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Tragically, every year less
youth participate in the ritual of donning rigid, suffocating plastic masks, full-body
vinyl suits, and parading door-to-door to threaten neighbors with mischievous antics
should they not sate their gluttonous appetites with teeth-rotting, acne-causing, belly
ache-inducing sweets.
Halloween first gained popularity in America in the
1840s, as waves of Irish immigrants brought with them ancient Celtic customs for the “new
year’s” celebration of Samhain. Even time-honored traditions of pumpkin carving have
their roots in Irish lore. As the story goes, old Jack, a trickster and a drunk,
conned the devil into climbing a tree. When the prince of darkness was sufficiently
stranded in the branches, Jack made the devil promise to never lay claim to his soul. The
devil agreed, but after Jack died, he was barred access to heaven for his prankster ways
(those must have been some malicious stunts). The devil, keeping his end of the bargain
and not wanting to deal with Jack for eternity, couldn’t keep him in hell. So Jack was
sent back to earth to wander and given a turnip with a flaming ember inside to light his
way. Hence, the Jack-O-Lantern.
The dimly lit, unassuming Irish pub that
John Murphy and I chose for writing our list of the top 100 Halloween movies had at first
seemed ill-suited for our mission, but now it gained a coincidentally historical
perspective. This would be the first of many synchronicities.
Murphy and I
were on our own for the next 25 films that made our list; the initial 25 had been logged
in record time, with all the patrons pitching in to rank the most popular. The old man in
the corner with his salt-and-pepper beard, unkempt mane of gray hair, and single
squinting eye, had appeared as a horror cliché himself; he was “the messenger” who warns
the unsuspecting teens in a creepy, muttering way that: “the house is haunted,” and
“there is a legendary killer in those woods,” or “there is an unspeakable eeeviiillll in
that place.” Here, he stammered in a thick South Side Chicago accent: “Scariest movie? Da
Exorcist! It’s eeeviiillll, pure eeeviiillll!!!” And continued to do so long after the
title had been recorded.
The bartender volunteered names while she poured
our drinks, and the counter
people racked their brains for unlisted titles. A table
of teachers tried to persuade us that Village of the Damned should make our list
— not because they felt it was scary, but because the town’s salvation lay in the hands
of an English instructor (we felt they were a little biased). A few gave answers like:
“Horror — bah — horror movies, I can’t get into those. I had to sleep with my closet
light on for weeks after watching those flying monkeys tear apart the Scarecrow. That
Scarecrow was a good guy, poor fella.”
At 50, we knew we were going to be
in trouble.
Top Twenty-five Not-So-Classic Halloween
Classics
Compiled by Josh Gryniewicz and John M.
Murphy
25. The People Under
the Stairs (1991)
24. Village of the
Damned (1995)
23. The Pit and the
Pendulum (1961)
22. Carrie
(1976)
21. The Others
(2001) (read the review)
20. Prom
Night (1980)
19. Island of Lost
Souls (1933)
18. Children of the
Corn (1984)
17. The Sixth
Sense (1999)
16. Pet Sematery
(1989)
15. Stir of
Echoes (1999)
14. Phantasm
(1979)
13. 28 Days Later
(2002)
12. Creepshow
(1982)
11. Candyman
(1992)
10. It
(1990)
9. Near Dark
(1987)
Corpses (2003)
7. Angel Heart
(1987)
6. Suspiria
(1977)
5. The Thing
(1982)
4. Scream
(1996)
3. The
Frighteners (1996)
(1987)
1. Salem’s Lot
(1979)
Disclaimer: Please note — the list of top 100 Halloween
Movies includes 125
films. However “Top 100” has a more official-sounding ring. Also,
subheadings were added long after the titles were collected. The authors would like to
thank N&W.com, John Dewey of Dark House Cinema, Erika, Melanie, the Great Pumpkin and the
entire crowd at Teehan’s for helping save Halloween.
For more of
Josh and John’s list, see:
Part One
Part Three
Part Four
