The X-Entertainment Blog!

10/30/2005: Happy Halloween, 2005!

Happy Halloween, FREAKS. Hope everyone has a good one. If you've got any interesting stories, post 'em in the comments. I've only got a second, because we've gotta fill about three dozen Ziploc bags with all the candy leftover from articles posted and articles never posted, but of course, there's a final entry on the Halloween Countdown, the Great Pumpkin-Related Something Or Another Sendoff Special! Yar yar yar.

I hope you've enjoyed this year's Halloween Countdown. I know I've skipped a bunch of entries here and there, but you seemed to live through it, I seemed to live through it, and I think we're all better people for it. Actually, I just counted — over thirty entries total, and that ain't so bad. Strangely enough, I think the yogurt one came out best. Wish I had time to do even more than that, but we live and we learn, yar yar yar, and all that said, I've practically got the tinsel down from the attic anyway. We'll save the next holidays for the next entry — everybody, GO! Go get some last spooky shit in. Go have fun. Thanks for being a part of this!

It's been a great Halloween season at X-E! If only Halloween could be everyday…

Terrific Matt, as always. This was my first Year with X-E's countdown, and its helped me keep my Halloween spirits up as well as keeping me feel younger than my 28 years. When my midterms came up, X-E kept me cool and happy. Thanks for your effort Matt.

I have been long time fan of the site, and I have got to say that this countdown has been one of the best!!!

I laughed, I cried, I loved it! I could've gone for a little more "Ghost with the Most", but I have a feeling that we haven't seen the last of him and his hilarious, zany antics. Oh Ghost - when will you ever learn?

Anyone else notice the lack of horror movies on broadcast TV (not including cable) the past few years? When I was young (I'm 26 now),I lived for the marathons of movies like Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Now it's the night before Halloween and there's nothing on. Time to throw on some Argento DVDs…..

I think I represent the majority when I raise my glass of iced tea to Matt and thank him for keeping the Halloween spirit alive. Thanks a million, we owe you a big one.

Click on my name if you enjoy seeing Cats forced into situations they hate, hilarity to ensue.

We had Beggar's Night tonight. 108 tricker or treaters came. The coolest costume was a little kid dressed as a Jawa. Even had a mask with the glowing eyes.

Have you guys ever do something when you were younger, now as an adult you avoid because you've done or seen it so many times that if you did it one more time you would go insane? I got to admit that holiday specials do this to me. I've seen them all so many times when I was younger (through tapes, watching it on tv, watching it at school, etc) that I now actively avoid them like the plague. Haven't watched one in years, but yet they are burned into my memory. I know their great, but after awhile I just grew tired of them. Maybe when I have a kid of my own I'll watch them again.

BTW: Did anyone see the cool but silly Batman tv and dvd player on Page 60 of Toys R US Big Toy Book? It comes with buttons shaped like bats and Batarang-shaped remote controls. Weird, but cool at the same time.

I watched Sleepaway Camp for the first time last night. I was expecting another 80's F13 ripoff, and instead was greeted with an ending that almost 24 hours laters has still left me quite disturbed.

Also, you should really rent Sleepaway Camp 2, and to a lesser degree, the third. They're completely different in style from the first, and completely awesome.

Sleepaway Camp is quite a classic. I love that movie and series. The two sequels are of a completely different tone, but are fun as well, as they are pretty much chock full of celebrity siblings.

Matt - you did an awesome job as usual. You might have had the "Halloween blahs" this year, but the countdown kept me excited throughout. Knowing your love for Christmas, I can't wait for December to roll around…

Hahaha I just read last year's monster cereals article twice with the strangest feeling of deja vu and I was so confused until I realized the link was wrong. It must have been hard to pick a top five favorite spooky articles…I'd include Tales from the Dark Side but otherwise it's a great list…The TCM review is creeping me out all over again just to reread it. X-E holidays are wacky and wonderful, but also seem like a bitch to put together

Thanks for all the laughs, mang.
(ps, did you watch Rome? OMG I thought Atia was the cold blooded one in that family, but that Octavian!)

I would have forgotten about Halloween all together like last year if it wasn't for the countdown. I even carved a pumpkin and took photos of myself spewing the innards from my mouth. Thanks Matt.

Halloween countdown was awesome as usual, Matt…Can't wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas…

Matt, as you know, I've been an X-E reader since the beginning. And I just wanna remind you how much this website means to me. I know it sounds cheesy, but this is like a refuge for my inner child that I've shielded from life as an adult.

Our beggar's night is tonight, so I still have that to look forward to. I've spent the years since college mostly in California, and we got almost no trick or treaters (less than 5 the first year, one group of 3 the second, and I stopped bothering after that), but now we have our first house, back in the midwest. I am hoping for tons of trick or treaters this year! We bought a bunch of glow sticks and these little plastic pumpkins with little toys inside to give out in addition to candy. I know my world would have been rocked to get either when I was a kid, so I'm hoping to really thrill the kids in the neighborhood.

I did carve a pumpkin this year, picking out the perfect pumpkin (or 4, this year) has always been a tradition for me, often taking me to more than one pumpkin patch. I think half the reason I carve my pumpkin is because I love the roasted seeds, and the kind you can buy in the store are frankly nasty.

My favorite trick or treating story was from when I was probably 6 or 7. I have an older sister and two older cousins, we all grew up nearly as close as sisters. The oldest of the four of us is one of my cousins, she's about 6 years older than me, I'm the youngest. So, she seemed almost like an adult to me on this occasion when the four of us were walking around our town on beggar's night. She kept trying to scare us by sticking her foot under big evergreens as we passed them, and pretending that something had grabbed her foot. On probably the tenth time she tried this, she let out a real scream. She finally managed to scare someone with the trick: herself. A cat had been under the tree, and had attacked her shoe when she stuck her foot under. I'm surprised she didn't wet her pants.

Now we depressingly have to sit through some inevitable downtime as Matt barely appears for an entire month. And I have serious doubts that those huge Thanksgiving Parades Of The Past reviews are coming back–not on his new schedule. I'd have time to do 'em, but Matt's made it clear this site is his alone.

Speaking of things I do, I haven't been as faithful an updater as Matt despite the fact that I have a lot more time to spend on my own site. My Halloween cartoon this year (though the Halloween connection is kind of small) fell behind and the last page probably won't show up until November 5 or so. This fact is pretty annoying. If you want Halloween to linger, my effort's been held over. Your options are either that, or The Simpsons next week.

I'm pretty sure Matt mentioned we'd get a parade review? Which is great, because those are absolutely the shit. I don't know if Playmobil is going to be able to sustain a whole 'nother Xmas, but if anyone can pull it off, it would of course be the Matt man.
A banner ad on a completely different website just informed me about the new Pete and Pete season two DVDs! Why haven't I heard about this earlier?!

I love Mr. Boogedy, although my review of the movie did little homage. It seems the harder I try the harder I suck. *shrug*

Anyway, thanks for the fun Halloween countdown. Even though you missed a couple days, you're a lot more dedicated than some of the asshats that put a ghost up on their website for 3 days as a sad patronage to the glorious holiday.

I'm pretty sure the commercial that aired during It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown that featured a bunch of food-related mascots was for MasterCard. (Hence the "Broccoli: $1.79" on the screen in the picture. I think the ending was something like, "Sharing a meal with friends: Priceless.") It weirded me out though because a lot of the food on the table was the food that the mascots represent, so it seemed a little bit like cannibalism.

Anyway, this year's Halloween Countdown seemed better than the previous Countdowns, but I don't really know why. It's probably because Halloween just doesn't seem as important as it used to. I think we got less than 30 Trick or Treaters last year, and I'm not expecting more than that this year. The lack of Halloween TV programming this year has added insult to injury. In spite of this, reading this year's Countdown articles has made Halloween feel a little more festive for me (hell, I even carved a pumpkin this year), so thanks for the time and effort that you put into everything because it means a lot to me and I'm sure to many other readers.

so i dressed as ernest p. worrell for halloween, and over the course of 4 or so parties we hit, 2 people knew who i was.

Happy to say I've been costuming, carving, cartooning, and candying all month long but X-E made it even better.
Thanks for a spooky October, Matt!

Oh, by the by, anyone know if they're planning on a HomestarRunner Halloween tonight? Or have they gone the way of Simpsons?

Did anyone notice that a bunch of channels showed A LOT more horror movies than usual this year? For the last few years it seemed like they getting away from doing that, showing less and less every season. This year though, there were at least 400,000 horror flicks on.

YAY! It's here!
I think the only reason this monday seems less crappy than most is cause it's a holiday. I sent my son to preschool with his Robin costume and a huge bag of starburst and tootsie rolls. Now I am blaring the jukebox and decorating Halloween Donuts.
Thank you Matt for all the hours you put into this countdown. And I'm with Gozer about the Ghost with the Most. I really wouldn't mind if he showed up to haunt Valentines Day or somethin'.

Hey, great article. I am now depressed. Usually, I don't count on the media for much of anything, except for holiday specials, of course.
They failed.
I ended up missing all but the ending of It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. The only special I was able to catch all of was Garfields. How sad…

I gotta say Matt, I've been reading your stuff since this first spun off from X-Wrestling, and while I don't think today's entry was your best(certainly very good though) it might be your most touching. Every so often you provide us a personal window as to what all this pop-culture junk means to you and it strikes the same chord with all of us. But, yeah, too often we just witness the holiday and don't get caught up in the real traditions of the season that don't involve, food, tv, movies, or toys. A point well taken, and another job well done. Looking foward to the days ahead untill New Year's.

Great article, Matt! Unfortunately my boyfriend and I missed the airing of Charlie Brown this year (I don't know HOW) but we more than made up for it and watched both Garfield and Charlie Brown on DVD back to back this past Saturday. Like you, I didn't go pumpkin picking this year either. I'm rather bummed about that as I love pumpkins but such is life…at least I got to see some fun costumes at a Halloween party this past weekend! Enjoy and get prepared for the next two months!!

For those who were wondering, YES, there will be a Macy's Parade review, and YES, Playmobil will return! That's guaranteed.

Thanks for keeping the Halloween spirit alive. Thanks for all the hard work and great articles. I have bought more useless junk this year than ever and it was all because of this site! I loved it, thanks. Can't wait for Christmas and playmobile!

my holiday was truly completed with the roseanne halloween episode marathon on oxygen saturday afternoon, followed by a great halloween party that night. i dressed as punky brewster and people thought i was pippy freakin longstocking. red hair and braids people! do you really think pippy would tie a bandana around her knee??

tonight i am looking forward to trick-or-treaters and monday night football in the 'burgh!

I don't know about you, but for me watching holiday specials on DVD almost feels like cheating. I think that part of the appeal of them as kids was the fact that they were only on once a year and everyone in the world was watching it at the same time. I still do it though, don't get me wrong. Honestly, though, I prefer watching Charlie Brown on TV because the commercials help make it last longer. I wanted to watch Charlie Brown Christmas on DVD last year while I trimmed my tree and I think I was able to get a strand of lights halfway on the tree before it was over. What, are those specials like, 20…22 minutes tops without commercials?

And just to add to the praises, I really do appreciate all the work that goes into this page, particularly at countdown times. For what it's worth, Matt, thanks from the bottom of my heart.

Heh, this is strange…I don't see a single decoration in my view outside of my house, not even a plastic ornament or anything. Well, they were fixing my neighbourhood's water main, so there's all this dirt and stuff on the road. That's not enough to stop the hordes of lost souls wandering around for candy, though, isn't it? I oughtta carve a pumpkin next year, too…

Sniff. I know exactly what you mean- kind of sad how it slips away from you innit? But it makes me feel good to know you'll be grabbing Halloween even more firmly by the nuts next year. And plus there's still Christmas to obsess over, right?
Good season Matt!

And now, some pictures from my buddy's Halloween party…
www.djbc.net/photos/halloween
including some of people decorating Halloween Peeps, which I sought out and compelled people to draw on. There's even a Charlie Brown one-
Cheers and Happy Halloween!
BC

Matt, cheer up man. It almost seems as though your giving up on X-E. Remember, even though the Halloween season is almost over this web site will forever bring it back.

As the years roll on I feel more and more distanced from the holidays. I mean a 32 year old man going Trick or Treating just isn't right. Christmas has also lost it's magic with me. The anticipation of waiting for Santa is gone, because I know he's a myth. I'm the one now hiding presents for my kids under the tree. Even though I enjoy seeing my kids get exited it's not the same for me anymore

What I'm trying to get to is, every year when I feel all hope is lost you somehow bring it back. I now live parts of my holidays through your stories. Thank you. It's nice to have a friend like you care about people like us.

Great job on the countdown, Matt! You have an awesome writing style all your own, that really makes your articles hit home with a lot of people.

Bloggers, google'ers and X-e'ers: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms in other towns you will bring about the joy of Halloween, the eating of sweets, and security for ourselves in the afterglow.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 2005! Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in candy and decorations, and placed at our disposal great reserves of costumes. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in trick or treating. We will accept nothing less than full victory!

Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

It has been a great Halloween countdown. Thank you Matt and thank you everyone. May the Force be with us.

It's a great day ’cause it's Halloween and it's a great day ’cause it's my birthday! Double bonus! Have a good one everybody!

Hey, I just wanted to say that every day at work I have read at least one XE article recently. The Halloween countdown has become the one thing keeping my spirits up at my crappy job. I'll be going through witdrawal now that its no more…
I've been an XE fan for awhile, Matt man I think we had the exact same childhood, only I never lived in jersey and no listens when I talk about f13

This year I made a big effort to get back into the halloween spirit, even going so far as to fix my nintendo and play castlevania while lying on my couch under a blanket. By the way, I grabbed the coco krispies halloween edition. Tastes like crap but definately worth a look.
Thanks for the laughs, the site keeps getting better!

Well, Matt (and everybody else). Another year, another great countdown. Between X-E and AMC's horror movie fest, I'm definitely in the Halloween spirit this year. No big plans tonight, the actual Halloween, but I'm sure it will involve a scary movie and a bowl of Frankenberry, and probably way too much candy.

So, is today a good day to get discount candy since it's after the trick-or-treat weekend or will be real savings be had tomorrow after Halloween is officially over?

The boyfriend and I actually carved pumpkins last night, it was nice to get into the spirit at least that much.

Oh, and Gozer, I'd wait until tomorrow for the candy, the stores are probably leaving the good stuff at regular price for those last minute shoppers.

Thanks, Matt! You may think you have the Halloween blahs, but it was your Halloween spirit that encouraged me to decorate and dress up this year, despite being a boring, old grown-up. Good job!

Hey Matt, I wanted to thank you for the Halloween countdown. It acted as an inspiration to make me celebrate Halloween five times more than I usually would. I've had tons of candy, Jones soda, decorating kit Peeps, Mountain Dew Pitch Black II (four times), did four halloween parties, watched "Nightmare on Elm St", "Friday the 13th", Simpsons Halloween specials and all five "Child's Play" films.
Tomorrow I carve a pumpkin (in your honor) and drink Pumpkin Ale (in my honor).

Matt, I will also add my voice to the chorus singing your spooky praises. This year did by no means, disappoint. Thanks for keeping the "spirit" alive (har,har)

On a side note that no one other than myself will care about:
I have recovered somewhat from my nasty virus that prevented me from going to 2 kick-ass parties on Sat. I had to scrap my tried n' true Victorian chambermaid garroted by Jack the Ripper costume due to time and illness constraints. However, I've decided for a last-minute alternative for a shindig tomorrow (school holiday tomorrow so no teaching for me!

). I will simply safety-pin kitchen sponges all over my person and go as "Self-Absorbed."

Good call on Mr. Boogedy, I've only been trying to remember that movie for the last ten years or so. I've been met with countless blank stares, asking "do you remember a Disney movie where there is like this cape that turns people into the Boogieman?" Thank you for unearthing that from the back of my memory.

I kinda feel that I half-assed my Halloween experience this year. No pumpkin. No costume. I tried to do a "Nightmare on Elm Street" marathon to get me psyched for Halloween, but I never got past Part 4. Perhaps it was my slowly bio-degrading vhs tapes, but those movies are not as good as I remember them.

Tomorrow is certainly the best day for slashed candy! The carnage starts today, but tomorrow is the day for snatching up treats. All kinds of good stuff for at least a week after, but after that, you can tell what consumers didn't go for. I'm heading home an hour early to make final prep on the home for tonight, and get in costume and take my nephew around. He's going to wear the Kreuger mask/Pizza Slice costume combo, which amazingly looks excellent! Next time, I'm going to get a red baseball cap made up with "Freddy's Pizza" printed on it.
Great Countdown this year, Matt! Take a rest, and be fresh for Thanksgiving, the time for turkey and stuffed mushrooms.

It's a little depressing! Halloween has always been my favorite holiday, but I'm too old to trick or treat anymore, atleast in others eyes!

There aren't very many avenues left open to me - I cannot drive and I have few friends that can. This halloween came and went and I haven't really done anything to celebrate it.

I feel as if I do try and scramble together something, like downloading and watching a halloween special such as Garfield, that I will just get depressed and realized I've missed it!

Thanks Matt for another job well done even if you felt it was a bit lacking. No worries though since most of us here generally live vicariously through you and your site. I have no plans tonight and I think the woman will have my head. Here's hoping I become the headless go-carter tonight!

instead of kicking the cat did it ever occur to you to just buy a stand to put the TV on top of it? Just figured I'd point this to the non-obvious.

Matt-
I want to echo the sentiments of the other bloggers. Your site has become as much a staple of the holidays as the events/products/shows that you review. Thanks so much for all your hard work. Your love of the holidays has become infectious, and your regimen of undying holiday spirit and memories from the past has, at least for me, greatly enhanced the overall Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas experience. Halloween used to mean just a couple of nights for me, but X-E stretches that special feeling into a whole month. Your hard work certainly does not go unnoticed�as a working man myself and I can barley fit time to keep up with your site, let alone research and write. It would be selfish to assume that this will go on forever but it has been one sweet ride so far.
X-E forever
Thanks again�

Another outstanding countdown, Matt. I agree 100% with the comment on going out and enjoying the holiday. Life has that bad habit of getting in the way of the things you enoy most. That's why I've already started saving for a trip down to Orlando next October to do Universal's Halloween Horror Nights. Can't wait. Happy Halloween everyone.

just came from eckerd and all of their halloween stuff is half off already, including candy

By the by, in that AXE ad, where those women are humping that drain pipe, did any of you get the feeling that the dude just took a leak in the shower?

Great job Matt. Thanks to your inspired arrticles I got right into the spirit of things and I'm currently sitting at work dressed as Batman

Keep up the good work Matt. Can't wait for the Macy's review and Christmas Countdown.

Halloween night, gotta go put in my 6 hours at Bestbuy so I wont be around to see any trick-or-treaters or halloweeney antics. However, this year has been the most i've done for Halloween since I was 7. And… that means I got some of that Jones Halloween Soda and bought a buncha Bruce Campbell movies to watch. Saw Evil Dead 2 last night.

that smurf car on your TV!! I am a HUGE smurf collector & I've never seen it. Is it a licensed product? I know you love your toys, but if you would be willing to sell it, email me!!
aprilbash@hotmail.com

(P.S. I watch the Great Pumpkin every year. I, too, get sad the day after. But New Year's is the WORST. All holidays, my birthday & my wedding anniversary are all over with!)

Oh, by the by, anyone know if they're planning on a HomestarRunner Halloween tonight? Or have they gone the way of Simpsons?

Both, I hope. (the H*R guys said they're working as fast as they can for this year's toon)

And Matt, I want to thank you so much for this year. Unlike all the other years, I've been inspired have Halloween Cheer! Cause of this site I've: Gotten Frankenberry, Halloween Jones Sodas (I think I told you about them first), listened to the Halloween jukebox almost every other day since it went up (awesome by the way), went to Fright Fest at Great Adventure, ate lots of candy than I ever have, watched Great Pumpkin on tv,

As well as dressing up for the first time in about 9 years. I went as Magnum PI at my college's Fall Fest, and was even asked that awful question: "Who are you supposed to be?" I wanted to take pics of myself as well as all the weird goings on (the most creative ones I saw was a guy dressed as a loaf of Wonder Bread and an Edward Scissorhands costume with cardboard for the knives), but I had taken my family's regular film camera instead of the digital one! (and I cant find it anywhere!) That sucks.

Speaking of which, how do you think Edward Scissorhands went to the bathroom?? (and don't say "very carefully," either)

Invader Norbert- I think Edward Scissorhands went to the bathroom very, uh, painfully? Protocol Droid Pumkin

This is a fabulous story and I knew I had to post it here.
I was leaving my house this morning when this little kid from down the street commented on my lack of halloween decorations. I was like, "dude, i'm broke" and he yelled in a very angry voice, 'YOU'RE JUST A HALLOWEINER!"
True. Story.
P.S. Umm does it make me weird that I totally cried while reading the countdown finale?

Another awesome countdown this year Matt. I can't wait till next year to see what treasures you find and dig up. Also hopefully there'll be cooler food tie-ins next year. Just a few more Holidays this year then it's 2006. WOO. Hoping to see some nice Thanksgiving and Christmas things. And another favorite holiday of mine is coming up. Veteran's Day! (my birthday, I turn 20)

Looking forward to the Boogedy review. Kudos to all those lauding the virtues of the Sleepaway Camp movies–truly the best trilogy nobody's ever heard of.

Had to laugh at the pee-break comment - I've always hated those damn Snoopy fantasy sequences. Overrated mutt.

(1) I totally second the "Matt is great and makes the season great again" comments.

(2) As far as holiday specials, I have vowed not to buy the Christmas Story DVD until the year TNT stops playing it for 24 hours. It is TRADITION to watch it at least twice a year!

(3) Quammy–a few weeks ago, my boyfriend asked me (almost verbatim) "do you remember a Disney movie where there is like this cape that turns people into the Boogieman?" I replied that he was crazy and he said I should ask the X-E blog if anyone else remembered it. Alas, I forgot to ask, but apparently you are not alone in your memory!

Charlie brown always bored me. I wish they had made a He-Man She-ra Halloween special.

Been a reader since last years Halloween Countdown (or since you had that Italian Thumb Wrestling article) and this is the first time posting a comment for me.

Really enjoyed the countdown this year. Missed the Charlie Brown special this year because I'm a stupid 14 year old, but I'll be sure to watch it next year.

Anyways, have a happy halloween everyone. Oh, Matt, I think I speak for us all when I say: More closeup pics of your room! Possibly an article about some of the things you've collected over the years?

Yeah, I still love the Great Pumpkin special. I crack up every time Charlie Brown gets nothing but rocks in his bag. How horrible are those parents in his neighborhood. I'm surprised he hasn't come back as a grown up and killed them all.

Thanks again for the countdown, Matt. It seems that more schools around the country are banning Halloween parties and are now just having generic Fall Festivals (blah). It seems that the kids growing up now may not have found memories of holidays like we do. Thanks for fighting the good fight, Matt!

Matt,
Thank you for creating yet another wonderfully entertaining Halloween countdown! I can appreciate how difficult it is to work full time and try and keep the website updated on a regular basis. This Halloween has been especially memorable for me since I just got hired after searching for a job these past past few months. Woohoo! Bring on the Christmas countdown!!

I'm off to prepare for tonight! Happy Hallowe'en everyone! Here's the last part, lame as it is. I'm going to be 36 come the morrow. Later.

The Story of Jack and His Lantern
A Hallowe�en Treat For X-Entertainment
By kingklash

Now Jack had a way to stay warm, and a nice light to see by at night. The ember could be as immaterial or solid as he could be, so he could always hang on to it. The only thing was its light always illuminated him, at all times, making him faintly visible to others. He needed a way to conceal it, so as not to scare people. While sitting beside a vegetable garden one morning, he pondered on how the ember, while being warm and bright enough, didn�t burn his hands or anything it was in contact with. So, if could find something to put it in, it could be more convenient to use. He had to find something small enough to carry. But, since he couldn�t carry money anymore, it would have to be something easily obtainable and replaceable. Something small, easy to carry, and common enough to be nearly everywhere and practically free. Hearing a noise behind him, Jack turned to see a rabbit making its way among the turnips. He remembered raiding a neighbor�s turnip patch when he was a child, and how he had hid some coins in one he had hollowed out and buried by his house, until his dog dug it up again. Of all the things to remind him of home, thoughts of a turnip that he…. hollowed…. out…. Leaping the fence and turning solid, he scared the rabbit as he pulled the first leaves he got to.
It worked out pretty well. Digging out a cavity in the side of the turnip, he had a pretty sevicible lantern. Soon after, with his new toy, he wandered all over not only Ireland, but England and Scotland as well. Not really paying attention to the local gossip, it was a while before he discovered a unforeseen effect of his turnip light. Not having a need for sleep, he did the bulk of his traveling at night, and using his days to explore the towns and cities he came to. Soon, stories about a ghostly light floating through the moors and woods at night began to spread across the country. Sometimes when carving out a new turnip, he could be seen as a faint image in the ember�s glow, adding to the rumors. And eventually, dried-up turnips were found after some sightings. While outside a tavern one afternoon, he heard some people discussing the latest sighting of some �Jack of the Lantern� seen the night before. It was hearing his name that caught his attention, although he didn�t know at first who they were referring to. When it dawned on him that he was indeed the spirit being talked about, he ducked into an alley to fade out and have a good laugh at himself. Having spent his whole adult life using several false names, he found he liked being �Jack O�Lantern� as he was soon named. The best part was when people began to carve turnips to make their own lights. Some imaginative soul had come up with the idea to carve a face into his, and during the harvest season, many people began to do the same. In the years to come, the Fall festivals of All Saints Day and Samhain began to be associated with Jack O�Lanterns. Jack was happy. Ironically, it was a fame he could live with.
Years passed, and Jack had heard of people over in the �New World� had not only taken the Lanterns over there, but had found a new vegetable to use. After hearing descriptions of these �Pumpkins,� Jack sought out a ship that had a load of turnips bound for the Americas. He found the trip interesting. He stayed in a hidden storage area that was used by the original captain to hide valuables, in case of emergency, and never found by the current crew. And he found that he wasn�t the only non-human stowaway on board. A family of Leprechauns and a group of Faerie were also using the space to go across the ocean. It turned out he was a legend even among them. They not only knew that he was Jack O�Lantern, but also of his dealings with the Devil while he was alive, two things the living hadn�t connected yet. And his story was slowly being spread to all the colonized areas of the New World. When he got to America, he not only liked the new Jack O�Lanterns, but also the chance to see new lands. Although he stuck to turnips himself, he helped encourage the use of pumpkins to this day. In fact, he travels between America and his home of Ireland even now. It has been said that when some poor soul can�t get out of a contract with the Devil, Jack may show up to whisper a way out in his ear. Who do you think clued in Daniel Webster on the true purpose of the trial he conducted at the old Farmer�s home? Or inspired the man to listen carefully when Satan himself bragged that he knew all and could go anywhere, get anything, and if there was one thing the man could name that even the Devil couldn�t do, he would leave and not bother the man ever again. When the man told him to �Get lost!�, guess who Satan blamed! And who stood over my shoulder, and told me his story, so I could pass it along to you? So, when you light your pumpkins this year, think of him. You might even see a glowing turnip going down the street, Jack O�Lantern on his way to help someone give the Devil some Hell. You�d think Satan would have learned by now.

Excellent article, I can't believe I freaken missed The Great Pumpkin this year!

So tonight's the night… huh. Thank you Matt, I didn't feel the Halloween spirit too much this year, but I felt it reading your articles. I also felt it going past the Target posters on my way to school downtown. This year's were a lot better than last year's.

Well, I didn't carve a pumpkin, but I DID dress up which is more than I usually do. I had this urge to dress up like an assassin all day and have people stare at me. So I did. It helped that my costume looked damned awesome this year.

Well, time to go hand out candy to the 4 kids who come around to our house this year. One of these days we're going to have to splurge and buy big candy. It'd probably be cheaper anyway.

Y'know, Matt, it's a good thing you have the DVD of the special - when ABC broadcasts it, they edit out a few lengthy sequences. Which, quite frankly, doesn't make sense, because they left the Christmas special intact.
Incidentally, that "may I have an extra piece for my brother" bit - I actually did that back in 2001. The GameCube and Luigi's Mansion were on the horizon, so I was going as Luigi that year. At one house, I asked, "May I have an extra piece of candy for my big brother who's trapped in a haunted mansion?" Needless to say, though, my mom made me stop doing that after that stop.
By the way, I'm not sure if you alreay know this, but your stated reason for starting this website, the He-Man & She-Ra Christmas Special, comes out on DVD December 6th! Just an FYI.

I just finished carving my pumpkin, roasting pumpkin seeds, and handing out candy! Now I can sit in the dark with my pumpkin and watch a scary movie.

The best costume I've seen tonight: a 6 year old in a REAL orange convict jumpsuit and REAL handcuffs being paraded through town by their parent who was wearing a REAL sheriff deputy's outfit. If I gave out extra candy for authenticity they'd get some.

Well, I just got finished with my first real year of giving out candy. The little plastic pumpkins with a toy inside that I thought the kids were going to love (and secretly, to make me feel better, I still think the kids will really like them when they go through their hoard once they get home) were not nearly as popular as the lightsticks, which were my boyfriend's idea. Those were a huge hit!

My favorite quotes from the night: "wow, you guys are the most generous in the neighborhood", "you're the best pumpkin carvers in the neighborhood" (heh, I was the one who carved it), and one boy, after getting a lightstick (only about our 4th or 5th customer) walked out in the middle of the yard, and shouted at the top of his lungs "hey, josh, this house is giving out GLOWSTICKS!!!!!"

We didn't get a huge amount of kids, less than 50 (and we had bought 200 lightsticks), but all in all, I had a wonderful time being on this end of the beggar's night giving. And, I have a lot of candy left, more probably than I got trick or treating as a kid, and it's all my favorites

Next year, I vow to get in a costume at some point in October, to go along with my pumpkin carving and candy giving.

Matt, even if you found yourself getting a little bored with the holiday (I was too, this last week), you really made it more fun for all of us. Your countdown, as always, rocked!

I'm sad to see it go, but it was an excellent countdown. I'm actually really excited to see what's coming up next. Happy Halloween everybody! Thank you, Matt!

I don't get ut and about my town since I've been working so much, but DANG you shoulda seen the displays out there. If a house only had one jack o lantern most kids skipped it, cause next to all the other houses it looked like no one was home. Many, many houses gave bags with 5-10 "treats" in them. My son was so damn giddy. He got a kazoo, bag of popcorn with pumpkin motif, stickers, and a gumby-like pumpkin toy-along with all the candy. Parents were dressed up and alot of houses had spooky music and/or a smoke machine. Since my son is only 4 this is the first year he's really got out there and done is thing. So I haven't gone trick or treating in over 10 years. It was definatly fun, and there was no lack of Halloween spirit here.

that last article leaves me to say only one thing to you, matt:
of all the charlie brown's in the world, your the charlie browniest

HEY MAN, GREAT COUNTDOWN. I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS SITE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO AND I BEEN LOOKIN AT IT NONSTOP. IT REALLY GOT ME IN THE HALLOWEEN SPIRIT. I TOOK MY NEPHEWS TRICK OR TREATIN TONITE AND IT WAS REALLY AWESOME TO SEE HOW MUCH FUN THEY WERE HAVIN. IM ONLY 24 BUT I MISS BEIN YOUNG. TONITE ME AND MY GIRLFRIEND ARE GONNA WATCH DISNEYS SLEEPY HOLLOW THAT WE GOT OFF LIMEWIRE(THANKS GERV). I LOVE YOUR SITE MAN. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

This year my house got five trick or treaters. It beats the record of three. The funny thing is, is that if you go over a few streets the roads are crowded with kids. I can't think of something that involves Star Wars to end this article with so this is the end.

Second, Matt, that was one of the most touching articles you ever wrote. Holidays do mean a lot to you, and it really came through in that story. One of the few disadvantages of relying on DVD and video for your televised entertainment is you miss thoase live, once-a-year events like holiday specials. It's not a big enough deal for me to want to shell out the money for cable for one, but sometimes, those traditions are missed.

Matt, it might help next year if you start the Halloween Countdown on October 1st or somewhere around there, like you do with Christmas, instead of mid-September. Yeah, I know you get excited and I can't say I blame you, given that Halloween stuff turns up in mid-August these days, but that also means you get burnt out faster. October is a long month, and you'll still have plenty of time to get a week's worth of Countdown fun in…without those holiday blahs.

As for me, I dressed up as Winnie the Pooh for work today. I was one of the only ones at work dressed up, but I did get some compliments on my quick-made costume (complete with red sweater that turned out to be too heavy for the 70 degree day and cardboard bear ears). The grocery store only got a few trick-or-treaters and was (pardon the pun) dead later on, but that meant the remaining employees got to eat the trick-or-treat candy.

Newport beach does not feel like halloween. Not like suburban Philly where I grew up. It's almost uncanny how much I can relate to Matt about halloween. and I'm almost ten years his senior! The only old school halloween special I saw this year was Charlie Brown. No Fat Albert Halloween. No Garfield Halloween. No Eight is enough Halloween. No Buck rogers Halloween. No Greatest American Hero Halloween. No Muppets … ahem. My point is that times have changed and x e is our greatest last hope of keeping this lost spirit alive. MATT! SAVE US!!!!

Like Jessi said, the commercial with characters like the Jolly Green Giant, Charlie the Tuna, Poppin' Fresh (the Pillsbury Doughboy), etc. is a MasterCard commercial. You can read the commercial summary at the following address:

Not quite what I was expecting from you, but OK. So there wasn't so much of a grand finale to it all. Who cares? What I'm really looking forward to is X-E's coverage of yet another Thanksgiving Day parade and the X-Mas countdown. Of course, it's very possible that Matt has a few new ideas up his sleeve, which would be awesome.

I am very much looking forward to the Advent Calendar this year. It'll be a fusion of the new Playmobil and LEGO Advent Calendars. I have no idea how that'll work out, but it should be interesting.

For those curious, I'm probably going to skip the 1988 Macy's Parade because it's just too much like the '87 version (which I've reviewed), and skip ahead to 1989, which ROCKED. And the tape is loaded with commercials.

What's on deck is also special, though: The 2005 Jones Soda Holiday Pack. Ba dum bahhh.

Oh, and I should mention, the Advert Calendar returns as well, in a much better prepared state than last year. (No reruns, and all ads will actually have to do with the holidays.) I haven't even gone through half my stuff and I've got enough to cover December.

We're gonna have a good one.

I've been onboard for 4 years now…becoming a high point of my life, these countdowns you do! (Wow, Yoda moment…) I was careful to get enough Jones Halloween soda to last the year. To the above poster who likes Pumpkin Ale, what kind do you get? I grew up in NY and love Post Road, but now that I live in FL I have to have it sent. I moved down here with 6 cases last year and still have a few

Anyway, take care everybody! Another Halloween is past us but we must honor and keep it in our hearts all the year.

Matt you are the shit no matter what. Even when there comes a day that you may put this site to rest you will still be amdired by all us dorks. As always keep up the good work and always remember the little obscure things in life..

When you call something the worst, is there really a "best" way possible to qualify that commeny?

Well I guess Halloween is over now, even though it's only about 11:00 pm here and I still wouldn't mind doing more. Tonight was the best Halloween I've had in a while though. The house was decently decorated, the turnout for trick or treaters was bigger than last year, and I scared the hell out of several small children just by showing up at the door in my new costume. I even went trick or treating myself. I'm 23 years old, and I went trick or treating. And I gotta say, it was great. Granted it was with my younger 14 year old cousin and the costume completely concealed my identity, but it was still fun to pull off. It helped bring back a spark of that Halloween spirit I've been longing for, and it was a feeling I haven't had in years.

I may have dropped in a bit late and this was my first time discovering the site, but finding out about the countdown brought a lot of the spirit back too. The articles were great and I loved the jukebox addition. Incidentally the reason I found the website at all was because of a google search for an mp3 of Tim Curry's song in The Worst Witch, which led me to the jukebox and along with it the Halloween countdown. I'll be looking forward to next year and who knows, maybe I'll stick around for the Christmas one too.

Oh and on a sidenote: Has anyone seen the It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown fruit snacks? I came acrossed them purely by chance in the local Walmart supercenter. I don't know if they're new or if they've been around for a while. Perhaps regrettably I didn't buy any, but seeing the box made me smile.

Cool story kingklash, I've enjoyed reading.
Wow Matt I don't know how you keep up such an ambitous schedule! I'm always thinking this site has hit the peak of comedy excellency but it's always topping itself. I've got a ton of old favorite articles and features but new stuff always comes along and knocks me on my ass with laughter. And after all this Halloweenie goodness…Macy's review? Jones Holiday Pack? A whole new Advert calendar and TWO Advents?!? This is going to be sooo awesome.

Well, we are in the moving process and that made me have a turn off of the trick or treaters. I wanted to do a big elaborate thing with them and thank goodness I didn't because I didn't get any kids!!

I wanted to wear a hockey mask a la jason and try to be as creepy as possible. The thing is, I wanted to get rubber body parts, bloody fingers, eyes, ears, etc. and put them in the candy. I wanted to either scoop up a big handful of candy and pick out the fingers and things like 'dang it, i got some of my fingers from my victims in the candy!!' and then give them the candy. I also thought of making little gift bags for the kids i reckongized. With little boxes of Hi-C, pretty pencils, and lots of candy. Oh well, maybe next year I'll live in a place where I'll have tons of kids around that I like.

I went to burger king, some kids came for some candy, and then I went to hollywood video, one of the nerds that works at game crazy was dressed up as a jedi, two of the girls (my roommate has a major crush on the blonde, she is smokin) had a poodle skirt kinda outfit on. Then I went to wal-mart, there were a lot of kids there, I could see the hate in there eyes cause they wanted to go trick or treating instead!! I saw two goth teens sitting outside of the walmart, one had a rotweiler it was tiny like a toy poodle. Anyway, I asked if they wanted any candy, and one said sure if you have some, and I pulled out a tampon, in it's sealed wrapper. Ha! That was the highlight of my halloween. I also bought some silly string so if any punk teens (mind you I am 23) wanted some candy, I would douche them with neon orange silly string instead!! Dammit!! NOBODY CAME!!! Anyway I thought that story would be amusing. Oh yeah and DJ BC, LOVE THE PICS GUY!! I wish I knew people like that

Just wanted to drop a line saying excellent job Matt, the balancing act you constantly do between work and X-E all for our benefit is truly truly appreciated. I'm already preppin for next's years.

Had the family Halloween party last Saturday which was a lot of fun. I was the "chief decorator" which didn't bother me but Mrs. Manimal had TOO MUCH fun with that title. Interestingly enough, I didn't carve a pumpkin either due to a lack of time.
Last night was my first real handing out candy experience. Kids had great costumes: Lion, SCREAM, cowboys, witches, angels, SPIDERMAN. No STAR WARS characters though.
One kid tried to pull the "could I have another piece for..(you ready) my dad." I told him to tell his dad to get a job. I didn't really but he didn't get an extra piece of candy either.

Well done Matt. We appreciate your dedication. Give Christmas a week or 3 so you don't experience such holiday fatigue.

i'm pretty disapointed in the kids in my neighborhood. most of them were too lazy to walk to the bottom of the street to my house (but they aren't too lazy to walk down and bounce a basketball in front of my window at 8 am on a saturday!) and the ones that did mosey down had the lamest costumes ever. where's the creativity? where's the effort?? the highlight of my night was my first trick-or-treater, a little girl no more than 2 yrs old dressed as a flower walking with her dad who was dressed as bob the builder. i must say, it was touching to see a daddy-daughter combo. she got 2 pieces of candy.

I live in an apartment building, but I was at my friend's house for a little bit. Most of the trick or treaters were waaay too old. It it were my house, I'd refuse them candy and then it would be like that episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Well, as I lamented once (probably more) on this countdown, I wasn't allowed to celebrate Halloween as a kid. My first time handing out candy as an independent adult was such a let down, that I've been on an unofficial boycott until I have kids that I can take out (and experience it by proxy.) Well, we have a small Bible Study on Monday nights and we opted not to move it because only one person in the group has kids (it was her daughter's first Halloween, so she made it clear that's where she'd be) and most of the other people aren't available any other night of the week (and we couldn't skip a week because we're doing a church-wide program…it doesn't matter.) That was fine with me. I didn't have to make up an excuse to leave the house. (This story is getting to a point…) So, near 6, we head out the door and I looked around at the neighborhood. There were neighbors I hardly ever see with their doors open, every porch light was on, adorable kids (I learned that 26 was the magical age for me to turn maternal) were already venturing out of their houses in their little costumes to meet up with their pals…for the first time since I was a kid, I really felt like I was missing out. When we were at Chick-fil-A getting dinner before our meeting, there were some costumeless kids. When one passed us, my husband asked if I thought that kid even knew it was Halloween (sing it with me - "Do they know it's Halloween time at all"?) I looked at him with bitterness in my eyes and said, "Trust me. He knows." I'd have slipped that kid a bag of candy if I could have. So, maybe I took a little more softening than most, but I think this site finally managed to really beat the appreciation of Halloween into me (even if it didn't hit me until it was too late.) I've enjoyed the past couple of Halloween countdowns, but now I think I'm ready to take this holiday to a new level personally. I am so there next year. Here's to Halloween '06! For now, I'm ready for Thanksgiving. Yes, I actually look forward to Thanksgiving. But that's for another post.

Matt: For Thanksgiving, you got to do a one-time entry on the Gobbledy Gooker, a dancing turkey that appeared at the WWE's Survivor Series in the early 90s.

kingklash, that's an awesome story, I saved it for posterior, and happy b-day too!

Gozer was it pretty craazy down there this year? My little sis was there I think three years ago, and got pretty banged up in the crowd-shoving, pushing, all that shit. Everyone should smoke more pot on H-ween, instead of drinking. Mellow 'em all out a little bit!

MATT thank you sooo much for the continual efforts every year, all year. I don't know what I would do with my thing if you didn't do your thing. Well, not really, but X-E is def. one of the highlights of my day! I really really appreciate everything you've written for this site, esp. (broken record) the Corey Haim Video Diary reviews.

Oh yeah, AMC last night….Jason X. First time I ever saw that piece of shit, and I have to say, it sucked on so many levels. Cliched, but true. Halloween 4, I like Danielle Harris a lot, she's so hot when she's on Rosanne, but that boyfriend of her's in this movie, that pirate kid, I just wanted Micheal Myers to kick a hole in his eyepatch!!

We're one season closer to more Kool-Aid reviews! As robot Kool-Aid Man would say, "That…is…an…Affirmative!"

Wow, between I love the 80's 3D and XE's Halloween countdown this has been a fantastic week. I'll never understand why we don't see more holiday specials, even if they were modern ones (although TreeHouse of Horror airs Sunday).

My only halloween regret is that it looks weird when three 22 year old guys go trick or treating. SO instead we all hung out, in costume, and watched TV, with a big bowl of candy for the kids that came out. Except only one came by.

We have average about 1.5 trick or treaters a year at my house and this was all in the last 20 years…yuuuup

Anyone check out the new H*R Hallowe'en toon? It's second only to "The House That Gave Sucky Treats." Click on my name for fun, and click on PoopSmith's face for Homsar.

I was holding a baby while handing out candy so I just held out the bowl while the kids grabbed it, I let them grab whatever, most took just one. They loved candy corn, I had a good mix of M&M's, butterfingers, 100 grand, carmel apple pops, and candy corn. It was gone first. Also little girls were the greediest. Anyone else see a napoleon dynamite?

Alas, the compys at school don't carry the flash viewer to watch it here. I have to wait until I get home (about 4pm) to see it. :/

Thanx for the heads-up on the Easter egg. 4 years for 4 a Homsar egg is activated by Poopsmith.

I was also a little disappointed in the creativity of the costumes this year. I saw a billion Spider-Mans (Spider-Men?), a bunch of the Scream guys, lots of skeleton-themed costumes, lots of witches, lots of princesses. Lots of hapharzard zombie/ghoul/demon things with fake blood smeared all over. I didn't see a single costume that made me go, "hey, nice idea, kid!" Since adults are totally ignoring Halloween these days, I was hoping at least the kids would pull something off. ::sigh::

On the positive side, I did see a complete family trick-or-treating together, which was kind of cool. A little boy (Batman), a toddler sister (pumpkin), mom and dad (wearing a Batman mask). It was neat to see the parents actually have fun with their kids, instead of sitting in the car in the street, shooting me menacing stares.

Now that I've seen the new Homestar Halloween toon…about 8 times, I've decided that it's awesome. 2nd best Halloween toon, behind House That Gave Sucky Treats. And good reason behind 8 times: It's a Choose Your Own Adventure toon with 5 endings!

And make that 5 for 5 for Homsar/Pooopsmith easter eggs….forgot about Pumpkin Carve-nival.

Thanks for keeping me at least somewhat connected to the Holiday. I have to admit I put way too much effort into my Grad School apps to properly enjoy myself.

I've decided it's time that I started throwing Halloween Parties myself. I've already enlisted a Minister of Music. I'm not kidding, this will be my obsession until next year. I will get it right. Anyone willing to make the trip is invited of course

I (like most on here) would also like to send my thanks to Matt, for lifting our spirits (and using it for that holiday, it's gonna be a pun regardless of if it was intentional or not) this Halloween. As for me, as I mentioned before, I planned on going T and T ing. I did, and may I say with a heavy heart, this is my last year. I remember when I was younger, the neighbourhood beside me…everyhouse gave out candy. I went out last night, barely half the houses on each side of the streets gave any indication they had candy. Even the turnout, where I used to see lots of kids and the few teenagers in sorry attempts…there was barely anyone out! I saw maybe 3 or 4 young kids out…TOPS!! Now was this just in my neck of the woods, or did it happen to you too? What the hell happened to the spirit of Halloween?

Okay I belong to this LJ community where people like to post pictures of food they've bought or made (dorky, I know, but you get great sushi porn) and someone posted pictures of the Hi-C mini juices that they gave away for T or T and had this to say: "They went crazy over the juice boxes, but they littered them all down the street. I had to go around in the dark picking them up. I have a feeling I'll have a lot of work to do tomorrow." Hehehe, I just knew it!

Saw the Jones Soda Thanksgiving Holiday Pack at Target today for $10.99. They should have put some in those mini cans like they did with the Halloween ones. I would have tried them that way.

Best costume was a Jawa with the mask with lighted eyes. Otherwise it was the same old things you guys saw. No Batman Scarecrows which surprised me.

I just saw that cool commercial with the food brand mascots again. I noticed that in the background someone says to count chocula "how's Frankenberry?". That's the end of my story. Thought it was mentionable dammit.

Matt, I have to say "Thank You"! I haven't been this excited about Halloween for at least 10 years, but since finding your site a couple of months ago and reading through all of the Halloween countdown and several of the off-shoot articles, I was so filled with Halloween glee it was insane. I more than once found myself at Target or Wal-Mart and seeing something that you had covered in an article and getting a sly grin on my face…and usually opening my wallet to get my hands on all the fun stuff you got to play with in your articles.

I'm a DJ for a radio station in Oklahoma City and I went so far as to theme my whole night show with Halloween stuff and even sending my fiance trick-or-treating and doing call-ins about all the candy she was getting. It was the most fun Halloween I've had with all the build-up and pay off last night when I filled my own Wal-Mart sack with half-price candy at midnight. Thank you so much for bringing the joy back to the holiday for me, even if you weren't feeling it this year.

Matt: Amazing countdown as usual, and although you've been kind of rough on it, I think this one is the best yet (this last article really got me).

Squee: Through your link I discovered that food blog…THANK YOU! I've been dieting for six months now (lost 120 pounds) and like to "torture" myself by looking at candy aisles and Chinese food menus. You've given me the Internet equivalent! I am forever in your gratitude.

Halloween…I went out and bought indoor Christmas lights for my apartment already.

mtrox: dude, 120 pounds? Congrats man, that's almost like losing one me! That's not me bragging about my weight either that's just saying how impressive 120 pounds really is.

Thanks. I was tipping the scales at an unhealthy 300 lbs. for a while there. It's kind of cool thinking that I lost almost half of myself.

Congrats, Matt on another great Halloween season…and thanks for lifting my spirits when I needed it.

Thanks for the input everyone- I went with the Simpsons Halloween specials for my Grade 10 Halloween party instead of Charlie Brown, in the end. They loved it.

Thanks for keepin the fahr burnin' Matt.!!!
My Halloween was cool. It wasn't as much as i'd like'd it to have been, but it was cool, no injuries or arrests, groovy. I was a Cowboy, and my wife was a flight attendant, We tricked and treated, we didn't get to see a lot of the houses that were lit up ’cause the wife got ready late, and then we went home early, ’cause she thought it was later than it was…. grumble grumble. We carved our pumkins on sunday, all three of us, me, my wife, and my Mom carved one pumkin a piece, it was cool. For the first year in a long time, i used candles in 'em, and for the first time ever: ventholes (up top - like a chimney, eh). less burnt, rocks most excellent. I got pictures of the jack o lanterns in before and after and lit up, it's very neat that my wife has a digital cam, and wanted to do that with us a family. Tonight, i was going to celebrate "day of the dead", but it slipped ’cause i wasn't feeling well. Next year: More lights, More pumkins, more "effect", scenery, sounds, etc. Books of Ghost stories easily at hand, tidied up house, good films for after the party / later at nite… also, better costume.A party; fun and exciting, with guest participation activities, arts and crafts, storytelling, and hot ciders and teas. Also, is it ok to have a post 'ween party? Like a "I Guess I'm kinda Late on Having a Halloween Party", party.

ttfn. sleep tight, and may you fall asleep in front of a monster movie marathon, only to be awakened, by the terrible sound, of badly audio-engineered infomercials. I liked the color bars and that booooooop tone from the 80's, how bout u?

Thanks, mtrox! In previous years, everytime I thought to see what was on it ended up being some crappy made for TV movie and I missed the classics. Being TIVO-less, I'd better stock up on ye olde blank VHS tapes.

i'm not ready for christmas cheer yet. i'm still mourning the passing of halloween…

Good way to transition between the holidays! Listen to The CryptKeeper's "Have Youself A Scary Little Christmas" CD. When you hear a song about setting grisly booby-traps for Santa Claus, its the best of Hallowe'en, X-Mas and the X-E Advent Calendar all rolled up in one.

Yay. Like I said with the 13 Days of Halloween, this event has been going on ever since ABC Family was Fox Family. Lots of those old Russ-Bankin stop-motion animation specials going on, including the "sequel" to Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (I have yet to see A Year Without Santa Claus, though).

and Muppet Baby, which THoH specials did you show them? I'd like to know if you showed thrm the good ones

This year's Halloween was the most fun I've had (outside of X-E articles of course) in years. For the past few years we've just given out candy, but having a child that's starting to understand the world around him now gives us an excuse to have fun on Halloween again. We actually went trick or treating, hitting the houses of relatives/people we know and had a great time. Can't wait until he gets a little older and really gets into it.

No! Say it ain't so! I don't think I can live without the countdown and the ongoing insanity that is the blog/thread.

Matt, you rock out. You're the only guy I'd let my boyfriend date. It's a compliment. Trust me.

New to this site- and tell you what I'm freakin hooked. Wisked back to my jackass childhood each time. I love the reactions I get from people who catch me scoping the chicken Mcnuggets getting hooped up by Ronald McDonald� and I have to explain. Had a suggestion for maybe next years Halloween countdown- (Throw right back if ya want) The 1994 Coca-Cola Monsters of the Gridiron football card set. I know it's the 90's but holy sh– take a glimpse at Cornelius Bennett or the �Big Bear� (E-Bay)-I don't know about �Big Bear� but�pretty damn um� wow. The whole set is pretty hilarious, Emmit-The Lone Star Sheriff-Smith�s face expression just says �What the f__ am I doing??�. Plus they had the displays at grocery stores-a true Halloween memory for me at least. Keep up the good work man!

Gottdammit Just searched the site and somebody already mentioned the Monsters of the Gridir-whatever the f___-cards last year. And I �ll be damned if the guy didn�t mention Big Bear Bennett. Don�t remember commercials though-or maybe I just don�t want to.

Thanks for the countdown, these 3 months are my favorite time of year on the site.

On the Peeps front, I went to the grocery store yesterday and while looking for reduced price Halloween Peeps I couldn't resist the already-out Holiday variety. I picked up the gingerbread flavored ones and a Christmas tree version of the "paint your pumpkin" one. I haven't gotten around to trying either one yet.

My Halloween was pretty neat: Went to a Halloween party in a crazy downtown neighborhood-got approached by Ms. Crackhead 2005 herself, who apparently used to be a master in French, Spanish and Psychochiatry (ya I know).-went in House drank Jungle Juice, then some more-almost got in argument with guy with a pumpkin for a head-drank some beer-became best friends with pumpkin head-drank more jungle juice-almost sparked a make-out session portly girl dressed as robot from southpark (couldn�t close the deal) -drank some more-passed out on very small coach and finally capped it off with an early morning vomit session in the front yard (there was no way I was making it to toilet). A man and his Terrior walking across the street decided to hang out and watch. (He didn�t even ask if I was okay, they just watched the show and went on their way- I probably deserved it). Then off to work!! . HAPPY HALLOWEEN ALL!!

Most of that 25 Days of Xmas lineup is pretty cool despite a lot of repeating, and I can even see justifying Harry Potter as Christmassy but Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? That's not seasonal in the slightest!

i gotta say, i'm not that impressed with the lineup. home alone 2? what about the first one? and no holiday movie marathon is complete without Christmas Vacation. it's not the holiday season until i hear "merry christmas, kiss my ass, kiss his ass, happy hanukkah"

I was in Target the other day and saw the Jones 2005 holiday soda for about $10. Snapped that stuff up quick as could be. Gone are the Mashed potatoes and green beans what was added is even worse. I'll leave what was added for Matt.
I am so giving this to my dad for Christmas. I mean what do you give a retired engineer that works at Walmart now?

Considering the number of tools he has he may have a use for those in some bizarre twisted way. Last year I went with the beer holster for his tool belt.

It seems like the 2005 Jones Holiday Soda is a lot more common than last years. It also seems like this years pack came without as much "fanfare" as the 2004 variety.

The lineup for the Christmas marathon is lame! They're missing so many classics. Guess I shouldn't complain since I don't have cable anyway, but still. And so many repeats, too…

This is kind of weird but so am I so I guess that's all right. You guys aware of John Carpenter's the Thing? You would think that it's a more halloweeny type movie but with me it has every thing to do with Christmas. It takes place in the winter of 1982. X-mas is in winter and the Gi Joe A Real American Hero line was released that year. Gi Joe= toys= presents. Plus it was the year before 83'. Return of the Jedi came out in 83'. Star Wars= toys= presents. And it took place in Antartica. Lots of snow.

Winter Lucky Charms are out and they're mighty tasty. I love eating wreaths and stockings and ornaments. So much fun!

Invader Norbert- I showed them various taped THOH Simpsons sketches: the one with the gremlin/dracula remake/easy bake coven/Hell toupee/super poopers and a few others- LOVE Super Poopers for the Jerry Springer sketch!

The Jones Soda holiday packs are out at Target already, and they're a lot cheaper than last year? Oh man, I'm so there. I was already going to swing by and try the new fancypants chocolate line, Choxie. Now I HAVE to go.

My local Target is apparently a "Target: Greatland". Anybody else have one of these? I don't know how they're different from other Targets, except it's so big inside that if you realize you want to buy socks when you parked down near the food zone, then fuck socks. You'll wait to get them next time.

Ugh…too much Christmas…I have a rule…no Christmas until after Thanksgiving…so bring on the Macy's review, Matt!

So, I'm taking down the Hallowe'en decorations last night, getting them packed to put them in storage later today, and feeling kina sad. I find myself humming a tune, I'm wondering what it is. D'oh! "A Clown in the Sky" from MST3K.
"I love you, Tom."
"I love you Joel."
"I love you, Crow."
"You're not my real father!"

Ugh…too much Christmas…I have a rule…no Christmas until after Thanksgiving…so bring on the Macy's review, Matt!

For me Thanksgiving is a kind of subdivision of Christmas, so it's actually the only case I can think of where I feel okay with celebrating one holiday before another has happened. It's all just one big thing to me.

And I sure am looking forward to it. The first article I ever read on this site was the '87 Macy's Parade.