31/10/2024

Growing up in a religious Jewish household, I was often banned from celebrating all the ‘coolest’ holidays: Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. As a horror movie fanatic, Halloween has always held the most pull for me. I may have never been trick or treating, but Halloween is still my favourite day of the year. I’m a hopeless romantic, but I have more fun on Halloween than on Valentine’s Day.

“In the real world, Halloween is when kids dress up in costumes and beg for candy. In Girl World, Halloween is the one day a year when a girl can dress up like a total slut and no other girls can say anything else about it”

  • Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron, Mean Girls (2004)

During the rowdier part of my teenage years, this was a quote I lived by. Something seemed so freeing about being able to wear whatever you wanted without the fear of judgement. This was especially prevalent for my teenage self, who was stuck at a super religious all-girls school and had to wear knee-length skirts or face detention on a daily basis. But Mean Girls got it wrong. Letting loose is an oversimplification of Halloween – it’s so much more fun than that. It can be fun to “dress up like a total slut”, but what’s so much more fun are the really innovative costumes – something my friends excel at for every college BOP. Even then, Halloween is about so much more than costumes.

I’ve been obsessed with horror movies since I was twelve. From The Shining to Scream to Jaws, anything and everything was delightful. During COVID, I set myself the task of watching a spooky movie every night of October (I think I managed to watch about 15 in the end). I started with The Nightmare Before Christmas, and moved on to Beetlejuice, the Scream movies, some campy, low-budget movies like Truth or Dare, and a movie that was said to be making viewers throw up from the gore, The Perfection. Spooky movies, whether watched alone, with friends, or with a partner, whether watched with popcorn or some candy corn (unironically addictive), are the best part of Halloween for me.

But I’d be remiss if I forgot to mention the decorations of Halloween. I’ve never carved a pumpkin, but it remains a dream activity of mine. As a kid, I’d walk past skeletons and spooky decorations in people’s front gardens and wish I could do the same. Unfortunately, my college doesn’t take kindly to decorating our halls with Halloween decor, so this may be something that I’ll have to wait a bit longer to do. 

My final point as to why Halloween is the best holiday is that it has the best weather. It falls at the perfect time of year, where the October rain has ended, but it is not too cold to go outside without a coat (very important when it comes to costumes). As I write this article, my college looks delightfully haunted. Yellow lights shine through fog, turning the students who walk by my window into spirits risen from the dead to do yet another essay (the scariest fate of all). The greenhouse lights glow an eerie purple near the college bar, and the old buildings make the college feel like a murder is waiting to happen. Perhaps a masked killer waits around the corner, ready to ambush me on my way to get some dinner from Hall. Perhaps some undead spirit awaits me in the library, floating through the stacks of books waiting for prey; or perhaps there are witches waiting to conjure up some disaster – at least it would be a good distraction from all the deadlines.

Halloween is a delightful holiday. For horror fans, there is no lack of choice for entertainment, and for those who get scared watching even the tamest of Doctor Who episodes, there’s always The Nightmare Before Christmas or pumpkin carving to indulge in. In true Halloween spirit, and to round off your Halloweekend, here are the best films to watch, whether you are scared of blood or are a true horror movie fan.

1. The Nightmare Before Christmas

This is the mildest of horror movies. Gorgeous animation, a cute storyline, and a great soundtrack. What’s not to love?

2. Corpse Bride

Similar to The Nightmare Before Christmas, possibly one step up on the fear factor scale. This movie contains The Piano Duet, which is potentially one of the best songs ever written for a movie soundtrack. Danny Elfman, you have my heart.

3. Scream

For those who love a gory movie, any of the Scream movies are perfect. Camp, funny, and delightfully meta, Scream is arguably the best movie franchise of all time.

4. Scary Movie

If you liked Scream, but want a comedy, or if horror movies aren’t so much your thing, Scary Movie is the parody series that will hold your heart. A movie that makes fun of itself, Scary Movie is the perfect cross between horror and comedy.

5. IT

Perhaps the best adaptation of a Stephen King novel yet, IT is a classic that most people know. Both movies successfully balance the fear factor and comic relief, and are generally fun to watch.

6. Coraline

This is the only movie to ever give me nightmares. It may be a kids’ movie, but watch this at your own risk. This was truly terrifying, and to this day, I can’t watch it alone.

7. Carrie

If, like me, you love a movie with a bit of good old religious guilt built in, you’ll enjoy Carrie. This is less of a gory horror movie but far more thrilling.

8. Se7en

Based on the biblical seven deadly sins, this movie is one for the film buffs. Personally, I didn’t find it as entertaining, but it is meticulously crafted and a true masterpiece of cinematography.

9. Jaws

If you like classic horror, Jaws is the perfect movie for this Halloween. The outdated special effects reduce the scariness, and there is something quite charming about watching an old film and understanding how revolutionary it was in its own time. 

10. Pet Semetary

This is the perfect movie for those who enjoyed The Shining. Another Stephen King novel, this movie was better as a book but still enjoyable and wonderfully spooky. The moral implications of this book have stayed with me for many years.