Throwback Tuesday: What Halloween Means to This NiceGirl

Back in October of 2011, I wrote part of the following column in “celebration” of Halloween that year, focusing on the new Good Witch movie that was going to debut on the Hallmark Channel at that time. And while I always enjoyed those Halloween-themed movies from the Good Witch franchise, which starred Catherine Bell in the lead role, I have to admit that I am, more likely than not, in the minority when I say that I am not a fan of Halloween.

Honestly, I never really have been into the whole “holiday” and to be quite honest, I don’t see it as a “holiday” – I don’t even really see it as a day to be celebrated.

Clearly, like I said, I’m in the minority when you look at the plans made by many of the TV networks with their 13- or 31-days of Halloween, encompassing programming meant to thrill, scare or terrify their viewers.

You can also see it in the stores where Halloween decorations, costumes and candy (the only thing I like about Halloween – sorry, I’m a choco-holic!) reign supreme and haunted houses pop up all over the place not to mention pumpkin patches galore, corn mazes and freak shows abound at amusements parks and other local attractions.

And, of course, you can’t escape it at the movie theatres either where the studios seem to thrive on releasing movie after movie that, simply put, scares the pants of movie goers.

Now this is all well and good for the folks who thrive on having fun on Halloween, the kids who love to trick or treat and the folks who seem to live to scare their neighbors with elaborate decorations; but for the minority, like me, I’d rather avoid all the creepy “stuff” and patiently hold out until all the madness dies down.

Maybe the only good thing that Halloween holds for someone like me (well besides chocolate, that is!) – who doesn’t get into the celebration aspect of the “holiday” – are the occasional fun Halloween-inspired TV episodes of my favorite one-hour dramas or some of the made-for-TV movies that will be airing.

For those looking to watch Halloween fare throughout next month, you can check out Freeform’s “31 Nights of Halloween” [formerly the “13 Nights of Halloween” or the “13 Days of Halloween” on ABC Family, the former name of that cable network], which will run all month long in October. In fact, the cabler will debut a new series on October 1 (airing the first four episodes that night) called Coven Academy that will focus on teen witch apprentices at a special school for “the gifted” in New Orleans – that will feature adult actors known to our readers: Tiffany Thiessen from White Collar and Saved By the Bell and Devon Sawa from Nikita and Chucky.

The following are just some of the movies the network will air throughout the month on Freeform:

* Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
* Edward Scissorhands
* Sweeney Todd
* Dark Shadows
* Sleepy Hollow
* The Nightmare Before Christmas
* Hocus Pocus and Hocus Pocus 2
* Beetlejuice
* Casper
* The Addams Family film
* Monsters, Inc.
* Frankenweenie
* A Tim Burton marathon

You can see the Freeform “31 Nights of Halloween” schedule here.

If you want a more adult Halloween experience, though, there are the AMC FearFest and Syfy’s 31 Days of Halloween, which will feature big time scares like Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Stephen King favorites, the Resident Evil and Insidious films, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the Child’s Play and Chucky, Tremors and Lake Placid.

You can see AMC’s full guide here. However, the folks over at Syfy have yet to release a full guide of their October-Halloween viewing guide.

Also make sure to check your own cable guide on your TV at home for specials and other marathons as there are plenty more beyond those above, and let us know what you’ll be doing for Halloween this year in our comments section below.

[Featured Image Photo Credit: Freeform]