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How was Halloween invented? Once a Celtic pagan tradition, the holiday has evolved to let kids and adults try on new identities

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/linus-owens-457047">Linus Owens</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/middlebury-1247">Middlebury</a></em></p> <p>“It’s alive!” Dr. Frankenstein cried as his creation stirred to life. But the creature had a life of its own, eventually escaping its creator’s control.</p> <p>Much like Frankenstein’s monster, traditions are also alive, which means they can change over time or get reinvented. Built from a hodgepodge of diverse parts, Halloween is one such tradition that has been continually reinvented since its ancient origins as <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/T/bo46408548.html">a Celtic pagan ceremony</a>. Yet beneath the superhero costumes and bags of candy still beats the heart of the original.</p> <p>The Celts lived in what’s now Ireland as far back as 500 B.C. They celebrated New Year’s Day on Nov. 1, which they called <a href="https://www.loc.gov/folklife/halloween-santino.html">Samhain</a>. They believed that leading up to the transition to the new year, the door between the worlds of the living and the dead swung open. The souls of the recently dead, previously trapped on Earth, could now pass to the underworld. Since they thought spirits came out after dark, this supernatural activity reached its peak the night before, on Oct. 31.</p> <p>The Celts invented rituals to protect themselves during this turbulent time. They put on costumes and disguises to fool the spirits. They lit bonfires and stuck candles inside carved turnips – the first jack-o’-lanterns – to scare away any spirits looking for mischief. If all else failed, they carried a pocketful of treats to pay off wayward spirits and send them back <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/halloween-9780195168969?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;">on their way to the underworld</a>.</p> <p>Sound familiar?</p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/halloweens-celebration-of-mingling-with-the-dead-has-roots-in-ancient-celtic-celebrations-of-samhain-191300">Although focused on the dead</a>, Samhain was ultimately <a href="https://utpress.org/title/halloween-other-festivals/">for the living</a>, who needed plenty of help of their own when transitioning to the new year. Winter was cold and dark. Food was scarce. Everyone came together for one last bash to break bread, share stories and stand tall against the dead, strengthening community ties at the time they were needed most.</p> <p>When Catholics arrived in Ireland around A.D. 300, they opened another door between worlds, unleashing considerable conflict. They sought to convert the Celts by changing their pagan rituals into Christian holidays. They rechristened Nov. 1 “All Saints Day,” which today remains a celebration of Catholic saints.</p> <p>But the locals held on to their old beliefs. They believed the dead still wandered the Earth. So the living still dressed in costumes. This activity still took place the night before. It just had a new name to fit the Catholic calendar: “All Hallows Eve,” which is <a href="https://www.loc.gov/folklife/halloween-santino.html">where we got the name Halloween</a>.</p> <p>Irish immigrants <a href="https://www.irishpost.com/heritage/how-irish-great-famine-brought-halloween-to-america-161376">brought Halloween to America in the 1800s</a> while escaping the Great Potato Famine. At first, Irish Halloween celebrations were an oddity, viewed suspiciously by other Americans. As such, Halloween wasn’t celebrated much in America at the time.</p> <p>As the Irish integrated into American society, Halloween was reinvented again, this time as an all-American celebration. It became a holiday primarily for kids. Its religious overtones faded, with supernatural saints and sinners being replaced by generic ghosts and goblins. Carved turnips gave way to the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-history-of-jack-o-lantern">pumpkins</a> now emblematic of the holiday. Though trick-or-treating resembles ancient traditions like guising, where costumed children went door to door for gifts, <a href="https://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/jack-santino-five-myths-about-halloween/article_6fe79e19-d106-52cc-a895-4a3a72d09c93.html">it’s actually an American invention</a>, created to entice kids away from rowdy holiday pranks toward more wholesome activities.</p> <p>Halloween has become a tradition many new immigrants adopt along their journey toward American-ness and is increasingly <a href="https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-4438-0153-9">being exported around the world</a>, with locals reinventing it in new ways to adapt it to their own culture.</p> <p>What’s so special about Halloween is that it turns the world upside down. The dead walk the Earth. Rules are meant to be broken. And kids exercise a lot of power. They decide what costume to wear. They make demands on others by asking for candy. “Trick or treat” is their battle cry. They do things they’d never get away with any other time, but on Halloween, they get to act like adults, trying it on to see how it fits.</p> <p>Because Halloween allows kids more independence, it’s possible to mark significant life stages through holiday firsts. First Halloween. First Halloween without a parent. First Halloween that’s no longer cool. First Halloween as a parent.</p> <p>Growing up used to mean growing out of Halloween. But today, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2012/10/24/halloween-adults-costumes-elvira-mistress-of-the-dark/1593177/">young adults</a> seem even more committed to Halloween than kids.</p> <p>What changed: adults or Halloween? Both.</p> <p>Caught between childhood and adulthood, today’s young adults find Halloween a perfect match to their struggles to find themselves and make their way in the world. Their participation has reinvented Halloween again, now bigger, more elaborate and <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/halloween-prices-cost-more-expensive-pumpkin-candy-costumes-1754635">more expensive</a>. Yet in <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-has-halloween-become-so-popular-among-adults-104896">becoming an adult celebration</a>, it comes full circle to return to its roots as a holiday celebrated mainly by adults.</p> <p>Halloween is a living tradition. You wear a costume every year, but you’d never wear the same one. You’ve changed since last year, and your costume reflects that. Halloween is no different. Each year, it’s the same celebration, but it’s also something totally new. In what ways are you already reinventing the Halloween of the future today?</p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/linus-owens-457047"><em>Linus Owens</em></a><em>, Associate Professor of Sociology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/middlebury-1247">Middlebury</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-was-halloween-invented-once-a-celtic-pagan-tradition-the-holiday-has-evolved-to-let-kids-and-adults-try-on-new-identities-192379">original article</a>.</em></p>

Art

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Freddy Krueger at 40 – the ultimate horror movie monster (and Halloween costume)

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-daniel-301018">Adam Daniel</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a></em></p> <p>Movie monsters have captivated audiences since the days of early cinema. They evoke fascination and terror, allowing audiences to confront their fears from the safety of the movie theatre or living room.</p> <p>Arguably one of the most enduring and captivating of these monsters is Freddy Krueger, the villain of the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087800/">A Nightmare on Elm Street</a> series who celebrates his 40th screen birthday this November.</p> <p>Memorably played by Robert Englund, Freddy quickly became a cultural icon of the 1980s and 1990s. Beyond his burned face and iconic bladed glove, Freddy’s dark humour and acidic personality set him apart from other silent, faceless killers of the era, such as Michael Myers in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077651/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2_tt_6_nm_0_in_0_q_halloween">Halloween</a> or Jason Vorhees in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080761/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Friday the 13th</a>.</p> <p>Written and directed by horror maven <a href="https://theconversation.com/wes-craven-the-scream-of-our-times-46915">Wes Craven</a>, 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street garnered positive reviews for its innovative concept: Freddy stalked and attacked his victims in their dreams, making him inescapable and allowing him to tap into their deepest fears. The series (seven films plus a 2010 remake and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329101/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Freddy vs. Jason</a> spin offs) blended supernatural horror and surrealism with a dark and twisted sense of humour.</p> <h2>Scary … but funny</h2> <p>Humour was key to Freddy’s “popularity”. Both sinister and strangely charismatic, Freddy’s psychological torture of his adolescent victims often oscillated between terrifying and amusing.</p> <p>A famous kill scene from 1987’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093629/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors</a> demonstrates this paradox.</p> <p>Aspiring actress Jennifer drifts off to sleep while watching a talk show on TV. In her dream, the host of the talk show suddenly transforms into Freddy, who attacks his guest before the TV blinks out. When Jennifer timidly approaches the TV set, Freddy’s head and clawed hands emerge from the device, snatching her while delivering an iconic one-liner: “This is it, Jennifer – your big break in TV!”</p> <p>Freddy turns his victims’ fears or aspirations – their dreams – against them.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dCVh4lBfW-c?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">‘Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep.’</span></figcaption></figure> <h2>Creating a monster</h2> <p>Craven has shared how the character of Krueger came to life in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1510985/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy</a>, an oral history of the series.</p> <p>He described a childhood experience of seeing a strange mumbling man walking past his childhood home. The man stopped, he said, and looked directly at him “with a sick sense of malice”. This deeply unsettling experience helped shape Freddy’s menacing presence.</p> <p>The character’s creation also emerged from the filmmaker’s interest in <a href="https://www.iflscience.com/nightmare-on-elm-street-was-inspired-by-a-real-life-medical-mystery-60527">numerous reports of Southeast Asian refugees dying in their sleep</a> after experiencing vivid nightmares.</p> <p>In the film, Krueger’s origin story reveals him as a child murderer who was apprehended but released due to a technicality in his arrest. Seeking justice, the parents of his victims take matters into their own hands, and form a vigilante mob. They corner him in his boiler room and burn him alive. But Freddy’s spirit survives to haunt and kill the children of his executioners.</p> <h2>Cultural repression, expressed on film</h2> <p>Film critic and essayist <a href="https://www.cineaste.com/summer2019/robin-wood-on-horror-film-collected-essays-and-reviews#:%7E:text=Freudian%20theory%2C%20a%20crucial%20theoretical,the%20horror%20film%20perpetually%20enacts.">Robin Wood argued</a> horror films often bring to the surface elements society has repressed. These fears, desires, or cultural taboos are not openly acknowledged.</p> <p>But movie monsters act as manifestations of what society suppresses, such as sexuality, violence or deviant behaviour. American academic <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01956051.1995.9943696">Gary Heba</a> argues Freddy is:</p> <blockquote> <p>an example of America’s political unconscious violently unleashed upon itself, manifesting everything that is unspeakable and repressed in the master narrative (perversion, child abuse and murder, vigilantism, the breakdown of rationality, order, and the family, among others), but still always present in the collective unconscious of the dominant culture.</p> </blockquote> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UBrl4H0Uzng?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">Actor Robert Englund calls Freddy Krueger ‘the gift that keeps on giving’.</span></figcaption></figure> <h2>The monster decades</h2> <p>The 1970s and 1980s marked a golden era for the creation of horror film nasties like Krueger, Myers, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072271/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3">The Texas Chainsaw Massacre</a>’s Leatherface and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094862/?ref_=fn_al_tt_19">killer doll Chucky</a>.</p> <p>Since then, the landscape of horror has shifted, with fewer singular monsters emerging. The diversification of horror sub-genres (zombie virus horror, anyone?), the rise of psychological horror (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7784604/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2_tt_4_nm_2_in_0_q_heredi">Hereditary</a>), and an emphasis on human-driven terror (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416315/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_7_nm_0_in_0_q_wolf%2520creek">Wolf Creek</a>) or supernatural forces all contribute to this shift.</p> <p>While modern horror continues to thrive, few characters have achieved the same iconic status as Freddy – although some would argue Art the Clown from the recent <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4281724/">Terrifier</a> franchise and the reinvigorated Pennywise from <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396484/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_6_nm_1_in_0_q_it">IT</a> could join this exclusive group.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZuYoEtEI_go?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">‘Five, six, grab your crucifix.’ A 2010 Nightmare on Elm St reboot failed to fire.</span></figcaption></figure> <h2>Happy Halloween!</h2> <p>Despite a <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179056/">failed reboot in 2010</a>, the legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street is strong, having influenced numerous filmmakers with its skilful mix of surrealism and slasher horror.</p> <p>However, it’s the orchestrator of the titular nightmares whose legacy is perhaps the strongest.</p> <p>With each Halloween, new fans choose Freddy for their costume. All it takes is a tattered striped sweater, a brown fedora hat, and a glove with sharp, finger-lengthening blades. Don’t forget makeup to re-create Krueger’s grisly facial burns. Sweet dreams!<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/240905/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-daniel-301018"><em>Adam Daniel</em></a><em>, Associate Lecturer in Communications, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: New Line Cinema - IMDB</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/freddy-krueger-at-40-the-ultimate-horror-movie-monster-and-halloween-costume-240905">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Movies

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"Matthew would enjoy the humour of it": Ironic detail spotted in Friends tribute

<p>While many fans of the long-running sitcom <em>Friends</em> are in mourning over the <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/you-were-loved-tributes-flow-over-tragic-passing-of-matthew-perry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sudden death</a> of Matthew Perry, others have delighted in an ironic detail surrounding the Friends apartment in New York. </p> <p>Since the announcement of Perry's death on Sunday, thousands of fans of the show has flocked to the apartment building in New York City's West Village, where the external shots of the gang's apartment was filmed, to pay their respects. </p> <p>While the sitcom, which ran for ten years from 1994, was actually filmed in Los Angeles, the Bedford Street address was used for the external shots of the New York-based show, with the humble apartment being home to each of the cast members during the show. </p> <p>Fans of the show have left notes, flowers, Central Perk memorabilia, and other sentimental items to pay tribute to the late actor. </p> <p>However, one eagle-eyed fan spotted a quirky detail hovering around the building, as Perry's death coincided with Halloween. </p> <p><iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FKidspotAustralia%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02xSVyrpRthTeLeBNqtvHKWUB36us5bVB5vKCW1R9DYgF66kBWqnsSYarY2kDFfCT3l&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="581" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>Part of the building's Halloween decorations included a large ghost hovering near the iconic apartment, with many quick to point out the hilarious irony of the figure floating above the makeshift memorial. </p> <p>“That Halloween ghost is kinda fitting for the photo/mood and I think Matthew would enjoy the humour of it,” fan Holly astutely pointed out, sharing photos of the ghost on Facebook.  </p> <p>The ironic decorations emerged shortly after Perry's <em>Friends</em> co-stars have <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/health/caring/so-utterly-devastated-friends-cast-break-silence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broken their silence</a> over his sudden death in a group statement to People magazine. </p> <p>Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer said on Tuesday, "We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family."</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>"There is so much to say, but right now we're going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss."</p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><em>Image credits: Facebook / Kidspot</em></p> <div id="fuse-injected-22953829264-1" class="fuse-slot-dynamic publift-video-ad" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-top: 24px; padding-bottom: 24px; display: flex; justify-content: center;" data-fuse="22953829264" data-fuse-injected-at="1698722632652" data-fuse-code="fuse-slot-22953829264-1" data-fuse-zone-instance="zone-instance-22953829264-1" data-fuse-slot="fuse-slot-22953829264-1" data-fuse-processed-at="1440"> <div id="fuse-slot-22953829264-1" class="fuse-slot" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: inherit; max-height: inherit;"></div> <div id="bb-iawr-over60au-1692594483990158" class="bb_iawr" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; overflow: hidden; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; 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position: absolute; top: var(--margin-size); right: var(--margin-size); bottom: var(--margin-size); left: var(--margin-size); display: flex; z-index: 2;"> </div> <div class="chrome svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); width: 730px; height: 411px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; transition: opacity 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; opacity: 1; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15);"> <div class="top-container svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5) 0%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 100%); height: 85px; transition: var(--transform-animation), opacity 0.15s ease-in-out; transform: translateY(0px); z-index: 1;"> <div class="header-area svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); margin: var(--margin-size);"> <div class="top-bar svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); display: flex; align-items: flex-start; gap: var(--margin-size);"> <div class="metadata-wrapper svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); flex-grow: 1; position: relative;"> <div class="metadata svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); position: absolute; width: 632px; display: inline-flex; flex-direction: column; row-gap: 0.3em; column-gap: 0.3em;" role="contentinfo"> <h1 class="title svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; font-size: 1.1em;">Rupert Friend Spills Secrets of 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' at Star Wars Celebrations</h1> <div class="share-button bar-button svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); width: var(--bar-button-size); height: var(--bar-button-size); margin-top: calc(-0.25 * var(--bar-button-size));"> <div class="button-element svelte-1eoizxx no-toggle-transform no-hover-transform" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); box-sizing: border-box; width: 38px; height: 38px; position: relative; cursor: pointer; pointer-events: initial; border-radius: var(--border-radius); --foreground-color: #ffffff; --border-radius: 50%; --icon-height: 16px; --bg-height: 100%; --bg-width: 100%; --button-position: absolute;"> <div class="button-content svelte-1eoizxx" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); width: var(--bg-width); height: var(--bg-height); transition: transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; border-radius: 50%;" tabindex="0" role="button" aria-label="Share"> <div class="normal slot-content svelte-1eoizxx" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); filter: drop-shadow(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25) 0px 2px 0px); box-sizing: border-box; position: var(--button-position); top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 38px; height: 38px; display: grid; align-content: center; justify-content: center; transition: transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; opacity: 1;"> <div style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); min-height: 12px; height: var(--icon-height); line-height: var(--icon-height); min-width: var(--icon-height); display: inline-flex; justify-content: center;"> </div> <div class="toggled slot-content svelte-1eoizxx" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); filter: drop-shadow(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25) 0px 2px 0px); box-sizing: border-box; position: var(--button-position); top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 38px; height: 38px; display: grid; align-content: center; justify-content: center; transition: transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; opacity: 0;"> </div> </div> <div class="button-tooltip svelte-1eoizxx" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); pointer-events: none; opacity: 0; transition: opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; height: 0px;"> <div class="tooltip svelte-1bd19u8" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); display: inline-block;"> <div class="tooltip-content center svelte-1bd19u8" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); display: flex; padding: 6px 10px; background-color: var(--bg-color-pane); border-radius: 5px; font-size: 0.75em; row-gap: 6px; column-gap: 6px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap; position: absolute; left: 19px; transform: translate(-50%); top: 4em;"> <div class="text svelte-1bd19u8" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); display: inline-block;">Share</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="center-controls-layer svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); display: grid; align-content: center; justify-content: center; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; width: 730px; height: 411px; transition: opacity 0.15s ease-in-out 0s;"> <div class="center-controls skinsize-S svelte-fllze1" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); display: flex; align-items: center; gap: var(--gap-size); --gap-size: 37px;"> <div class="big-button big-play-pause-button svelte-fllze1" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); position: relative; transition: opacity 0.25s ease-in-out 0s;"> <div class="button-element svelte-1eoizxx no-toggle-transform" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); box-sizing: border-box; width: 54px; height: 54px; position: relative; cursor: pointer; pointer-events: initial; border-radius: var(--border-radius); --foreground-color: #ffffff; --border-radius: 50%; --hover-transform: scale(1.2); --icon-height: 54px; --bg-height: 54px; --bg-width: 54px; --button-position: absolute;"> <div class="button-content svelte-1eoizxx" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); width: var(--bg-width); height: var(--bg-height); transition: transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; border-radius: 50%;" tabindex="0" role="button" aria-label="Play"> <div class="normal slot-content svelte-1eoizxx" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); filter: drop-shadow(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25) 0px 2px 0px); box-sizing: border-box; position: var(--button-position); top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 54px; height: 54px; display: grid; align-content: center; justify-content: center; transition: transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; opacity: 1;"> <div style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); min-height: 12px; height: var(--icon-height); line-height: var(--icon-height); min-width: var(--icon-height); display: inline-flex; justify-content: center;"> </div> <div class="toggled slot-content svelte-1eoizxx" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); filter: drop-shadow(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25) 0px 2px 0px); box-sizing: border-box; position: var(--button-position); top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 54px; height: 54px; display: grid; align-content: center; justify-content: center; transition: transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, transform 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; opacity: 0;"> <div style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); min-height: 12px; height: var(--icon-height); line-height: var(--icon-height); min-width: var(--icon-height); display: inline-flex; justify-content: center;"> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="start-time svelte-fllze1" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); top: calc(8px + var(--size-big-button)); position: absolute; left: 27px; transform: translate(-50%); background-color: var(--bg-color-pane); padding: 8px 16px; border-radius: 32px; font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: var(--margin-size); margin-left: 2px;" data-cy="start-screen-duration">01:31</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="center-area svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); flex-grow: 1;"> </div> </div> <div class="chrome-bottom-shadow svelte-10zo7b2" style="text-shadow: 0px calc(var(--font-size) / 12.5) 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); transition: opacity 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; opacity: 0; position: absolute; inset: 0px;"> </div> </div> <div class="bb-layer bb-context-layer" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 730px; height: 411px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px; pointer-events: none !important;"> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem;">"For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty's family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world."</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>

Caring

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Jamie Lee Curtis on ageing in Hollywood

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Hollywood star Jamie Lee Curtis has taken a swipe at society’s emphasis on youth, no more apparent than in her own industry.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">The 59-year-old, visiting Sydney to promote new movie Halloween, the sequel to the 1978 horror classic of the same name, spoke of her dislike of the term “anti-ageing”.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">“The term anti-ageing makes me crazy, the amount of marketing towards anti-ageing and making it a pejorative,” Curtis told <em><a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/actor-jamie-lee-curtis-on-why-the-term-antiageing-makes-her-angry/news-story/eec877ecef45fbb08670b1d872d2f8d5">The Daily Telegraph</a></em>.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">“(Ageing) cannot be the pejorative because it happens to everybody. It is like everything else, it is an evolution,” said the actor.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Curtis’ comments come at an apt time in her career. She has reprised her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who took on serial killer Michael Myers 40 years ago on Halloween. Decades on, her character, now a grandmother, is still deeply affected by their battle but is as strong as ever and more than ready for the next round.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">The actress too, seems at the top of her game. The sequel is raking it in at the US box office, and not only is she a formidable performer in the film, but it was really Curtis doing many of the fight scenes too.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">“I am sitting here in my very nice red suit but this movie was obviously not a glamorous job and I am grateful that I get that opportunity,” she admitted to the publication. “Every fight is me.”</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">“I am fit but I am not a gym rat. It is just what we do. It is the nature of the beast — it is physical and it is painful. I cracked a rib, that is what happens.”</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">But Curtis, the daughter of Janet Leigh – who memorably starred in another iconic horror Psycho – and matinee idol Tony Curtis, has previously acknowledged her “struggle with my own self-esteem” when it comes to her body. She says she’s found a way to deal with it.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">“So I have a big secret: I don’t look in the mirror,” Curtis told <em><a href="https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a22993869/jamie-lee-curtis-confidence-secrets/">Good Housekeeping</a></em> in a recent interview.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">“I’m a 60-year-old woman. I am not going to look the same as I used to, and I don’t want to be confronted by that every day! When I get out of the shower, I have a choice: I can dry myself off looking in the mirror, or I can dry myself off with my back to it. I turn my back to the mirror and I feel great!”</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">The actress, who also counts children’s author, entrepreneur and budding screenwriter on her resume, has an inspiring message about chasing and realising creative passions saying she has “no time to waste”.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">“On the very clear passage of 50s to 60s, I have no time to waste,” said Curtis. “None. If you have creative ideas and you don’t bring them out into the world in some way before you go, that is a tragedy.”</span></p> <p class="p1"><em><span class="s1">Images: Getty</span></em></p>

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Jamie Lee Curtis looks back on some of her most iconic roles

<p>Whether you know her from her <em>Halloween </em>‘scream queen’ roots or her comedic prowess in the body swap <em>Freaky Friday</em>, Jamie Lee Curtis is an actress who needs no introduction. </p> <p>The star - who had been credited in an astounding 80 projects before her first ever Academy Awards nomination in 2023 for her role in <em>Everything Everywhere All at Once </em>- has seen and done it all. Beginning her career at the age of 19, Curtis has spent the years since adding success after success to her resume, and proving her doubters wrong at almost every turn. </p> <p>And in a candid interview with <em>Yahoo Entertainment</em>, the actress opened up about some of the most memorable roles that have steered her journey in Hollywood. </p> <ul> <li><strong>Laurie Strode, <em>Halloween </em>(1978)</strong></li> </ul> <p>Curtis made her film debut on the set of John Carpenter’s cult classic <em>Halloween</em>, and though the film (and its entire franchise) is considered to be one of the most influential horror films of all time, the then-19-year-old Curtis found nothing to be scared of while filming. </p> <p>The reason? Nick Castle, who played the film’s main antagonist Michael Myers, was too much of a delight to instill real terror in Curtis. </p> <p>“Here's the problem,” she explained. “He's played by Nick Castle, who was one of John's best friends. He had two little kids, his wife was around, and he's this funny guy. And he's also a very talented director and he's a musician. So I cannot lie to you and tell you I was so frightened." </p> <ul> <li><strong>Tess Coleman, <em>Freaky Friday</em> (2003)</strong></li> </ul> <p>Curtis was actually a last minute replacement for Annette Bening in the 2003 body swap comedy <em>Freaky Friday</em>, but that certainly didn’t put a damper on her experience. </p> <p>The actress became fast friends with Lindsay Lohan while playing the mother-daughter duo, and the pair have remained in contact ever since. In a fun friendship anecdote, Curtis shared how she has a test in place to find out whether or not it is Lohan texting her, or some sneaky stranger. </p> <p>"There's a song called 'Like I Love You' by Justin Timberlake. Lindsay and I were doing a scene in a car, and there was a lot of time in between takes, and there's a rap in the middle of that song by Clipse. She and I were trying to learn the words, and we were, like, sitting there with a pad,” she said. </p> <p>“We were writing them down,” Curtis continued. “And then we would do the scene, and then we'd play the song and try to lip-sync the few words that we knew. I'm telling you, we laughed. And that is my secret code with her. 'What was the song we were lip-syncing to in the car?'”</p> <p>She then confessed that while she may have given away their secret code, she wasn’t worried - the two have a second one, just in case. </p> <ul> <li><strong>Helen, <em>True Lies </em>(1994)</strong></li> </ul> <p>Although Curtis has said that the 1994 James Cameron blockbuster tops the list of her favourite filming experiences, featuring everything from a striptease to an intense helicopter stunt scene, she almost didn’t star at all, with co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger hesitant about signing her on to play his wife in the action packed project.</p> <p>When explaining why, Curtis noted that Arnold knew her “as Tony’s daughter”. Her father, Tony Curtis, had starred in the only film Schwarzenegger had directed, the 1992 <em>Christmas in Connecticut</em>. </p> <p>"He only knew me as Tony's daughter,” she said. “He loved Tony Curtis, so I'm sure Arnold just looked at me like it'd be like kissing your niece or something ... I guarantee, in fact, he did not want me to be in that movie. I think he just thought it would be weird. We knew each other a little bit socially. I just don't think he thought of me as his leading lady, I think he thought of me as Tony's little girl. And it was Jim who said, 'no, I've written this for her. She's the one to do this with you’.”</p> <p>Schwarzenegger, of course, eventually came around on the idea. And the rest, as they say, is history. </p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

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Halloween lovers show off their best dressed pets

<p dir="ltr">Halloween is celebrated all over the world on October 31. </p> <p dir="ltr">Some people would rather not get involved in the pagan holiday, while others see it as a time to get dressed in a scary costume, party, and enjoy loads of sweets. </p> <p dir="ltr">Halloween’s origins are traced back to the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. </p> <p dir="ltr">It is believed that on Halloween, the souls of the dead would return to their homes which then saw people dress up in costumes and light up bonfires to get rid of the spirits. </p> <p dir="ltr">While Halloween could be a religious holiday for some, many just enjoy it for the fun and togetherness it brings. </p> <p dir="ltr">But the true heroes of this holiday are the pets that get dressed up and they are certainly something. </p> <p dir="ltr">Pet parents shared adorable photos of their animals in costumes and it seems like they’re putting humans to shame with how good they are. </p> <p dir="ltr">Check out the gallery below for the best dressed pets. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Family & Pets

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“A wall of people”: Aussie among 153 killed in Halloween stampede

<p dir="ltr">A young Australian is among 153 people who died in a Halloween crowd crush in South Korea.</p> <p dir="ltr">The news was confirmed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on Sunday, as “urgent inquiries” continue to help other affected Australians.</p> <p dir="ltr">At least one other dual citizen is in a stable condition in intensive care, as reports emerge that several other Aussies were injured after thousands of people crowded into a narrow street in Seoul to celebrate Halloween on Saturday night.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The Australian embassy in Seoul has been notified of the death of an Australian at the tragic event in Seoul,” DFAT said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Consular officers from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are providing consular assistance to the individual’s family in Australia.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Consular officers are also assisting a number of other Australians who were present at the event.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The Australian government sends its condolences to the family and others affected by this tragic incident. We ask for the family's privacy to be respected during this difficult time.”<br />Nathan Taverniti, who survived the incident, spoke to Yonhap News Agency, identifying himself as a friend of the victim, a 23-year-old woman, and later spoke about the lack of response from authorities on TikTok.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I just can’t believe it. I was in the front of where it happened,” he said while wiping away tears outside Soonchunhyang University Hospital where some of the victims’ bodies were located.</p> <p dir="ltr">“All I could see was a wall of people.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Taverniti said it was “impossible” to save his friend.</p> <p dir="ltr">“People need to know how bad it was and how little help there was,” he said, adding that he spent Sunday desperately searching for her body.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I don’t know where she is,” he continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I can’t find any info … the consulate doesn’t know where she is.”</p> <p dir="ltr">In his TikTok video, Mr Taverniti condemned South Korean authorities for their slow response time, claiming it took half an hour for police to arrive and even longer for other emergency services.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was there when she said she couldn’t breathe,” he said through tears.<br />“There was no stampede. It was a slow and agonising crush.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This crush was not caused by drunk people. It was a lack of planning (from the) police force and emergency services, and nobody was willing to help.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I watched as people sang and filmed and laughed while my friends were dying, along with many other people.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Nobody was doing anything to make the crowd stop.”</p> <p dir="ltr">According to officials, dozens of attendees went into cardiac arrest following the fatal crush of a 100-000 strong crowd at around 10.22 pm, with hundreds believed to be injured.</p> <p dir="ltr">Olivia Jacovic, an Aussie living in Seoul, told Channel Nine about how she managed to escape the crush, describing the crowd as “shoulder-to-shoulder”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was really hard, I had bruises on my arms from trying to manoeuvre out but we got on the sidelines luckily and we were standing up on this brick wall and we could see above,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was just shoulder-to-shoulder, people couldn’t breathe the shorter people were trying to look up in the air to get some air.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I just wanted to get out of there... I don’t care that my clothes were getting ripped.”</p> <p dir="ltr">According to local emergency responders, many of the victims were women in their teens or early twenties.</p> <p dir="ltr">Officials added that the incident was believed to have occurred after a large crowd began pushing forward in a narrow alley upon hearing that a celebrity was nearby.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-16cea9fb-7fff-ec20-c6b8-882c6dcecfe7"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Along with 1700 emergency workers, 15 ‘disaster’ medical teams were also deployed to help in the aftermath, but emergency services were still overwhelmed by the sheer number of victims.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

News

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Parents horrified at Halloween decorations

<p dir="ltr">Parents in a Sydney suburb have questioned a family’s Halloween decorations resembling <em>The Handmaid’s Tale</em> in quite a disturbing way. </p> <p dir="ltr">Images shared to Facebook show a fake body in the show’s iconic red dress and white bonnet, while a male character is dressed in blue.</p> <p dir="ltr">Both bodies were seen hanging by their necks on the porch, in reference to the show in which people were killed when they disobeyed the rules. </p> <p dir="ltr">There was also fake blood smeared on the outside of the house reading, “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum” which translates to, “Don’t let the b******* grind you down”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Social media users were divided at the decorations with many pointing out that it is inappropriate for children to see. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Imagine children seeing this walking past,” one comment read.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Not good; totally inappropriate,” another wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That’s horrible! Kids will be scared,” someone else commented. </p> <p dir="ltr">Others however defended the decorations saying it is the spirit of Halloween and people are encouraged to go all out with costumes. </p> <p dir="ltr">“OMG it’s Halloween, get over it, some of y’all need to lighten up,” someone wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">“While we’re on the topic – how freckin good is Handmaid’s this season,” another fan wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>The Handmaid’s Tale</em> is an American dystopian television series based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. </p> <p dir="ltr">It tells the story of June, played by Elisabeth Moss, who is forced into sexual slavery struggles to survive in a totalitarian, fundamentalist society in what used to be the United States. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Facebook</em></p>

Real Estate

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Top 10 spooky stays for those Halloween weekend road trips

<p>It's the spookiest time of year, and there are plenty of ghoulish places to discover around Australia. To help you plan your next spooky road trip, Toyota Australia has compiled a frightful list of ten top stays for a Halloween-themed road trip like no other.</p> <p><strong>1. <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.montecristo.com.au/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZb_k4JCv$" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Monte Cristo Homestead</a>, Junee NSW</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/monte-cristo-homestead2.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></strong></p> <p><em>Images: Monte Cristo Homestead (Facebook)</em></p> <p>Dubbed “Australia’s most haunted homestead”, Monte Cristo – only two-and-a-half hours’ drive from Canberra – is said to be haunted by at least ten ghosts, most significantly its original owners Christopher and Elizabeth Crawley. Christopher still haunts the room in which he passed, as kind a spirit as he was in life – Elizabeth, however, is not so nice; if she doesn’t like you, she’ll cause a chill across your skin to scare you off. Don’t believe us? For the thrill seekers and sceptics out there, Monte Cristo offers accommodation for you to sleep – or stare at the ceiling wide awake in terror all night.</p> <p><strong>2. </strong> <a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.georgeiv.com.au/accommodation/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZYG9SB7T$"><strong>George IV Inn</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;">, Picton NSW</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/george-iv-inn.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Images: George IV Inn (Facebook)</em></p> <p><span style="text-align: center;">If you’re game, how about a night or two at the century-old George IV hotel in Picton? The eerily stripped-back interior couldn’t be more fitting for accommodation located in what is considered Australia’s most haunted town. Picton in NSW – an hour’s drive from Sydney – is host to a variety of ghostly locations. If you dare, venture down to the Redbank Range Railway tunnel, where it is claimed the spirit of Emily Bollard, who was killed by a train in 1916 – stay on the lookout for a pale, faceless figure of a woman. That’s not all - according to residents, the cries of babies can be heard from Picton’s now-defunct Old Maternity Hospital, three ghosts haunt the Wollondilly Shire Hall, and the jukebox has been known to start playing while unplugged at the Imperial Hotel.</span></p> <p><strong><span style="text-align: center;">3. </span></strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.qstation.com.au/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZemwu4JL$"><strong>Quarantine Station</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;">, Manly NSW</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/quarantine-station.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Images: Quarantine Station Ghost Tours (Facebook)</em></p> <p>Q Station in Manly – only half an hour’s drive from the Sydney CBD – is a stunning venue with accommodation ranging from guest lounges, suites, and cottages, and multiple on-site harborside fine dining restaurants and bars. Yet, the station also has a dark history as a quarantine station for the unwell, first operating over 150 years ago and only closing in 1984, where it has since been the site of almost 600 deaths. As a result, the place is allegedly riddled with ghosts – that’s why Q Station also offers a range of ghost tours around the property, including through the onsite cemetery and morgue.</p> <p><strong>4. </strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.jenolancaves.org.au/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZac_sEC_$"><strong>Caves House Hotel</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;">, Blue Mountains NSW</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/caves-house-hotel.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Image: Caves House Hotel (Facebook)</em></p> <p>Described on its website as a “romantic and relaxing place to stay overnight”, you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise if you knew the haunted history of the Jenolan Caves. From disembodied screams and unexplained shoulder taps within the caves to sightings of ghostly arms and the sounds of playing children deep into the night in Caves House, the official website has been sure to <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.jenolancaves.org.au/about/blog/spinechilling-stories-from-the-underworld/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZVr10l2I$">document</a> any stories and sightings of spirits and spectres of those brave enough to stay the night in their stunning – but spooky – Blue Mountains lodgings, a three hour’s drive from Sydney.</p> <p><strong>5. </strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.booking.com/hotel/au/castlemaine-gardens-luxury-safari-tents.en-gb.html?aid=356980&label=gog235jc-1DCAsoD0InY2FzdGxlbWFpbmUtZ2FyZGVucy1sdXh1cnktc2FmYXJpLXRlbnRzSDNYA2gPiAEBmAEJuAEXyAEM2AED6AEBiAIBqAIDuALvvsqZBsACAdICJGM1YWMzNWExLWNmOWMtNDMwZS04MDg5LWUwZjM3ZjIyMzQ4ONgCBOACAQ&sid=7840f168f5ccfb8a42fa50883655b5f2&dist=0&group_adults=2&group_children=0&keep_landing=1&no_rooms=1&sb_price_type=total&type=total&__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZaDDH6o3$"><strong>Castlemaine Gardens Luxury Safari Tents</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;">, Castlemaine VIC</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/castlemaine-gardens.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Image: </em><em>BIG4 Castlemaine Gardens Holiday Park (Facebook)</em></p> <p>Glamp in style at the Castlemaine Gardens Luxury Safari Tents, a semi-open-air accommodation tucked away in beautiful gardens in outer north-west Victoria – only an hour and a half’s drive from Melbourne. With an exposed wood interior and white tulle mosquito nets draped over the four-poster beds, the tents are reminiscent of the gold rush era. To further your historical-themed getaway, you could perhaps consider a trip to Old Castlemaine Gaol – a colonial-era prison famed for housing some of the time’s most violent criminals, many of whom are said to still haunt the hallways. If you’re too scared to go back to your tent, how about sticking it out for one of their infamous 12-hour overnight ghost tours?</p> <p><strong>6. </strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/craigsroyal.com.au/accommodation/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZb3Qyc0y$"><strong>Craig’s Royal Hotel,</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;"> Ballarat VIC</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/craigs-royal-hotel.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Images: Craig's Royal Hotel (Facebook)</em></p> <p>You know it’s worth the drive if the whole city has a dedicated website to ghost tours in the area. That’s the case with Ballarat’s <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.eerietours.com.au/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZW8NcLBZ$">Eerie Tours</a>, which offers a variety of historic ghost tours across both Ballarat, including its Old Cemetery and the Town Hall, and the nearby infamous Aradale Lunatic Asylum in Ararat – known as one of the most hostile haunted locations in Australia. After a night of frights (or two), it’s only fitting to retire in somewhere as grand as the heritage-listed, Victorian-designed Craig’s Royal Hotel – only an hour and a half’s drive from Melbourne.</p> <p><strong>7. </strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.spencersuitesalbany.com.au/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZZpDd-oj$"><strong>Spencer Suites</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;">, Albany WA</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/spencer-suites.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Image: Spencer Suites (Facebook)</em></p> <p>Far down south in WA – five hours away from Perth if you drive – is the former colonial settlement of Albany, a seaside town rich with tales of ghost stories. From the ruins of a lighthouse said to be haunted by its keeper, a former hospital with doors closing on its own, a 150-year-old quarantine station and an old gaol, Albany offers so many spooky experiences you’ll just have to spend a couple nights – how about checking out Spencer Suites, where “heritage meets chic”? The refreshing modernity of the self-contained apartments would be a welcome change from the haunted colonial-era ruins.</p> <p><strong>8. </strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.babindaquarters.com/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZS_cs8AM$"><strong>Babinda Quarters</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;">, Babinda QLD</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/barbinda-quarters.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Image: Babinda Quarters (Facebook)</em></p> <p>Most of the locations on this list so far have been colonial man-made institutions housing spirits of those who passed within their four walls, yet, a short drive from the beautiful tropical town of Babinda are the Babinda Boulders – a stunning and tranquil swimming and picnic area with a particularly treacherous stretch of the creek aptly named Devil’s Pool. According to local Indigenous legend, a young widow named Oolana came to the pool to grieve her husband, ultimately drowning herself to overcome her sorrows. It is said she still haunts the pool, with unexplained tides and sudden rushing torrents. Morbidly curious travellers beware: this creek has claimed many lives, something expressed on a sign as you approach it; most of them young men a similar age to the Oolana’s husband. If staying in Babinda to explore the rainforest (both haunted and not), Babinda Quarters, a recently refurbished art deco homestead offers stunning and quirky accommodation with a rainforest twist less than an hour’s drive from Cairns.</p> <p><strong>9. </strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/www.fothergills.net.au/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZXtl3Uxs$"><strong>Fothergills of Fremantle,</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;"> WA</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/fothergills-fremantle.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Image: Fothergills of Fremantle (Facebook)</em></p> <p>Just half an hour’s drive from the heart of Perth CBD, Forthergills of Fremantle is a stunning 19th century heritage listed building, with rooms filled featuring local craftwork and fitted with on-theme colonial furniture – lit quite eerily in their official photos. Fittingly, Fremantle is home to one of the most infamous haunted locations in WA – the Fremantle Arts Centre. The former lunatic asylum is claimed to be one of the most haunted buildings in the state, with reports of faces being seen in windows, strange bouts of cold air, and doors opening and closing on their own.</p> <p><strong>10. </strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.thestationkapunda.com/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZZZ0jA3h$"><strong>The Station</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;">, Kapunda SA</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/station-kapunda.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Images: The Station Kapunda (Facebook)</em></p> <p>While the most haunted hotel in Australia might not be available for bookings, we thought it’d be more advisable to stay in a nicer, considerably less-ghostly accommodation such as The Station at Kapunda, a stunning and modern escape in a 162-year-old renovated railway station, only an hour by car from Adelaide. That way you can escape from The North Kapunda Hotel should the spirits cause you too much distress. Kapunda is also known as an extremely haunted town, with tours across the town available for any thrill seekers out there.</p> <p><em>Images: Facebook</em></p>

Domestic Travel

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One-year-old receives a heart-warming letter from Windsor Castle

<p><em>Image: The Sun</em></p> <p>A young girl has received a letter from Windsor Castle after dressing up as The Queen for Halloween.</p> <p>One-year-old Jalayne Sutherland caught royal attention after donning an adorable double-breasted overcoat with a matching hat, a white wig and pearls around her neck.</p> <p>She was photographed by her mum, Katelyn Sutherland, standing alongside her family corgis. Katelyn, from Ohio, America, sent the photograph to The Queen on a whim - and said she did not expect to receive a reply.</p> <p>She said, "The biggest inspiration for the outfit was the fact that our dogs are our daughter's best friends."</p> <p>“We wanted to do something where they could all be included together. We are most definitely fans of the Royal family and truly admire how the Queen walks by faith."</p> <p>Katelyn said her daughter's costume was met with lots of praise as she took her trick-or-treating on Halloween this year.</p> <p>She added, “While walking around on Halloween we received many, many compliments but my favourite reactions were when people bowed to her or did the royal wave and said, ‘Your Majesty!’”</p> <p>The letter, from the Queen's lady in waiting for the Hon Marry Morrison, said, “The Queen wishes me to write and thank you for your letter, and for the photograph you thoughtfully enclosed."</p> <p>“Her Majesty thought it kind of you to write to her, and The Queen was pleased to see the photograph of your daughter, Jalayne, in her splendid outfit."</p> <p>“Her Majesty hopes you all have a very Merry Christmas, and I am enclosing a little information about the Royal Pets, which Jalayne might like to have.”</p>

Family & Pets

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Not spooked by Halloween ghost stories? You may have aphantasia

<p>Halloween movies often feature kids sitting around a campfire sharing gory, spooky stories, trying to get someone to scream in fear.</p> <p>This weekend you might be doing the same – sharing a horror story with friends. You may find one friend doesn’t get scared, no matter how frightening a scene you try to paint in their mind.</p> <p>So why are some people more easily spooked by stories than others? We ran an experiment to find out.</p> <p><strong>Can you see it in your mind?</strong></p> <p>One reason some people are more easily spooked could relate to how well they can visualise the scary scene in their mind.</p> <p>When some people listen to a story they automatically conjure up the scene in their mind’s eye, while others have to focus really hard to create any sort of mental image.</p> <p>A small proportion cannot visualise images at all. No matter how hard they try, they do not see anything in their mind. This inability to visualise is known as aphantasia.</p> <p>Although we have known people vary in their ability to visualise <a rel="noopener" href="https://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Galton/imagery.htm" target="_blank">for many years</a>, the term aphantasia was not coined until <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010945215001781?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">2015</a>.</p> <p>We don’t yet know exactly how many people have aphantasia. But <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010945220301404?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">estimates vary</a> at 1–4% of the population.</p> <p><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KuWSh4n5AiI?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <em><span class="caption">Do you have aphantasia?</span></em></p> <p><strong>How scared are you?</strong></p> <p>If the ability to visualise images and scenes in the mind plays a role in how we react to spooky stories, what does that mean for people with aphantasia? How do they react when reading scary stories?</p> <p>We <a rel="noopener" href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2021.0267" target="_blank">ran a study</a> to find out. We had people sit in the dark and read a number of short stories – not ghost stories, but ones with frightening, hypothetical scenarios.</p> <p>One example involved someone being chased by a shark, another being covered in spiders.</p> <p>As people read these stories, we recorded their fear levels by measuring how much the stories made them sweat.</p> <p>We placed small electrodes on their fingers and ran a tiny electric current from one electrode to the other.</p> <p>When you sweat this allows the electric current to flow from one electrode to the other easier, due to less resistance, and this results in <a rel="noopener" href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1094428116681073" target="_blank">increased skin conductance</a>.</p> <p>This measure can pick up even very small increases in sweat you wouldn’t otherwise notice.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429220/original/file-20211028-13882-16y7l51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429220/original/file-20211028-13882-16y7l51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Scared man rowing away from sharks" /></a> <em><span class="caption">Imagine being chased by sharks. Some people can’t conjure up the image in their mind.</span> <span class="attribution"><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/escape-crisis-613248632" target="_blank" class="source">Shutterstock</a></span></em></p> <p>For most people who could conjure up images in their mind, their skin conductance increased when they read these stories. But people with aphantasia didn’t show a significant increase in their skin conductance levels when reading the same scenarios.</p> <p>There was no difference between the two groups when viewing scary pictures. This suggests aphantasic people’s lack of a reaction to these stories wasn’t due to a general dampening of emotional responses.</p> <p>Instead, we concluded the lack of a change in skin conductance in these people with aphantasia is specific to being unable to <em>visualise</em> these fear-inducing stories.</p> <p><strong>What’s going on in the brain?</strong></p> <p>Very little work has been done to measure neural activity in people with aphantasia to give us a firm idea of why they cannot visualise images.</p> <p>One <a rel="noopener" href="https://academic.oup.com/cercorcomms/article/2/2/tgab035/6265046" target="_blank">study</a> shows both the frontal and visual regions of the brain are linked to visualising images. And in people with aphantasia, the connection between these two areas is weaker.</p> <p>Another study found the pattern of activity in visual regions of the brain <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/37/5/1367.abstract" target="_blank">is correlated</a> with the vividness of the mental images.</p> <p>So any reduction in connectivity between the frontal and visual regions may result in less control over the visual regions. This might lead to the inability to visualise.</p> <p><strong>So what if you have aphantasia?</strong></p> <p>If you have aphantasia, it might just mean reading a <a rel="noopener" href="https://stephenking.com" target="_blank">Stephen King novel</a> is unlikely to ruffle your feathers.</p> <p>Theoretically, remembering fearful experiences might also be less scary. We did not test personal memories in our study, but we hope to look at these in the future.</p> <p>People with aphantasia report their personal memories (<a rel="noopener" href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758%2Fs13421-014-0402-5" target="_blank">autobiographical memories</a>) are <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-65705-7" target="_blank">less vivid</a> and <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010945220301404?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">detailed</a> than people with visual imagery.</p> <p>People with aphantasia may also be less likely to develop disorders associated with fear memories, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).</p> <p>Another possibility is they still may develop PTSD but it presents <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-65705-7" target="_blank">in a different way</a> to people with visual imagery – without flashbacks. But more research is needed.</p> <p><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-keogh-301841" target="_blank">Rebecca Keogh</a>, Research Fellow, Department of Cognitive Science, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macquarie-university-1174" target="_blank">Macquarie University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/not-spooked-by-halloween-ghost-stories-you-may-have-aphantasia-170712" target="_blank">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

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Some of the best pet Halloween costumes from around the world

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is Halloween if not an excuse to dress up and demand candy from your neighbours? An excuse to force your pets into increasingly ridiculous and elaborate outfits, of course. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We’ve searched the internet high and low, and we feel confident saying these are some of the best pet costumes you’ll ever see. So without further ado…</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since Halloween takes place during autumn (or falls in fall, if you’re American), a pumpkin costume feels particularly apt.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s an adorable pug-kin: </span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUfrXTmL946/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUfrXTmL946/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Loulou the Pug (@pugloulou)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">And an equally adorable (but much tinier) tortoise:</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVixuKAPjO7/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVixuKAPjO7/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Sushi The Sulcata Tortoise (@sushi_thesulcata)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Others make use of pumpkins to set the scene, like the Instagram famous Toby Toad, dressed as a witch:</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVlt6kRl0QH/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVlt6kRl0QH/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Toby Toad (@yaboi_toby_toad)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Or these heroic pugs:</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVV6OAulAeM/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVV6OAulAeM/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Hugo &amp; Halo The Lovable Pugs (@pugnamedhugo)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And French bulldogs:</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVlZz66pz2t/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVlZz66pz2t/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Jeronimo &amp; Tokyo (@toky.mo)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A few pet owners paid homage to royalty with their pet costumes. Like this cat, who’s dressed up as Marie Antoinette, which feels fitting:</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVWLmfvvay-/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVWLmfvvay-/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by little.poohkie.and.big.mer (@little.poohkie.and.big.mer)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Or this adorable child-and-pet duo as Queen Elizabeth II and one of her beloved corgis:</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVl5YWhLyaT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVl5YWhLyaT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Nixon the Corgi (@nixonthecorgi)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, pop culture costumes are the clear favourite. Take these dogs who look ready to board the Hogwarts Express, for example:</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVgBWhRJ5od/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVgBWhRJ5od/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Sailor⚓️and Salty 🏄 (@sailorandsalty)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Or this pup who watched Squid Game with his humans and enjoyed it a bit too much:</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVgg29sKFts/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVgg29sKFts/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Boose Buzz (@boose_buzz)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If there’s something strange in the neighbourhood, you better call Grizzly for all of your ghost-busting needs:</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CViWa4aptQZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CViWa4aptQZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Grizzly 🐻 (@grizzlydoodlebear)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meanwhile, you’ll probably want to avoid the next few dogs, whose costumes err on the scarier side of things. Like this elderly chihuahua dressed up as Pinhead from the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hellraiser</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> movies:</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVjRmT4lqCq/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVjRmT4lqCq/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Gizmo (@gizzard_the_chihuahua)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Or this little guy dressed up as Pennywise the clown from Stephen King’s </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">IT</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">:</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CVitNtLrqb3/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CVitNtLrqb3/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by DogsTV (@dogsvideo2021)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As well as Moses, who is the spitting image of Chucky the possessed doll:</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVQXgSHruz9/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVQXgSHruz9/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by 🎾MOSES &amp; LEXI NYC🎾 (@frenchienamedmoses)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Politicians in the US even got involved in the fun as part of the annual Congressional Dog Costume Parade on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. We particularly love the Cowardly Lion accompanied by his very own Dorothy:</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Dog day in Washington.<br /><br />US Congress members and staff bring their dogs to work dressed in Halloween costumes for the annual Congressional Dog Costume Parade on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC<br /><br />📸 Jim Watson <a href="https://t.co/b8nfDfgv1g">pic.twitter.com/b8nfDfgv1g</a></p> — AFP News Agency (@AFP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1453624282647437314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To cap us off, enjoy this video of an entire hallway full of costumed dogs!</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Dog daycare costume party.. 😊 <a href="https://t.co/2UcrSGElCK">pic.twitter.com/2UcrSGElCK</a></p> — Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden_) <a href="https://twitter.com/buitengebieden_/status/1453805886464483337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: boose_buzz/Instagram, little.poohkie.and.big.mer/Instagram</span></p>

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“Are they kidding?”: William Shatner’s reaction to Halloween mask

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">William Shatner recently shared his reaction after discovering the iconic mask used in Michael Myers’ </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Halloween</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> franchise was actually based on his likeness.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYDvlnOYd1c&amp;ab_channel=Jake%27sTakes" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">recent interview</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with the YouTube channel </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jake’s Takes</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Shatner spoke about how he first found out that the mask was his face and thought it was a joke.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The host, journalist Jake Hamilton, asked: “Do you remember the first moment someone said, ‘Hey do you know the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Halloween</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> mask is you?”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I don’t remember the exact moment but I thought, ‘Is that a joke? Are they kidding?’,” the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Star Trek </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">actor said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though he recalled he didn’t watch the horror film, </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://screenrant.com/halloween-michael-myers-william-shatner-mask-reaction/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">he said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> he saw it for the first time in a photo, and recognised it as the “death mask” that was made for him during his time on the sci-fi classic.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“They made me a mask of my face on </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Star Trek</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with clay so I wouldn't have to be available for the prosthetics that they would put on my face to look old or evil or whatever it was they were making me look like,” he explained.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height:0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7845010/shatner-myers1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/1918bc5d1b0f4b2f9f53d0912124d59d" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The mask modelled on Shatner’s face for Star Trek alongside the repurposed mask used in the Halloween series. Image: startrek.com</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“So somewhere along the line, someone got that mask and made a mask of it for Halloween [the holiday].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“And then the story is ‘Get me a mask’, said the director, so the guy ran into this Halloween store and grabbed this mask and it happened to be of me.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“That’s the story I know. How true it is I don’t know.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://nypost.com/2021/10/19/william-shatner-rips-halloween-for-using-capt-kirk-mask/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">New York Post</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, production designer and editor Tommy Lee Wallace told the story on Netflix’s </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Movies That Made Us</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of how he found the mask at a magic shop on Hollywood Boulevard.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Up on the shelves were these full face masks of Richard Nixon, and down at the end was Mr Spock. And right next to it was this blank face of Captain Kirk,” Wallace said on the show.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After painting it white, making the eye holes wider, removing the eyebrows, and dyeing the hair brown, the iconic </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Halloween </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">mask was born.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>

Movies

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Rebel Wilson shows off incredible transformation at Halloween party

<p>Rebel Wilson has showed off her incredible weight loss transformation in new photographs wearing a coronavirus-themed Halloween costume. </p> <p>The Aussie star dressed as a warrior princess, opting for a skin-tight leotard, a cape and purple boots.</p> <p>Sharing a number of posts to Instagram, the 40-year-old also showed off her skills with a pair of nunchucks.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CHA6ULWAxqK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CHA6ULWAxqK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Just call me: RONA (Warrior Princess) ...destroying ‘rona wherever I go 😝</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/rebelwilson/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Rebel Wilson</a> (@rebelwilson) on Oct 31, 2020 at 9:15am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“Just call me: RONA (Warrior Princess) ...destroying ‘rona wherever I go,” she wrote in one post.</p> <p>In a second post, Wilson was flanked by two other women, including her sister, who also had nunchucks.</p> <p>“TOGETHER WE ARE: THE NUN-CHICKS,” Wilson wrote.</p> <p>Rebel also posted a video to her stories showing her destroying a coronavirus cell-shaped piñata ball.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CHBY6szLVxP/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CHBY6szLVxP/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">TOGETHER WE ARE: THE NUN-CHICKS 💪🏻 @marissamontgomery @annachi.wilson @bamastunts</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/rebelwilson/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Rebel Wilson</a> (@rebelwilson) on Oct 31, 2020 at 1:42pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“I’m going to crush this coronavirus,” the 40-year-old said in a video.</p> <p>In another snap, Wilson was seen posing with boyfriend Jacob Busch.</p> <p>Wilson has shared several photos of her weight loss journey over the past few months.</p> <p>The 40 year old announced earlier this year she was embarking on a “Year of Health” in 2020.</p> <p>She revealed in October she was only 3kg away from her goal weight of 75kg.</p>

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"Scarily good": Parents in shock at kid's Halloween costume

<p>USA father Greg Dietzenbach, a creative director at an advertising and marketing agency, has a reputation for creative and hilarious Halloween costumes for his children in his neighbourhood.</p> <p>This year proved no exception, as he decided to take some modern inspiration and created the "Zoom scaries".</p> <p><span>"My kids challenge me every year to make a unique costume. Building a </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://youtu.be/ggjSoEsBcH4" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink">'Transformers' sock robot</a> for my son almost broke my brain... another year [my daughter] <a rel="noopener" href="http://www.halfcrow.art/blog/door-costume" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink">went as our neighbors' doors</a>. So, this year I wanted to make it a lot simpler."</p> <p>He created the Zoom interface, with other people attending the meeting, for his 12-year-old daughter Ava's costume.</p> <p>The Zoom interface has nine spooky participants, including photos of Ava dressed as the Invisible Man, Wolf Man, Frankenstein, Dracula, a Mummy, Blair With and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. The eighth participant is Ava herself, poking her head out of the costume through a cutout.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7838459/halloween-body.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/a2d2d8e49a564a91964f50763d27a1db" /></p> <div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>Dietzenbach recreated the Zoom interface with subtly spooky changes -- replacing "End Meeting for All" with "End Life" and "Share Screen" with "Share Scream" and of course -- "666 Participants."</p> <p>"The best part of this costume creation was the photoshoot I had with my daughter," Dietzenbach said of the seven monsters/meeting attendees his daughter transformed into.</p> <p>"We were laughing the whole time as we tried to make all the monster faces."</p> <p>"Halloween was one of my favourite holidays when I was a kid and I'm happy to share my love of Halloween with my kids," Dietzenbach said.</p> <p>"2020 has been tough, it's nice to know we'll be giving some joy to others (at a safe distance of course)."</p> <p><em>Photo credit: </em><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://honey.nine.com.au/latest/coronavirus-dads-zoom-halloween-costume/a9e78e96-8e01-4cc5-a426-a6b7592f6ebd" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink">Honey</a></em></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"></div> </div> </div>

Family & Pets

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Halloween Apple Monsters

<p>Time: 20 minutes | Serves: 6</p> <p>Gluten Free / Dairy Free / Vegetarian</p> <p><strong>Ingredients</strong></p> <ul> <li>1 green apple</li> <li><a href="https://mayvers.com.au/product/extra-crunchy-peanut-butter/">Mayver’s Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter</a><a href="https://mayvers.com.au/product/extra-crunchy-peanut-butter/)"></a></li> <li>6 cashew nuts</li> <li>Candy eyes (for decoration)</li> </ul> <p><strong>Method</strong></p> <ol> <li>Slice apple into 12 wedges (6 pairs), and split cashew nuts in half, lengthways.</li> <li>Spread Mayver’s peanut butter on bottom wedges of each pair and arrange split cashew nuts on top to look like fangs. Spread peanut butter on top wedge and place onto bottom wedge to look like a mouth.</li> <li>Use a very small amount of peanut butter to stick candy eyes onto top wedge.</li> </ol> <p>This recipe was provided by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nataliemewing/">@nataliemewing</a> for Mayver's.</p>

Food & Wine

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This is spook-tacular! Haunted Halloween house in Queensland bound to give you chills

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A Gold Coast family has turned their suburban house into a Stephen King-inspired mansion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The homeowners, known to locals by pseudonyms Mr and Mrs Strapleberry, are once again opening the doors to their house of horror in Pacific Pines, just in time for Halloween.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The ‘Neibolt Well House’ was inspired by the abandoned home where IT lived and featured boarded-up windows, broken shutters, overgrown grass and vinces, and rusty metal fences as well as a life-size figure of Georgie from King’s story.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The couple first held the extravaganza last year, allowing children and adults to celebrate the festivities and try mazes with special effects and scares.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He spoke to </span><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7603803/Family-transforms-humble-property-incredible-horror-house-just-time-Halloween.html?fbclid=IwAR31j101Mj6zt6LXu3iNCnoT-JvjurCxXz4tdOdtpPu4MoAfRFOHf_jofWQ"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Daily Mail Australia</span></em></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> about how the creepy Halloween house all started.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We put out a smoke machine and some cheap spider webs a few years ago and noticed how many families and children were out trick-or-treating,” he explained.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It was wonderful to see excited kids out having fun, so we decided we could do more.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Due to the success of last year’s attempt, this year’s idea ended up snowballing quickly into “<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/Panic-on-Pandora-260293314625500/posts/?ref=page_internal">Panic on Pandora</a>”.</span></p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F260293314625500%2Fvideos%2F505896146632451%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We didn’t know if anybody would show, but ended up with more than 600 happy families and haunters,” said Mr Strapleberry.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We are firm believers to the idea that you should be the change you want to see in the world,” the father-of-one explained.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Seeing the streets filled with children and families enjoying time together.. children genuinely excited, neighbours talking/meeting each other.. it's just an incredible atmosphere of the community coming together.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While the Strapleberry family have kept quiet about just how much this all costs, Mr Strappleberry has joked that “it was either a jet-ski for me or a Halloween event for everyone”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The house has continued to bring joy to locals for two years in a row, and with the extensive effort gone into the designs, it’s easy to see why.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scroll through the gallery to see the spooky transformation. </span></p>

Domestic Travel

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Royal fright: Duchess Kate stuns shoppers with last-minute Halloween shopping spree at local supermarket

<p>The Duchess of Cambridge has been spotted browsing for Halloween kids’ costumes at a local supermarket near the family’s country retreat on Thursday.</p> <p>According to<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/10204789/relatable-kate-middleton-praised-royal-fans-spotted-shopping-sainsburys-norfolk/" target="_blank">The Sun</a></em>, the Cambridge family are spending the half term school holidays at their countryside retreat, which is known as Anmer Hall.</p> <p>An onlooker said the Duchess of Cambridge was spotted picking up Halloween costumes with Prince George, 6, and Princess Charlotte, 4.</p> <p>“It was lovely to see her [Kate] just being a normal mum shopping with her kids,” the onlooker said.</p> <p>“I love how she [Kate] just goes about her normal life, she is so down to earth.”</p> <p>Another onlooker told<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/kate-middleton-stuns-shoppers-popping-20718032" target="_blank">The Daily Star</a></em><span> </span>about the encounter.</p> <p>"Another shopper said that Kate was in the shop near the clothing and pointed where she was to me. I just couldn't believe it.</p> <p>"She was with Charlotte and George looking at Halloween outfits, but her bodyguard was kind of watching people with phones and telling them no pictures.”</p> <p>Royal expert Phil Dampier said that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are making sure that their kids are getting a “normal childhood”.</p> <p>He spoke to Fabulous Digital about it.</p> <p>“William and Kate have made sure that their three children are getting as normal a childhood as possible and they all love the outdoor life.</p> <p>“At Anmer Hall in Norfolk they go for long walks in woods and have frequent trips to the beach.</p> <p>“Kate’s mum Carole is very close to George and often takes him out alone.”</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Bb_K0FDmT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Bb_K0FDmT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Princess Charlotte arrives for her first day of school at Thomas’s Battersea, joining her older brother Prince George ✏️📚🏫</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/kensingtonroyal/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Kensington Palace</a> (@kensingtonroyal) on Sep 5, 2019 at 1:15am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Fans were quick to praise the Duchess for being “relatable”.</p> <p>“Over the years I've enjoyed seeing pics of Kate going about routine things like shopping,” one fan wrote.</p> <p>“She is a perfect representative of the Crown while on royal duties, and just relatable Kate when not on duties.”</p> <p>Another added: “Humble family.”</p>

Family & Pets

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Trick or treat? The psychology of fright and Halloween horrors

<p>Halloween is upon us. The spirits of the departed return to haunt the living and demons roam the land.</p> <p>Predictably, scary movies flood television screens and packs of costumed, sugar-crazed children wander the streets.</p> <p>In many ways, trick or treating and watching horror movies are puzzling activities. What possesses people to help their children become ghouls, monsters and supernatural villains for one enchanted evening?</p> <p>Why do we seek out experiences that we know will expose us to dread, disgust and terror?</p> <p>Not everyone is drawn to these experiences, of course. As a rule, humans seek pleasure and avoid pain. But some seem to welcome emotional pain and even luxuriate in it.</p> <p><strong>The ‘Dark’ factor</strong></p> <p>Researchers have explored what influences enjoyment of horror movies in the hope of understanding the paradox that lies at its heart.</p> <p>Liking horror movies is associated with an underlying dimension of <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2964424/">entertainment preferences</a>, dubbed “the Dark factor”.</p> <p>People who find horror particularly appealing tend to enjoy heavy metal or punk music, cult films and erotica. They tend to be young and male. Those with Dark tastes value intensity, edginess and rebellion. Their personalities lean towards risk taking, antagonism, imagination and tough mindedness.</p> <p>Some of these attributes reflect the personality trait of sensation seeking. High sensation seekers crave intense, novel, and risky experiences and are especially fond of frightening movies.</p> <p><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19585588">One study</a> used fMRI to scan brains of people while they watched a horror film. Those who scored high on a sensation-seeking measure showed activation in brain regions associated with arousal and visual processing during threatening scenes. This activation was stronger than when they were exposed to neutral scenes.</p> <p>Intriguingly, high sensation seekers’ neural response to scary scenes wasn’t higher than their low sensation seeker peers. Instead, high sensation seekers reacted less intensely to neutral scenes.</p> <p>By implication, sensation seekers are bored and understimulated by the everyday. They show a magnified response to thrilling departures from normality. In essence, they enjoy horror because it is arousing.</p> <p><strong>The pleasure paradox</strong></p> <p>Empathy is also related to our differing fondness for frightening movies. More empathic people are likely to put themselves in the shoes of horrors movies’ sliced and mangled victims and to find the vicarious experience unpleasant.</p> <p><a href="http://crx.sagepub.com/content/17/5/616">One study</a> showed people who scored higher on an empathy test made more effort to distract themselves during horror scenes and found them less appealing. They also showed a greater drop in skin temperature, indicating unpleasant arousal.</p> <p>Arguably, having less empathy enables people to interpret frightening scenes as “just a movie” and detach their emotional response. Of course, there is a world of difference between coming face to face with a knife-wielding man in a hockey mask and seeing him on a screen. That difference may just be smaller for more empathic people.</p> <p>Another factor that influences the enjoyment of fright is “meta-emotion”. This concept refers to how people feel and think about their emotions. Some derive enjoyment from negative emotional states, as when enjoying a “good cry”, for instance.</p> <p>Indeed, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15506878jobem4402_8">a study</a> found that people who like sad films enjoy a scene relative to how much sadness it elicits. The stronger the sadness, the higher the enjoyment.</p> <p>The idea of meta-emotion resolves the hedonic paradox (the pursuit of negative experience for pleasure) by recognising that we can put a positive frame around a negative experience, and vice versa.</p> <p>In one study, <a href="http://crx.sagepub.com/content/37/2/167.abstract">German researchers found</a> people who generally avoided strong emotions felt negatively about their emotional response to a horror film. Those drawn to strong emotions enjoyed the movie experience more.</p> <p>Enjoying horror films may be like enjoying chilli pepper or skydiving. The apparent benign masochism is driven by a desire for intense experiences, even when they are painful, unpleasant and contrary to our animal instincts.</p> <p><strong>Trick or treat!</strong></p> <p>Trick or treating has also interested psychologists. During this <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1525/eth.2005.33.2.180/abstract">inversion of social norms</a> children dress as powerful, wicked or monstrous beings and taboos around death and evil are relaxed. Researchers have used this ritualised suspension of normal expectations as a creative way to study rule-breaking.</p> <p>Several studies have examined whether being costumed or masked affects childrens’ tendency to take more treats than allowed. Such effects might reveal the dangers of deindividuation (where individuals lose social restraints in groups).</p> <p>Sure enough, costumed children who are <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1976-20842-001">anonymous</a>, by wearing masks for instance, are more likely to take extra candies.</p> <p>Halloween also seems to bring out excesses in adults. Costumed Halloween celebrators tend to have <a href="http://eab.sagepub.com/content/39/3/352.short">higher blood alcohol</a> readings than people in plain clothes. There are also substantially increased levels of vandalism and property destruction.</p> <p>One form of crime that <a href="http://sax.sagepub.com/content/21/3/363.abstract">does not spike at Halloween</a> though, is sexual abuse of children by strangers – despite some panic in the United States. But children on the day are at substantially increased risk of pedestrian motor vehicle accidents.</p> <p>So look left, look right, and be careful on the roads. And don’t forget to look out for other dangers lurking under the bed, in the closet, beneath the stairs, behind the curtains, inside the vacant house on the corner ….<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49800/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em>Written by <span>Nick Haslam, Professor of Psychology, University of Melbourne</span>. Republished with permission of </em><a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/trick-or-treat-the-psychology-of-fright-and-halloween-horrors-49800" target="_blank"><em>The Conversation</em></a><em>.</em></p>

Movies

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Can you solve this tricky Halloween brainteaser?

<p>Halloween is here so test yourself with this Halloween-themed brainteaser.</p> <p>Posted on <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://afunzone.com/" target="_blank">A Fun Zone</a></strong></span>, the maths-based riddle is a little tricky.</p> <p>“Halloween was almost over, and Mr Green had less than 20 sweets left. When the doorbell rang, he thought he would give all the sweets away.</p> <p>“When he opened the door, there were two trick-or-treaters. He wanted to give away the sweets evenly, but he noticed that when he divided the sweets in two, there was one left over.</p> <p>“At that point, he saw another trick or treater behind the first two. Again, he tried to divide the sweets evenly among the three of them, but again one was left over.</p> <p>“Finally, another trick or treater came to his door, making it four trick or treaters altogether. Mr. Green still had one sweet left over after dividing the left-over sweets into fours.”</p> <p>“So how many sweets did Mr. Green have left when the doorbell rang?”</p> <p>Have you figured it out? Scroll right on the gallery above to discover the answer.</p> <p> </p>

Mind

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