PTSD

More Halloween stuff

As E has declared we can have an entire weekend of Halloween-related posts, here's my contribution :-)

For a quiz on your knowledge of monsters, go here

In case you are confused as to which monster is after you, go here

To stock up on films to watch in the upcoming few days, here are some tips. A bit dated and it doesn't include one of my favourite films (though, strictly speaking, that film is a spoof of the types of films listed here so maybe they would have left it off anyway. But, if yous haven't watched it, SOOD is well worth watching. Just for the sly humour and innovative usage of a cricket bat)

Apart from the usual Dracula and Frankenstein stuff, some of the creepiest moments in my younger, teenaged self's life came when reading M R James' ghost stories (thanks to the British Council back home which had a very eclectic selection of books). Due to the wonders of the 'net, you can order your own copies or read some of James' stories online. There's also a James newsletter with a complete bibliography and filmography and even download an anthology of ghost stories from (what else?) the BBC here.

In case you need to know what kind of Halloween costume you are, check this out. Here, you can find a list of Halloween customs from places around the world (no Nepal or Thailand, unfortunately)

So, there you are. Personally speaking, the best Halloween costume I've seen so far this year (not that I've seen many since I've been rather busy with actual academic endeavours) was at the place I wish I really worked but only volunteer at. It was a dad and son with the dad dressed as a convict and the kid as a (tiny) policeman with handcuffs. The really creepy one was a six-foot tall dad dressed up as a clown (I've always been not too fond of clowns. They are far scarier than Dracula or Frankenstein or Vampires). What was I dressed as, you ask? Well, since we are not supposed to "really" scare the little people with blood and gore, I was being wrapped up in silk by an enormous spider who wanted me for food. Nice and easy since it just needed a fake cobwebs wrapped around me and my borrowed spider hat (with a rather menacing red-eyed spider). It was all very effective though I did get a few comments about being a hobbit (being short does not help when you are being wrapped in a spider's web).

posted by Priya @ 3:49 PM