In the inevitable ‘what’s your favorite holiday’ question, Halloween has landed comfortably in spot #2. When people ask, I always put Christmas first (that’s the respectable, warm, cheery answer). But if I was being a bit more honest, Halloween would often be my favorite. It allows us to dress up, poke fun at death, immerse ourselves in community, and eat ungodly amounts of candy. What’s not to love about that!
But I was struggling to get into the Halloween spirit this year, even as the bulk-bags of candy were being stocked in the aisles and the cardboard boxes of pumpkins filled in the grocery store. My neighborhood, fortunately, is one of those Halloween Neighborhoods. When a lot of people hear that, they probably think of big mansions, picket-fence subdivisions, with the houses that give out full candy-bars to bratty kids. But it isn’t like that here. The homes are mostly small apartments, or one or two story walk ups with small yards and narrow balconies. The decorations in Astoria, New York punch above their weight. In some cases, the inflatable skeletons and smiling ghosts are even taller than the buildings.
That says something about a neighborhood, and its people. And I love that.
In the spirit of the holiday, I’ve put together a few lowly recommendations from new things that I’ve watched, and old favorites that I’ve revisited.
“Hereditary” (2018)
I fall into the camp of ‘jump scares are cheap, give me steadily eerie‘, and well, this is eerie. The general vibe: a grandmother dies, and the family deals with a steady ripple of consequences. Things go… awry. If you’re the kind of viewer that likes art with a message, then this will probably land with you: it’s clearly about historical traumas, masculinity/feminism, and the legacy of pain and misunderstanding that can pass through different generations of a family. But it also works when you put the social blinders on and allow yourself to just watch it. Like all good horror movies, it builds tension, and allows you to stew in it a little too long without you knowing it. And then, all of a sudden, you’re like me: huddled alone on the couch, hugging my legs and trying to block my vision with my knees.
“Midnight Mass” (2021)
This is a niche pick that I don’t think will land with everyone. But if you’re anything of the following, it might work;
- Catholic (or formerly), or haunted by Catholicism in some way
- Can tolerate both laughing at dialogue and being swept-up by it
- Likes vampires
- Dislikes religious extremism (but likes tasteful amounts)
The gist: a new, young, and handsome priest arrives at a small island parish. He revitalizes the community with radically new ideas. People start going to church (gasp!). Ailments start to magically cure, and the elderly get younger… shenanigans that get spookier as the show goes on.
While the dialogue can get a bit monologue-heavy, and honestly cringey in moments, it’s one of those shows that has two or three scenes that are so strong that it makes slogging through the entire show worth it. And when you get to those scenes, you’ll probably know exactly what I mean.1
“The Conjuring” (2013)
This is one I re-watched last week, and was worried that it wouldn’t quite hold up. But no, it does!
The vibes: old house with creaky floorboards and a rambunctious child ghost. Things get… progressively creepy! What makes this movie really standout is how it quietly subverts common horror tropes. Hauntings usually happen to small families, but this one has four (4!!) daughters. I mean, is it really possible to be so spooked by a ghost when there’s another family member literally always nearby?
But it works!
Plus: I love movies with scary, but sympathetic & harmless ghosts!2
“The Shining” (1980)
Perhaps my favorite horror movie, if not in my top 10 favorite movies of all time. Look: it’s a weird, sort of uneven movie. Some parts really work still (just the general tension, eeriness, and the soundtrack especially!). Others, uh, don’t (I’m looking at you: costumed animal-thing giving a BJ at the end!). But even with its imperfections, it’s a special movie, and with each re-visit I end up finding something new.
And still, to this day, I have no real clue what the ending definitively means.3
“The Nightmare before Christmas” (1993)
Look, you’re thinking “But Christmas is literally in the title!” No, this is a Halloween movie. I refuse to budge on that. First, Xmas has plenty of its own movies, and it doesn’t need any more. Secondly, I refuse to categorize as a Christmas movie any story that takes place in ‘Halloween Town’. I don’t care if there’s a dog with a shiny red nose that pulls a sleigh (it’s a ghost dog!!!).
But this movie, truly, is special. The stop-motion is intricate, the music catchy, the story simple but well-executed. Everything belongs. I can think of no part of the movie that I’d easily cut. It’s lean, strong, and it passes the ultimate mark of great art: it gets better with each revisit.
“It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” (1966)
I’m 29 years old, and as far as I know this might be the 29th Halloween where I have watched this short. Charlie Brown is a holiday-constant in my family (on both sides), and even though I probably prefer the Christmas special, ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin’ has a special place in my heart. It’s definitely the funniest of the Peanuts holiday specials, from Snoopy as the Red Baron to Charlie Brown going trick or treating and consistently getting rocks instead of candy.
And this show, in particular, is a kind of portal. Because I’ve watched it every single year of my conscious-years, it’s followed me around in just about every phase of my life: childhood halloween evenings after trick-or-treating, pre-party halloweens in college, quiet evenings post-grad when I’d watch it on a laptop alone, and then a few years there where I didn’t watch it alone, where I didn’t think that I would ever have to watch that show alone again. And this year it will be back to watching it alone, which is… life, in all of its ups and downs. Alone this year, who knows what for next year.
This year: rocks. Next year… well, probably rocks, let’s be real. But still. Gotta’ hold out hope for candy.
To all the ghouls and ghoulies out there: I hope you can have a nice holiday, however that looks.
Happy Halloween.
-Michael
Michael Rance 
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