Finding My Scary Halloween
When I started my Halloween collection of books, movies, and memorabilia, I realized how difficult it was to find Halloween stuff. There are hundreds of holiday websites but few stood out as a noteworthy, so the quest to create the ultimate resource for everything Halloween begun and the result in the ever-growing MyScaryHalloween.com. The best part of this ongoing experience is discovering how many people love and “live” Halloween every day.

Not Just For the Lil' Ones
When did Halloween become solely a children’s holiday? Is it the costumes and candy? Many sites seemed to be geared towards the lil’ ones – which is great, but Halloween is just as much fun for adults. Given Halloween’s questionable history and path, most parents would shudder at the thought that this holiday involved sacrificing people and animals in huge bonfires, or that the older kids terrorized townsfolk with property-damaging pranks that was often punished by death or amputation! Adults are also rekindling their love of the dark night and have begun decorating their homes and throwing parties.

Halloween at Retail
Halloween is now the “second Christmas” and retailers have made it a $6 billion industry (some estimates put it up as high as $8-$10 billion). While candy and costumes may be the bread and butter of this second most-profitable holiday, retail stores are seizing the opportunity to serve adults who also love spooky stuff. National stores like Target, Michaels, Pottery Barn, and Grandin Road offer upscale Halloween products for the refined consumer. How about a black glittered resin skull, or bats with dip-dyed ostrich feathers? Perhaps a black chandelier for a gothic dining room? And just like Christmas, the dark holiday gets a head start with a “retail season” that creeps in as early as July! By late-August when the kids are back in school, many stores have their shelves fully stocked with must-have Halloween products! [Visit Sinister Shopping for more]

Why Celebrate Halloween?
Halloween is just plain fun: candy, costumes, decorations, horror movies and haunted houses. It's one of the few holidays that is not based on religion or government. It is a cultural holiday that evolved from many traditions across the world, from the pagan Samhain festivals to the Christian All Saints Day celebrations. [Visit the Horror History for more]

Halloween also beckons us to be scared, and being scared has many positive effects. When you are scared, adrenalin is released, your heart rate increases, and your body gets a little cardiovascular workout. Being scared also reduces stress (just like laughing reduces stress), and by "surviving" a little fright, you can achieve the ultimate satisfaction of overcoming anxiety and maybe even cheating death. It's all very empowering.

"We build up tension in our lives and we need a way to release it," says San Francisco State University professor Jeff Leroux. "Being scared or scaring others is a way to release that tension. Especially around Halloween you see people testing their boundaries of fear. The further those boundaries are pushed, the greater the payoff." (Oakland Tribune, 10/26/05)

About Scary Jerry
I grew up in Southwest Texas (be afraid), but it wasn't until moving to San Francisco, that my love for the scary holiday truly possessed my soul. My first eye-popping visit to Halloween in the Castro left me speechless: from the elaborate costumes (like The Bird’s woman being rolled around in a real phone booth covered in black crows) to the hordes of zombies dancing on the streets while Terror Tunes pumped out of massive speakers.

While in San Francisco, I also experienced the most Haunted Places and events in my life. Given the city’s storied past, clash of cultures, and unmitigated tragedy there’s bound to be a ghost or two. One night I visited Alcatraz, the most haunted place in America, and it left me chilled to the bone and unnerved beyond all reason. I lived just blocks from the famously haunted Winchester Mystery House and witnessed madness intertwined with an unparalleled haunting. And, I lived in a very old gothic Victorian flat (once a home to wayward girls) that was haunted by an old woman who reeked of gardenia perfume (we once caught her in a picture), and had a very frightening experience with a shadow person or possibly a demon according to the clairvoyant who ended up helping me. All these placed changed me as a person, and as a result, my love of the paranormal, the scary, and Halloween was rekindled.

Contacting the Dead
I hope you have a bone-chilling, blood-curdling visit, as well as get some wicked inspiration for your Halloween. If you have a question, comment or suggestion, please email me at info@MyScaryHalloween.com. Have a Happy Halloween!

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