It's October~ Fun for All!

 
Fall is such a wondrous time.. a real awakening to the senses. The temps start to cool off in the evenings. The leaves start to turn such beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red. I break out all my standard Autumnal decor for the porch and house. I've already planted deep purple clusters of mums along the sidewalk, leading up to the front porch where my collection of various pumpkins and gourds has already begun. I love to fill the house with that delicious aromatic smell of pumpkin spice so the scented candles have been burning daily for the past week. And yes, I'm a holiday nut so the Halloween decor is gradually popping up all over, as well.

I adore Halloween. What a fun holiday for both kids and adults to play. And one of my favorite pastimes for this month is watch all the fun and spooky Halloween-themed classic films. I have a sentimental fondness for all those films I enjoyed as a kid. I realize that many enjoy those bloody slasher films that have become so popular, often with the theme of creatively figuring out how to gruesomely torture young people to death. Literally.

But for me, most of the films I prefer this time of year range from suspenseful thrillers to the thoroughly silly. I plan to watch these films all this month, as I tend to do every October- and share them with you! Be on the look out for blogs to come over the next few weeks including such family fun classics like Mel Brook's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974), Alan Rafkin's THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN (1966), and Frank Capra's ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944). In addition to these family favs, and perhaps a spine-tingling classic horror (Vincent Price comes to mind), I plan to blog on a very special cinema treat- a live screening of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's silent classic NOSFERATU (1922). My local arts center is showing this legendary film that influenced countless others on October 14th, so you can count on that being included in my line-up. Additionally, I signed up to participate in the Val Lewton Blogathon, hosted by Stephen of Classic Movie Man and Kristina of Speakeasy. I'm bringing an interesting angle to this piece. I ambitiously hope to show Lewton's influence on modern horror from Jacques Tourneur's CAT PEOPLE (1942) to today's popular TV series, American Horror Story.

So, as you enjoy this month through hayrides, haunted houses, apple cider sipping, jack-o-lantern carving or whatever may be your favorite October tradition, please follow my blogs this month to possibly add some new Autumnal treats. These are films that can be enjoyed with friends or the entire family over and and over again, so I hope they become a tradition in your family, too!