Halloween is not just a day. It's an entire month. Sure, there's only one night where people go out, dress up and ask their neighbors to fill their pillowcases with candy, but there's so much more to Halloween than the costumes and trick-or-treating. The second October 1 hits, Halloween takes over. Here are some things that I personally have noticed about October.
1. Halloween movies are on constantly.
Whether you feel like watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas" or one of the "Halloweentown" movies, you'll be able to find what you're wanting somewhere on TV. My personal favorite TV channel during October is ABC Family because they show movies almost on a 24 hour loop, so whenever I feel like watching a Halloween movie, I'm positive there will be one on there.
2. Commercials are all about Halloween as well.
Not only are the movies and TV shows becoming centered around Halloween, but commercials even start to scream "Halloween." Candy starts getting promoted more regularly, and Halloween stores are promoting their costumes. There are even ads that are selling products that don't have to do with Halloween and they still make their commercials with the actors in costumes, or maybe a family is carving a pumpkin and the kitchen table set that they're sitting at is what the commercial is about. Somehow, the commercial will be about Halloween 99 percent of the time in October.
3. People start to buckle down on their Halloween costumes.
A lot of people talk about what they're going to be for Halloween almost the entire year. However, only a few people actually get their costume ready before October. A lot of people even wait until the week before Halloween to get their costume, which is really pushing it. If you aren't one of those few that are prepared early, I'll be seeing you at the local Halloween store frantically looking for a costume and trying to get around everyone else who also waited until the last minute.
4. People start preparing to decorate their front lawns with Halloween gear.
Some people just go with basic decorations, like a ghost to hang up or a bowl with a hand that moves when people reach for the candy. However, there's always that one house that goes all out, and they prepare all year for it. They go crazy with fake ghosts, and maybe some gravestones are put up in their front yard. They get lights that make everything have a creepy tint. In my neighborhood, there was a man who made an actual mini-haunted house as his walkway, and you had to get through it in order to get to the candy. He always gave out the most candy, too, so I braved it every year.
These, of course, are not the only things that let people know that October is Halloween month. However, these are the big things that I have noticed personally. There are other factors as well. People are visiting pumpkin patches and finding pumpkins to carve, kids are deciding if they're too old to trick-or-treat or if they can get one more year in. Halloween isn't just one day, and that makes the holiday even better. It's a time to plan fun nights with friends and family, and it all starts October 1 and goes until October 31. But remember, be safe. Nobody wants to get hurt on Halloween.
