Halloween Traditions

Here's a list of the movies and television episodes I'll be watching this October in preparation for Halloween, some of which I watch every year. Obviously my schedule is built more on nostalgia than trying to scare myself shitless...

Movies

The Wolfman (1941)

Cat People (1942)

I Walked With a Zombie (1943)

The Leopard Man (1943)

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)

Halloween (1978)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Hocus Pocus (1993)

Frankenweenie (2012)

I was obsessed with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and The Nightmare Before Christmas when I was a kid. Unfortunately I haven't watched them enough in my later years. Disney's TLoSH is beautifully animated and perfectly told. Of course the ending frightened me when I was younger. Still loved it though. And with Bing Crosby narrating/singing...what's not to like?

And when I was younger I knew all the words to the songs from TNBC. Jack Skeleton was something of a hero of mine growing up; he was cool as hell.

The Lewton/RKO pictures are a must. Give me the classics, baby! I haven't seen I Walked With a Zombie or The Leopard Man yet. Looking forward to them.

And even though I detest slasher films, I am curious to see John Carpenter's Halloween. Why not watch THE slasher film? Oh, and maybe I should re-watch Club Dread too...speaking of slashers.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Frankenweenie in the theater. It was time for Tim Burton to get back to what he's good at, so here's hoping it doesn't disappoint.

Hocus Pocus and Ernest Scared Stupid were the two live-action Halloween movies that I watched a lot as a kid. Obviously Ernest is too ridiculous (and terrifying) to re-watch every single year. Maybe though. Hocus Pocus is actually a decent movie, and a little bit fun to pick on.

In past years I've watched The Exorcist, The Omen, The Shining, and Peeping Tom. Those are all obvious classics and probably should be watched every year, so maybe there's a chance for them in 2012. I also watched Trick 'r' Treat (2007) last year and I'd recommend it, as it's a fun Halloween flick.

Of course, I'll look to add to more movies to this list. There's always room from some unexpected frights....MUHAHAHA!

Television shows

The Simpsons - Treehouse of Horror episodes I-VIII

Boy Meets World - And Then There Was Shawn (season 5), The Witches of Pennbrook (season 5)

The Twilight Zone - The Hitchhiker (season 1), The Eye of the Beholder (season 2), Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? (season 2), The Dummy (season 3), Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (season 5), Living Doll (season 5), An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (season 5),

Doug - Doug On His Own (season 2), Doug's Nightmare on Jumbo Street (season 3), Doug's Halloween Adventure (season 4)

Hey Arnold! -  Haunted Train (season 1), Arnold's Halloween (season 2), Four-Eyed Jack (season 2), Headless Cabbie (season 4), Ghost Bride (season 5)

Every year for the past few years Jeff and I have watched all of the Treehouse of Horror episodes. Of course, being the Simpsons snobs that we are, we only watch episodes I-VIII. I think episode IX has Jerry Springer in it...so there's a reason to stop watching right there.

But if my memory serves me well, Treehouse of Horrors X-XII are decent enough. Again, I could talk Simpsons all day, so I'll try and keep this short. My favorite Treehouse of Horror segments are: Clown Without Pity, Dial 'Z' For Zombies, The Devil and Homer Simpson, Terror at 51/2 Feet, Bart Simpson's Dracula, The Shinning, Time and Punishment, Homega Man, and Fly vs. Fly. Brilliant and hilarious. Highly recommended viewing.

ABC's TGIF line-up ruled, and Boy Meets World was one of my favorite shows back in the day. Two of the best episodes in the entire series happen to be ones associated with horror and Halloween. I watch the two episodes listed above every year and will continue to do so. More hilarity, not necessarily scares...though "And Then There Was Shawn" is slighty creepy, I've gotta admit. Disclaimer: I am a coward.

When I think of this time of year, The Twilight Zone instantly comes to mind. Essential stuff and I look forward to re-watching a lot of those episodes listed above. If you haven't seen them, check them out through NWI and youtube. And I think Sy-fy (or however the hell they're spelling it these days) does a marathon every October.

There's something about animated kid's shows that really capture the spirit of Halloween so well. Love Doug and Hey Arnold! and all of those episodes are great to watch this time of year.

Anyway, this is just to get the ball rolling. What are some of your Halloween movie and TV traditions? I imagine mine are the least terrifying. Also figured I'd consider any suggestions from the CR5FC gang, but I can't guarantee that I will garner enough courage to watch any of them, haha.