Monday, October 4, 2010

You Don't Know What Death Is

Halloween II perfectly captured that particular feeling of a late Halloween night, long after trick-or-treating has ended, when you can sense that Halloween is coming to a close. It's a neat couple of hours, before it's officially November 1st. Teens walking to parties (or back home from parties), porch lights getting turned off, pumpkins burning down on tiny wicks, and that cold dampness making it impossible to get warm. And the silence.

You can feel that something wonderful just walked across your path, and moved off into the trees. And you were the only one who saw it.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well said! Too bad they let Rob Zombie remake that one too...I unsuccessfully tried to watch it the other day. *Shudders*

It's a crime against absolutely everything and everyone. Why do they keep letting him make films? WHY???

Goneferalinidaho said...

Oh, that was just me with a corpse :P

Anonymous said...

I love sitting outside on Halloween night. All peaceful and quiet...

Anonymous said...

Its as if the all the warmth from the pumpkins & house lights going out drop the temp by 10 degrees..a whipping wind and the scent of a fireplace is always nice too.

The question is what do you enjoy more the pre halloween on post halloween festivities?

Rot said...

It's a good question. I'm going to go with pre-Halloween. The anticipation of the holiday always makes it feel like being a kid again. Though I think for me the anticipation starts on those early hours of November 1st...so it's a win/win.

365 days of Halloween.

Conor said...

This is interesting because I happen to have Halloween 2 sitting at home in a Netflix envelope. It's been sitting there for 5 days now. I've never seen it and just couldn't work up the excitement to watch it, for whatever reason. But you've piqued my interest now, and I'll watch it tonight.

Anonymous said...

Ya, I would have to agree with the pre halloween as well. Although I love to start pourin the Victory Moonglow's as the trick or treating winds down.

Rot not sure if your a beer drinker, but if you havent tried Moonglow yet..give it a shot. I have a tradition of tapping a sixtel keg of it every Halloween night...my fav fall beer.

http://victorybeer.com/beers/moonglow-weizenbock/

Rot said...

Never had it.
I'll look for it.

I've been a fan of Post Road pumpkin ale...

Thanks!

ScottT said...

I absolutely LOVE this description. I wish there were more films that could accurately capture the atmosphere of a late Halloween night after all the kiddies have gone home.

NecroBones said...

The late-night Halloween "feel" is something I have a hard time explaining to people. I always grab my cloak and go out for a walk to capture it.

Johnny Love said...

I've always loved the beginning of Halloween II for that very reason.

Once the final costumed TOT has visited the Manor, I always make my way out into the cemetery. There's nothing like sitting on a tombstone, watching fireflies dance in the distance and seeing the fog slowly make it's way through the neighborhood.

ScottT said...

JOhnny- that's awesome. I wish I had the nuts to do that. Too much of a wimp. :-(

The Gill-Man said...

Yeah, that eerie, late night feel of Halloween II is one of my favorite things about that film. Those moments late at night, after all the kiddos have gone to bed, is absolutely magical. While I agree with Rot that the lead-up to Halloween is the best, the "afterglow" is damned nice as well!

The Creeping Cruds said...

My neighborhood HOA in all their wisdom decided Halloween is on Oct 30th this year.. Not exactly thrilled to learn this but the positive is that I can set up two days in a row. I'm just wondering though if this choice will ultimately result in two lesser nights of Trick or Treat..

Cullan Hudson said...

Love this post! To me, the time after Halloween (esp early in the am on Nov 1) is eerily quiet and magical somehow. I can't quite put it into words. It's like after a concert or a loud report when the silence rushes back in and somehow seems even noisier in your ears.