02 Nov What’s your favorite scary movie?

Halloween in the US is beyond anything I’m used to. Although England – and much of the world – observe the holiday, it’s nothing compared to the American way. Everywhere I went during the lead-up to the 31st, I was seeing decorations and early costumes, as well as hearing an excited buzz. When I my mum called me on Wednesday, I greeted her with, “Happy Halloween!” and she groaned, “You’re becoming more American.” Back home, we’re normally more focused on my aunt’s birthday than decorating the house or coming up with costume ideas.

I’ve always loved getting dressed up, though, and for the past 3 years I’ve made a tradition of watching Scream every Halloween, as it’s – appropriately enough, given the killer’s catchphrase – my favorite scary movie. I think I love it mostly because it’s not very scary, and mostly exists to satirise the slasher films of the 70s and 80s.

As far as actual Halloween celebration went, on Saturday two of my housemates and I ventured out to the San Francisco Dungeon. I covered myself in glitter and decided not to wear my glasses because I didn’t want to ruin my makeup. This turned out to be a huge mistake when I was picked for audience participation: I’m extremely near-sighted, and it was dark, so I couldn’t see that I was being pointed at. My housemate had to nudge me into action, at which point the actor made fun of everything from my makeup to my accent. Even though I’d normally get embarrassed in situations like that, perhaps it was my lack of sight that made it fun for me instead. The Dungeon is a pretty great tourist attraction during the spooky time of year. Entry was $25 and there was plenty going on to make it worth the price, including a drop ride that I was not expecting!

(There I am, in the middle, with housemates on either side.)

On the day itself, I didn’t particularly want to go out and party with classes the next day – instead, I got dressed up as Lestat from Interview with the Vampire, one of my favorite characters. It ended up being a fairly simple costume: blond wig, white shirt and a bit of fake blood, and while I’m in the city I’m hoping to don the costume again and visit the Golden Gate Bridge, where the final scene of the movie takes place! I stuck to vodka-and-cranberries because they looked like blood, and watched both Scream and Interview with the Vampire with a couple of friends. It was a relaxing way to spend Halloween, without too many scares!