It’s likely that I would have been able to find some more Halloween-themed books on my TBR, but I wanted to shift the focus a bit for a change and mention some movies and TV shows that I love instead. I don’t really watch a ton of movies or TV anymore, but there are some that I keep going back to. Around Halloween, I especially love to revisit some of my favourites. I’m a huge coward when it comes to really scary movies. I was way too young when I watched The Sixth Sense, and although it was a great movie, it absolutely terrified me. I rarely watch horror movies, and almost never watch slasher movies. I tend to find psychological horror the scariest. I think one of the creepiest things I’ve ever seen was an anime called Another, which I absolutely loved but it really creeped me out.
Instead, I tend to go for movies that have more of a gothic feel, or a mix of both humour and scary elements. I know Hocus Pocus and Nightmare Before Christmas are likely to make a lot of people’s lists, but surprisingly enough, I’ve never loved either of them! I don’t even think I’ve ever fully seen Nightmare Before Christmas. The commercials for it freaked me out when I was younger for some reason, and I never really bothered to go back to it. I vaguely remember watching Hocus Pocus, but the only strong memory I have of it is a scene where the cat breathes itself back to life after being hit by a car. I think I’ll have to try both of those movies again at some point.
Top 5 Wednesday is a meme created by Gingerreadslainey on Youtube, and is now hosted by Sam at ThoughtsOnTomes. The official GoodReads group with the weekly topics can be found here.
1) The Addams Family – Anyone who has been following my blog for a while would know that this would be my first and most obvious choice. I love The Addams Family in any incarnation, but especially love to watch the Addams Family and Addams Family Values movies from the 90s! I also love to watch The New Addams Family, since that was the version I was absolutely obsessed with as a kid, and it was always on TV around Halloween.
2) Dark Shadows – I wanted to watch this movie in the first place because it reminded me very strongly of The Addams Family. I’ve actually only seen this movie once, in theatres when it first came out. I can’t believe it’s already been 8 years! I keep meaning to rewatch this one around Halloween every year, but somehow never end up actually watching it. This movie is exactly the kind of thing I meant above when I talked about a mix of humour and a creepy/gothic atmosphere.
3) Beetlejuice – This is probably one of the earliest “Halloweenish” movies I can remember watching, aside from The Addams Family. I first saw it at my best friend’s house when we were about 8, and I loved it. I think part of my attachment to it is because I had vague memories of watching the cartoon version from the early 90s, and I also absolutely loved Winona Ryder as Lydia because of how much she reminded me of another Wednesday Addams. It’s been years since I’ve seen it by now, so I’m definitely due for a rewatch.
4) The Treehouse of Horror episodes of The Simpsons – I started watching The Simpsons in general because my older brother loved it, and I distinctly remember being scared by several of the Treehouse of Horror episodes, especially Nightmare Cafeteria. Once I got old enough to find them more funny than scary, I started to really love these episodes and find it a lot of fun to watch them (at least the older ones) around Halloween. Ironically enough, my favourite is now Treehouse of Horror V, including Nightmare Cafeteria!
5) Fear, Itself (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4) – I could probably include all of Buffy the Vampire Slayer since it’s one of my favourite shows, but this episode is the ultimate Halloween special. The episode is set at a Halloween party, where a fear demon has accidentally been summoned that leads Buffy and her friends (as well as the rest of the guests) to confront their worst fears. This episode was genuinely creepy, but also so great for character development, and it is so much fun to watch!
Abyssal Librarian 