“
she saw a man standing on her back porch stoop. And it was a man, not a lawnmower or a vacuum cleaner but an actual man. Luckily, she had time to register the fact that, although he wasn’t Deputy Boeckman, he was also dressed in Castle County khaki. This saved her the embarrassment of screaming like Jamie Lee Curtis in a Halloween movie.
”
”
Stephen King (Lisey's Story)
“
The days are passing so quickly. This is the only time of year when I want to slow time down. I spend the entire year trying to get here as fast as I can, then once I'm here I want to slam on the brakes. I'm beginning to have those moments when the feel of autumn is so strong it drowns out everything else. Lately it's been making me think about the perfect soundtrack for a Halloween party.
The top of any Halloween music list as to be the theme song from the movie Halloween; right on its heels is "Pet Sematary" by the Ramones. For some reason I've always equated the old Van Morrison song "Moondance" with Halloween, too. I love that song. "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus is an October classic, as well as anything by Type O Negative. And Midnight Syndicate. If you've never heard anything by Midnight Syndicate, look them up right this moment. If you distilled the raw essence of every spooky story you ever heard, you would have Midnight Syndicate. I have a friend who swears by them, believing them to be a vital element of any Halloween party. To finish off the list you must have "The Lyre of Orpheus" by Nick Cave and "I Feel Alright" by Steve Earle.
”
”
Damien Echols (Life After Death)
“
When I first met Cara, she was twelve and angry at the world. Her parents had split up, her brother was gone, and her mom was infatuated with some guy who was missing vowels in his unpronounceable last name. So I did what any other man in that situation would do: I came armed with gifts. I bought her things that I thought a twelve-year-old would love: a poster of Taylor Lautner, a Miley Cyrus CD, nail polish that glowed in the dark. "I can't wait for the next Twilight movie," I babbled, when I presented her with the gifts in front of Georgie. "My favorite song on the CD is 'If We Were a Movie.' And I almost went with glitter nail polish, but the salesperson said this is much cooler, especially with Halloween coming up."
Cara looked at her mother and said, without any judgment, "I think your boyfriend is gay.
”
”
Jodi Picoult (Lone Wolf)
“
Her name was Ellen and I loved her very much. She love to pick flowers and put them in vayses. What happen was like a horra movie. I never go see horra movies because on Halloween night in 1958 I lived thru one. My
”
”
Stephen King (11/22/63)
“
Wrath: look at how their folklore portrays our species. There's Dracula for Christ's sake, an evil bloodsucker who preys on the defenseless. There's piss-poor B movies and porn. And don't get me started on the whole Halloween thing. Plastic fangs. Black capes. The only thing the idiots got right are that we drink blood and that we can't go out in daylight. The rest is bullshit, fabricated to alienate us and stimulate fear in the masses. Or just as offensive, the fiction used to create some kind of mystique for bored humans who think the dark side is a fun place to visit.
”
”
J.R. Ward (Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #1))
“
Unbelievable,” Audrey’s voice squeaked as I pushed past her. “Here we are, talking to you about your freaky little-boy encounter back in Breaux Bridge and how your caramel macchiato tasted like cardboard, and boom! You just zone out like one of the kids from Children of the Corn.”
“Um, Aud, babe … I don’t think those kids zone out. They’re just freaky twenty-four-seven. It’s a year-round thing.” Gabe’s response drew a half-hearted laugh from me, but it was quickly reined in when I reached the Book of the Ancients.
“Whatever, Gabriel,” Audrey said to him. “My point is, it’s freaky, okay? She gets this glazed-over look in her eyes, like she’s gonna whip out a butcher knife and go all Michael Myers on us or something.”
I glanced over my shoulder to cock an eyebrow at her.
“Oh, now you pay attention.” She cocked an eyebrow back.
“What is it with you and the cheesy horror-movie references?” Gabe muttered.
“Hey, now. Halloween is a classic,” Gavin scolded him. “Don’t go hating on the classics.
”
”
Rachael Wade (The Tragedy of Knowledge (Resistance, #3))
Tim Waggoner (Halloween Kills: The Official Movie Novelization)
“
if you planned to seize the day, you might as well start with the beginning of it.
”
”
John Passarella (Halloween: The Official Movie Novelization)
“
Experts say that the movie King Kong (1933) released the pent-up rage of the Great Depression. Well, COVID-19 Halloween displays could do the same for our feelings about the 2020 lockdown.
”
”
Stewart Stafford
“
I’m afraid that soon Halloween will follow the path of the forgotten! Now we have Christmas in July! We have Christmas movies available year round! First VHS, then DVD, and now internet streaming has made Christmas movies a year round
”
”
B.J. Walker Jr. (Halloween, The Best Time of the Year)
“
It’s interesting to observe the fascination children have with fear. Whether it’s movies, books, or Halloween, part of them wants to be scared at the same time another part doesn’t. It’s like being tickled. There’s delight in fright. Perhaps it’s their way of learning about fear, of gradually coming to know the difference between what’s real and imagined. It’s a knack that takes continual practice. But as we mature, society convinces us that fear is a weakness, and we stop exploring it. Sure, we may still go to horror movies and read Stephen King novels, but we no longer engage fear like we used to. And as a result, we lose our perspective. Instead of flinching when someone says, “Boo!” we slide further into our cocoons.
”
”
Joe Kita (Accidental Courage: Finding Out I'm a Bit Brave After All)
“
Women have always been the most important part of monster movies. As I walked home one night, I realized why. Making my way down dark city streets to my apartment in Brooklyn, I was alert and on edge. I was looking for suspicious figures, men that could be rapists, muggers or killers. I felt like Laurie Strode in Halloween. Horror is a pressure valve for society's fears and worries: monsters seeking to control our bodies, villains trying to assail us in the darkness, disease and terror resulting from the consequences of active sexuality, death. These themes are the staple of horror films.
There are people who witness these problems only in scary movies. But for much of the population, what is on the screen is merely an exaggerated version of their everyday lives. These are forces women grapple with daily. Watching Nancy Thompson escape Freddy Krueger's perverted attacks reminds me of how I daily fend off creeps asking me to smile for them on the subway. Women are the most important part of horror because, by and large, women are the ones the horror happens to. Women have to endure it, fight it, survive it — in the movies and in real life. They are at risk of attack from real-life monsters. In America, a woman is assaulted every nine seconds.
Horror films help explore these fears and imagine what it would be like to conquer them. Women need to see themselves fighting monsters. That’s part of how we figure out our stories. But we also need to see ourselves behind-the-scenes, creating and writing and directing. We need to tell our stories, too.
”
”
Mallory O'Meara (The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick)
“
I've been keeping an eye out for the Charlie Brown Valentine's Day special. I know it will be on soon, and I never miss a Charlie Brown special. The best one is the Halloween show about the Great Pumpkin - which I've only missed one year in my life, due to the local ABC station having technical difficulties - but all the Peanuts shows make me feel like I'm one step closer to Halloween.
The thing I like about the shows isn't the characters - it's the background. The colors are so amazing it almost takes my breath away. Every time I watch The Great Pumpkin I feel like I'm going to have a seizure during the scenes where Snoopy is in a dogfight. Just look at the background in those scenes. It really is too much to take. I can barely keep from holding my head in my hands and involuntarily groaning like I have a mouthful of the best chocolate cake ever made. I look at them and can literally smell the crisp autumn air - even in this cell. No horror movie in the world makes me feel the magick of Halloween as strongly as The Great Pumpkin.
”
”
Damien Echols (Life After Death)
“
There’s our homecoming picture. Last Halloween, when I dressed up as Mulan and Peter wore a dragon costume. There’s a receipt from Tart and Tangy. One of his notes to me, from before. If you make Josh’s dumb white-chocolate cranberry cookies and not my fruitcake ones, it’s over. Pictures of us from Senior Week. Prom. Dried rose petals from my corsage. The Sixteen Candles picture.
There are some things I didn’t include, like the ticket stub from our first real date, the note he wrote me that said, I like you in blue. Those things are tucked away in my hatbox. I’ll never let those go.
But the really special thing I’ve included is my letter, the one I wrote to him so long ago, the one that brought us together. I wanted to keep it, but something felt right about Peter having it. One day all of this will be proof, proof that we were here, proof that we loved each other. It’s the guarantee that no matter what happens to us in the future, this time was ours.
When he gets to that page, Peter stops. “I thought you wanted to keep this,” he said.
“I wanted to, but then I felt like you should have it. Just promise you’ll keep it forever.”
He turns the page. It’s a picture from when we took my grandma to karaoke. I sang “You’re So Vain” and dedicated it to Peter. Peter got up and sang “Style” by Taylor Swift. Then he dueted “Unchained Melody” with my grandma, and after, she made us both promise to take a Korean language class at UVA. She and Peter took a ton of selfies together that night. She made one her home screen on her phone. Her friends at her apartment complex said he looked like a movie star. I made the mistake of telling Peter, and he crowed about it for days after.
He stays on that page for a while. When he doesn’t say anything, I say, helpfully, “It’s something to remember us by.”
He snaps the book shut. “Thanks,” he says, flashing me a quick smile. “This is awesome.
”
”
Jenny Han (Always and Forever, Lara Jean (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #3))
“
For some, Halloween isn’t just a holiday; it’s a lifestyle, a season. Being spooky and dressing in your favorite horror movie tees and collecting everything jack-o’-lantern and Halloween has become a normal thing for a lot of people. You can’t do that for any other holiday. Every day is Christmas?—wouldn’t work. It would be really weird to see someone walking around with a snowman shirt and a pair of elf ears in July. Either that person really enjoys Christmas or he or she is on a bad trip.
”
”
E. Reyes (Devil's Hill: An Anthology)
“
We head for 680, which will take us seventeen miles south to the next attack, the third that month. October 1978. Carter was president. Grease had been the huge summer movie, and John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John’s “Summer Nights” was still a radio mainstay, though the Who’s “Who Are You” was climbing the charts. The fresh-scrubbed face of thirteen-year-old Brooke Shields stared blankly from the cover of Seventeen. The Yankees beat the Dodgers in the World Series. Sid Vicious’s girlfriend Nancy Spungen bled to death from a stab wound on a bathroom floor at the Chelsea Hotel. John Paul II was the new pope. Three days before the San Ramon attack, the movie Halloween was released.
”
”
Michelle McNamara (I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer)
“
Two figures joined the witch, a skull head and a pumpkin head.
”
”
John Passarella (Halloween: The Official Movie Novelization)
“
So you’re saying that you’re a comic book writer, have purple hair and a million inside jokes from movies and books I’ve never seen or read, and that your dog was a plain ol’ box for Halloween?” “I thought it was funny.
”
”
Meghan Scott Molin (The Frame-Up (The Golden Arrow #1))
“
I used to be a summer camp counselor when I was younger.
”
”
Tim Waggoner (Halloween Kills: The Official Movie Novelization)
“
Halloween,horror movies doesn't glorified God
”
”
Peter nii korley
“
Scream?” Nothing like watching people get stabbed to death to take her mind off things. Candace groaned. “Seriously? It’s June. It’s nowhere close to Halloween.” “Scary movies aren’t like Christmas movies. There’s no rule about when you can and can’t watch them.
”
”
Erica Lee (11:59)
“
The Monday night after Halloween, I made myself go to the college Bible study Willie was teaching. There were about six or seven other guys, and we met in the gym. Brian, the guy I’d seen at the party, was there too. I wasn’t too worried. Since he was at the party, he probably wasn’t too proud of himself and wouldn’t be telling my brother about it. But Willie got up in front of us and said, “I know some of you guys are struggling, and struggling hard.”
That got my attention. I didn’t hear the rest of what he said, but I remember thinking, He’s never said anything like that before.
A couple nights later, I got drunk and went to the movies. When I came out to the parking lot, I saw a note on the windshield of my truck. I picked it up and unfolded it.
“I know what you’ve been up to. We need to talk.”
It was from Willie.
”
”
Jep Robertson (The Good, the Bad, and the Grace of God: What Honesty and Pain Taught Us About Faith, Family, and Forgiveness)
“
Finally, out of breath, they tried to slip behind some trash cans at the end of a narrow alley. But Floyd ducked a moment too late, and Alice’s rabbit ears gave them away.
Leona squealed with delight.
Yo Ho Ho!
I see something funny.
It’s Pirate Floyd
And his baby bunny!
The witches roared with laughter and slapped each other on the back.
Floyd winced, but as he drew his saber, his face lit up with a pirate’s grin. First, he kept the witches at bay so his friends could carry little Alice to safety. Then, growling like a movie pirate, he swung out of reach on an overhanging tree limb, turned a quick flip, and somersaulted backward over the fence.
“I didn’t know you could do that,” Mona said.
Floyd looked surprised. “Neither did I.”
“Come on,” shouted Wendell. “They’re right behind us!”
They ran until they found themselves in an even stranger part of town.
“It’s pretty creepy around here,” muttered Floyd.
Wendell suggested they hide in the graveyard, but Mona scoffed. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“No, it’s perfect. They’ll never follow us into a place like this.”
Actually, the witches didn’t mind the graveyard at all.
“We see you, Wendell!” Leona crowed.
What’s wrong with Wendell?
Let me think.
He must be MAD
‘Cause he’s dressed in pink!
The witches shrieked and hooted, laughing so hard they nearly cried.
For a moment Wendell’s face turned as pink as his smock. But then an idea began to brew. He reached into his mad scientist’s kit and started mixing potions. “Drink this!” he told his friends. “It will make us invisible.”
At the word “invisible” the witches roared even louder. But their laughter turned to puzzled yelps when Wendell, Floyd, Mona, and Alice suddenly disappeared!
”
”
Mark Teague (One Halloween Night)
“
People also talked of canceling Halloween,
”
”
T.W. Brown (Midnight Movie Creature Feature)
“
I’d seen vampires, demons, werewolves, and more in my time in Ash Grove. They were scary. But a rickety old man in flowing priest garb standing in the middle of the street? Horror-movie-level creepy.
”
”
Kat Blackthorne (Dragon (The Halloween Boys, #2))
“
Over time, my habit blossomed into a love of B-horror movies. The cheesier, the better. Give me the self-aware and unashamed: perfectly terrible dialogue, over-the-top acting, and gallons of corn syrup blood; thirty-year-old teenagers falling into the mouths of Halloween-store monsters; the passion of an actor’s full-chested scream. Give me horror without fangs. Yes. I used to love that stuff.
”
”
Shane Hawk (Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology)
“
He was so obsessed with Michael and all things Halloween that he’d gotten a tattoo of a Thorn rune on his left arm,
”
”
Tim Waggoner (Halloween Kills: The Official Movie Novelization)
“
Eighth grade is a bubbling cauldron of rumors that spread fast in the dark. That’s why I’ve started avoiding any activities that take place during the nocturnal hours. School dances, movie nights, and sleepovers aren’t hard to avoid when you don’t have any friends. Not that it’s stopped the rumors.
”
”
Katie L. Carroll (Witch Test)
“
I need to remind myself that every time I choose what is easy—checking a website instead of reading, eating leftover Halloween candy instead of reheating soup, putting a movie on for the kids instead of pursuing a common interest, sending Keith to the store so I don’t have to deal with it—I am denying myself an opportunity to stretch, to feel, to deepen.
”
”
Michelle Damiani (Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center)
“
Big John said. “He stabbed his sister in the tits in this house. Right upstairs.
”
”
Tim Waggoner (Halloween Kills: The Official Movie Novelization)
“
The Los Angeles Times reported that one early contender to helm the sequel was none other than filmmaker David Lynch! This was years before he would perfect his surrealistic imagery with the likes of Twin Peaks. At this point in his career, Lynch was still a fresh commodity in Hollywood, having only helmed the bizarre midnight movie Eraserhead and unsettling biopic The Elephant Man. The degree to which Lynch was connected to Halloween II remains a mystery. Carpenter would ultimately choose Harvard grad Rick Rosenthal to direct the film. This was to be his first feature directing experience.
”
”
Dustin McNeill (Taking Shape: Developing Halloween From Script to Scream)
“
Imaginhe how more exciting our lives would be, if we lived a nightmare, a walking Jason, an article about a deformed Leather Face, a HELL raising Cenobite, an expressionless white masked Halloween killer, an actual sighting of flying lights, or even a proven haunted town named Silent Hill
”
”
Dean Mackin
“
Pomona's Feast by Stewart Stafford
Home from aggressive begging on November Eve,
A horror movie that won't be finished in the background,
The pirate's booty or robber's swag is examined.
Face in the bag, a cornucopia of scents in the nostrils:
Oranges, nuts, burnt popcorn, chocolate,
Toffee apples, crisps, Liquorice Allsorts, and Rice Krispie cakes.
A smörgåsbord Pomona's feast begins,
As a maternal voice advises frugality,
To no avail.
Noses in the trough,
Nothing eaten bears any relation to the thing eaten before or after,
Aching gums, jaws, and bellies swiftly ensue.
To bed to sleep it off,
The next morning, it's déjà vu,
The maternal voice again advises eating breakfast first, to no avail.
© Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.
”
”
Stewart Stafford
“
Maya’s point is that Hayley, Nicole, and Serena shared common characteristics, which probably means they’re the same type, and it has something to do with singing and swimming.”
“And being pretty,” Hayley said.
“That’s not a superpower,” Sam muttered.
Hayley turned to her. “No? How many times have you gotten into movies for free because you’re a tough warrior chick?”
“What about me?” Corey said. “What’s my superpower?”
Silence fell.
“Oh, come on. I’m good at a lot of stuff. Right?”
More silence.
“You’re cute,” Hayley said. “Well, cute enough.”
“Fun to be around,” I offered.
“So I’m…a clown?”
“At least you’re a cute clown,” Hayley said. “Not a scary one.”
“You’re a good fighter,” Daniel said.
“And you’re a good drinker,” Hayley added. “You can hold your liquor better than anyone I know.”
“Uh-huh,” Corey said. “So Maya will grow up to be an amazing healer who can change into a killer cat. Daniel and Sam will roam the country hunting criminals and demons. Hayley and Nicole will divide their time between recording platinum albums and winning gold medals in swimming. And me? I’ll be the cute, funny guy sitting at the bar, hoping for a good brawl to break out.”
“In other words, exactly where you were already headed,” Hayley said.
We all laughed at that, even Corey. We had to. For now, this was the best way to deal with it. Tease. Poke fun. As if we were comparing Halloween costumes. Look, I’m a superhero. Yeah? Well, so am I.
“I’m sure you have powers,” I said. “You’re just a late bloomer.”
“Thanks…I think.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Calling (Darkness Rising, #2))
“
Yes! I meowed excitedly, brushing back and forth against her legs, nuzzling my head against her skin. “Damien. I like it, too.” She scooped me up into her arms, cradling me like a baby. “What do you say we go sit on the couch and watch a movie, huh, beastie? There’s so many good ones for the Halloween season.” Meow. Yes.
”
”
Jennifer Chipman (Spookily Yours (Witches of Pleasant Grove, #1))
“
Then there was Andi. I smiled, thinking of all the Halloween movies we’d binged the night before while snuggled up on the couch. It was the perfect night, just the three of us. Maybe that’s why I didn’t feel as pukey as I thought I would. I was high on love. It was the best drug around.
”
”
Jennifer Peel (A Pumpkin and a Patch)