Category: Halloween

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You Can Spend 30 Hours in a Coffin with Your Partner and Win $600, Courtesy of Six Flags

Amusement park Six Flags has celebrated Halloween by daring their guests to spend 30 hours trapped alone in a coffin for the last couple years. People surprisingly jumped at the chance (and some of them actually made it!), so this year, they’re upping the ante and offering the challenge for couples.

That’s right – it’s a chance to test your relationship by spending the night trapped in a 6-foot by 5.4-foot space together!

Or, you know, if you’re up for a super adventure, you could also do it with a perfect stranger.

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#sixflagscoffinchallenge

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You’re allowed to bring pillows, sleeping bags, or whatever else you’d like, as long as everything fits inside and allows the lid to be closed. You’re also allowed to leave for designated bathroom breaks, to eat meals, and to use your phone (that last one is crap, if you asl me).

Each contestant is also issued a “Get Out of the Coffin Free Card” to use in exchange for a 6-minute breather.

There are mini-challenges throughout the main event, like fishing a mystery item out of a bucket, lying still while covered in worms, or other Fear Factor Lite experiences.

Both participants must complete these challenges together, though everyone does get one “Skip the Challenge Card” at the outside of the event.

The reward for surviving all of this intact – and hopefully still in a relationship – is $600 (to split), two 2020 season passes, and a Fright Fest prize pack.

There’s an online application if you’re interested, and if this year’s deadline is passed, well…there’s always next year.

Maybe you and your partner can spend the intervening months trying to survive hours on end pressed together in a tight space.

Remember, though, for the real challenge, you’ll have an audience.

So no funny business to pass the time.

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IHOP Has an Addams Family Menu Full of Creepy Treats

I love all of this.

I love Halloween. I love pancakes. I love The Addams Family. What else do I need in this life?

Wait, I need this! IHOP launched an entire Addams Family menu on September 16 to go with the new 3-D animated Addams Family movie that hits theaters on October 11.

Alisa Gmelich, IHOP’s vice president of marketing, said, “Halloween, and the months leading up to it, are filled with such unadulterated fun for families, so it made perfect sense for IHOP to get in on the action.” She continued, “The quirkiness of The Addams Family matches our own playfulness as a brand, so a partnership with MGM felt like a great fit.”

Addams family pancakes/hot chocolate @ihop tonight. So good 💜

Posted by My Pretty Zombie on Saturday, September 21, 2019

Gmelich added that signature IHOP items like pancakes, milkshakes, and omelettes were given a fun twist: “Our culinary team had a lot of fun playing around with distinctive flavors and eye-catching colors to create a menu that will be delightfully spooky and delicious to families of all ages, including grown-up kids, all month long.”

We NEED a IHOP restaurant here 🖤#Repost @_halloween_and_fall_ with @get_repost・・・Birthday breakfast @ihop !!! This…

Posted by Wonderland 13 on Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The food menu includes Wednesday’s Web-Cakes, Gomez’ Green Chili Omelette, and the Kooky Kids’ Combo.

If you’re thirsty, you can get some creepy drinks as well! Choose from Uncle Fester’s Chocolate Ice Scream Shake (I know what I’m ordering) or Morticia’s Haunted Hot Chocolate.

They're Altogether Foodie: IHOP Announces ADDAMS FAMILY Tie-in Menu For Octoberhttps://nofspodcast.com/theyre-altogether-foodie-ihop-announces-addams-family-tie-in-menu-for-october/

Posted by Nightmare on Film Street on Tuesday, September 17, 2019

For you youngsters out there who only know about The Addams Family from the movies from the 1990s, you should probably know that the characters also had their own live-action TV show in the 1960s and the characters were based on artist Charles Addams’ cartoons that ran in The New Yorker between 1938-1988.

Here’s a trailer for the new animated film, by the way.

The limited-time menu runs through November 3, so don’t sleep on this! See you at IHOP!

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No, Your Halloween Decorations Can’t Include Real Human Skulls

If you’re really into decorating for Halloween (or you’re super into actual witchcraft), you might think it would be cool to include some real human remains – like a skull, maybe – in your creepy decor.

Author and mortician Caitlin Doughty explains why that’s not a very good (or very legal) idea in her book, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions From Tiny Mortals About Death.

Image Credit: Amazon

First of all, let’s talk about what it would take to get that skull into a state that would be palatable enough to display. You’d need to first separate it from a body, and then make sure that every last bit of flesh was removed (otherwise, the smell is going to be horrible enough you definitely don’t want to live with it) – both of which aren’t services offered by many (almost any) funeral homes.

Museums and forensic labs often employ dermestid beetles to clear skin – they “delicately eat the dead flesh off a skeleton without destroying the bones” – but your average funeral home doesn’t have a need to keep them on hand.

Horrifying.

Ok, even if you could find a gang of beetles or a funeral director willing to help in that arena, you’d still need to tackle the problem of legality.

In most states, there are laws that prevent people from abusing a corpse. Though what constitutes abuse varies from place to place, in general, funeral directors and other people who handle bodies err on the side of caution.

“The laws about buying or selling human remains also vary by state, and are vague, confusing, and enforced at random,” advises Doughty.

Funeral homes are also required to submit a burial-and-transmit permit for each body they handle, with boxes for the usual options of burial, cremation, or donation to science.

“There is no ‘cut off the head, de-flesh it, preserve the skull, and then cremate the rest of the body’ option,” jokes Doughty. “Nothing even close.”

So, even if your beloved grandmother would have been tickled at the thought of watching over your family for generations to come, you probably won’t be able to put her skull on the mantle.

But if you’re looking for just any headless dead person, Doughty kind of shrugs.

“There are ways of procuring a stranger’s skull online if you are willing to engage in some suspect internet commerce.”

If those words are music to your ears, I guess have at it.

And Happy Halloween!

Just hopefully not in jail.

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People Share Their Really Creepy Road Trip Stories

If you drive long distances, chances are you’ve pulled off the highway to snag some food, find a bathroom, or needed a place to crash. In some cases, this can be harmless. You do your business and on your way, you go.

Other times, you may have gotten the heebie-jeebies driving down a dark, winding road, convinced there was a sign that said “Gas Station” but it’s nowhere to be found.

r/AskReddit user u/salemwinona posted “Have you ever been to a town, village, truck stop, gas station, diner, etc. during a road trip that just didn’t “feel right”, like time seemed to pass differently there, or the people there gave you the creeps? What was your experience there?”

The response will both creep you out and relieve you that you’re not the only one.

10. Beware of empty store shelves

u/the_short_viking ~ “Coatesville, Pennsylvania.

I was with a friend who had come up from Mexico and we were staying a few nights at his grandmother’s ranch nearby. Coatesville was the only town around where we could find Mexican ingredients. This is an old steel town that feels post-apocalyptic, everyone there didn’t really seem to be doing anything or going anywhere, it was so creepy. The store we ended up going to had nearly empty shelves and I think the guys were a bit surprised to see us there.

All in all just very strange and eerie.”

9. A near-death experience

u/Many_Pancakes~ “This is my girlfriends story but is kinda up the alley of what you are asking for. My partner went to Florida with her family when she was younger and they were driving around trying to find some food until they found a Chinese restaurant and they went in and had some food”

“There were no other customers, lots of staff, everyone seemed very tense but the food was great.

They left and had a lovely rest of their day.”

“During breakfast the next morning they turned on their tele and the news showed the place they had eaten and they were like ‘wow look we went there’. Then the story started and it turns out no more than 10 minutes after they left there was a massive shoot up and they all killed one another.

Turns out that the ignorant British tourists just sat in-between some kind of Asian turf war.”

8. Research your AirBnB!

u/Sil_7~ “My boyfriend and I had a stay in Melbourne for a few nights. First Airbnb was practically a small hotel room so, all good. The second on the other hand… It was advertised as “Flexible check-in ” but the owner wouldn’t stop pestering us for a time we were going to be there. We told them 8pm and they still kept asking before saying they had to go out and ‘Frank’ would let us in.

“We had no mention of this guy before then but fine, whatever. We ended up missing a few small shows we were eager to go to so we’d get there earlier and despite being promised off the street parking we could only park on the street. It sucked but no big deal. We’d had a long day and were pretty tired.”

“Then we get to the house. Frank is this tall, thin, muscley older guy, really intense and absolutely no chill. Bulging eyes kind of intense. We were both really uncomfortable from the start but my bf makes small talk, jokes about Sydney vs Melbourne. This guy doesn’t like it. To the point where he stopped walking, swung around and got in my bfs face. Bf de-escalated the situation real quick and we got to our room and immediately locked the door.”

“We both got some bad vibes off the place and the guy but we couldn’t work out why. We thought we were just tired but kept debating the pros and cons of staying, and the room wasn’t helping! It was freshly painted and the fumes were so strong I was getting a migraine, there was a door to the backyard that was blocked off with a dresser, so much dust under the bed it was ridiculous.”

“And then we noticed two things. One was the wooden plank holding up the curtains. It was big, thick, heavy looking thing – and it was holding onto the wall by a nail on each side. Half of it had already leant right off the wall, leaving a huge gap. This was right above the head of the bed. That was it for my bf, he wanted out.”

“This second point was my big thing. The door to the rest of the house had a lock but there was also a gap between it and the floor. I’m not talking a small space for air. I’m not talking fit a finger underneath. I’m talking big enough for tall, muscley, big guy Frank to fit his entire arm under.”

7. Strangely quiet Christmas town

 u/urneighbourhoodwitch ~ “I was on a road trip on the south island of New Zealand and one night at around 9pm decided to stop in a small town to get some rest. Already while driving into the town I noticed that there were Christmas decorations everywhere, like decorated trees and plastic santa’s, reindeer etc. Excessive amounts of decorations on the streets and in every window. This wouldn’t have been too weird if it hadn’t been in the middle of August. But I thought the town was just really dedicated to a specific aesthetic or whatever.”

“I got to the motel and checked in and the old lady at the front desk was short and rude with me which I thought was weird bc I had experienced people in NZ as really nice and quite chatty (compared to where I come from lol). She also wouldn’t give me the wifi password even though they advertised free wifi. She quite literally told me to piss off and let her get back to her newspaper.”

“After that I went out and the whole time I was there I never saw any people on the street. I went to a diner near the motel (both also stuffed with Christmas decorations) and had the same experience with the waitress while ordering. She told me they are out of almost everything and the only I was able to get was a cheese sandwich.”

“There were other people in the restaurant who were all eating what I suppose were meals from the menu. They didn’t have to order a plain cheese sandwich. While waiting for my food I noticed that no one in the whole diner was talking even though there were families and other groups of people. Even the kids ate in silence. Or not really silence, as there was Christmas music blaring.”

“After I was done eating I just paid and left. I was also the only one leaving. No one in that diner, the whole time I was there, got up to leave or go to the bathroom or do anything really. They all just sat there. When I left I felt like they were all starting holes in my back. The whole time I was in that town I got a feeling that everyone wanted me to leave and like they were somehow angry with me.”

6. If you’re thinking about sleeping in a “shack” then it’s probably not safe

u/trucknjoe ~ “When hitch hiking in the south island I got stuck in a town in the middle of nowhere because no one would pick me up. It got dark and I didn’t have enough money for a motel so I was planning to chill at this little shack where people would pull over to rest while driving. Over the course of several hours, I got offered meth by a couple, some local random dude tried to convince me to go to his house to smoke weed and another couple smoked a cigarette with me while they told me about how they heard voices.”

“After they left I ended up jumping over a fence and slept in a bush somewhere until my sister could pick me up the next day because she was driving through the town.

5. Stay away from Gary, Indiana

u/Kutbakfiets ~ “Gary Indiana. I got off the highway to get gas.

Driving through the city was like a post apocalyptic movie complete with burned out cars, crazy guy in underwear walking down the middle of the street with a baseball bat and all the windows were broken or boarded up.”

“I stopped at a gas station and then guy came out and said ‘Get back on the highway son. It’s not safe here.’ I had enough gas to get to a safer rest stop to refuel.”

4. Tiger, Georgia and the invisible town

u/mxmnull ~ My girlfriend and I went to an AirBnB in a town called Tiger, Georgia to see a bunch of her old college friends. There was one other couple who got there about the same time we did. By day the cabin looks pleasant enough- 3 stories of rustic comfort with a hot tub overlooking the forest and sunrise. We didn’t get there by day. We got there as the sun was sinking low. Rooms seemed to shrink and tighten. The stairwells were only as wide as a single body. And at the bottom of the basement stairs, a rug hid a padlocked trapdoor. It felt like the start of a horror movie.”

“We’re trying to ignore the weird vibes and decide to go to dinner. We spent nearly an hour driving around searching for a place to eat. Steakhouses closed by 7pm, an Italian joint which was now someone’s house. A Mexican eatery now abandoned and overgrown with vines… Finally we find something.”

“It’s suitably called “The Last Dive Bar On Earth”, and it’s sitting on the edge of a retention pond. The parking lot is full of pick up trucks all festooned with old political bumper stickers from the late 90s and early 2000s. We head in. It’s like we’ve entered another decade. But the beer is good, they have pizza, and the prices aren’t bad. We eat in a hurry and get out of there.”

“We’re trying to ignore the weird vibes and decide to go to dinner. We spent nearly an hour driving around searching for a place to eat. Steakhouses closed by 7pm, an Italian joint which was now someone’s house. A Mexican eatery now abandoned and overgrown with vines… Finally we find something.”

“It’s suitably called “The Last Dive Bar On Earth”, and it’s sitting on the edge of a retention pond. The parking lot is full of pick up trucks all festooned with old political bumper stickers from the late 90s and early 2000s. We head in. It’s like we’ve entered another decade. But the beer is good, they have pizza, and the prices aren’t bad. We eat in a hurry and get out of there.”

3. No shoes equal service in Arkansas

u/ spiderlanewales ~ “Rural northern Arkansas was pretty bizarre when we passed through there around 2012. We stopped at this gas station, and an old, beat-up pickup flew into a parking spot. There were two hillbillies in the cab, and maybe six more in the bed, all wearing the same thing: blue jean overalls and nothing else. No socks or shoes.”

“They were being super loud, and they just went into the gas station like that was normal. Where i’m from, if an attendant even sees you approaching the place without shoes, they will stop you and tell you to come back when you have some. Oh, you’d also get mega-pulled-over for driving around with people hollering in your truck bed.”

2. The Twilight Zone

u/ I_love_asparagus ~ “Yep, stopped in a no name town in Texas for gas. Bunch of guys wearing nothing but denim hanging out in front of the gas station. Denim, cow boy hats, cow boy boots. It wasn’t just a lot of people, EVERYONE was wearing that. Their drawls were so thick I could barely understand what they were saying to one another, a lot of hooting and hollering.”

“About 50 yards away, there was a guy sitting under a tree. He was wearing a black and white striped jump suit…and was chained to the tree by a shackle on his leg. Didn’t see any law enforcement around, maybe they dropped him off? A girl with huge tits, one and a half arms, and an eye-patch complimented my car and smiled at me when I was pumping gas.”

“I saw a cow trotting down the side of the road, no one seemed to be chasing it. The fact it was twilight seemed to make everything surreal. I unassed myself from that place as quickly as I could.”

1. No proof needed when you have a gut feeling

u/SuspectNumber6 ~ “A camping site! My friend and i took a road trip from NL to France, camping. 1st we stayed at a lovely place, near a harbour. After 2 days we continued and ended up at a small camping site. When registering we met the custodian. After registration we already looked at each other, but shrugged it off. We set up our tent and went into town to find some food.”

“The town was completely deserted: no people on the street, all blinds closed, hardly any restaurant open and the eerie feeling came back. We walked back to the camping site, still feeling creeped out and decided there and then not to sleep there that night. We broke up camp, drove away as fast as we could. The feeling stayed for about 30 minutes. Weird part is: nothing creepy really happened. It was just a gut feeling: something is NOT right here…”

Overall these are some over the top creepy experiences, and places I’ll be avoiding in the future!

Any one of these make you super creeped out? Share in the comments!

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Step Aside Christmas, Ugly Halloween Sweaters Are Here

I’m not trying to tell you have to live your life, but you need to get on the Ugly Halloween Sweater bandwagon!

Ugly sweater parties were once only reserved for Christmas. It’s the hot holiday trend where your friends go out and buy the most hideous or blinged-out sweater to wear with pride to your party. Sometimes there were even prizes. But Santa Claus is passé – the Great Pumpkin is bringing it for 2019!

Halloween themed ugly sweaters are here, and they’re the perfect solution for your few friends who refuse to dress up for your Halloween party. Now they have a less involved option that keeps them participating in the spooky festivities.

Where can you find them?

Amazon has several available to fit your creepy fancy. Varieties include witches, Dracula, and even pumpkins.

Photo Credit: Amazon

And for the more reserved woman? Cardigans with skeletons!

Photo Credit: Amazon

FUN Wear is one of the biggest manufacturers that’s embracing all that is Halloween.

“COMFY COZY SPOOKY: We’re bringing the ugly sweater trend to the Halloween season with our exclusively made and expertly designed Ugly Halloween Sweaters. They’re Made by Us, and they’re Comfy Cozy Spooky!”

Photo Credit: Amazon

Photo Credit: Amazon

And if you’re more of a traditionalist who enjoys regular sweatshirts. No…um…sweat!

Photo Credit: Amazon

Even the kiddos can have fun dressing up. They offer many children sizes!

Photo Credit: Amazon

“But what if I don’t get invited to a party?”

No worries my friend, you can still strut your awful knit. Parents might enjoy wearing these while they trick or treat with the little ones – it’s low cost, low maintenance, and you won’t distract from you kid’s incredibly cute pumpkin costume or whatever.

Seems like they thought of everything!

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10+ Movie Details That Most People Miss

Fancy yourself a movie buff? Even if you think you notice every single detail, you may be surprised by one of the 12 details below that most people tend to miss.

#1. Bruce Almighty calling himself a “false god.”

Image Credit: Universal Pictures

During the wild party scene, Bruce rests his arm on a golden calf and references the “sin of the calf” from the Bible…in which the golden calf signifies a false god.

#2. The potion Ursula takes to transform into Vanessa contains a butterfly.

Image Credit: Disney Films

“Vanessa” is a genus of butterfly.

#3. The rubble in Thor: Ragnarok provides an important piece of foreshadowing.

Image Credit: Disney/Marvel

It foretells Thor’s eventual injury.

#4. Deadpool 2 made Ruth Bader Ginsberg a superhero.

Image Credit: 20th Century Fox

Her headshot is among the X-Force applications and “Notorious R.B.G.” is written under her photo.

#5. In Ratatouille, restaurant critic Anton Ego’s typewriter is in a very telling shape.

Image Credit: Disney/Pixar

It’s a skull, because his reviews are killer.

#6. Daisies are everywhere in John Wick.

Image Credit: Summit Entertainment

Every time Helen is mentioned, there’s a daisy present (even the dog’s name is Daisy).

#8. The door on Luke’s hut in The Last Jedi has a special meaning.

Image Credit: Disney Films

It was salvaged from his old X-Wing fighter.

#9. The makers of the latest Halloween didn’t miss single detail.

Image Credit: Universal Pictures

Right down to the circular scar on his neck where Laurie stabbed him 40 years earlier.

#10. The word “cuss” takes the place of any and all curse words in Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Image Credit: 20th Century Fox

It’s even spray-painted as graffiti.

#11. There’s physical proof that the “one ring” is getting heavier around Frodo’s neck.

Image Credit: New line Cinema

Once they’re inside Mount Doom, he’s got visible sores and bruises on his neck.

#12. There’s a reason Marvin the Martian is the referee in Space Jam.

Image Credit: Warner Bros.

He’s both a toon and an alien, so he’s totally impartial.

#13. The way Andy writes his names on his toys’ feet has significance.

Image Credit: Disney/Pixar

The ‘N’ is backward on Woody’s boot but not Buzz’s, showing how Andy is growing up.

Did you know them all? I know I didn’t!

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These 15+ Celebrity Costumes Totally Won Halloween This Year

Celebrities have certainly outdone themselves with Halloween costumes this year. Of course, it helps to have a decent bit of disposable income to make your wildest ideas come true.

Color me impressed (and jealous).

1. Ryan Seacrest as Punky Brewster

Photo Credit: Instagram

2. Teyana Taylor Kitana from Mortal Kombat

Photo Credit: Instagram

3. Ariel Winter and her boyfriend as Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock

Photo Credit: Instagram

4. Joey Fatone from The Shining

Photo Credit: Instagram

5. Nicky Hilton as 21-year-old Paris Hilton

Photo Credit: Instagram

6. Rita Ora as Post Malone

Photo Credit: Instagram

7. Zoë Kravtiz as a sleepy vampire

Photo Credit: Instagram

8. Gabrielle Union as Gwen Stefani

Photo Credit: Instagram

9. Nina Dobrev as A Star is Born

Photo Credit: Instagram

10. Kylie Jenner and baby Stormi as skeletons

Photo Credit: Instagram

11. Olivia Munn from Crazy Rich Asians

Photo Credit: Instagram

12. John Legend and his daughter

Photo Credit: Instagram

13. Kendall Jenner as a Fembot from Austin Powers

Photo Credit: Instagram

14. Harry Styles as Elton John

Photo Credit: Instagram

15. Halsey as Poison Ivy

Photo Credit: Twitter

16. And the mother of all Halloween-loving celebs…Heidi Klum

Photo Credit: Instagram, nikkifontaine

Yeah, that’s Heidi Klum.

 

Okay, now that I look back on it, my costume was not very impressive…

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10+ Magical Facts You Might Not Know About Hocus Pocus

For 25 years, kids, and many of their parents, have made watching Hocus Pocus a part of their Halloween tradition. When it burst onto the movie scene in 1993, it was the culmination of almost a decade of work, but what fans probably remember best are the fabulous performances of Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker as the Sanderson sisters. It might not have made a killing at first, but Hocus Pocus went on to become a cult classic that is sure to last for many more generations.

There are, however, some fun Easter eggs that even big fans of the movie may not be aware of. If you think you’re one of them, keep reading and see if any of the below surprise you!

1. The fountain Dani and Allison celebrate the witches’ death around is the fountain from Friends.

Photo Credit: NBC

Hey, both groups are still having a great time, right?

2. Each of the little witches who takes the sister’s brooms, look just like little versions of the grownup sisters.

Photo Credit: Disney

Okay, this one’s a little obvious, but still cute, right?

3. They made 7 statues for the scene where Bette Midler’s character turns to dust in the sunlight.

Photo Credit: Laughing Place

That’s a lot of creepy Bette Midler face.

4. How did Winifred know to ask Max about his driver’s license, as cars didn’t exist when she died?

Photo Credit: Disney

She JUST learned what asphalt was, for Pete’s sake!

5. Kathy Najimy watches the movie every year, and Midler said it’s one of her favorite films she’s ever worked on.

Photo Credit: Disney

Can you blame them? Look at those costumes!

6. Leonardo DiCaprio was almost Max, but he chose to do What’s Eating Gilbert Grape instead.

Photo Credit: US Magazine

I mean, the latter did get him an Oscar nomination, so I think it was a good decision.

7. Rosie O’Donnell was set to play Mary Sanderson, but she was worried the role would be bad for her image, so Kathy Najimy got the gig.

Photo Credit: factinate

Bet she’s kicking herself now!

8. The film was set in 1993, and while there is a full moon in the movie, there wasn’t one in real life. The next Halloween full moon isn’t until 2020!

Photo Credit: The Witch Next Door

You gotta have a full moon when creepy witches are involved, though.

9. Jason Marsden voiced Binx the cat, not Sean Murray. Producers thought Murray sounded too modern.

Photo Credit: Disney

I guess his costume and boyish good looks were distracting enough to make him believable while he was in human form.

10. Binx was portrayed by 9 different cats.

Photo Credit: Disney

You know, because cats have nine lives…I’ll see myself out.

11. The Zippo Max grabbed from the gift store to bring down the “burning rain of death” would not have had fuel in it. Just something to ponder.

Photo Credit: factinate

No matter how well you think you know a movie, there are always surprises!

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The Story Behind Bloody Mary and Why We Think We See Stuff in Mirrors

Bloody Mary is more than a character. She’s a Halloween (or anytime) tradition amongst young people. You dare each other and egg your friends on until one of you is brave enough to hit the lights, stand in front of a mirror and chant “Bloody Mary” 13 times…

Photo Credit: iStock

Then you wait for the inevitable: for the spirit of the Bloody Mary to appear out of nowhere, kill you and your friends, and ruin your sleepover!

Okay, the murder part doesn’t actually happen, but you know you thought it might when you were a kid (as did I). The ritual is so impactful that different versions of the legend exist across the globe — sometimes centered around a woman named Mary Worth, sometimes involving the devil himself appearing.

It turns out that seeing things in the mirror really isn’t that strange after all. The longer you stare in the mirror, the more likely you are to see stuff that isn’t really there. This phenomenon can be blamed, in part, on what’s known as the Troxler effect. If you stare at the same object for a long time, your brain gets used to the image and the unchanging stimuli. What happens next is pretty incredible: your neurons cancel the information out, and whatever you’re staring at can start to appear blurry or distorted. Until you blink and look around, you’ll continue to see these unusual visions.

Photo Credit: Deviant Art,Skyberry-13

What’s more, if you stare into your own eyes in a mirror long enough, your face will begin to change shape.

Here’s a test for you. Stare at the plus sign in the center of the image below for 8 seconds.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Your brain probably tricked you and distorted your vision in a number of ways, possibly by making the colors in the image fade to gray. Live Science points out that this is actually a coping mechanism. “If you couldn’t ignore the steady hum of your computer monitor, the constant smell of your own body odor or the nose jutting out in front of your face, you’d never be able to focus on the important things — like whether your boss is standing right behind you,” the article explains.

The “strange face in the mirror” phenomenon, like Bloody Mary, is part of this as well. A 2010 experiment conducted by an Italian psychologist had people stare into a mirror for 10 minutes. 66% of the subjects reported seeing “huge deformations” of their face, and 48 % saw “fantastical and monstrous beings.”

Photo Credit: Unsplash,Taylor Smith

So maybe this is why so many people claim to have seen Bloody Mary in the mirror, and why the legend continues to frighten kids to this day. However, while origin of Bloody Mary is debated, but some believe it dates back to a real person — Queen Mary I from the 16th century, who was called Bloody Mary by her protestant enemies.

Others think the legend may be based on a different real person named Mary because varying legends give different versions of her name (Mary Worth, Mary Worthington, Mary Lou). Either way, one thing is for sure — kids will continue to play this spooky game forever, so let’s just hope Bloody Mary doesn’t get angry enough to come bursting through the mirror.

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These 12+ Facts About the Halloween Movie Franchise are Terrifyingly Informative

The new Halloween movie is getting rave reviews, which is impressive considering the franchise’s long history of corny sequels diminishing box office returns.

But there’s one thing you can’t deny: Michael Myers is one of the scariest, most infamous movie villains of all time. In honor of 40 years of terror, here are 15 frightful facts about one of the most iconic movie franchises out there haunting your dreams.

1. Success!

The original Halloween film, released in 1978, is one of the most successful independent films of all time. The budget was a mere $300,000, and it raked in $47 million at the box office.

2. The famous mask

Horror buffs know this, but non-weirdos might not. Michael Myers’ mask is actually a William Shatner/Captain Kirk mask. The props department bought the cheapest mask they could find, spray painted it white, stretched out the eyes, and messed up the hair. The result? A terrifying, iconic image.

3. A different title

Halloween was originally called The Babysitter Murders, but the small budget made Carpenter and his team decide to set the film in one day rather than over the course of several days.

4. Cameras

Director John Carpenter spent nearly half of his $300,000 budget on Panavision cameras so the original Halloween could be shot in widescreen. Carpenter and his crew had to get extremely creative to complete the rest of the film.

5. Fear meter

1978’s Halloween was shot out of order, so the actors often weren’t sure how scared they were supposed to be in a given scene. John Carpenter created a “fear meter” that showed Jamie Lee Curtis how frightened she was supposed to be during specific scenes.

6. Don’t bother with the sequels

The newest Halloween was written by David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, and Jeff Fradley as a direct sequel to the original film, not taking into account any of the films that followed the original 1978 classic.

7. Scream queens

All the girls in 1978 film were supposed to be teenagers, but only Jamie Lee Curtis was under 20 years old at the time. Curtis was 19, and her role as Laurie Strode cemented her role as a scream queen.

8. The mask: Take Two

The mask in Halloween II, released in 1981, is the same one from the original film. It looks different in the sequel for several reasons. The first is that the paint was peeling off because actor Nick Castle always put the mask in his pocket between takes during the original film. It looked yellow in Part II because producer Debra Hill kept the mask in her house between films and she was a smoker. Also,  a different actor played Michael Myers in Part II – Dick Warlock (what a name) took over the role from Nick Castle, and the two men had different shaped faces.

9. The morning after

Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Halloween II (1981) is the only film in the series not set on the actual day of Halloween. In that film, the chaos takes place the day after, on November 1.

10. Still creeped out

When Jamie Lee Curtis appeared in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later in 1998, she admitted that seeing Michael Myers on set still scared her.

11. Not a moneymaker

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) is the lowest-grossing movie of the series.

12. Future star

Photo Credit: Dimension Films

Paul Rudd’s first film role was in 1995’s Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. It wasn’t too much later that he became a star after appearing in Clueless.

13. Bangin’ it out

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) was written in only 11 hours. Writer Alan B. McElroy knew a writer’s strike was looming and he was determined to get the film written before the strike started.

14. That fall look

Surprisingly, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers was the only film in the series filmed entirely in the fall. Movie magic!

15. No more John

John Carpenter wrote a treatment for Halloween 4, but the producers were looking for a standard, by-the-book slasher film, and they weren’t interested in Carpenter’s take on the story. Because his script was thrown out, Carpenter decided he didn’t want anything to do with Part 4, which made it the first Halloween movie he wasn’t involved with.

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