Countdown to Halloween Day 27 - League Post: Tradition

 

The assignment from the League of Extraordinary Bloggers is brief and to the point this week

  

This is Halloween! This is Halloween! What are your Halloween traditions?

Halloween around the Dex household usually starts ramping up at the end of September. Even though Halloween may be on the shelves since August (which I dislike) it's right around my birthday when I start getting in the October mood. Getting a Halloween themed cake, and sometimes gifts, doesn't hurt.

The first weekend of October is when the decorating starts. Outside, we have a variety of Peanuts/Snoopy flags and signs in the yard. And one very large black cat, who is always a hit in the neighborhood, especially with the kids.

Then it's on to the inside. A few years ago I found these great vintage-style masks at WalGreen's for a buck each. Unlike the vintage ones, these are made of foam instead of rigid plastic. I haven't seen them carry these since I found them which is a shame. I was hoping they'd do different designs every year. These get hung on the doorway from the living room to the kitchen. I taped strips of black fabric behind the eye holes to make them a little creepier.

One of my other favorite decorations is this Jim Shore vampire statue.
He stands about a foot tall and has some nice scenic detail inside his cape.

I had a lot of fun experimenting when taking photos of him.

And then there's this little guy, who is about 6" tall.

One of the things I look forward to the most in October is the Feast of Flesh. It's a really crazy night of live music, horror burlesque, zombie costume contest and a classic horror movie. Words just can't do it justice!

And of course, I love going to Salem in October when tourist mode is set to max. On the weekends there is a street bazaar and as it gets closer to Halloween, more people are walking around in costume, day or night. There's plenty to do all month long! Here's a few pics from my travels so far, you can see more on Flickr along with my pics from 2011.
I plan on visiting tonight so I'll probably have even more pics in the next few days!

The person on the left is preaching the Good Word while the witch is mocking him.
Gotta love Salem!

Of course throughout the month, I'm also shopping for cool new Halloween stuff and watching as many horror movies as I can.

And then it's Halloween! We will usually stay at home until about 6:30 for Trick or Treaters. My stepdad dresses as Freddy and terrorizes the neighborhood during this time. Then we head into Salem and walk around for a few hours. A good portion of the downtown area is closed to vehicle traffic because there are so many people in town. My stepdad usually stays on Liberty St, which is a high foot traffic area and people take pics with him all night. I prefer to walk around and spook people. My biggest problem with my costume is that I can't take photos of other people in costume. There are a lot of great ones!

So that about sums up my October. What are other Leaguers up to?
That Figures recommends some good movies
Talk Star Wars to Me has a funny step by step for DIY costuming
Branded in the 80s has some great stuff going on

Be sure to visit the other bloggers that have their porch lights on by clicking below. 

They're waiting for you!