Halloween has always been my absolute favorite holiday. I fell in love with the chilly weather, spooky movie marathons and the endless baking that goes hand-in-hand with the holiday at an early age.
Even at such a young age, I found myself searching for anything eerie. My Nana never fails to remind me of the time I was five, shopping with her inside target. According to her, I looked at her with severe eye contact and said point blank, “Nana, take me to see something scary.” So yes, for all my friends, I have always been this way.
For me, October and Halloween is a state of mind. I prepare for this breathtaking month avidly and weeks in advance. Sep. 1, I begin by making two playlists: “Crisp,” which is more geared towards fall in general, and then something along the lines of “Season of the Witch” or “Spooky Scary Skeletons,” just some witty, cringe way to express my obsession with October.
When the end of September rolls around, I take to both social media and Google in order to find the best 31 movies to watch all throughout October. So far this month, I have not been the best at saving time to watch a movie each night, but I sure binge them all on the weekends.
Oct. 1, I conjured my friends in my dorm room to officially welcome in the month by watching “Monster House.” This movie is extremely nostalgic for my brother and I, and watching it was the only way to properly do October justice.
Oct. 2, the masterpiece that is “The Nightmare before Christmas” mysteriously appeared on my tv, and who was I to turn it off? There will be no debate here, as this movie is undoubtedly a Halloween movie, and any other talk is just nonsense.
On Oct. 3, I binged all three “Halloweentown[s],” which is the proper way to watch those movies. These movies pretty much made me who I am today, a stubborn, people-pleasing, “wannabe” witch.
Now, if I were closely following my list as well as I should be, I should have watched “Coraline” on Oct. 4. This movie absolutely traumatized me as a kid when my best friend’s older sister forced us to watch it. To this day it still creeps me out tremendously, and that is why I love it so dearly. Unfortunately, I cannot find it on any streaming platform, so this annual rewatch will have to wait.
The masterpiece that is “Girl vs. Monster” was supposed to be watched on Oct. 5, but my busy schedule vetoed that. This movie is a Halloween staple and must be added to everyone’s watchlist. You are never too old for Disney Channel original movies, especially when it comes to the holidays. Better late than never because I did in fact watch it on Oct. 16.
I methodically planned my October marathon so that the first week of movies were light and whimsical in order to ease me into the season. “Invisible Sister” completed my nostalgic moment before I began my slasher fest of binging all of Netflix’s “Fear Streets” the weekend of Oct. 9.
Quickly following this, I meant to show my friends the masterpiece that is “Hell House LLC” on Oct. 10, but life happens. Regardless, this is one of the more recent movies that actually made my skin crawl, which is hard to come by after being obsessed with horror for 8+ years.
In order, these were my much-watch movies starting Oct. 11. “Beetlejuice,” “Ghostbusters,” “Friday the 13th,” “The Lost Boys,” “Jeepers Creepers,” “Casper,” “Hereditary” and “The Silence of the Lambs.” The theme for this strain of movies was ultimate classics, and I encourage everyone to give these movies a chance. The trajectory of my life changed when I watched “The Lost Boys,” an 80s classic of a group of vampires terrorizing Santa Cruz.
After these classics, I wanted to circle back and watch a couple more family friendly Halloween classics, so “Coco” and “Hotel Transylvania” were on the list for Oct. 19 and 20.
Of course, nothing light and fun can hang around for a long period of time, so I conjured up another string of horror movies. Beginning on Oct. 21, “The Purge,” “Halloween,” “Nightmare on Elm Street,” “American Psycho,” “The Shining” and “Scream” were on my watch list. Each of these are masterpieces in their own way, highlighting the dark side of Halloween.
Leading up to Halloween, I plan on watching “Scooby Doo,” “Trick r Treat,” “Paranorman,” “It” and “Hocus Pocus.” Out of these, I really only want to focus on “Hocus Pocus.” It is the most Halloween movie ever made, and no objections will be accepted. It has everything you could ever wish for in a spooky movie: the set being Salem, witches, a curse that must be broken, a black cat and a young love story. It’s peak perfection from beginning to end, and that is why I’m saving it for Oct. 31.
Halloween is truly the time of year where I am happiest. I am completely infatuated with the chilly atmosphere and pure nostalgia that comes with the holiday, and I wanted to share my concoction of the perfect October movie marathon.
