It is finally time. Time for jack o’ lanterns, free candy, horror movies, and dressing up as our favorite characters. That’s right! It’s Halloween! Who doesn’t love this holiday? Christmas is pretty good with its good feels and presents, but Halloween gives people a chance to explore their darker side. Where togetherness and family is the main reason for Thanksgiving, Halloween is unique from other holidays by not having similar values behind its existence; it has a more interesting continuation. It allows people to embrace the unknown, disturbing, foreboding, and darkness within. This holiday is more symbolic of human nature and towards the reality of the real world. With the approaching holiday, almost everyone will be getting ready to celebrate Halloween. Some people might be excited for the candy, or the costumes, or the parties. I, however, get more excited to watch horror movies with my friends and the Halloween specific shows coming back on the air.
I have been a cinephile since I was younger, and as I have grown up, I have become more of a horror movie fan. Recently, my friends have started to watch these movies with me. We watched some older horror movies like John Carpenter’s The Thing and David Lynch’s Eraserhead, and we viewed some newer movies like Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Stephen King’s It. Every year at this time though, we watch one of the best horror movies to commemorate this holiday: Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece The Shining. This movie still freaks me out to this day, and because of this, we rewatch it every year to get into the mood of Halloween. On a separate note, I also really enjoy watching some of the Food Network Halloween shows. The best one to watch is Halloween wars! Four teams make giant horror themed displayed out of pumpkins, cakes, and candies in order to win a grand prize of fifty thousand dollars. My dad would watch this show every October since before I was born, so I started to watch it with him every fall. After being subjected to this show over and over again, I now love it because of how cool the displays end up being and, more importantly to me, it reminds me of spending time with my dad during the fall. We would sit on the couch with the leaves of orange and red and watch bakers carve pumpkins, bake cakes, and prepare candies. This show never fails to get me pumped up for the spooky season!

Whatever gets one in the mood for Spoopaween, whether watching shows or decorating the house with skeletons, everyone should at least get a little into the spirit of the October holiday. One could do something similar to watching horror movies with friends, or just eat a whole lot of candy. Either way, this holiday is a special one to celebrate. So, my friends, I’ll be excited to see everyone’s costumes and jack o’ lanterns for this year’s Spoopaween!