How I Celebrate October & Halloween

I live my life paying attention to the seasons, changing what I eat, wear, watch, listen to, etc. - and of course, what I make - with every turn of the seasonal wheel.

Autumn, as I'm sure I've mentioned, is my favorite season even independently of Halloween. But the beauty of it is that it does contain Halloween! The month of October & Halloween Season is like a much-beloved ne

sting doll inside of autumn.

On the 1st of the month, I get out the decorations and do up all of the common rooms of the house while listening to a Halloween playlist (I have five in my Halloween folder if you count the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack).

I watch one of my favorite horror movies once or twice a week. Back in the day, I used to schedule a film every night of the month, but my favorites have been watched many times and I don't want to get to the point where something is no longer fun to watch. And I just don't have the energy to watch a movie every night.

My favorites are from the '60s and '70s, especially Hammer horror, and anything from American International and Amicus or specifically anything Roger Corman or Freddie Francis directed. Basically, movies that aren't realistically gory, but are lurid as hell. Unsurprisingly, these also fuel my general aesthetic. My "October boyfriends" - the guys I see an awful lot of every Halloween season - are Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing.

I take Halloween Day off from work and get up just as early as usual (5 or 5:30) and make myself a delicious latte and a decadent breakfast and head into my room to watch a movie. The morning movie and noon movie are new each year, with the last three of the day being consistent traditions. Between the morning movie and the noon movie is a nice long walk out in nature to enjoy the deepening season and the smell and the crunch of the leaves, then maybe a little art time, lunch, and a nap.

The afternoon movie, post-nap, is The Witches Of Eastwick. Then a little hanging out with mom, dinner, some light Halloween-themed tv episodes (this year I'm thinking a Midsomer Murders episode followed by one of The Middle's consistently hilarious Halloween episodes) and off to my room for the grand finale double feature: Practical Magic followed by Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow.

And that's my October & Halloween!