As Halloween approaches, I feel the need to get into the festive spirit. While some see Halloween as a simple marker for the beginning of the "good holidays", there are others that feel Halloween is awesome in its own right. Whether it's the cooler temperatures outside or the beautiful colors on the trees, there is something about Halloween that makes everything seem calmer.
That is, until you go to the Haunted Houses in Kansas City. I just went there with a large group of people, and it is sufficient to say they are more ready to make sure you do not sleep for a while after you leave.
The house was a quarter mile of darkness, lights, empty rooms, and rooms full of people just waiting to make you scream. There was even a real live python (in a cage, obviously)! Anyway, it really got me into the spirit of Halloween, and I felt the need to make up my own little top five list of Halloween movies:

5) Hocus Pocus - while some may not think this belongs here, it is just one of those movies I grew up watching, and it will forever be a classic to me

4) It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown - I love Peanuts, that's all that needs to be said

3) The Amityville Horror (the original) - this movie just scares the crud out of me every time I watch it. Like a candy cane, it's good all the time, but it always tastes the best at a specific time of year.

2) Beetlegeuse - not specifically a Halloween movie, but, again, it is better to watch it in October. Michael Keaton is hilarious, and the rest of the movie is done almost perfectly.

1) Sleepy Hollow (the Johnny Depp version) - this movie just captures everything that Halloween is about. It is scary, entertaining, and has a happy-ish ending (All right, not really. But it could be.)

In keeping with the spirit of Halloween, you can check out all the cool stuff that happens at Rockhurst around this time of year. There is a haunted physics lab, and the school hosts a party on Halloween for all the people living in the areas around the school. It's a lot of fun, and everyone has a great time doing it.