Halloween in the UK

[Kris]

Hello Halloween fans,

Out of curiosity, how many folk on this forum are from the United Kingdom?

Seeing that Halloween is greatly increasing in popularity in the UK, there must surely be a few members lurking about this forum. It would be cool to be in touch with some British fans, admire each others efforts and snarl with some bitterness at the retail paradise and gusto of our American cousins.

Personally, I always visit the US during the fall to fill my case full of goodies that cannot be purchased here in the UK. I love the scale of it over there. Am I jealous? Oh hell yeah! Ha!

Although the last few years has seen a significant increase in merchandise at our shops, we are still to see the incredible Home Haunts and decor that the US enjoys.

Cheers,
Kris

[Pumpkin_Man]

I've never been to England, but I sure would love to make a few 'haunted road trips' around there, especialy London.

Mike

[Kris]

Hey Mike,

I work in London every now and then, will be there for 3 weeks in August. Some of the cemeteries in town are astounding, Highgate and the Brookwood Necropolis to name only two. These places have a long reputation for being haunted.

I live in Wales, on an island just off the north coast, and we have more ghosts here than is safe for anyone to know about! Ha!

Cheers,
K

[Pumpkin_Man]

Sounds like a fabulous place for ghost hunters.

Mike

[MacPhantom]

I'm not from the United Kingdom, but I have been to the United Kingdom, and I must say I am extremely envious of any culture where a pint with lunch is totally acceptable.

[Castle]

They do that in Mexico, too.

[iHaunt]

My family was from UK, Italy, Spain, etc. I have no idea.

[Pumpkin_Man]

Alcohol is a "Bozl No No" for me since my gastric bypass, but I would still love to cruise around England, Scottland and Ireland to the various haunted places, and tour those places on a motorcycle.

Mike

[jadewik]

I simply love the UK. The whole country is brilliant. The Tower was my favorite stop-- so full of ghost stories too and the heritage of the building itself can't be beat. It's a great country to visit-- so much to do and see... and the cemeteries (like Abney Park) are delicious.

... but, alas, I live out in the crazy part of the southwestern US-- a several hours' drive south of "the big hole" (AKA- The Grand Canyon). While I'm not overseas, I do happen to know of a Halloween connoisseur who does live in the UK. She used to read this forum (as magickbean, I think), but she's taken up the cupcake business and that takes up a lot of her time. I can PM you with how you can find her.

[Pumpkin_Man]

Jadwic, I har the American West is a bonanza (pardon the pun) of haunted places and ghost stories. One fo the most fascinating and fun trips I ever made was down old Route 66 from Chicago all the way into San Bernidino California. There were a lot of creepy places along the way. Abandoned places, haunted stretches of road, a side trip down Arizona Route 666, and even a ghost town. Unfortunately I was on the bike, and the road leading to the ghost town involved 20 miles of unpaved road, and my bike was not designed for unpaved surfaes, so I had to forgo it.

I also took tons of photos on 120 format Kodachrome film. They would have been some of the best photos I ever shot, but Kodac dedided to dis continue servicing Kodachroma, a product whidh THEY manfactured and that THEY sold me. I haven't bought any Kodac products since 1999, and never will buy a Kodac product of any kind again..

Mike

[Murfreesboro]

The Southwest is most certainly haunted! Our whole family has been to Philmont Scout Ranch in NE New Mexico (near Cimarron), and that place is full of ghosts. Louis L'Amour even wrote his book The Haunted Mesa about Urraca Mesa at Philmont. Cimarron has a lot of haunted sites, too.

[Kris]

I work in England often, but Wales is my home. We have so many renowned haunted sites here its incredible. Wales is also very mountainous wheras England is quite flat - Our mountains are riddled with castles, and old mansions and ancient cemeteries.

I live on a small island off the coast of North Wales, and believe me this place is haunted as hell. I love living here.

Just wish we had a Michael's, an A. C. Moore and a Spirit Halloween store!!

[Jack Skellington]

Kris,

I'm from England & like you am soooo envious of our American cousins.

What kind of decorations do you put up. We carve about 6 pumpkins, cover the front door & do part of the inside of our house too. We've been adding to it every year though so it's always expanding. This year we are planning to do a cemetery in the front garden - I will be ordering in some of the decorations from an American company that ship globally.

Hopefully one day we will have dedicated shops full of halloween decorations in our towns, rather than the small amounts we can get today.

Do many people decorate their homes where you live? We're the only ones that do in our street.

[Nostalgiascape]

I simply love the UK. The whole country is brilliant. The Tower was my favorite stop-- so full of ghost stories too and the heritage of the building itself can't be beat. It's a great country to visit-- so much to do and see... and the cemeteries (like Abney Park) are delicious.

... but, alas, I live out in the crazy part of the southwestern US-- a several hours' drive south of "the big hole" (AKA- The Grand Canyon). While I'm not overseas, I do happen to know of a Halloween connoisseur who does live in the UK. She used to read this forum (as magickbean, I think), but she's taken up the cupcake business and that takes up a lot of her time. I can PM you with how you can find her.

I personally think Arizona rocks

[Pumpkin_Man]

Kris & Jack, one of my personal favorite things about Halloween is carving jack o'lanterns. I don't know if pumpkins are sold in England or not, but if you can get hold of one, you might want to try it out.

Mike