ZERO More Days til Halloween (Silll-ver Shamrock)

Only real horror junkies will get that title, but I digress. It's the actual holiday and not the movie and I caught myself chuckling at how my celebration of Halloween has changed over the years.

From dressing up and begging for candy as little shaver...to watching horror movies and defacing other people's property in High School...to dressing up and begging for girls in trashy costumes at bars in College...then, practically coming full circle, attempting to dress up MY little shavers so they can beg for candy (that we'll eat later) later this afternoon.

Keeping in that vein, while my love of the grindhouse/slasher horror flick is well-documented on this blog, I decided to go a little further back and highlight some of my favorite classic monster/horror flicks from my youth:

'Spider Baby'

While I don't recall actually catching this as a youngster, it seems like something I would have enjoyed on Son of Svengoolie some Saturday night. Theme song performed by and starring Lon Chaney Jr. himself, plus the debut performance of one Mr. Sid Haig (AKA Captain Howdy)! You can actually watch the whole flick online at AMC online as part of their yearly Monsterfest celebration.

'The Raven'

I remember stumbling upon this excellent flick based loosely around the Poe poem, on the WGN afternoon movie after school at a friend's house. Some gross FX for the time and an all-star cast including Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Vincent Price and a young Jack Nicholson. Creepy and funny...a really good time.

'Mad Monster Party?'

Rankin Bass flick featuring such legendary monsters as Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, the Mummy, Invisible Man and Phyllis Diller...nuff said. Not at all scary, but silly stop-motion fun w/ a Halloween vibe.

'Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein'

Again, not that scary as an adult, but this flick rocked my world as a kid. I both laughed and hid behind the couch as Bud & Lou took on Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr. and Glenn Strange (reprising their roles as Dracula, the Wolfman and Frankenstein).

While these flicks may seem kind of wimpy by today's standards, when included in a more well-rounded Halloween filmfest diet that includes guests like Michael Myers, Freddy, Jason and/or Dr. Satan...you've got an evening that has something for the entire family. Boo, bitches!