To promote The Thing prequel the imaginative press people have made this site which lets you freak out your friends by letting you create a super scary video. Just upload or record your video using a webcam and add a gruesome effect then send it to everyone you know and scare them silly.
Easy to use and very well done the website also has some videos made by other people if your in need of ideas!
Enjoy – http://itwillbecomeyou.com/
Some of our regular visitors may have noticed that Halloween was on hold – at Halloweenerrific at least.
Halloweenerrific had to undertake some serious server work over the past week as we moved the site to new hosting.
It was the sort of thing that should have been instantaneous and unnoticeable, but as with all things computer-related, there were complications.
So during that time, everything was on hold for us. Publishing, celebrating, everything!
Thankfully, our new hosts were super-helpful and everything is resolved – or seems to be.
So, now that we’re on new hosting you should notice a speed improvement and more importantly, Halloweenerrific should now be crash proof in preparation for that all important time of year – All Hallows Eve!
We’re not going to tolerate the same problems that we 
experienced last year. Remember that? When we went down the day before?! And before we could publish the second part of our Friday the 13th inspired cocktails feature…
Boy did we end up with pumkin on our faces (as opposed to egg).
Now that we’re back it would be great if you could take a look around the site and let us know if you notices something that isn’t working properly.
You can do that using our contract form here:
Halloweenerrific contact form
In the meantime, enjoy the site and get yourself ready.
!What is halloween
So, what is Hallowen to you? No, I’m actually asking. Because someone asked me the other day and I found it hard to explain exactly what Hallowe’en is and what it means.
Of course, we have our guide to the history of Halloween, which goes into its origins, but what All Hallow’s Eve is today, varies greatly depending on who you are and where you’re from.
It’s interesting as a festival because unlike Christmas, there is a vast contrast in how Halloween is celebrated accross the population.
If you asked someone what Christmas was, they would probably say presents, Santa, turkey, crackers, Christmas pudding, watching rubbish TV and generally spending time with the whole family.
Try to do that with Halloween, and then compare that to what your friend says. Chances are, the associations will be entirely different.
After dropping out of popularity with mainstream society many years ago, up until recently, Halloween meant little more than a few carved root vegetables (most likely turnips) and perhaps a bit of guising, although this was more prominent in the northern England, Ireland and Scotland.
During the 1980′s and 90′s the consumer potential for Halloween was realised overseas, but attempts to bring these concepts into British culture were largely unsuccessful, with the festival being seen as another American fad (many not realising where its true roots were).
Thankfully, in recent years it has become more popular all accross the UK. With sales in merchandise outselling all other festivals and in 2011 Halloween made retailers more money than any other holiday, apart from Christmas.
More importantly than just making money, Halloween has again become a time for celebration with many now choosing to host parties as well as taking part in the more traditional guising (in the form of trick or treating), apple bobbing and pumpkin carving.
Halloween is seen to be a product of Nothern America because of the fact that they go to such great efforts to celebrate it.
Their tradtions run from farming traditions like carving pumpkins and baking the seeds, fresh apple cider, pumpkin pies, hay rides, bonfires, fall dances, cornstalks, etc.
To newer (20th century) suburban tradions like home decorating and yard haunting, trick-or-treating, costume parties, scavenger hunts, professional haunted houses and events sponsored by businesses.
After being imported by the early Irish and Scottish settlers, Americans have clung onto the importance of All Hallow’s Eve, and to a great extent have put their own stamp on it, making the US the flag bearers of Halloween.
What is Halloween to this household? A good excuse for a crazy lawn decoration, that's what!
In Spanish-speaking nations, such as Mexico and Spain, Halloween is known as
‘El Dia de los Muertos’ or ‘the days of the dead’. It’s a 3 day festival which begins on the evening of October 31 and closes on November 2.
Although it has obvious links with death, it is a joyous and happy holiday – something that many in the west find curious. However, the concept of making Halloween ‘a time to remember friends and family who have died’ is a good one in my book.
Over the celebratory period, homes are decorated and great feasts take part, some even in the form of picnics beside graves, with the living being intent on sharing the celebration with lost loved ones.
There’s also lots tequila, mariachi bands and dancing. In fact, it is seen as being as much of a carnival as anything else.
What is Halloween elsewhere?
Here, some leave bread, water and a lit lamp on a table before retiring on Halloween night. This is to welcome the souls of the dead back to earth for one night.
One Halloween custom in Belgium on is to light candles in memory of dead loved ones.
The roots for Halloween in Canada are similar to those for the USA. As a result, they share a majority of the traditions.
Halloween in China (or the nearest thing that they have to it) is known as Teng Chieh. Food and water are placed in front of photographs of family members who have departed and fires and lanterns are lit to light the way for wandering spirits as they walk the earth for that one night.
Chairs are placed by the fireside on Halloween night. One chair for each living family member, and one for each member of the family that has recently departed.
What is Halloween in France? Well, differing slightly from many of the other nations mentioned, ‘la fête d’Halloween’ as it is known is very much the product of the American holiday which until very recently was unknown and uncelebrated in France.
It’s not seen as a particularly spiritual time, but is instead a good excuse for a party in costumes and along with that, there’s plenty of commercialism.
It’s still not overly popular, but that is changing as generally speaking Halloween becomes more widely accepted accross the world.
In Korea they celebrate “Chusok.” which is a time that families use to thank their ancestors for their living achievements by visiting their graves and leaving food offerings.
The London Dungeon is soon to launch what will without a doubt be THE halloween ride/experience for 2011 – The Vengeance ride.
It’s not often that we at Halloweenerrific get excited about a book. I mean, who has time to read when you have all of those decorations to make, cool costumes to buy and food to prepare, right?
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