Nostalgic 1960s Halloween

If you were a kid in the 1960s, your Halloween was getting some serious momentum. The 50s started the craze, the 60s fortified it, ensuring that the 70s would be the last great decade of panhandling door to door for candy.

Nostalgic 1950s Halloween

I'm covering the nostalgia of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s Halloweens in these three days' of posts. Today, let's talk about those who recall the 1950s Halloweens - 

Backyard Halloween

It's getting to be that magical season and the weather in the evenings is quite pleasant. Consider taking your spooky haunting fun to your own yard.

For Those Who Love the Legend of Sleepy Hollow Theme

When I was a child and our librarian during reading corner time read us Washington Irving's tale of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," I was perpetually in Halloween in my mind. 

It is a tale that is so full of autumnal vibe and spooky haunts that it pops up in a lot of haunted attractions. 

If you love the legend, here's some great versions to watch, music to listen to, and ways to put that vibe into your Halloween home - 

October Horror on Cable TV: Home-In theater

 

It's that month of the year when our cable channels bring us TONS of horror and mayhem. How about home-in theater this year? Show the pre-movie ad for popcorn and Coke, heat up some hot dogs, and watch a pre-movie short film. I recall as a kid seeing the Patterson film before a movie.

Here's some of the best channels for the season and what they are offering this month - 

Scariest Places For Halloween Exploration

It's that time of year and with social distancing and everyone a bit slowed down from the usual hectic rushing around and partying, it might be a good year to enjoy the full moon (a blue moon) and a Saturday night and take out to explore into the twilight and nighttime.

Using Doll Parts to Your Halloween Advantage

 

(set up around a shed where a Brothers Quay "Street of Crocodiles" stop motion doll film was projected against them)

Doll heads and body parts and intact dolls are all great Halloween creep factors. Doll Island in Mexico inspired much of the high level of anxiety around dolls. I used to do my Halloween front windows with tons of dolls lit by flashes of lightning so the kids would catch glimpses for a fraction of a second. 

Autumn Trees and the Season of Leaves

 OAK

I'm in the Phoenix area and our leaves don't turn color until the end of November/early December, so I have to live vicariously. It's hard to tell what my favorite autumn tree is, but I've always been drawn to orange first and then yellow. 

Let's take a look at how your favorite trees come to peak - 

Homemade Halloween Costumes With European Pagan Themes

Natural elements to make Halloween costumes means giving an Old World magical vibe. We know the usual characters of Halloween - Frankenstein, witch, vampire, etc. What we NEED are self-created personas in an Old World way using goods around us to look very homemade and creepy.

My Top 5 Favorite Horror Movies I MUST See at Halloween Time

 

Halloween movie marathon watching is standard this time of year, but there are certain movies that you feel you MUST see as Halloween approaches. 

Halloween: How to Create Subtle Terror

I came into my teens during the peak of slasher films so you'd think they'd be special to me. They were so formulaic and I never felt torture and guts were particularly scary, just repulsive. 

Halloween: Use of Projectors Inside and Out

AtmosFX (prior called AtmosFearFX) did a great job of showing home haunters and holiday lovers a way to keep their display safe from theft while still enjoying the super creep factor.

By hanging a simple cloth in your window or doorway, you could project holographic film or images that people out front could enjoy. Some of the ones they have come up with are super creepy and they extended into the holidays! (I'd love to see a Mothman or Bigfoot one - please hire me!) 

The Creep Factor of Fog

Sure, thunder and lightning are in-your-face unsettling and snow is bleak and colorless, but nothing quite unsettles a person more than fog rolling in, eating up the landscape, one acre at a time.

Spooky Atmospheric Halloween Music

If you love horror movies, you know that they would be totally ineffective at spooking you out if they didn't use tense, creeping music. It totally sets the mood. Whether you are spending a day indoors and want to get your gothic on or plan to create a scary haunted display, I've found some music for you!

Urban Exploration: Exploring and Photographing Abandoned Places

You wanna get in the Halloween mood, but the world is so odd going to public events. Why not do something that gives you the vibe while keeping you far from the crowds? 

The Year of the COVID Halloween

No matter how cautious we are about the comeback of COVID, Halloween is a time to get out and about to see decorations and families are going to be walking or driving the streets in search of eye candy for the season.

In fact, for the dark introverts of the season, the barren quiet might add to the atmosphere.

Here's some options for a safe and happy Halloween 2020 - 

Photographing Cemeteries

Cemeteries are a kind of spiritual park. You wander the quiet grounds that are almost never crowded, and see a lot of nature that took over because man barely visits (a statement on memorials). 

My tips for photographing a cemetery are below. You don't usually think of it as a very photogenic place, but cemeteries are beautiful sites with sometimes hauntingly creepy statues and chipped ancient headstones. If you pick a cloudy day, the atmosphere is ideal to get some somber and even Halloween-vibe inspirations for a yard haunt design. I enjoy going to be with prior people who in their own ways changed the world with their butterfly effect.

Cheap and Easy Halloween Decorations

You don't need cookie cutter out of the box designs from Halloween shops and big chain stores. Try and make some of your own Halloween decor that suits you, your personality and the layout of your home. Here's just some ideas.

If You Like This Abandoned Site, You Might Like These Movies

September on GHT was all about how-to prepare for Halloween and how to to repurpose, upcycle, and hand-make from natural or leftover items.  This month, however, is all about the flavor of Halloween - mood-setting spookiness and the season in concentrate.

How to Take Spooky Photos

 

Scary is easy to find. It presents itself with light and dark, odd angles, and looming images taken from below. A nest of bare branches becomes something sinister - a portal to the macabre. A dead tree and a storm sky takes on an ominous tone - 

Halloween Party Foods

Halloween and crazy creepy snacks - a dream combo! Here's just some of what's cookin' for Halloween 2020 - 

Halloween Cocktails

alien brain hemorrhage

It's that time of the year where you expect to have cocktails that are gruesome, daring, and grotesque. Here's just a few great Halloween cocktails to inspire.

Using Cardboard and Paper for Halloween Decor

Continuing my focus on recycling/repurposing/upscaling items that are readily available, found, or bought for very little, today I want to show the amazing potential of cardboard and paper!

Elvira Costume Tips and Happy Birthday Elvira (Cassandra Peterson)

Today is extra special because, even though we were born in different years, Cassandra Peterson "Elvira" and I share the same birthday! We are both redheads, Scandinavian, and tall. We both love horror and humor. 

Witch-Themed Movies

As we ease into the awesome month of October, GHT will shift focus from how-to crafting and prepping for Halloween, to sitting back and enjoying the spooky season. 

Here's my suggestions if you're in the mood for a witch-y marathon!

Halloween Makeup Tips

Years of acting, theater arts, pageants and modeling and makeup is second nature for me. But it's not always intuitive for everyone. 

I'm going to share some awesome tips for Halloween that are easy to replicate and to take the concepts and make them your own!

Pirate-Themed Halloween Party

Pirate party! Who doesn't want to go to a pirate party??? 

On the Radio Tonight!

 

Tonight, Dennis Guern and I are on Shawn Whittington's "Vegas Supernatural" show on KCOR Radio at 8 pm EST/7 pm CST/5 pm PST. 

There a lot of subjects we will be covering from treasure hunting to ancient giants, UFOs to Bigfoot, ghosts to potential portals.

Can't wait to give y'all an evening of mysteries to ponder.

Here is the link to the ARCHIVED SHOW. 

How to Reuse Plastic Items for Halloween

No doubt, like the landfills around the planet, you have plenty of plastic stored away from grocery bags to milk jugs, water bottles to lawn bags. Here's some great ideas for giving them a purpose again - 

How to Use Halloween Pumpkins in Lots of Ways

Real pumpkins and plastic pumpkins both - they abound this time of year. Start thinking about new ways to use them this Halloween.