Halloween Week

Halloween Week: A More Personal Introduction…

We’ve told you what to expect in the upcoming week with a formal introduction–but here’s the more personal skinny on Halloween, and what it means to us.

Ana

Nothing. Halloween means nothing to me.

I was born in Brazil and spent most of my life there until I moved to England 4 years ago. We do not celebrate Halloween in Brazil – in fact, most people wouldn’t even know what Halloween was if it wasn’t for American movies and TV Shows showcasing it.

My first contact with the concept of Halloween was when I was 6 years old and my mother took me to see ET. Upon seeing that scene where the kids dress up ET as a ghost, I asked my mother what they were doing. I remember her reply very clearly: “it is their carnival.”


ET’s Halloween

This was a concept I understood well even then as Carnival in Brazil is the time of the year where we all put on costumes and go to street parties and balls (although you are probably more used to relating Brazilian carnival to images of naked women shaking their asses – that is so not how the majority of Brazilians celebrate carnival!).

It wasn’t until I was much older and started studying English and watching more movies that I understood what Halloween was – not that it made any difference to me, it was and it still is a cultural celebration that is not part of my life.

But what about the other stuff usually related to Halloween – not the costumes or the trick or treating – like the horror movies? It just so happens that I am a ninny. Horror movies scare the shit out of me, specially the ones with ghosts or demonic possession, or too much blood. Or zombies. And people dying. Chainsaws and claws. Although the suspense scares me much more than gore : an empty chair rocking back and forth can make me sleepless for months. No kidding. So I avoid them like the plague. I will watch some that come highly recommended (if you consider peeking-through-my-fingers –with-eyes-half-closed “watching”) but I do not enjoy it.


Ana prefers romance

When Thea decided to hijack the blog and made me a list of movies and books to catch up with , I trembled but decided to man up and give it a go. As a result, I haven’t slept well in over a week – last night, I woke up and I swear it was not Dear Partner next to me. It was an alien.

Thea

I think my love affair with Halloween started at birth. Ok maybe not quite at birth, but definitely at a young age. One thing I will always love about my parents is how they never really restricted me from watching scarier movies or shows–I remember watching Child’s Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Tales From the Crypt, etc. in first and second grade. And, I was fascinated. Scared, yes, but fascinated all the same.


Little Me!

Halloween was fun for the dressing up aspect, of course the candy aspect, but also for the prospect of decorating the house with spiderwebs and witches, getting to tell scary stories and holding seances with friends… (On a nostalgic sidenote, one of my favorite cassette tapes was bright orange and featured only haunted house noises–creaks, moans, shrieks, etc. I loved that tape and used to just listen to it. No joke. In retrospect, this is probably pretty weird.) And for the record, yes, I was the kid that always wanted to play Bloody Mary, create makeshift Ouija Boards, hypnotize friends (and my litte sister), build walkthrough ‘Haunted Houses’ (again, with my unfortunate little sister)…so Halloween definitely is the holiday that brings all those things together for me.

My love for this season and for shit that scares has never faded–if anything, it’s grown worse with time! I drag my poor boyfriend to any horror movie in theaters that looks even decently scary (and a bunch of ones that don’t because you NEVER KNOW), as well as annual Halloween Scare Fests (see picture below):


SO. Given that we do a lot of romance and fantasy over here, I decided to hijack the blog and force Ana to do my bidding for this one week–making her read favorites like It and watching The Evil Dead and The Amityville Horror (though I haven’t yet bullied her into watching The Exorcist–Ana says she has her limits).

Now you know a little more (more than you wish you knew?) about us and our relationships with Halloween! What about you? Any Halloween skeletons in your closet?

6 Comments

  • Bridget Locke
    October 25, 2008 at 7:19 pm

    I don’t know about skeletons, but I remember when I was a kid and my parents would have to explain to people that I was a kid and not an adult trying to get candy. *sigh*

    I was 5’10” when I was ten and looked MUCH older than I was, so this happened quite often. Got to the point where I pretty much hate Halloween now. And I never could get into horror movies, except for funny ones like Shaun of the Dead or The Scream Trilogy. I don’t like being scared, I guess.

  • Katiebabs a.k.a KB
    October 25, 2008 at 7:44 pm

    Should I lie and say I did not go trick o treating till I was a senior in high school?
    Also my father would make me and my sister walk for hours with these huge pillowcases till they were filled with candy twice!

  • Marg
    October 25, 2008 at 8:26 pm

    Ana, we don’t really do Halloween here either. There may be a few trick or treaters around and a few of the shops try to push it a bit, but really that’s about it.

  • Hagelrat
    October 26, 2008 at 9:08 am

    I like Halloween, but like Ana i’, in the Uk and it’s no great shakes over here. Although I plan to go to the pub and hang out with Tarot weilding pagans. yay.

  • Thea
    October 26, 2008 at 10:10 am

    Aww Bridget *hugs* Well, there are those horror comedies that come along and make everyone laugh, like Shaun of the Dead, et al. Have you seen Army of Darkness? Good amount of campy fun and classic humor, but also just a great movie 🙂

    Katie–lol!! That’s a lot of candy. I think I only went trick-or-treating a few times as a kid (we lived overseas so it was tough to really formally do it)!

    Marg–oh interesting. I can definitely understand (in Japan, Indonesia, we couldn’t ever really go out and trick or treat or anything). If nothing else, it’s a good excuse to binge on horror movie viewings though!

    Hagelrat– Although I plan to go to the pub and hang out with Tarot weilding pagans. yay. Oh that sounds awesome!!! How fun :p

  • Christine
    October 27, 2008 at 5:38 am

    omg Thea! You were the cutest little ballerina fairy EVER! I graduated college in 1990 and there you are, a cute little tot! ;p

    I dressed up and trick or treated every year until I was maybe 13 years old. I liked Halloween well enough, but honestly, I’m more into it now than I was as a kid. I love the decorations, the costumes, the parties, the pumpkins, the seasonal foods, the fun tricks and treats… Next year, Halloween is on a Saturday and we’re already planning a party! I love it! =)

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