It’s hard for me to decide what I dislike most about Halloween – my list is that long.
Top of the list is the idea of parents allowing – no, encouraging – their children to approach home the homes of strangers and get candy.
Teaching kids at an early age to take candy from strangers.
What a bad idea.
Next on the list is it the fact that Halloween-related TV food shows start in July.
Shows with names like Halloween Wars, Halloween Cookie Challenge, Halloween Baking Championship, and Outrageous Pumpkins, the latter of which brings together…
“Four of America’s best pumpkin carvers for a Halloween pumpkin carving competition that defies expectations. In three rounds of challenges, the spectacularly talented artists use carving and sculpting tools ranging from toothpicks to saws to execute their amazingly intricate Halloween designs. The carver who impresses the expert panel of judges the most takes home a $10,000 prize.”
Based on the online images, what appear to be normal-looking people come together with pumpkins…
And create something like this:
And quickly take pictures before the pumpkin is carted off to the local landfill.
I’ll have more to say about Halloween TV offerings later.
Another item on my What-I-Dislike-About-Halloween is this:
Not candy itself, but that people are buying it for Halloween. According to Statista.com:
“In 2022, consumers in the United States expected to spend a combined total of roughly three billion U.S. dollars on trick-or-treat candy for the Halloween season.”
Food prices are way up, and that’s going to continue, says this recent article:
And – understandably – people keep complaining about the high cost of food.
And yet they’re loading up their shopping carts with around $3 billion in Halloween candy?
To give away?
To strangers?
Here’s a graphic from the Statista.com article that shows – in billions of dollars – what people are spending overall on Halloween in 2022, including the aforementioned candy:
It adds up to more than $10 billion, on stuff like yard decorations:
And costumes for humans:
And costumes for pets:
And to what end?
So they can take selfies and post them on Instagram?
And speaking of pets…
I’m circling back to Halloween TV offerings…
And pets.
Specifically:
A bit of backstory:
At one time there was a television station called the Travel Channel. At one time it actually was a channel that aired…
Travel shows.
Over the years the station went through a series of logos:
The current logo – bottom row, far right – is now missing the “a” and “e” which I guess leaves viewers asking, “Should we see what’s on Tervil?”
But the Travel – I mean, Tervil – Channel changed, as this writer lamented:
“What happened to travel television? Growing up, I used to watch the Travel Channel for hours on end. Yes, as a child, I loved watching shows about travel. I would sit in awe, learning about fascinating places around the world. I specifically recall the first time I saw a show about Angkor Wat and couldn’t believe such an historic place was never mentioned in school.
“These were the good days of travel television. Viewers were entertained, informed and inspired. Oh, how times have changed.”
And this writer:
Explained what happened to the Trvl Channel:
“TV networks show what works, so even if you don’t love paranormal shows, that’s what’s been driving revenue for the Travel Channel since 2018. When they started showing these types of shows, the Travel Channel had their best year ever! Sorry to say, these types of shows don’t appear to be going away anytime soon.”
And what better time to air “paranormal shows” than at Halloween?
Let’s take a look at Trvl’s offerings for today – Halloween.
Start your morning out right with these masterpieces:
Grab your lunch and settle in for the afternoon:
And now…as it’s getting dark…hunker down and get ready for your best Halloween night ever, right up to midnight:
Want to make your best Halloween night even better?
Then add in this:
Now, I’ve heard of humans being possessed, or thinking their possessed, or their families thinking they’re possessed.
The Catholic Church is very big on dealing with evil possession – just go online and request and exorcism:
But possessed pets?
Here’s the indisputable evidence, brought to you by Eli Roth, a sort of actor who evolved into a sort of director/producer and apparently – according to the Trvl Channel – is now the “master of horror.”
My Possessed Pet is a four-part series that concluded 10 days ago, but don’t despair – it’s streaming on discovery+. And if you’re not set up for that, you’ll get set up for it after you read Trvl’s program description:
“Few things are more profound than the quiet bond between a person and their pet. But what if an evil presence takes hold of the animal and uses the trusted companion to get to us?”
“ELI ROTH PRESENTS: MY POSSESSED PET explores the true, terrifying tales of what happens when evil spirits, curses and demons take over family pets and turn them against their terrified owners. Each episode will follow the chilling and deeply personal story of someone who has had their profound and loving relationship ripped apart by supernatural forces beyond their control.”
Here’s an image from the show about a “possessed” dog:
Though Eli Roth also could have used this one:
So – there’s just a partial recounting of my What-I-Dislike-About-Halloween list: people spending $10 billion on Halloween crap while they whine about inflation, a proliferation of Halloween TV shows that start in July, the craziness of parents encouraging their children to take candy from strangers…
The craziness of it all.
Is it over yet?
I Hate Houseguests 