What do you like the most about Halloween?

What about CANDY?

cahn-dee

The whole ambiance of a chilly, slightly spooky autumn night where you can disguise yourself as someone else and get free, unlimited sweets at every door I remember as being so exciting when I was a little kid. It's such a great idea and one of the few age-old for-children holidays that don't strike me as creepy. I wish it were celebrated here but you're considered a satanic if you string up one pumpkin lantern.

Terrorizing the neighborhood children, the whole thing, everything, Halloween is the best.

the candy!

Oh.Hard question.We have a traditional holiday here,the night between the 31st of October and November the 1st.Same day as Halloween,same holiday basically,All Saints Day is how we call it.It's a holiday we only have here in the North,of celtic origin as you may know (Samhain),and nothing upsets me more than people moaning about "those stupid USA imported holidays".Sure,now people dress up like in America,often,and they think they are very clever and trendy, but All Saints Day was always there and always will be.So what's the difference between Halloween and All Saints Day? We don't dress up.We don't trick or treat.
What's similar? It's the night of the dead.Dead Day is 2nd,but I guess the Church put the Saint name on the real Dead day for purifying it from its pagan tones.
What's the same? We carve pumpkins.No,we USED to carve pumpkins,especially in the country until about 1950's.Now it's very rare and often done for imitating purposes (see what I said at the beginning about stupid people not knowing what they have at home.)
What's different? We leave roasted chestnuts and wine for the dead to eat and drink.Since it's supposed to be the night when the dead have again their flesh and blood,they need food and drink.
The last is my favorite thing,the thing I like the most.I don't believe in life after death,even tough I have doubts about it,but it's something that's traditional in my family.I love good traditions,traditions that don't block your mind,but make you feel part of something.We leave chestnuts.My grandparents left chestnuts.My children (if I'll have children)will leave chestnuts.The night between 31st October and 1st November was my grandfather birthday too.So it's a very important night for me.

And November is my favorite month.

The fact that it's my birthday.
If it weren't my birthday, I'd probably like the costumes best.

Watching horror films and Trick-or-Treating for CANDY!!!

trick-or-treating. I'm 16, and I still go. I plan on going until I'm at least 25.

Dressing as my alter ego and scaring the crap out of everyone

That we in San Francisco practically invented Adult Halloween. Long ago the party was on Polk Street but now the party is in the Castro area and the Civic Center. We really celebrate it here in a big way and there are hardly ANY little kids around -- just grownups in costumes and a big night time party in the streets. I also like watching horror films but I no longer have cable, so that's out unless my neighbor takes pity on me and records a few that I can play on my VCR.

Uhmmm, there seems to be some options left off. Mine are candy and dressing up. I wish there were options for those.

Well, you didn't put candy... anyway, I love horror movies. I can claim I am horror-movie obsessed fan.

I love autumn, but on Halloween it's usually still too hot here to be considered autumn. I guess that one of the things that you have to deal with when you live in the south! My family and I spend Halloween together. We carve pumpkins and roast the seeds. Then, we take my son and nieces trick-or-treating for a while. Then, we come back to my parents' house and have a bon fire. We roast hot dogs and marshmallows. After that, the kids all go into the den and watch movies and the adults go in the living room and watch horror movies. It's more of a family time for us.

Why isn't candy on the list? That's the best part about Halloween!

Heres some real fun on Halloween.
Place a straw stuffed "scarecrow" on the front lawn in a lawn chair several weeks before Halloween. Let the neighbor kiddies get used to you taking it to the garage or inside for "repairs". Then on Halloween night, before all the lil ankle biters hit the streets, take the "scarecrow" in and have a person put on the clothes. Leave straw hanging out of the cuffs so it still looks stuffed and replace the "scarecrow" onto the front lawn. Since the little rugrats are used to seeing it on the front lawn, imagine the surprise when the scarecrow jumps up and chases them off the lawn.
I actually had a 14 year old neighbor kid wet himself one year because of it.

The autumn environment. (Although I secretly love the candy I buy) Kids don't come around here doing trick or treat. I used to love it as a kid in my little black bin sack (we were poor) with white paint on the front in whatever design my Mum decided. Candy! Candy! Candy!

Now I just love Autumn.

Sharing it with my daughter... this year is the first year she got to pick what she would be... She's going to be a princess. I even took a vacation day from work... I'm so excited. Last year she was sooo good at saying trick or treat!

Autumn, and costume parties

Halloween is one of my favourites. I like the costume parties. Alternately, I like to rent a few classic* horror videos and curl up on the couch with my sweetie (not that I have one right now).

*Recommended:

The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (1919)
Nosferatu (1922)
The Phantom Of The Opera (1925)
Dracula (1931)
Frankenstein (1931)
Dr. Jekyll And Mr.Hyde (1932)
The Mummy (1932)
King Kong (1933)
The Invisible Man (1933)
The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1939)
The Wolf Man (1941)
House Of Wax (1953)
Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)
Godzilla, King Of The Monsters (1956)
The Fly (1958)
A Bucket Of Blood (1959)
Masque Of The Red Death (1964)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Spirits Of The Dead (1968)
The Vampire Lovers (1971)
The Exorcist (1973)
Jaws (1975)
Carrie (1976)
The Omen (1976)
Poltergeist (1982)

The candy sales the following week!

Australians really don't celebrate Halloween.

I don't do Halloween......

EVERYTHING! I love Halloween!

Being a practicing witch, what I like most about Halloween, known as Samhain by us happy pagans, is remembering those who have come before us. It is a time for us to honor our loved ones that we've lost over the years and also a time to honor those who lost their lives during The Burning Times.

What about all the people who lost their lives during the "burning times" that were merely burned for social and political issues. They were not part of your sisterhood. Only a small percentage of actual herbal practitioners and religious separatists were burned during those trials.

Much Witch burning is now bing attributed to money changing hands, false accusations, and actual mental illness and madness brought on by bad food.

Who are you mourning?

What about the original night of the living dead?
That set a standard man! :)

If your gonna list hunchback... Did you like the Elephant Man??? That has to be my all time favorite.

music,costumes,children,pumpkins

What, like my list isn't long enough? I thought I was getting a little carried away when I got up to Godzilla and the Fly...Nothing against the film itself, but Night Of The Living Dead marked the beginning of a downward trend in horror films, although the best stuff was done in the 1930s.

I really like David Lynch's films. I prefer Blue Velvet and Eraserhead. I wouldn't call any of his films "horror" though...

I love getting dressed up, and carving pumpkins, and making roasted pumpkin seeds, and seeing little kids dressed-up. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays!

the movies

The film Halloween was very scary!

taxidermy