In case you haven’t seen them, here are two of my favourites, possibly lesser-known than some.
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You might like this:
Witchcraft is central to the story, and Salem is mentioned tangentially.
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Putting it on my WishList.
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I just watched the original Night of the Living Dead for the first time this week, and it’s still so brilliant.
A much less serious horror movie that’s worthwhile is Trick 'r Treat, which is more of a comic-booky Halloween anthology film. Sam is my favorite new Halloween character in years.
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I LOVE Trick 'R Treat; it was so underrated.
Have you seen the original short that got Sam started?
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I did! It was on the DVD.
Michael Dougherty says that Trick 'R Treat 2 is all ready to film once he’s done directing Godzilla 2.
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OMG, '63 The Haunting. My DVD got trashed and I am sad. That is one of the first movies that ever made me afraid to fall asleep. (And Theo is awesome. Period. End of story).
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Now I have to go look at my copy of the DVD.
And we get a part 2???
FUCK YEAH!
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I was thinking about re-visiting The Haunting, although to be honest, I haven’t thought it was as wonderful as so many say. Still very good, but I think Julie Harris is too stagey and Wise’s direction isn’t as subtle as often claimed. I feel like sometimes he’s shouting in my ear, “Look how subtle I’m being!”
Night of the Living Dead is one of my very favorites in any genre.
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Which list? The witch list?
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I’ve seen a bunch of zombie films over the years, but it was fascinating going back to watch the original Night; it almost feels like zombie films peaked with the original and have just been spinning their wheels since, adding color and more gore, but not necessarily improving on it.
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Just watched these with my wife and we loved them! Thanks for the suggestion. It hit the sweet spot of being spooky but not too serious and not just egregious splattergore.
I couldn’t help laughing at how Anna Paquin’s character’s part of the story turned out, a year before True Blood started.
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I also heartily recommend Salem, as a person who strongly dislikes touristy stuff. The touristy stuff is all easily avoidable and there’s just loads of cool old stuff to see (plus the aforementioned Peabody Essex museum). I mean, I suppose that applies to New England in general.
But Salem in particular just totally satisfies in giving one the autumnal halloween-y feeling I remember as a kid in the suburbs in upstate NY. I’ve never gotten that feeling here in California but I don’t feel it anymore at my parents’ house in fall either (climate change!). But I know it’s not just because I got old, because I felt that way in Salem.
It also helps if you like old maritime stuff like I do - that’s the main themes of the Peabody Essex museum, and there’s a National Parks Service maritime monument.
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This one turns the usual tropes upside down.
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The turkey is eaten and the dishes are washed. In keeping with the fall theme of this thread, happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving, one and all!
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Sorry this is later than planned. I had things come up. 
It’s here now though. 
Festival of Reconnection
For October 30
As the year wears on, we tend to lose track of some of our personal community. Our schedules don’t match up or we’re busy when they’re available. Whatever the reason, we run the risk of losing them from our lives. At least some of them are people we don’t want to relegate to our Christmas card list.
This festival is a chance to reconnect with them.
Because of that, this day is a lot less ritualized than the Festival of Remembrance (and October 31st will be the least ritualized of all of them but there’s still a bit there). You can let people know what inspired you to reach out to them but don’t make it weird.
There are a few ways you can go with this:
- Party
- Letter writing spree
- Phone calls
Which one you pick is up to you. Or mix 2 and 3 if you’re feeling ambitious.
- If you’re not holding a party, put some items that remind you of your lost connections on the same shelf as yesterday.
- If you are having a party and you remembered someone you kicked out of your life, it might be a good idea for that shelf to be somewhere people won’t go.
Party
If the folks you’ve lost touch with are nearby, you could hold a party and catch up with them. Make a list of their favorite foods and spend the evening catching up with them.
This doesn’t have to be a literal party. You could also go out to dinner with them or do an activity together.
Letter writing party
Write letters to the folks you’ve lost track of. Catch them up on your life and ask them how they’ve been doing.
You can send these via snail mail or email.
Phone calls
We live in an age where you might even be able to video call the folks you want to reconnect with.
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As I get ready for my own Festival of Remembrance, I realized I left y’all hanging for Day 3, the one that’s the funnest and connects with Halloween. I’m hoping that we can celebrate this one together on Tuesday a bit but it’s only fair to make sure I give everyone a head’s up what it entails.
Festival of Faces
For October 31
Each of us has more than one role to be. We’re mothers, daughters, sisters, brothers, fathers, partners, lovers, employees, employers, customers, citizens, artists, analysts, and so many other things. We wear different faces in different places. None of these identities are false, they’re a part of our complex internal community and how we interact with the outside world.
As we get busy and the demands of life intrude, our relationship with some aspects of ourselves can be damaged or pushed to the back of a shelf. Those parts of ourselves still exist and deserve attention and a chance to shine.
Today’s festival is about reconnecting with those other parts of ourselves.
And it’s set to coincide with Halloween so you can (and should) have some fun with it.
Ahead of time, think about some part of yourself you haven’t let out for awhile. What clothes would she wear? How would she talk? How would she want to spend today?
If you can symbolize your neglected self with a particular costume, get the costume ahead of the day. If you already have the clothes, make sure they’re clean and ready to go.
You’re also going to need mirror for your shelf. If you have a picture of yourself that symbolizes this part of yourself, you can put that beside the mirror.
Put on your other self’s clothes and look yourself in the mirror.
Study your face. Learn to recognize them in yourself again. In whatever words they would use, say, “God, it’s good to finally be out and about.”
If you can do this all day long, please do. If not, go let your neglected self be you for awhile. Maybe that means holing up with a palette of paint and something your more serious every day persona thinks shouldn’t be splattered with paint. Maybe it means setting everything in the house in correct order and labeling the heck out of everything. Maybe it means going out to a party and being the life of it.
Enjoy being that other you. Make some memories and try to get a selfie to remind yourself of your connection to your other selves.
When you’re done, go back to the mirror and look yourself in the eye.
Say, “It was good to see you,” pause and say, “I am always here.”
If you followed along the whole way through, you probably have a crowded shelf to deal with now. On November first, start with the mirror from October 31st. Put it back where it goes. If you got a selfie while dedicating time to your other self, get it printed and framed. Put it up somewhere you’ll see it every day.
If you did the Festival of Reconnection in the version that has mementos of friends you’d lost track of, put those mementos somewhere you’ll see them at least once a week. When you see them, consider reaching out to them. Make the reconnection last.
There are two different versions of the Festival of Remembrance. If you got closure with someone you’ve cut out of your life, put their object somewhere you won’t have to see it. If you reconnected with the memory of someone who died, place their object somewhere you’ll see it at least once a month. In either case, you can either open the letter you wrote and file it away or you can shred or burn it depending. Your choice but even if it’s not a nice letter, I’d suggest keeping it. Just somewhere you don’t have to see it.
Festival of Faces: Elsewhere Edition
What I was thinking we could do on October 31, in between handing out candy to trick or treaters and monster movie marathons … is let our other selves play in Elsewhere a bit. To keep things from getting out of hand, I thought we could keep it to one thread (or specially labelled threads) and remind our unrulier other selves to not get too far out of hand.
Assuming I don’t have something come up, my other self be here on October 31 with an April Ludgate icon since that character is the closest one I can think to the other me I need to let out for a bit.
ETA: forgot to mention what to do with the Remembrance letter. I’m off for a bit to write mine.
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@eve Thank you so much for posting this. I’ve reconnected with an old friend, found a part of myself that I’d lost along the way, and spent a bittersweet evening with the ghosts of my parents. This will become a new tradition for me.
This year, I’ve been grieving the loss of two family members, I’ve been depressed and isolating. These rituals addressed all of that in a positive way that is much appreciated.
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Yay. I’m so glad they helped.
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