Trick or Treat?: Our Favorite Halloween Treats

Original artwork by Erin Gallagher

I couldn’t be more proud of the depth and scope of this list of Halloween related oddities compiled by the contributors and editors here at Rise Up Daily. From Cosmic Horror to family entertainment, from heavy metal to opera, from television to film to literature to music, this list will have something for everyone — and something new for everyone to discover. We’re pleased to share some of our favorite Halloween treats with you!

The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror — A Love Story

by Shahab Zargari

As the son of Iranian immigrants who escaped the Islamic regime that took over in the late seventies, when it came to television I didn’t have the same restrictions as my fellow classmates. While my friends were allowed to watch Married with Children because it was a sitcom about a working man, I was not because the on screen family laughed at and disrespected the father and my dad did not like that. In the same way, my friends were not allowed to watch The Simpsons because it was considered crude as far as cartoons were concerned, yet I was allowed to watch as much of The Simpsons as I wanted because, hey, it was a cartoon, and cartoons are for kids!

I instantly fell in love with the sarcasm and ridicule of all things pop culture and politics. This scrutiny on the psyche of popular culture seemed to know no bounds when it came to the Treehouse of Horror episodes. When the first Treehouse of Horror aired I was only vaguely familiar with TV shows and sitcoms doing Christmas specials, but never Halloween specials. But the mash up of my favorite television show with my favorite holiday struck a nerve. I’m still a sucker for all things Treehouse of Horror, including comics. In fact, from the moment iTunes began selling TV shows and movies until this very day the only thing I’ve ever purchased from that platform was a Treehouse of Horror bundle so that I could watch a handful of the episodes all in a row with my kids without having to dig up DVDs and try to find the correct discs.

 A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge — The Bad One?

by Nathanael T. Booth

You’ve heard of this one. This is the bad one. This is the gay one. This is the one that breaks all the rules of the Elm Street franchise and exists as the series’ ugly duckling. Alternatively, this is the one that your pretentious friend calls their favorite after three or four drinks.

The story: some time after the original Nightmare, a new family has moved into the house on Elm Street. This time, Freddy’s victim is a boy named Jesse (Mark Patton). And this time, Freddy isn’t satisfied terrorizing people in dreams. He wants to come into the waking world by possessing Jesse’s body.

There’s no doubt that Freddy’s Revenge is a flawed movie. The dream-sequences have none of the imaginative verve that characterizes the best entries in the series. The homoerotic subtext, while obviously there, is either underdeveloped or offensive, since it seems to suggest that all a sensitive gay boy needs is a true love kiss. These are certainly problems, though not insurmountable.

Despite its flaws, Freddy’s Revenge is absolutely my favorite entry in the series, and not just because I’m pretentious. Mark Patton’s performance, for one thing, is outstanding. Patton not only finds himself in situations usually reserved for female leads, he sinks his teeth into them. Watch the scenes where, covered in blood, he struggles to fight off Freddy’s possession (spoilers, obviously). That’s something beyond passable acting. Certainly, it’s better than most other non-Freddy performances in the franchise.

And Freddy! Freddy is genuinely unsettling here. He isn’t the nightmare ghost of the first movie, but neither is he the wisecracking killer of subsequent entries.  He embodies all of Jesse’s libido, unharnessed. The sexual subtext isn’t just the Probe game in the closet or Jesse’s unexplained love of Fonda Rae. Freddy here represents pure, undifferentiated libido, a destructive pleasure that suggests the frightening joys of the death drive. As enjoyable as the rest of the films in the series are, Freddy never again becomes as complex and interesting a symbol as he is here—not even in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994).

All of which is to say that Freddy’s Revenge, while not perfect, offers viewers an enlivening mix of camp, psychology, and terror. It’s worth revisiting multiple times. It’s certainly worth spending a Halloween Night with.

 Wuthering Heights — A Trip to the Opera

by Ryan Holt

Bernard Herrmann may be best remembered for his extraordinary film scores, but among his great achievements as a composer is his little-performed opera, Wuthering Heights, which makes eminently suitable accompaniment for a cold October evening.

Working from a libretto that Herrmann’s first wife, Lucille Fletcher, assembled from Emily Brontë’s work (drawing not just from the novel Wuthering Heights, but her poetry), Herrmann composed the opera from 1943 to 1951. The opera never saw a full theatrical performance during his lifetime (the complicated stage direction presented daunting challenges that kept opera companies from embracing the work), though it was recorded and released as an album in 1966. Wuthering Heights was finally staged, in full, by the Minnesota Opera in 2011, the centenary of Herrmann’s death.

Wuthering Heights itself is something of a ghost story, and the cuts and alterations Herrmann and Fletcher make to the work emphasize its mad, doomed romance between its central figures: Heathcliff and Catherine. The score is pure Herrmann: lushly Gothic and romantic, charged with ominous portent and overwhelming desire, and includes musical motifs that Herrmann had used in scores he had completed just before and while he was writing the opera (Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Jane Eyre, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir), as well as themes that would appear in some of his later scores (among them, Vertigo and Marnie).

Herrmann had an impressive gift for setting text to melody, as Heights‘ exquisitely haunting aria, “I Have Dreamt,” demonstrates, though many of Heights‘ most memorable passages are purely orchestral, such as the ominous and melancholy music that concludes the opera. There, in the opera’s extended final moments, Heathcliff stumbles out on to the moors, desperately chasing the specter of his beloved Catherine. Unrequited love never sounded so terrifying.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s “Fear Itself”

by Kara Gheldof

In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe, Halloween was the one day a year when the monsters and other creatures of the night could go out in the open and be themselves, take a holiday, so to speak. Of course, that didn’t stop Buffy and her friends from running into shenanigans every now and then.

In the episode, “Fear Itself,” written by David Fury, while attending a college party, the friends became trapped in a haunted house by an accidentally-summoned fear demon. They are soon separated and spend the episode being attacked by malevolent manifestations of their insecurities.

Giles and Anya—a newcomer to the Scooby Gang—attempt to break the others out. It is Anya’s first Halloween as a human and Xander has instructed her to ‘dress as something scary,’ thus kicking off the running joke that Anya, a former demon herself, is afraid of bunnies.

But the real highlight of the episode is the final confrontation with the fear demon, Gachnar. After Giles and Anya come to the rescue, Giles shows Buffy an illustration of Gachnar. Buffy concludes, “I don’t want to fight that,” and destroys the sign that summoned the demon, only to be told that destroying the Mark of Gachnar immediately brings forth the demon himself.

As Gachnar rises from the ground in an explosion of furious light, groaning and growling, he is revealed to be only a couple of inches tall. “I am the Dark Lord of Nightmares, the Bringer of Terror!” Gachnar squeaks menacingly. “Tremble before me. Feeeaaarrrr meee!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Buffy rolls her eyes and promptly squishes the demon. Later, while the friends are munching on Halloween candy and processing the night, Giles makes the startling discover in his ancient book about Gachnar: the caption under the photo says ‘Actual Size.’

Buffy had a lot of emotional episodes and a lot of unsettling ones, but its humorous episodes were often the most memorable. They became such a hallmark of Joss Whedon’s repertoire that words like ‘Whedon-esque’ could safely enter into TV fans’ lexicon for years to come. The abrupt and silly payoff, after an entire episode of watching our characters smothered by their worst fears, was a twist that I have not forgotten for nearly two decades and a simple take on the motto, ‘All you have to fear is fear itself.’

The Perfect Halloween Playlist

by Robert Miranda

Halloween is upon us! It’s time to get your pumpkin spice on and throw back a handful of some candy corn. While you are deciding on the perfect costume, binge watching your favorite horror flicks, and putting up your most terrifying décor, don’t forget about creating that perfect playlist for your Halloween party. Between playing MJ’s “Thriller”, “Monster Mash”, and the score from John Carpenter’s “Halloween” here are a few underrated seasonal tracks that are sure to make for a spooktacular time!

• Sadgirl, “Jack the Ripper” — Nothing is more terrifying than Jack the Ripper, with screeching surfer guitars and heavy grooves on bass and drums. This track by the LA based trio will get things moving fast.
• The Buttertones, “Gravediggin’” — A haunting track from one the most dynamic bands on tour right now. You can’t have Halloween without a visit to a haunted graveyard.
• Arctic Monkeys, “Perhaps Vampires is a Bit Strong But…” — All you people are Vampires! Alex Turner has strong feelings against those immortal blood suckers.
• Goons of Doom, “Dead Barbie & Ghost” — Nothing like falling in love on Halloween night! These Aussie punks know what’s up. Find yourself a ghost.
• The White Stripes, “Little Ghost” – Seriously, find a little ghost to stir you up some love on Halloween Night!
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Heads Will Roll” — Dance, dance ‘til your dead. Heads will be rolling Halloween night for sure with this synth jam from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
• TV On The Radio, “Wolf Like Me” — A full moon & werewolves for your Halloween festivities.
• The Gorillaz, “Dracula” — Dracula has to make has to make an appearance on the most terrifying night of the year.
• The Growlers, “Graveyard’s Full” — Take time out from your party and visit a graveyard with Los Growlers.
• Sonic Youth, “Halloween” — This haunting track will surely put everyone in the mood for Halloween.

Here’s a Spotify playlist featuring all these selections (and a few bonus ones) for you!

In the Dust of This Planet: Horror of Philosophy, Vol. I by Eugene Thacker

by Blake I. Collier

Halloween is my personal favorite holiday just like horror is my favorite genre of film. If I could make October last all year, I would even though many of my friends in Christendom tend to give me the side-eye with these dark interests. What is truly spooky, however, is that a book by a post-humanist, fatalistic nihilist is the text that informs much of my own reflection on and analysis of horror within my theological framework. Eugene Thacker uses everything from Meister Eckhart to Madame Blavatsky to H.P. Lovecraft and Dennis Wheatley to explore what it means to take this planet, Earth, on its own terms without filtering it through a human lens. Thacker attempts to get at what the planet is before humanity existed and after humanity will be long-gone. He deals with science, philosophical concepts, theology, and literature to get at how we, humans, shape the planet in our own solipsistic image. Thacker takes a note from Lovecraft in how he attempts to legitimate the planet’s “hiddenness” and how and when it chooses to reveal itself to humanity. And how our limited perspective and ability to reason leads to a humanist narrative that allows us to understand the revelations more easily.

I don’t find myself in agreement with Thacker in the end, but the journey he takes the reader on is one worthy of contemplation and is deeply immanent for discussions around climate change and its effects on humanity. This brief tome doubles down on what Lovecraft focused on and comes to a more dreadful conclusion than even Lovecraft would have arrived at. Yet the dire nature of this journey is such that what does go right in the world (and good is done) stands in such a stark contrast as to give hope to those who feel like doing good is a foolish endeavor. It’s a singular and invaluable book in this writer’s library.

King Diamond — A Metal Halloween

by Nathan Stewart

King Diamond is the stage name of Kim Bendix Petersen, a Danish heavy metal musician whose music is perfect for the Halloween season. It’s like all the spooky sounds of Halloween with guitar solos and falsetto’s. Each of their albums (with exception to their 1986 debut album Fatal Portrait) are concept albums, meaning each song holds more meaning as a collective whole rather than by itself.

For example, one of my favorite songs from them is a track called “A Mansion In Darkness” from their 1987 album Abigail. The song by itself is weird, literally just about a spooky house. But in context of the album, this is the song that is explaining the setting of the story that’s about to unfold. Each album is its own horror story filled with mystery, death, and even at times intense brutality.

They can be hard to get into, especially if you don’t like 80s metal, but if you genuinely enjoy the horror genre, you should listen to this band. King’s voice is certainly unique and you’ll either think it’s the silliest god damn thing you have ever heard or you’ll think it’s absolutely brilliant. Maybe even a little bit of both. The lyrical content is intense and often down-right disturbing. The music is pretty bad ass with guitar god Andy LaRocque playing lead.

They also put on one of the coolest live shows I’ve ever seen — usually including a rad stage design filled with inverted religious symbols and actors who come on stage as various characters from their songs. They literally end their show by putting grandma in a coffin. Don’t worry though, grandma got what she deserved. If you haven’t listened to them, you don’t know who grandma is and what I said probably sounds pretty terrible. But fans know just what kind of nightmares that old hag was capable of.

But I must leave you all to prepare for Halloween. This is supposed to be a relatively short piece and if I don’t stop myself now my editor is gonna have to read through 20 years’ worth of material [I spent an hour listening to selected tracks and reading about the band’s history. Kim Bendix Petersen’s real grandmother, an inspiration for the musical character, was indeed awful. — Ed.]. Happy Halloween nerds. Go listen to some metal!

Over the Garden Wall — A Family Halloween Tradition

by Darryl A. Armstrong

Over the Garden Wall is something of an anomaly. Originally aired on the Cartoon Network as a limited cartoon series, the entire program can be viewed in one sitting as an episodic feature, which has become a Halloween tradition with my kids. Created by Patrick McHale (Adventure Time, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack) and Katie Krentz (Bob’s Burgers, Steven Universe), the story begins in media res as brothers Wirt (voiced by Elijah Wood) and Gregory (Collin Dean) attempt to figure out how to get home from the woodland setting of The Unknown they find themselves in.

The story draws on classic Euro-American and harvest folklore and includes a talking bird, a dangerous and scary Beast, by turns charming and odd supporting characters, and memorable music. All the elements work in harmony to create a story that is at once full of child-like wonder and the growing existential dread of puberty and adulthood. As the brothers travel through The Unknown, they are forced to struggle with questions of responsibility, fantasy vs. reality, and the occasional magical curse.

The story takes a surprising and emotionally poignant twist in its final episodes that makes it the perfect fit for Halloween viewing and succeeds in reframing the entire tale without feeling like you’ve been hoodwinked. And that’s a rock fact!

Nancy Thompson — The Atypical Final Girl

Excerpted from Daughter, Sister, Mother — Nancy Thompson in the A Nightmare on Elm Street Series by Alexander Ford

When you think of The Nightmare on Elm Street Franchise, many iconic images come to mind; the dark, atmospheric dream sequences, creative kills, black humor, and of course, the Boogeyman himself, Freddy Kreuger (Robert Englund). It’s easy to forget that Freddy, resilient as he may be, has been defeated on three major occasions by an unexpected nemesis.

Archetypal by design, Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) is The Maiden-turned-Warrior; saving herself from impending danger and storming the lair the of Freddy. She rejects his rules and venue, forcing him to fight on her terms, in her house. Although her voice is silenced and she is antagonized as much from the paragons of authority as she is from her actual assailant, Nancy isn’t helpless. She is confident, smart, resourceful, compassionate, empathetic, and fiercely loyal to her friends. It’s those virtues that allow her to emerge triumphant by denying Freddy the very thing that gives him strength, her participation.

Though absent from the immediate sequel, when Craven produced a new script for the series, Dream Warriors, it included the return of Nancy – a little older and wiser, now a graduate student. It’s not until she’s abruptly pulled into the dream of Kristen (Patricia Arquette) that she takes more drastic action. Now in a sisterly role of Mentor, she arms the teens with her hard fault truth, teaches them to manifest their own dream abilities, and leads an assault against Freddy, even giving her own life as a sacrifice, and passing the mantle to a new generation.

Craven returned to Elm Street to put a definitive end to the series with Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. Set in the “Real World”, the film follows the life of “Heather Langenkamp”, as she is haunted by the specter of the franchise, as well as her most famous role. There are many callbacks to the original film, and the cast is made of industry regulars associated with the franchise. Now in a Maternal role herself, she has something to protect, more important than her own life, and she’s willing to go to unreasonable lengths to protect her son. When caught between running away and a brutal confrontation, it’s Nancy’s compassion and inherent ability to face the darkness that are her greatest strengths. In a genre associated with women as protagonists – either by default or design – Nancy stands alone as an feminine icon of horror heroines.