kirks or piccards (sp? sorry don't watch) is. Anyway.... have a fun and safe halloweekend.

[Swift]

Happy Hallloween, though I don't particularly like Halloween. I've gone to Halloween parties twice as an adult, one time as Castro (fatigues and a big cigar) and one time as a mad scientist (not much of a leap).

[Tobin Dax]

I went dancing tonight, and wore a Scotty costume (Movie/TNG-look) until 1) I realized a polar fleece vest is too warm to dance in, and 2) the modifications to the vest started falling off. A friend is having a party tomorrow night, so I'll have to fix it before then.

[Gillianren]

. . . piccards . . . .

"Picards."

I'm having people over Tuesday, though I still haven't settled what I'm dressing as. I'll probably be lazy and wear my ren faire gear, but I've got a few movies that should show up Tuesday from Netflix. We're having hamburgers and fries (red meat and root vegetables are traditional for Samhain), cider, and a couple of desserts.

[mickal555]

We don't really have it here

[parallaxicality]

"Picards."

True, though Jean-Luc Picard is supposed to be descended from the Piccard family of explorers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piccard

[Big Brother Dunk]

I haven't dressed up for Hallowe'en for years. My last costume was either as a "High Plains Drifter" type cowboy, or a werewolf.

For those planning to watch movies, what titles are on the agenda for Hallowe'en?

[GDwarf]

I'm dressing up as a Pirate, which, although not as good as my costume last year (Dread pirate Roberts), should still be plenty of fun.

[Gillianren]

A choice of Misery, The Haunting, or the MST3K episode A Touch of Satan. We also own Sleepy Hollow, so that's always an option.

[Ronald Brak]

Halloween? Ah! That explains why there was a cardboard spider on the chocolate display at the supermarket. And here I was thinking that arthropods were finally getting their chance to be company mascots.

I think we need to increase the number of arthopod mascots in this country. Japan is beating us. There is an arthopod mascot gap. This is tragic in a country that is quite literally crawling with arthropods.

[Tobin Dax]

We also own Sleepy Hollow, so that's always an option.
The Johnny Depp one or the Jeff Goldblum one?

[BigDon]

We don't really have it here

So what do you folks do when you want to dress up in bizarre costums and give away candy to children? After giving them a good fright of course.

Wow, I guess out of context such activity would warrent police investigation.

[Ronald Brak]

So what do you folks do when you want to dress up in bizarre costums and give away candy to children? After giving them a good fright of course.

Wow, I guess out of context such activity would warrent police investigation.

Actually it sounds like what the police do here.

[Moose]

I haven't dressed up for Hallowe'en for years. My last costume was either as a "High Plains Drifter" type cowboy, or a werewolf.


Heh, I could go as a werewolf merely by neglecting to shave. :D

Not dressing up this year, I'm not even sure if the kids will be passing in this area or not. New house, new neighborhood, etc. Oh well, the chocolate won't go to waste. ;)

[mugaliens]

I'm dressing up as a Pirate, which, although not as good as my costume last year (Dread pirate Roberts), should still be plenty of fun.

Well, hell. I decided to go as a lady pirate, complete with falsies, heels (4"), and the acoutrements. A friend of mine did the makeup, I did my own nails, a wig, and I was off. No one knew it was me until I revealed myself towards the end. Actually won the "most definitive costume" because no one expected such a drastic change.

Ok, heels/bra/falsies/etc. gone and I'm back to who I really am. It was fun, though...

[Tobin Dax]

No one knew it was me until I revealed myself towards the end.
:eh:

[Gillianren]

The Johnny Depp one or the Jeff Goldblum one?

Johnny Depp. I didn't realize there was a Jeff Goldblum one; I'll have to keep an eye out fort it.

[The Supreme Canuck]

Halloween? Well, I'll be dressed like a university student writing an essay. Spooky, no?

[Tobin Dax]

Johnny Depp. I didn't realize there was a Jeff Goldblum one; I'll have to keep an eye out fort it.

It came out around 1980, give or take, IIRC. I managed to find a used copy on eBay (I think) a few years ago that I gave to my mother. She loves it. Watching it on TV was practically an annual tradition in our house in the early '80's.

I should really watch Burton's version again, though. It's been a while.

[parallaxicality]

Shame. I was gonna go all out this year, with green lights and scary noises to draw in the kiddies. But now I find out that I can't, since I have to overnight at my aunt's house before departing for the States the next day. Still, I'm having a blast looking up ghost stories on the web.

[Parrothead]

Last time I got dressed up was as a vampire. Fangs, blood capsules, sprayed my hair black, wore black tie and tails.

The vcr has been busy the past week or so, taping a bunch of movies, I either haven't seen or been ages since seeing, while watching some others. Among them: An American Werewolf in London, Rabid, Videodrome, The Changeling, The Others, Wolfen, Burnt Offerings, Ginger Snaps and Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed. I picked up some Hobgoblin Dark Ale today and will sample it, while catching an airing Black Christmas (been ages since I've seen that flick, too), tomorrow night.

[Fazor]

I was kinda dissapointed this year. Usually the history channel and such has all sorts of those "ghost documentaries" and, while i don't believe or disbelieve that stuff, it's soo much fun to watch. But this year i haven't seen any. There was a vampire documentary on last night, which was good up until it got to the part about a group of teenage kids that were into that culture and ended up going on a killing spree and drinking blood...then it just got me back to being mad at how stupid people can be. i guess it's just becuase i don't have cable anymore so i don't get all the good channels that have those shows, but it's dissapointing. Oh well. rented "moster house" and being an ex CG artist/animator, i always love those flicks even if the movie stinks. :)

[Maksutov]

Heh, I could go as a werewolf merely by neglecting to shave. :D

Not dressing up this year, I'm not even sure if the kids will be passing in this area or not. New house, new neighborhood, etc. Oh well, the chocolate won't go to waste. ;)It might go to waist, however. http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/566/iconwink6tn.gif

[Maksutov]

I was kinda dissapointed this year. Usually the history channel and such has all sorts of those "ghost documentaries" and, while i don't believe or disbelieve that stuff, it's soo much fun to watch.... :)Such fare is now part of their year-round programming. http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/4627/eusarolleyes7ou.gif

[Glutomoto]

I haven't always lived in edwardsville, Illinois. and the reason I started by saying that is because it is the only town I have lived in, that has more than one official night for trick or treat, they do it three nights. The night before, the night of, and the night after. The night of is usually the slowest because of the halloween parade. I have even lived in other towns very near here that only have one night of trick or treat, and every other town in five different states that I have lived in only had one night of trick or treat. So is edwardsville just a very heathen town or are there other places where they trick or treat more than one night ?

So naturally the first year I lived here I had no idea, and when the little heathens showed up the night before halloween all in costume and trick or treat ready, I was totally unprepared. So I grabed a couple of potatos some onions and carrots and gave those out as my treats, or i guess you could say my tricks. on halloween I gave out candy and the night after i again gave out vegetables. Well that is so much fun that now ten years on i am still doing it that way. My wife who is from edwardsville thinks it is funny also, except she refuses to give them anything but candy. Last year four of the neighbor kids who all got potatos from me got together and had a party where the all had baked potatos for a snack, the pictures look great on my fridge. You thought I was going to say the all got together and threw potatos at me, didn't you. And I must admit that I am still very suprised that I have yet to get one of those potatos back through my front window. I guess the great pumpkin likes me.

crazy huh ?

:)

[Pip]

I'm being Statler of Statler and Waldorf (of the Muppets). A friend and I were once informed that we were like "those two old guys in the balcony from the muppets," due to our wit and sarcasm, so we decided that sounded like a good idea for Halloween costumes.

[Tobin Dax]

I haven't always lived in edwardsville, Illinois. and the reason I started by saying that is because it is the only town I have lived in, that has more than one official night for trick or treat, they do it three nights. The night before, the night of, and the night after. The night of is usually the slowest because of the halloween parade. I have even lived in other towns very near here that only have one night of trick or treat, and every other town in five different states that I have lived in only had one night of trick or treat. So is edwardsville just a very heathen town or are there other places where they trick or treat more than one night ?

So naturally the first year I lived here I had no idea, and when the little heathens showed up the night before halloween all in costume and trick or treat ready, I was totally unprepared. So I grabed a couple of potatos some onions and carrots and gave those out as my treats, or i guess you could say my tricks. on halloween I gave out candy and the night after i again gave out vegetables. Well that is so much fun that now ten years on i am still doing it that way. My wife who is from edwardsville thinks it is funny also, except she refuses to give them anything but candy. Last year four of the neighbor kids who all got potatos from me got together and had a party where the all had baked potatos for a snack, the pictures look great on my fridge. You thought I was going to say the all got together and threw potatos at me, didn't you. And I must admit that I am still very suprised that I have yet to get one of those potatos back through my front window. I guess the great pumpkin likes me.

crazy huh ?

:)

That's great. :)

[Lianachan]

We don't really have it here

The Halloween we used to have in Scotland, even as recently as when I was a kid (I'm 34) is gradually being replaced by the American version (due, I expect, to cultural saturation). Most kids even talk about going trick or treating, not guising.

:sad:

[BigDon]

snip guising.

Sounds like something that happens when you drink too much beer.

[Lianachan]

Sounds like something that happens when you drink too much beer.

No, that's talking nonsense then falling over.

[Maksutov]

Originally Posted by Lianachan http://www.bautforum.com/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.bautforum.com/showthread.php?p=857132#post857132)
snip guising.
Sounds like something that happens when you drink too much beer.That seems to be short for the decision-making process:

Dis guise or dat guise? http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/566/iconwink6tn.gif

[BigDon]

Done that too!

[Frantic Freddie]

I was in high school & home alone to hand out candy.We had a copy of the old Disney Haunted House sound effects LP & a massive stereo to play it on,this being El Paso it was warm enough to leave the windows open so you could hear it halfway down the block.I'd borrowed my brother's Fender amp & ran a mic into it & set it in the window behind the curtains to make weird noises.I can see the kids comin' to the door but they can't see me.
So this little boy,maybe 5-6 years old,walks up with his big sister & as they get in front of the window,I let out with a horrible growl/moan/monster sound & he practically levitates sideways about 3 feet.
Then the doorbell rings,I sloooowly open the door,lean over the kid in my black cape,white face,fake fangs & fake blood dripping from my mouth & say "Yeeeesss????

He screams,turns & runs right thru the bushes,across the yard & down the street,screaming in terror.I apologized to his sister & gave her some extra candy for him before she ran off to catch him.

[Blob]

November 1 is the date of an ancient pagan fire festival of Samhain (Sah-ween). The date marked the beginning of winter.
We Celts believed that at the time of Samhain, more so than any other time of the year, the ghosts of the dead were able to mingle with the living, because at Samhain the souls of those who had died during the year travelled into the other world. People gathered to sacrifice animals, fruits, and vegetables. They also lit bonfires in honour of the dead, to aid them on their journey.

Compulsory IMAGE (http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/musicscotland/celticroots/images/wickerman/wickerman_large.jpg)

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2006/10/30/2174934-sun.html

[BigDon]

I had a make up job one year the was TOO scarey.

I looked up on-line how to do simple but effective special effects and went with the blue powder from the cheeks up, then took karo syrup, a brush and blue kleenex (tissue paper) then built up layers of syrup and kleenex until my mouth was gone. Let dry and blend in with more powder. Some dark make-up around the eyes and a hooded cowl and you are ready to terrify some young'uns. Only it was too scarey. Its no fun when you make them cry.

[jrkeller]

Last year my son went as Darth Vader.

When I was ten, I went as a pack of cigarettes. If I went to school these days I'd probably get banned.

[Lianachan]

When I was ten, I went as a pack of cigarettes. If I went to school these days I'd probably get banned.

Or smoked.

:razz:

[Glutomoto]

I kinda had a question in my earlier post.

Has anyone else heard of having more than one night of trick or treats, like here in edwardsville ??

I still think it is strange.

:)

[Maksutov]

I kinda had a question in my earlier post.

Has anyone else heard of having more than one night of trick or treats, like here in edwardsville ??

I still think it is strange.

:)In some really fundamentalist sections of the South, if Hallowe'en is on Sunday they celebrate it on another night, if at all.

My first Hallowe'en in the South I was getting ready for a party my girlfriend was putting on. My costume was the Phantom of the Opera, Lon Chaney version, without the mask. Meanwhile I was greeting trick-or-treaters at the house. When I was completely in makeup and costume, the doorbell rang and here was this tiny little girl in a witch's costume with her father right behind her. Her hat had to have been as tall as she was.

Since no one knows what Chaney sounded like in that silent film, I affected, as I had done with the others, my best, basso profundo, gutteral Bela Lugosi and said

Gooot eeevenink! Do you vant trrricks orrr trreee-its?She immediately backed up and was caught by her laughing father as she went off the top porch step, then hid behind him. I gave her dad a handful and a half of candy to give to her later.

Then on to the party where I continued the Lugosi accent such that no one knew who I was (there was some muttering about someone wandering in off the street) until I took the makeup off.

3927

[Donnie B.]

It seems that my neighborhood has all grown up. I've been getting fewer and fewer trick-or-treaters every year.

Some years back I was getting tons of them -- stopped counting at fifty or so. Last year it was down to six.

Last night I had one group of two.

Anybody want some candy? :doh:

[Moose]

Some years back I was getting tons of them -- stopped counting at fifty or so. Last year it was down to six.

Last night I had one group of two.

Anybody want some candy? :doh:

I hear you, Donnie. When I was a kid, my folks used to get 120+ every single year. That number shrank every year. This year, they're down to only 26.

My subdivision, only 6 stopped by. And I recognized all of the neighborhood boys. The two girls didn't pass this year.

[Fazor]

Yeah. I live in a poor area of a poor town (go me!). We had 3 groups, 2 groups of 2 and one toddler that was being escorted by her mother. Of the 5 total kids, only the toddler even had a costume. But I planned ahead and got only candy that *I* like, so it's all almost gone already anyway.

...oh, and woohoo! my first thread to go more than one page. ...methinks... unless that other one did too... hmm... now I don't know... *wanders off*

[Trebuchet]

Only five for us last night as well. That's a new low, although it's been declining for several years. Last year was eight or nine. No wonder I'm getting fat!

We used to have dozens, to the extent of using up two big bags of stuff from Costco. One year some church took it upon itself to bring in disadantaged kids from elsewhere in town by bus. While I can have some sympathy, it was really unfair of them to unload more than 50 kids on an unsuspecting neighborhood.

We also used to get a lot of older kids, up to 15 or so, late in the evening. The boys usually didn't even bother with costumes. That was annoying.

[Gillianren]

November 1 is the date of an ancient pagan fire festival of Samhain (Sah-ween). The date marked the beginning of winter.
We Celts believed that at the time of Samhain, more so than any other time of the year, the ghosts of the dead were able to mingle with the living, because at Samhain the souls of those who had died during the year travelled into the other world. People gathered to sacrifice animals, fruits, and vegetables. They also lit bonfires in honour of the dead, to aid them on their journey.

Compulsory IMAGE (http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/musicscotland/celticroots/images/wickerman/wickerman_large.jpg)

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2006/10/30/2174934-sun.html

Um, "Sah-wen," actually. There's a faint accent on the first syllable, not a strong one. (And I should know--I took Gaelic in college in addition to actually having a Samhain celebration last night.)

[Blob]

Hum,
Tnx, for the info.

[Lianachan]

Um, "Sah-wen," actually. There's a faint accent on the first syllable, not a strong one. (And I should know--I took Gaelic in college in addition to actually having a Samhain celebration last night.)

Shouldn't it be "Sah-ven" ? As a Scots Gaelic type, that's how I'd say it.

*edited afterthought - I suppose it would depend on whether it was Scots or Irish Gaelic, and which dialect within that divide, and where/when the speaker learned Gaelic!

[Jim]

I think one reason for the decline in trick-or-treaters is the hazards to the children... razor blades in apples, strychnine in candy, pedophiles on the streets. As a result, many parents won't let their kids t-o-t, and many organizations are having t-o-t parties... civic groups, shopping malls, country clubs, even churches.

[eugenek]

My wife was a ketchup bottle and I was a mustard bottle. Complete with the squirt nozzles for hats.

I think the best custom was a girl dressed as a chinese food take out box. I kind of felt sorry for her because she only made a very small hole for her hand so it was hard for her to receive the shovels full of candy my wife was dishing out.

We had about two dozen kids show up at the door. I was glad to see that we didn't have a 12 year old girl show up dressed in a Fench Maid outfit this year.

[Trebuchet]

I think one reason for the decline in trick-or-treaters is the hazards to the children... razor blades in apples, strychnine in candy, pedophiles on the streets. As a result, many parents won't let their kids t-o-t, and many organizations are having t-o-t parties... civic groups, shopping malls, country clubs, even churches.

Those hazzards may be limiting t-or-t but they are VASTLY overstated. And they haven't received near as much hysterical publicity the last few years, either. Last I heard, every documented case of poisoned candy has been traced to the victim's own family.

[Gillianren]

Shouldn't it be "Sah-ven" ? As a Scots Gaelic type, that's how I'd say it.

*edited afterthought - I suppose it would depend on whether it was Scots or Irish Gaelic, and which dialect within that divide, and where/when the speaker learned Gaelic!

Irish. I keep forgetting I need to specify. We connect the traditions with the Irish, whether correctly or not I can't say. (The hazards with having most of the documentation of your religion destroyed a thousand years and more ago.)

[Pleiades]

About 70+ kids last night mostly little ones, not to bad. Last year I was at a conference in DC during Halloween, and was severely chastised by the neighborhood kids for being gone, apparently I give out the "good stuff", didn't know that.

[Jim]

Those hazzards may be limiting t-or-t but they are VASTLY overstated. And they haven't received near as much hysterical publicity the last few years, either. Last I heard, every documented case of poisoned candy has been traced to the victim's own family.

True on both counts, but the damage has been done. So many organizations started holding t-o-t parties that the door-to-door tradition has fallen off.

(The poisoning case that really started it all was just down the road in Pasadena. A father laced his kids' pixie stix with strychnine to collect their life insurance; wonderful example of parental devotion.)

[teddyv]

This year in Vancouver some idiot gave out Tylenols (the really sweet ones that look and taste like candy).