I’ve written snippets of what the Halloween season means to me in the opening of each “Introducing Fright-A-Thon” article. Here are some highlights from those, because they really encapsulate what the season means to me.

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Christmas and those holidays get to swallow up the majority of December, November, and part of January. Why not Halloween? September is a month of going back-to-school and residual heat from the summer. Now it’s another month of pumpkins, serial killers, ghosts, ghouls, specters, goblins, and things that go bump in the night.

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The change from August 31st to September 1st is a huge one for some people. The green, blue, and blinding hues of Summer begin to fade. They die out and become the orange and black that we all know, love, and fear. Those summer parties turn into the rising tide of the fall. Things start appearing behind every corner, monsters, ghouls, ghosts, goblins, specters, zombies, pumpkins, serial killers, and anything else that goes bump in the night comes out to play. For all of those things and more, we do THS Fright-A-Thon.

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It might not mean much here in Southern California; the weather is still gross out, but it does signal that change is in the air. Those blinding lights of summer, pastel colors, the yellows and reds of Summer mix together and turn into orange. Those summer parties die out, and the coming of Labor Day signifies that the harvest is near. Those shadows that were thin start to lengthen, and creepy crawlies come out to bask in the cool air. That fear of the dark erupts once again from the back of your neck to your brain. Things that were once thought to be long gone might start appearing in those shadows. The goblins, ghouls, ghosts, monsters, specters, zombies, serial killers, and anything else that goes bump in the night gain power.

You see, folks, while it might not always mean a cooler chill in the air until much later in October, the monsters of Halloween still get to come out. For this article, here are a couple of things that really feel like “Halloween” to me.

Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers Opening Credits

Everything about the opening of this movie screams Fall from the orange glow of the credits to the wind whispering between the various farms/landscapes. The lack of a score or music is even better to showcase the ominous force coming that is October and Halloween. Besides the original, which I watch every October 31st, it doesn’t get much better than Halloween 4. This opening title sequence hangs on for just long enough to feel a bit spookier, and then you’re off with the return of a Halloween icon.

Halloween Haunts Big And Small

The opening of haunts like Halloween Horror Nights, Magic of the Jack O’Llanterns, Delusion, and others in Southern California and places around the world mean that the times are a changing. The ambiance and frights that places like this bring are quintessential Halloween vibes. From the sweet smell of fog machines to the screams of people echoing in the distance, these places bring an exceptional amount of Holiday spirit to the masses.

Halloween Movies Are The Focus For Just A While

Streaming services like Peacock, Netflix, Max, and others suddenly remember that horror movies exist! Places like Screambox and Shudder probably get an influx of subscribers because they’re the best in the business for all things horror. People look for Movie Marathon lists to get them through the season with a movie a night. It’s a magic time when people who normally wouldn’t care for Jason Voorhees and his movies, get the courage to try them out. I’m one of those people, for whatever reason, or Cinemassacre. I tried out horror on a whim, and I fell in love.

Whatever Halloween is to you, the season means so much to so many people. I know there are those of us that celebrate year-round with statues of horror figures up in our houses, but for one magic month, the whole world seems to go a bit mad.

It’s that time of year that feels like a change is in the air. The wind picks up, monsters come out to play, and those shadows get just a bit darker. Whether your thing is decorating, watching horror movies, talking about spooky topics, or just getting some pumpkins out, it’s the best holiday of the year for many of us. These are just a few things that Halloween means for me.

What does Halloween mean to you?

For more on Horror, make sure to check out the rest of Fright-A-Thon.

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The 2023 Halloween Movie Marathon Schedule [Fright-A-Thon]