Getting into the October spirit

Matthew Sasser, Richmond County Daily Journal, Rockingham, N.C.
·4 min read

Sep. 28—As we enter into the autumnal months, I always dread the inevitable chillier nights and shorter days. Gone are long days at the beach and the unrelenting sun; enter brisk mornings and flannels everywhere. Most people welcome the changing leaves and the increased abundance of pumpkin spice, but I accept it begrudgingly.

If there's one thing that always quells my fear of the advancing cold, it's the coming of one of the best months of the year: October.

No, it's not the ever-creeping closeness of Thanksgiving or Christmas that I love about this time of year; it's not the settled in routine of a new school year, nor is it the proximity to my girlfriend Liana's birthday (no matter how much she insists).

Ever since I picked up an R.L. Stine Goosebumps book as a kid, I've always had a love for horror, suspense and the macabre. No time of season quite captures the essence of the horrifying quite like October.

I was always a voracious reader, and it was the seemingly endless stream of Goosebumps that I leafed through as a nine-year-old that I believe created that love (to this day, in my parents home, I've amassed just over 250 books from R.L. Stine at last count, along with dozens of VHS tapes, multiple post card books, board games and other memorabilia).

In middle school, I latched onto the Fear Street series by Stine, and it was a natural progression to horror-icon Stephen King. Much of my high school literary consumption was classics of his such as Carrie, Cujo and The Mist. Other authors I eagerly devoured were H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, Shirley Jackson and Clive Barker, and concomitant with my love of books was a growing obsession with cinema.

I don't quite recall the first horror movie I ever saw, but I remember Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds leaving quite an impression on me, along with a bundled collection of his other films that my parents purchased for me. I remember peeking out between the corner of a blanket while watching The Sixth Sense and The Blair Witch Project with my family in my early teens.

I love books and cinema of all genres and style, but horror will always be what I've maintained the most niche interest in.

To best get into the spirit of October, for the past two years I've watched a horror movie for every day of the month. I create a stylized list full of old-favorites, new releases and recommendations from friends and the Internet.

A few self-imposed rules on the list:

—There needs to be at least one movie from each decade starting in the '50s.

—There needs to be at least a few foreign-language movies (the absence of a language you're familiar with always makes it a little scarier!).

—There needs to be a healthy mix of slashers, thrillers, the supernatural and monsters.

—There needs to be at least one full series that I watch all of the movies chronologically.

The last rule is my personal favorite. Previously, I tackled the Nightmare on Elm Street and Saw movie franchises. All year, I was anticipating watching all of the Final Destination movies, but I got ahead of myself and watched them back in August. Instead, I'll be watching all of the Halloween movies (I've seen the first film many times, but haven't seen any of the other sequels).

I always take a lot of joy in creating the list. This year, I'll be revisiting a few old-favorites (The Shining and Suspiria) checking out some classics (Cat People (1942) and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) as well as looking into some new releases (The Haunting of Hill House tv series on Netflix and Speak No Evil).

Outside of movies, I'll be reading House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski, as well as an annual return to a few short stories from the complete works of Lovecraft. Even when I flip on a few classic Simpsons episodes at night, it will be with a keen focus on some Treehouse of Horror episodes. Who knows — maybe a few Goosebumps books will be sprinkled in for good measure.

I regrettably have only decorated my front porch with a lone pumpkin the past few years, but I admire the dedication that many put into decorating their homes around Hamlet to get into the spirit of the season, especially the Hylan Horror.

While I know most people don't have quite as an intense love of the macabre as I do, I think everyone likes to get into the spirit of Halloween a little bit. Even if you're not a fan of scary movies or frightening books, I'd encourage you to at least check out something that pushes you out of your comfort zone a little bit. There's no better season!