One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season (or, let's face it, ANY season) is entertain. I love filling my house with the best people I know. Halloween allows me to go bananas...and trust me. I do. So, for those of you with your own spooky plans, I thought I'd share one of my favorite festive ideas. Again, please excuse the photos (house is a lighting nightmare).
You'll need:
paper treat bags
pencil
assorted tissue or construction paper
x-acto knife
double sided tape
cardboard (for cutting)
1. Lay out treat bag. The bottom of the bag should be facing down. With your pencil, plot out your design. If you need some help, the internet is full of amazing templates.
2. Slide a piece of cardboard inside the bag. This will protect the rest of the bag from being cut. Trace the pencil outline with the x-acto knife and remove the cuttings.
3. Cut your tissue paper to size and apply adhesive. Slip the paper into the bag position it below the holes and use your cardboard to help stick it in place. Make sure the adhesive dries completely before you fill the bag.
4. Enjoy!
Try slipping a flameless candle into your bags for a little extra light during those dark and stormy evenings. The warm glow may even keep the ghouls away.
Welcome to the second half of our tribute to terror. Yesterday, we began with FXX, AMC and the SyFy Channel. Today, there's more festive fun is store.
AMC’s much anticipated Fear Fest is back again this year,
running from October 17-31. Frankly, there’s a little too much Tremors,
Child’s Play and Friday the 13th (Sure, I’ve seem ‘em all, I just wish I hadn’t.) for my taste, but
Stephen King fans (a group to which I stalwartly belong) should be
pleased. They haven’t released the entire schedule yet, so I’m hoping
more classic titles are still to come. Right now, though, the highlights
lie in rarely shown titles and a few new (to me) pictures. Highlights:
The Omen Trilogy (1976, 1978, 1981), Firestarter (1984-Really, it’s Sci-Fi, but
amazing, nonetheless), Pumpkinhead (1989-cult classic, for sure!), The Howling (1981,
often regarded at the best werewolf movie ever made), House on Haunted Hill,
The Fog (1980),An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)
New Titles: Creation of the Humanoids (1962, it’s Sci-Fi, so not really horror,
but still fun), War of the Colossal Beast (1958, again Sci-Fi), Violent
Midnight (1963, Super excited!!), Slaughter of the Vampires (1962, originally
released as Curse of the Blood Ghouls, a sweet young couple moves in with a
vampire…violence ensues!!), Corridors of Blood (1958, a Boris Karloff B-Movie)
TCM gets in on the fun again this year with Ghost Stories, the 2014 incarnation
of their classic horror film fest.This
year, viewers will be treated to the best the golden age of Hollywood has to
offer Thursdays in October. As the name implies, it will be ghost themed and
will span horror, romance and suspense.Brilliant.Rest assured,
Thursdays won’t be the only fun you have with TCM. Several gems will be nestled
comfortably among their regularly scheduled programming.Personally, I’ll be setting my DVR to catch
1972 blacksploitation film Blacula and its 1973 sequel, Scream, Blacula,
Scream! Here's the trailer for the controversial film:
Finally, for the family oriented: ABC Family will be dishing
out G-rated fright with their annual 13 Nights of Halloween.Expect classics (well, edited versions of
them, anyway) like Hocus Pocus, The Addams Family, Addams Family Values, Beetlejuice and Tim Burton’s playful Batman and
Batman Returns.If you’re a Burton fan,
you’ll get plenty of him including some of the movies that put him on the map.I’ve owned The Nightmare Before Christmas in
every format since it’s release.It’s
THAT enchanting.The Corpse Bride (I.
love.) and Coraline will not be absent from the lineup.Don’t despair parents, ABC Family didn’t
forget about the littles.You’ll find
tons geared toward them, as well. The full schedule can be found here.
That concludes our trip through cable. I hope this gets your creative juices flowing!
Kisses,
Erin
Welcome to another installment of my month long celebration of fright! This year, as always we begin with rounding up the best television has to offer and hopefully, you will find the inspiration you need to throw an amazing film festival of your own. Settle in for part one of the hunt for fright.
The first slot on our tour is easily the most terrifying.On October 8th, FX’s own wicked
offering American Horror Story returns with season four, entitled Freak
Show.I have been a HUGE fan of this
series since its inception (although, I’ll admit, I wasn’t a giant fan of
Asylum) and Freak show looks to be the best yet!This is my favorite of the haunting teasers
for the show.Enjoy!
The Walking Dead is the first of two AMC offerings I have for you this
year.For many, the solid little show
has strayed somewhat, but I will keep giving this show another chance.I still love the idea and I’m still ride or
die for Daryl Dixon.With last season’s
return to the brutality that made it famous and the rumblings of the Interwebs, I am genuinely interested to see
what season five will bring.So, sit
back, turn out the lights and get ready for October 12th…
Rounding out the first half of our tribute to terror is Syfy’s 31 Days of Halloween. I love SyFy, I really do and while I’m not a fan
of their reality programs for the most part, I never fail to make SyFy a
stop on my Halloween patrol. This year's highlights are: Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines (a SyFy original, so it's chock full of blood. Despite the production value, it's a pretty decent little flick), My Soul to Take (the 2008 supernatural thriller didn't do well critically speaking, but I thought it was a fun return to slasher films), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, baby. For me, no other version exists. It's a classic, so catch it if you can), Chernobyl Diaries, Let Me In (the blander, Americanized remake of the Swedish hit, but still good). Of course, check the lineup for some original SyFy titles and some festive, if not frightening titles (Dracula 2000, I'm lookin' at you)
Join me tomorrow as we continue our search for fear!
