Freddie
“The Wolf” Young was one of the first members of the “Horror Movie All Stars”
that I met. Along with Groggy, Doc,
EKG, Master Gio, Brobocop, and a couple of others that will probably kill me
for forgetting them momentarily, Wolfie was a part of the circle that welcomed
Son of Celluloid at it’s humble beginnings.
He's also a long time participent in the MADNESS, the horror movie watching competition that's become a Halloween tradition for the facebook horror community. His blog, Full Moon Reviews, is a veritable encyclopedia of
reviews. At last count he was on review
number 631. Now that’s impressive. Go check him out, but only after he tells us
what Halloween means to him. On a side note, I formally invite you to spend Halloween in the dirty south with SOC, Wolfie. It's damn near impossible not to be filled with Halloween spirit around me.
"I
know many of you are probably anticipating a really exciting post from the
horror movie guy about Halloween and how I celebrate it [past and present].
Unfortunately, I don't really have anything cool to share about the day. In
reality, Halloween was pretty much a day that eluded me throughout my childhood
and teenage years other than watching horror movies throughout the month of
October.
Don't
get me wrong - I love the idea of Halloween and have dressed up in costume when
I was a kid. In fact, I was Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers
during three of the earliest Halloweens I could remember. By the way, those
plastic costumes for kids suck.
While
elementary school would allow us to dress up for the day, I've never really
participated all that much in terms of what's expected in the holiday. Sad to
say, I've never been trick or treating. There were times where the opportunity
would present itself. But my mom would be too tired from work to take me. One
time, my mom's friend was supposed to take me with her children. But I was
stood up, dressed in my Freddy Krueger costume the entire time sulking and
growing the seed of cynicism that many know me for now. It bugged me for a long
time that I never shared the experience that so many other children have. A
part of me feels that I missed out on something big during my childhood. I know
when I have kids, I'll take them trick or treating each Halloween until they're
too old for it.
I've
only went to a Halloween party once when I was like eight years old at my mom's
friend apartment - the same one that stood me up the year prior. The usual
Halloween stuff, like bobbing for apples and costume contests, were held.
However, the experience wasn't that great since my "friends" ignored
me and I felt like the new kid that no one wants to hang with. Honestly, I
don't remember much about the party experience. The only thing I remember about
that night was watching HALLOWEEN II on television at the end of the night
before going to bed. I haven't been invited or gone to a Halloween party ever
since.
So
the question still stands: "What does Halloween mean to me?" Horror
movies, simple as that. It's the one time of year where I'm not looked at as a
freak for liking violent movies where masked killers butcher stupid victims for
doing drugs, having sex, and being ignorant to the situation they're in. It's
the one time of year where networks will unleashed all kinds of horror films on
their networks, overwhelming me in multiple choices when it comes to what to
watch. From classic Universal Monsters, to zombies, to Hitchcock, to slashers,
to vampires, to werewolves, to everything in between - Halloween is the one
time of year where I feel "normal" by those around me. Sure, some
folks get my love for all things horror. But they are few-and-far between.
In
fact, during the week of Halloween, I watch all the HALLOWEEN films in order.
I've done this for 20 years and it's always been a tradition of mine. I feel
weird if I don't do that. Some family members rolled their eyes at me watching
HALLOWEEN for the millionth time, quoting the dialogue as if I had written it
myself. But it's tradition and the holiday wouldn't feel right without it. So
in a weird way, Michael Myers keeps me sane during this time of year.
22 days ‘til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween. 22 days ‘til Halloween. Silver Shamrock.
1 comment:
As an Australian, Halloween was unfortunately never a thing. There was no-one wearing costumes, no trick-or-treating, and no massive amount of parties, if any at all. The only thing to mark the occasion was a load of horror related things on tv, which is all I ever need for the day! Though unfortunately last year's Halloween had barely anything horror-related on tv.
Post a Comment