Halloween Horrors

It’s that time of year again, Halloween is just around the corner. Whether you’re buying last minute treats or preparing for your very own spooktacular party, Halloween seems to be what’s on everyone’s agenda. Costume stores have been filled with eager Halloween connoisseurs looking for that perfect ensemble. Girls everywhere will throw the phrase sexy in front of every imaginable costume idea as permission to dress as provocatively as they can, somehow getting away with it just because it’s Halloween. Sexy nurses, sexy cops and sexy french maids will fill the night clubs this weekend. Who would ever dare think to use their imagination or perhaps even creativity to conjure up a costume idea……..just play out your role playing fantasies in public, now there's an idea!

I have to admit, I for one have never been a fan of Halloween. The spiritual darkness of the holiday, the tacky skeleton and tombstone decorations, the sleazy costumes worn by half of the female population, none of it exactly strikes a chord with me. What I do like about Halloween are the treats. What better excuse to buy a box of 100 chocolate bars and eat them all yourself than for this time of the year?

So needless to say Halloween is definitely not one of my favorite observed “holidays” but I will wish everyone a safe and happy one.  As well, I would LOVE to hear what your funny and creative costume will be this year or in past years when you leave your comments below.

Here are some fun Halloween facts to get your little pumpkins turning.

~Halloween is the second most commercially successful holiday worldwide after Christmas.

~Today, in North America close to 3 billion dollars is spent on Halloween costumes alone.

~Because the movie Halloween (1978) was on such a tight budget, they had to use the cheapest mask they could find for the character Michael Meyers which turned out to be a William Shatner Star Trek mask. Shatner initially didn’t know the mask was in his likeness, but when he found out years later, he said he was honored.

~Trick-or-treating evolved from the ancient Celtic tradition of putting out treats and food to placate spirits who roamed the streets at Samhain, a sacred festival that marked the end of the Celtic calendar year.

~A popular online store recently pulled a costume named “Anna Rexia” from its cyber shelves.  The advertisement for the costume shows a woman in a provocative pose holding a measuring tape wrapped around her waist, showing off a bone atop her head and a skeletal pattern on her dress that includes a red label spelling out "Anna Rexia"

~The word “witch” comes from the Old English wicce, meaning “wise woman.” In fact, wiccan were highly respected people at one time. According to popular belief, witches held one of their two main meetings, or sabbats on Halloween night

~The largest pumpkin ever measured was grown by Norm Craven, who broke the world record in 1993 with an 836lb. pumpkin.

~Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars a year in the United States. Chocolate bars are consistently the most favorite Halloween treat to get, second to candy corn.

~The average child gains an estimated 2.2 pounds bingeing on Halloween treats.

~Halloween celebrations in Hong Kong are known as Yue Lan or the “Festival of the Hungry Ghosts” during which fires are lit and food and gifts are offered to placate potentially angry ghosts who might be looking for revenge

~In 1970, a five-year-old boy Kevin Toston allegedly ate Halloween candy laced with heroin. Investigators later discovered the heroin belonged to the boy’s uncle and was not intended for a Halloween candy.

~Scottish girls believed they could see images of their future husband if they hung wet sheets in front of the fire on Halloween. Other girls believed they would see their boyfriend’s faces if they looked into mirrors while walking downstairs at midnight on Halloween.

~And last but not least, predicted to be the most popular Halloween costume for 2011 is that of the notorious Charlie Sheen.

Kristin Silliker