Halloween is almost upon us once again, and the amount of goodies available made me wonder- why isn’t Halloween made into even more of an event? Something akin to ‘annual psycho clowns with pick-axes’ day. Think about it- you could have jolly old Satan Claws come and fill your stocking with guts, surround your Halloween tombstone with goodies and rotting carcasses, and then you could all sit down to a traditional Halloween dinner of roast pumpkin and Innocent Bystander. Seriously though, it could be turned into more than just Trick Or Treating and bobbing for apples, even in these financially difficult times.

Halloween can be a lot of fun for both kids and adults, and can serve as a family bonding experience. Involving children in Halloween styled games can be a great way to entertain youngsters and educate them on rather more traditional pastimes (even when origins have become obscured by popular culture). Dressing up as witches and monsters and the like can be great fun for all involved, and suitably supervised Trick-Or-Treating is a great thing for making memories.

But halloween shouldn’t be limited to kids parties. With all kinds of events on in clubs, cinemas and so on there’s a ton that the adult Halloweener can sink their teeth into (sorry). There’s a great deal of Halloween themed merchandise that make great gifts, such as licensed horror movie memorabilia and other merchandise such as action figures, posters, statues, and of course the movies themselves. You could check out items like the infamous Living Dead Dolls figures, or the movie collectibles created by MacFarlane Toys, NECA and Sideshow Collectibles.

How about a fun Halloween in? Gather your friends, some suitably kitsch horror movies (Go for the cheese more than the darker stuff- zombie films, cheap B-movies, Chucky, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and its billion sequels, films you can shout at), Halloween snacks (stock up on kids snacks and themed sweets- there’s nobody saying the grown-ups can’t have some fun too), add some suitably spooky/fun music (I recommend ‘Project 1950′ and ‘American Psycho’ by the Misfits, and anything by the Cramps) and voila, you have the makings of a fun Halloween party in your own home. Granted, that sounds like a typical night in at our place, but still, there are people out there who are actually normal. Somewhere. I think. get your house decked out with cobwebs and comedy skulls and make an event out of it.

Want an enjoyable evening’s viewing? Check out any of these horror movies from the golden age of the 80s genre for some entertainment with your gore:

The Evil Dead, Friday the 13th, An American Werewolf in London, Bad Dreams, Hellraiser, Evil Dead 2, Return of the Living Dead 2, Creepshow, Day of the Dead, Trick or Treat, Poltergeist, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, A Nightmare on Elm street, Re-animator, Scanners, The Burning, Class of Nuke ‘Em High (okay, this is a spoof but it still kicks ass), From Beyond, House, 976:Evil, Witchboard, Warlock, The Thing, Bad Taste, Cat People, Child’s Play, Cat’s Eye, Chopping Mall (BEST. TITLE. EVER), Dead Zone, The Gate, The Hunger, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, Monster Squad, Sorority babes in the Slime-ball Bowl-O-Rama….. Jeez, there’s thousands of ‘em. Go get some fun.

There are so many ways to make your Halloween a night to remember. Start off with a friends-filled movie night as suggested, then maybe go along to a themed Halloween party or event. Preferably costumed. Check your local listings for events in your area that you can go along to and take part in, the more ludicrous the better. If this comes across as a no-brainer, that’s because it really is. With a little effort you can transform a rather commercial day into something you can actually enjoy. Don’t think of it as unwanted cost- think of it as a welcome break from normality and a way to celebrate in these hard times.  Halloween celebrations shouldn’t be all about handing out sweets to bored kids on your doorstep- it should be enjoyed and relished. I mean, how often can you actually run around dressed as a giant alien lizard during the rest of the year? Actually, best not answer that question.