Halloween Countdown

UPDATE: For 2015, I’m revising my Halloween content.

PLEASE VISIT THE NEW PAGE:

YOUR GUIDE TO HALLOWEEN SEASON

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On SATURDAYS, through October 31st, I’ll be sharing my classic Halloween content — always freshly updated, and often expanded — in the appropriate week.

Look for the UPDATED notation as each week comes.

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13 WEEKS TO GO

August 1st ~ 7th UPDATED

To start things off, here’s a list of Halloween-themed movies to watch in the next 13 weeks. It’s designed to lead you slowly, gently, inexorably, into the proper mood. If at all possible, watch one each week between now and Halloween, in the suggested order.

Read: 13 movies ~ set on or around Halloweentime ~ to watch in the 13 weeks before Halloween.

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12 WEEKS TO GO

August 8th ~ 14th UPDATED

With 12 weeks to go, I’ve prepared for you a printable, portable, Halloween Countdown checklist of activities that will remind you to enjoy the rest of this summer and autumn, and help you suck every delectable bit of marrow from Halloween’s bones … from now until the wee hours of November 1st.

Read: A Portable ‘Countdown to Halloween’ Checklist ~ timely reminders of things to do now and through autumn.

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11 WEEKS TO GO

August 15th ~ 21st UPDATED

With 11 weeks to go, I’ve assembled some information that will give you a reason to have an outing (or several) to your local burial grounds.

Read: Graveyards, churchyards and cemeteries ~ spending an afternoon with the dead.

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10 WEEKS TO GO

August 22nd ~ 28th

With 10 weeks to go, I’m thinking about starting a craft project that I can finish by Halloween. Something appropriately creepy, of course.

Read: Halloween hobbies: monster models, knitting, cross stitch, paper cutting and more.

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9 WEEKS TO GO

August 29 ~ September 4th

With 9 weeks to go, I’ve tapped into the seasonal zietgeist a little, and sorted through the junk.

Read: Fall 2014 television schedule ~ TV for lovers of horror, paranormal, dark fantasy, suspense (and retro.)

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8 WEEKS TO GO

September 5th ~ 11th

With 8 weeks to go, I’m launching a season-long, open-to-readers, Halloween-themed photo scavenger hunt.

In 2013, one of my countdown posts was about Halloween activities for smaller social groups. (In fact – for the time being – you can still see it in it’s original form below, in the 3-weeks-to-go slot.) I had so much fun doing one particular activity, I decided to give it its own post this year. I started by defining some variations on the game, for folks with different needs.

Read: Celebrate Halloween with a fun, free, photographic scavenger hunt.

I ended up ALSO creating a whole new project and a home for it, at

2014: The Paranormalist’s 1st Annual Halloween Photo Scavenger Hunt.

Whether you want to play within your own social group, or with a bunch of folks who like to hang out here at The Paranormalist, this is a great activity to plan (or start) now.

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7 WEEKS TO GO

September 12th – 18th

With seven weeks to go, I’ve rounded up four new authors of horror stories (including some free samples of thier work), and a list of the best titles by my favorite old-school authors.

Read: Creepy reads for the Halloween season ~ good horror authors, old & new.

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6 WEEKS TO GO

September 19th – 25th

With six weeks to go, I’ve gathered links and searches intended to help you find the creepiest, coolest Halloween and Autumn events in your area. The post includes a printable calendar to assist in planning.

Read: Finding Halloween events & celebrating autumn: haunted houses, apple orchards, ghost tours and more.

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5 WEEKS TO GO

September 26th – October 2nd

With five weeks to go, it’s FINALLY time to get ready to decorate the house and yard. This post is full of fun ideas and projects you can do yourself.

Read: Halloween Decor ~ easy, inexpensive haunts for the house and yard (plus some wow-projects.)

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4 WEEKS TO GO

October 3rd – 9th

With four weeks to go, I’ve gathered some ideas for celebrating the Halloween season with a small social group. Enjoy the holiday as a pair, a family, or with 3-8 friends. Try twisted ding dong ditch or a photographic scavenger hunt. See post for more ideas. (Includes a fun printable scavenger hunt list.)

Read: Celebrating Halloween for couples, families and / or just a few friends: dates, games and activities, for smaller social groups.

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3 WEEKS TO GO

October 10th ~ 16th

With ONLY 3 weeks to go, it’s time to start obsessing about candy! This post is a ~~grab-bag~~ pumpkin bucket full of random bits ‘o candy stuff. From there you can take a trip through the Paranormalist Portal to rank classic trick or treat loot and see how your favorites are faring over in the wild world of ranker.com.

It’s fun. Come play.

Read: Classic trick or treat loot ~ nostalgic candy & prizes from Halloweens past.

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TWO WEEKS TO GO

October 17th – 23rd

With only TWO weeks until Halloween, my attention has turned to Halloween makeup. I made my first attempt at creating one of my own. (How to do a zombie wound.) Then, I cherry-picked some favorite tutorials from the web to share with you.

Read: Halloween Makeup Tutorial Videos ~ my own attempt and a selection of GOOD ones.

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ONE WEEK TO GO

October 24th – 30th

Now’s the time to think about what we still have the desire, time and energy to do. I’ve gone through all the posts in my Halloween countdown, to cherry-pick the links that might be most useful to you, now that we’re down to the wire. (Even if you haven’t done much in the way of setting things up.)