We celebrate Halloween every year, without fail, on October 31. Unless, of course, the 31st falls on a weekday, then those with families will send their trick-or-treaters out on a different day during the weekend. This helps to make Halloween more of a season than focused on one specific day. It's been a few years of Halloweens now that I've been struggling to understand the spirit of the holiday. No, not the origins of why we celebrate, I don't really care to delve into those aspects. I'm talking about - what gets me in the Halloween mood? What helps me rekindle the magic I felt as a kid when pumpkins adorned the stoops and cobwebs hung from the windows?

Every year I try to do what I've seen my friends do. Find the scary horror movies and watch them. You dress up like vampires and ghosts to scour for candy, so you should watch those types of movies, right? Jason and Freddy - that's Halloween, isn't it? Yes, Michael Myers comes from a movie whose very namesake is Halloween, but, every time I try to watch them, to try to rekindle that magic, it comes up short. It just isn't the mood I associate with the season.

Then it dawned on me. What I remember about Halloween is the television programming. The Halloween themed episodes that ran throughout October. Who can forget the spooky shenanigans that took place on NBC's Friday TGIF evening lineup? The Friends themed episodes transitioned into the How I Met Your Mother versions. Anyone remember "The Slutty Pumpkin"? Halloween episodes have been around forever, and some say were brought back into the forefront during Roseanne. The shows that really stand out to me for having the best themed episodes are Home Improvement and Family Matters. Yeah, maybe some of those shows don't hold up, but it is impossible not to get into the Halloween mood when watching any of these re-runs. 

There are some more recent shows and movies that touch on that Halloween nostalgia. Stranger Things is the big one that, yes, it is a spooky show, but its setting and theme is so...Halloween. Its the 80s in a neighborhood around October. Falling leaves, sweaters, and kids playing in a neighborhood. That does bring me to a bit of a contradiction. Halloween - Yes, I bemoaned this at the beginning that horror movies don't put me in the Halloween spirit, and even used this franchise as an example. But, I do like the atmosphere of that movie. It has the Autumn chill, the small-town vibe, and plenty of jack-o-lanterns. So, hey, what can I say - I'm a contradictory guy. A more recent one that brings the seasonal vibe is Hubie Halloween. Yeah, the Sandler Netflix movie is goofy as usual, but it really nails the atmosphere I'm looking for.

As I write this, I've fleshed out in my mind what puts me in that spirit. I think it is the feeling of warmth - the feeling of family and neighborhood that you can always return to after braving the chill and spooky things outside. I can't think of anything more "Halloween" than curling up on the couch with my family and reading a chilling book or watching some goofy pumpkin themed show. So, what do you think? What puts you in the Halloween mood?