Personal Tag Post: The Halloween Tag

 
 

I wanted to do a Halloween-related post every Monday this month, but I decided to go with something not bookish today because I always end up talking about the same books in those types of posts. So this is just about Halloween in general and will maybe give you all a chance to get to know some really random and insignificant things about me since I have included lots of stories from my life 😛

The original can be found here at Anna vs Life! And I tag everyone 🙂


General Questions

What’s your favorite horror movie?

I don’t like scary movies, so I have seen very few horror movies in my life. I seriously think I could count them on one hand. And some of them might have just been thrillers or something, not true horror. So instead I shall go with my favorite movie that was scary to me (because I’m a wuss), and that would be Sunshine. Funny story though, I was freaking the f*ck out during this movie, so much so that my friend watching it with me kept telling me to calm down, and no one else who saw it seemed to feel the same way I did either. But then, years later in college, a nearby Blockbuster was closing so I went and bought this movie and rewatched that night with one of my roommates (who was seeing it for the first time). And guess what? SHE WAS FREAKING THE F*CK OUT TOO. At one point she was literally sitting on the floor watching the TV through the slats of a chair. I felt so vindicated.

*hits self on forehead* I wrote all that, and then I remembered that Sweeney Todd is one of my favorite movies lol. Does that count? I know it has singing and all that, but it’s also very bloody and murderous. Whatever, here’s the trailer for Sunshine anyway since probably not a lot of people have heard of it.

 

If you were in a horror movie, how far do you think you would get? (Five minutes, halfway, all the way to the end credits…?)

Realistically? Probably about five minutes. I like to think I’m pretty smart, so I probably wouldn’t just blatantly wander into the murderer’s traps, but still.

Favorite scary video game?

When I was a kid, I had this computer game called Ned’s Nightmare that was pretty damn terrifying. I mean, just look at that chair at 29:48 and the whole dentist round that comes after that. And I specifically remember one part where Ned turned into a slug and salt got poured on him.

 

Favorite scary story?

I used to read those Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books as a kid, but I had a love-hate relationship with them because I was always completely creeped out when I read them.

What’s one unusual thing that you’re afraid of?

FURRY CATERPILLARS. Ok, I don’t know if it’s a true fear per se, but it’s the most unusual one I got. Ok, see, once as a kid I was being babysat by this woman on a farm in Nebraska. I went to the barn to get one of the kittens to bring inside, but of course I picked the wriggliest, squirmiest one, and I had to put her down for a moment on the way back to the house to readjust my grip on her, but there were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of furry caterpillars everywhere, and I really didn’t want to be near them, and I don’t know, it just traumatized me? And then many years later I was at my grandparents house, and I was taking a picture of this bird…

bird

…and I was trying to get as close as possible without spooking it, so I was leaning forward and my heel was lifted off my flip-flop. But when I leaned back to put my heel back down, this little $#&%@!…

furry-caterpillar

…had crawled onto my shoe, and I felt its furriness on my foot, and I freaked out, kicking my leg, nearly kicking the poor bird standing like a foot away. And yes, I took a photo of it to document my trauma.

What’s your first memory of Halloween?

To be honest, my early childhood years have just kind of blurred together lol.

What’s your favorite Halloween memory?

The first that comes to mind is this one year in high school when there was kind of a MRSA (staph infection) scare, a nearby school had some incidents, etc. I went trick-or-treating with friends, and this one woman was giving out handfuls of M&Ms. Not little bags—she was just sticking her hand into a big bag and giving out handfuls of loose M&Ms. And I don’t know about you all, but I was always taught not to eat loose candy. ESPECIALLY WHEN MRSA IS GOING AROUND. Yet some of my friends were just eating them! I literally ran around the group smacking M&Ms out of people’s hands as they were bringing them to their mouths. Anyway, those ended up being dubbed MRSA M&Ms.

Best Halloween costume you’ve had?

My second year of college I went to a party with my roommate, and I was dressed as a flasher. I wore skin-colored clothes and a trench coat. When I first got there, I held the trench coat closed until someone asked about it, and then I “flashed” them, and from then on, whenever new guests arrived, someone would be like, “Show them your costume!” and then I’d “flash” the new people once they were looking. Every single person had a split second of shock in which they thought I was actually naked, haha. And, ok, I had met some of my roommate’s friends numerous times and they never bothered to really speak to me or even remember me, but after that night they suddenly liked me and started saying hi to me when I walked past them on campus. That’s how great my costume was, apparently lol. But regardless of that, it was definitely the most fun costume I’ve ever worn 😉

Worst Halloween costume you’ve had?

One year I was out of town, and I’m pretty sure my parents just put some Barbie pajamas I had on me and said I was Barbie. There was also this one time in middle or high school when I went with three other friends and we dressed as the Fantanas. It was cute as an overall group thing, but I put so little effort into my costume that it was laughable. I wore yellow Soffe shorts and a tiny yellow barely-there tube top thing. I wasn’t even trying to be sexy, I was just lazy, and that was the closest thing I found. I was a disgrace to the Fantanas. At least I was the one who brought white tape to wrap around our legs… I think.

Fantanas

(Those are the actual Fantanas for anyone who doesn’t know, not me and my friends.)

Which is Scarier?

Werewolves or vampires?

Werewolves because I can’t help but think of vampires as being sexy 😉

Ghosts or zombies?

I’m tempted to say zombies because I do in fact believe in ghosts and have encountered one but have thus far managed to coincide peacefully with them, whereas zombies seem terrifying. But then, if I were ever to encounter a malicious ghost… it’d probably be a lot scarier to fight something that doesn’t have a solid form!

Creepy dolls or creepy clowns?

CREEPY CLOWN DOLLS. They’re the worst of both worlds, and there used to be one in my house when I was a kid in a display case. All my friends were creeped out by it. I was creeped out by it. Eventually I told my mom that it had to go and made her put it somewhere that at least no one had to look at it.

Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers or Leatherface?

I’ve never seen any of the movies, so I’ll choose Jason just because I used to play this Jason video game on the Nintendo, except I actually can’t handle stressful video games and would instead just freak out and shriek at my grandma things like, “AHHH IT’S JASON! HIT HIM WITH YOUR WEAPON!” or whatever while she played 🙂

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

What's your favorite scary movie/story/game?
What are the best and worst Halloween costumes you've ever worn?
Have you ever seen Sunshine? (And did you freak out too?)
Have you ever played Nightmare Ned or the Friday the 13th NES game?
If you do the tag, leave a link so I can check out your answers too!

 
 
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Your Thoughts

 

32 thoughts on “Personal Tag Post: The Halloween Tag

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  1. Greg

    A Halloween tag! Love it. I’m not a huge horror fan but I love scary stuff (to a point) and October is awesome for that. lol about Sunshine. I’ve never heard of it but something must be going on if your roommate was peeking through the chair slats! And eff those furry caterpillars- I don’t like anything that crawls lol and fur doesn’t help. If I put my foot down on one I’d be kicking that shit away too. 😛

    Who gives out loose M&M’s?? That’s weird. I’ve never heard of the Fantanas, but that’s pretty funny. And werewolves are scarier too I think, although I guess it depends on the vamps.

    Awesome tag. This one’s fun. Now I gotta think back to my Halloween costumes… 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’m totally getting into the Halloween blogging spirit! Lol. Seriously, Sunshine, freaked me out so much while watching, more than any other movie. Which, like I said, could be because I don’t really watch scary movies, but I was so glad there was at least one other person who understood! And see, you get me about the furry caterpillars. I just would’ve felt terrible if I had actually kicked the poor bird by accident!

      RIGHT?! Loose M&Ms is super weird. But whaaa? You’ve never heard of the Fantanas? I wanted to post a video of the old commercials, do you remember those ones that were like, “Wanna Fanta, don’t you wanna, wanna Fanta, don’t you wanna…”

      This was a fun tag 🙂

      1. Greg

        I have never heard of the Fantanas lol. I do know Fanta though although I don’t think I’ve ever had it? I’m off to Youtube to find that song. 😀

        1. Kristen Burns

          The original isn’t on YouTube or I would’ve shared a video :-/ Literally just this. I found good versions of the original commercials through Google on like a portfolio site, someone who worked on the ads, but I don’t remember exactly what I searched. I can’t believe you haven’t heard of them though!

  2. Mareli

    Hi Kristen! Yes, it’s me! I didn’t entirely disappear. Just been a bit (okay a lot) under the weather. Will try to get “back” today and this week.

    Loved reading your tag. I watched the clip for Sunshine and that is definitely something my husband will love. We don’t celebrate Halloween in SA, so I can’t share any stories! I can tell you that my favourite horror movie is The Skeleton Key and the latest adaptation of Agatha Christie’s And then there were none gave me the creeps. Scariest book? The Whisper by Donato Carrisi.

    Hope to chat soon again!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Haha yay, I’m glad you haven’t disappeared! I’m sorry you’ve been under the weather though 🙁 Feel better!

      I totally recommend Sunshine, it’s a great movie, despite (or maybe because of?) the way it freaked me out. Oh! The Skeleton Key is actually one of the few horror movies I’ve seen! I remember seeing it as a teen and clinging to my friends in the movie theater lol. Haven’t seen those other movies though or read that book.

      Definitely! I’ll check your blog this week 🙂

  3. sjhigbee

    lol… I’m ALLERGIC to being frightened! I spent part of my childhood being afraid and it isn’t an emotion I like revisiting as an adult – but I’m fascinated to discover how many folks do revel in the experience. Hope you’re having a lovely Halloween, Kristen and thank you for sharing your fears:)

    1. Kristen Burns

      I guess I can understand why some people find it fun to be scared, but it’s not my cup of tea either, which is why I don’t watch scary movies and had a love/hate relationship with scary stories and all that. But I can’t help it when furry caterpillars attack 😛 Thanks! You have a nice Halloween too 🙂

  4. Christy LoveOfBooks

    LOL! Oh, where to even begin. This is hilarious. I shouldn’t laugh about the caterpillar, but … I am. 😛 And that so funny about both costume stories. Ugh, what the hell kind of person hands out candy like that, and who in their right mind would eat it?! Barf! Oooo I need to watch Sunshine.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I forgive you for laughing at my trauma 😉 And YES, my thoughts exactly about the loose M&Ms! Who does that?! And that’s why I ran around my little group trying to physically stop everyone from eating them! I definitely recommend Sunshine, it’s still a good thriller sci-fi kinda movie even though it probably won’t freak most people out quite the way it did me lol.

  5. Jessica

    I haven’t seen Sunshine, but looks like a good movie. I don’t really watch many scary movies unless my mother makes me. I do love the Saw movies. I like the plot, not the violence. I was Barbie when I was little. I have been using a jumpsuit that looks like a dress as a costume now. I never played that game.

  6. Barb (boxermommyreads)

    Great tag. I love Sweeny Todd as well so I say yea, it counts. I didn’t really dress up as a kid. I lived out town and didn’t really trick-or-treat either. I know, what a deprived childhood. My husband loves to dress up – me, not so much. I do love horror stuff though. I TOTALLY agree about Creepy Clown Dolls…although I have an irrational fear of what I call “stilt people.” You know, people who walk around on stilts and stuff. Watched America’s Got Talent once and wouldn’t you know, people on stilts. Can’t risk it anymore 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      I feel like Sweeney Todd is so underrated and so few people have seen it! But awww, that does sound like a rather deprived childhood. I’m the opposite of you in that I don’t like horror stuff.

      Ok, yeah, your fear of stilt walkers is a little strange lol. I started learning stilts once, so I might’ve been a stilt walker myself had I not had to quit my job at the circus I worked for some years ago, and then you would’ve been afraid of me :-O

  7. Tessa

    I really loved this tag! You had some great stories to share.
    I am such a scaredy-cat, especially when ti comes to Halloween time. I dislike all scary movies and video games. The scariest movie that I ever watched was called Signs. It is about an alien invasion and how people dealt with it (spoiler alert, not very well). Most of the movie was tolerable, but things really got creepy at the end. Not going to lie, I was hiding behind my blanket for the last twenty minutes.
    My worst Halloween costume was a clown. I was really young at the time, so young that my mother still picked my costume. And for some reason, she thought it was a great idea to dress her daughter up as a clown, even though I was terrified of them. I am still uneasy around clowns to this day.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! I always say I have a story for everything lol.

      I’m a total scaredy-cat too. That’s why I don’t watch scary movies and used to make my grandma play the video game even though it wasn’t even an actual scary game, just one in which you had to jump and throw weapons or something lol. I haven’t seen Signs, I don’t think, but I know which movie you’re talking about.

      Haha maybe she dressed you up as a clown *because* you were afraid of them and she knew it’d be the only time she could get you to wear that 😛

  8. Bookworm Brandee

    What a fun post! I’d never heard of Sunshine but the trailer kinda freaked me out….not sure I’ll watch it, but maybe sometime. 😉 I think the scariest movie I’ve ever seen is The Exorcist…or maybe The Omen. I don’t think I made it through either one. There’s something about possession that I just can’t handle. Bloody and gory – no problem. Demon-possessed? Nope. And I had to giggle over the furry caterpillars. I fear spiders. And living where I do, that’s an issue. I suck it up for my older daughter who has a HUGE fear of them. But for some reason, I’m like a spider magnet. They fall on me – while I’m cooking…they crawl on me – while I’m sleeping!! Eek! I’m not that much of a fan of Halloween – an incident in junior high – but I’ve always done it up for my kids. And they love it. My older daughter wants to have a black cat and an orange cat when she’s on her own so she can have Halloween all year round! LOL OOO! Creepy clown dolls!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! It really is a great movie. Underrated, I think, since hardly anyone knows about it (I don’t think it was in theaters). I haven’t seen those, but I feel like I’d probably do better with demonic possession movies than blood and gore ones. I love reading bloody, gory books, but I can’t handle it in shows and movies. I’ve literally had to look away from the screen just watching Supernatural lol.

      Ugh, I fear spiders and roaches and other bugs too, but I figured furry caterpillars is the strangest one to fear lol. I know some people think they’re cute. But spiders just fall on you?! AND WHILE YOU’RE SLEEPING??? That’s like my worse nightmare, I always worry that one day I’ll wake up and find something crawling on me. I’ve had roaches start crawling up my leg twice though (while I was awake), so I can kind of relate.

      Lol to the black and orange cats. I can only imagine how excited she’d be if she ever found one that was black AND orange 😛

  9. AngelErin

    Great tag! I love the idea of your “flasher” costume. haha. That made me crack up. Also, Sweeney Todd is AHMAZING. I’ve never heard of that Sunshine movie, but sounds intriguing.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol it was seriously the greatest costume I’ve ever worn. So much fun. I got some hilarious photos too, but I decided not to post them since I don’t even know all the people in them and didn’t know if they’d want to be on my blog, haha. And yes, Sweeney Todd is so underrated! Sunshine too. Neither one of those movies is popular enough!

  10. Lola

    That’s interesting you don’t like horror movies, I would’ve thought you enjoyed those because of how much you enjoy dark. Although ofcourse horror movies aren’t always dark, but still. I also don’t like scary movies, in fact I think I am even worse with scary movies than books as then you actually see it on the screen. And gore is even worse when you can actually see it.

    That game you mentioned sound super disturbing, I mean he turns into a slug and gets salt on him and there’s a dentist? I remember some tv shows of when I was a kid and looking back i sure wonder why kid games or tv shows can be so disturbing.

    I have so many fears it is hard to pick the most unusual one, probably my fear for everything related to things inside a body. I still don’t know how I made it through biology class in high school. I rather not know how things work as it just freaks me out and makes me queasy. I recently watched a movie on fb about how anesthesia worked and halfway through I started feeling queasy and decided I rather not watch the rest and scrolled past it.

    I kind like the furry caterpillars, but I wouldn’t want them in my shoe either. I don’t think we have many of them here in the Netherlands though, but when on vacation in Scotland I once photographed one. I think it was a caterpillar at least. It was black with almost glittery bits and had spikes, definitely one of the weirdest animals I’ve seen.

    I never heard of the fantanas before, it does sound like a fun group costume though. Here Halloween only has becoming a thing lately, we did the whole costume thing for another event sometimes though. I can’t remember many costumes, although i am pretty sure I went as the female smurf (smurfette I think she’s called in english) one year. This was a fun post to read!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Well see, I like books that are dark and heart-wrenching and sometimes gory, but I don’t like *scary*. And if that surprises you, you’ll be even more surprised to know I can’t handle gore in movies or shows. I can handle almost anything in books, but I literally look away from the screen if someone even cuts another character with a knife or something. Kinda like you said, I think it’s just that in my head I can make things less bad or focus on the parts that don’t disturb me as much whereas with movies I’m forced to see it exactly as they show it.

      It was really disturbing! I mean, looking at it now, ok it doesn’t look that bad. But as a kid it was totally disturbing lol. And I agree, I feel like kids shows used to be a lot more disturbing whereas now everyone is so worried about things. Although none of the shows I watched were ever, like… scary disturbing. Just weird.

      I kind of understand that fear. I’m ok learning about how things work inside the body, I think, but, for example, the reason I’m so freaked out by needles isn’t even because of the pain, it’s because I get freaked out by the whole concept of something being inside a vein and all that.

      Gah, no, I don’t even like looking at furry caterpillars in photos, despite the fact that I took a photo of one lol.

      I figured people in other countries might not know the Fantanas, so I included a photo 🙂 They were just part of an ad campaign for the soda. Smurfette sounds like a cute costume!

  11. Toady

    i’m not too fond of the fuzzy crawlies either. Squished one with my hand going down a railing as a child, so I know what you mean, but I am also afraid of big birds, oddly enough. I was feeding the babies in the pond when I was viciously attacked by a goose. Yeah, that stuff sticks with a person.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’m glad it’s not just me who hates furry caterpillars! And yikes, my whole incident would’ve been a nightmare for you lol. I can see why you’re afraid of large birds after that, but I think geese are really just mean. Other large birds, like the one in my photo, aren’t generally like that.

  12. Aentee

    Have you seen Pan’s Labyrinth? It’s not a horror movie, but it’s a great alternative for Halloween due to its atmosphere and themes – it’s also one of my favourite movies of all time!
    Blame it on growing up in Vietnam and New Zealand, but I never could get into the spirit of Halloween. My contribution to the holiday yearly is watching the odd horror movie XD

    1. Kristen Burns

      I have not seen it, but I will look into it!

      To be honest, I did enjoy the trick-or-treating and costumes growing up, but Halloween was never my favorite holiday, and I don’t really do much for it now. It’s my blog that’s feeling the spirit more than I am 😛

  13. Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight

    Well, now I NEED to watch Sunshine! It sounds really good, and maybe a little like The 100 since they are in space hahah. I don’t really have many scary favorites, but the one “movie” that scared the bejeezus out of me was a Stephen King made for TV move, Storm of the Century. Neither my mom NOR I could sleep for DAYS after that. So creepy, gah! Now, my best Halloween costume… one year in college I was part of a Spice Girls, which I was kind of lazy with too, but that was because I was assigned Ginger and she is BORING. Also that year (Idk why I had two costumes, but I did) I was a mermaid and that was my all time favorite, but I think mostly because I felt confident enough to walk around in the slinky costume? Hahha. Memories. This is SUCH a fun tag, thanks for sharing it!!

    1. Kristen Burns

      You should definitely watch Sunshine! Everyone should watch Sunshine! It’s such an underrated movie because no one knows about it. But oh goodness, I will DEFINITELY NOT be watching Storm of the Century lol.

      Aww, sorry you got the boring Spice Girl. The mermaid costume sounds great though! It’s funny, as I kid I was always pretending to be a mermaid and wanting to be a mermaid, but I’ve never actually dressed up as one for Halloween! Thanks, glad you enjoyed it 😀

  14. La La in the Library

    This is a fab post. I wish I had known about your ghost encounter earlier because I did a post with blogger’s personal ghost stories. You can still go and tell me in the comments though. I would love to here it. I loved the movie Sunshine, but I can’t remember if it freaked me out or not. The movie Melancholia really freaked me out though.

    I have a phobia about guacamole, so it makes your fear of fuzzy caterpillars seem totally normal, ha ha. XD

    Sorry about your new neighbors. You are right, it runs the gamet of emotions from sad to frightening, to amusing. Tbat is why I used to love reality shows so much. I always wanted to know everyone’s story! Ha!

    Gosh, I just might bookmark this to do next year. Ihope youhad a great Halloween.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! Darn, I’d have totally given you my story if I’d known! But I’ll go post it in the comments 🙂 Sunshine is such an underrated movie! I’ve not heard of Melancholia though.

      Lol I think I remember seeing that on your blog. Thanks for making me feel better about my fear of fuzzy caterpillars 😛

      I guess that’s why we read, we just like knowing everyone’s story! I’m not a big reality TV fan, but I really am curious what’s going on with those neighbors of mine lol.

      You should definitely do this tag next year! Thanks, same to you 🙂