What Halloween Means To Me '14: Hoax Massacre

We're kicking off ATL Horror Rock Weekend on the countdown with Hoax Massacre, the bassist/frontman of Fifty Two Ways.  This dude also possesses a killer Macho Man Randy Savage impression.  Seriously, get him to do it for you sometime.  Hell, how about when you go see the Pop-Punk Princes of the Paranormal (how's that for alliteration) with The Cryptoids and Late Night Zero on Nov. 1 (click HERE for the details).  So, Hoax, what does Halloween mean to you?

"Costumes. Candy. Decorations. These things, to some, might be considered childish or stupid. Some might ask, "Aren't you a little old for Halloween?" or give a look at you with some kind of disapproval when showing any kind of excitement in regards to Halloween. But it’s no different than how balls-to-the-wall people go out for Christmas. No different than painting half your body black and half red for a Football game. But, for some reason, Halloween gets pushed aside. At least in the community I’m in. The truth is Halloween is just as much a FAMILY holiday as Christmas. We all got together as a family and decided what we were gonna do to decorate the house. Always picked out costumes together. It was fun. But now I feel it's just "something to please the kiddies".

I always went all out for Halloween, even in school. I'd be one of the few that decided to "dress up". But I’d always be a Misfit or Mankind or something in between. I'd ask, "What are you guys doing for Halloween?" and I'd get "I dunno" or "nothing" from the less than expressive faces from my fellow students. We've all had lackluster 31st's before, but I'd at least throw on some Horror flicks with a friend or two. Even just go out into the night. Trick or treat a little. Watch people. Scare some folks. Fall nights can be unparalleled at times. And that alone can make that night in particular feel magical. The way the leaves dance on the cool air. The way the Jack O'Lanterns POP out of the darkness and somehow light your way throughout the Darkness. The even mix of screams and laughter;  some from children and some from adults alike. Freshly TP'd trees reach out to the shattered shells of eggs on the ground. Being a Ghost or a Goblin for a night is a pretty special thing. Fear can be fun. Almost over-acting just because there's an energy in the air when you can't tell if you're just chilly or excited.

We all know that's the day when the dead walk the Earth amongst the living. Who's to say they're not? I didn't. Don't want to. I loved the idea that I might possibly be walking around what scares us so very badly. Under a mask could be your darkest fear. Something Ghastly and Macabre. In the shadows is something to stop you in your tracks, had you seen it. Of course there's always the fear of "creeps" and kidnappers and horrible people tainting candy, but that's a fear all 364 days before and after Halloween. THAT ads a little danger to the night. And as children and teens, we loved danger. It made the whole thing feel real. Youths in the night searching for candy. And somewhere, someone or something could get you. Pretty exciting to me. 10 lbs of candy earned! And you didn't get eaten by a monster or some dude wearing his mother’s nightgown and face. Halloween was never "EVIL" to me. It was never a sacrilege, even though there were devils running around. Ghosts, Witches, and things like that have always fascinated me and still do to this day. It means good times with good friends, and for one night pretending that everything I've seen in the movies is real. It means believing in magic and wonder.  Halloween means nothing but good things to me."

20 days 'til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.  20 days 'til  Halloween.  Silver Shamrock!