Growing up in England from a child to a teenager in the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s, Halloween was an American thing you saw on the telly. There was no dressing up and trick-or-treating, not in my family home anyway. Even when my kids were younger I never really bothered much about Halloween. It was just all too American for me and just liked the English traditions I was brought up with. They had fun wearing masks, bobbing for apples etc. but we never went out dressed up knocking on people’s doors, in fact, I don’t recall ever seeing anyone else do it either.
Nowadays all of the above is a common sight. I am no killjoy and I don’t knock anyone who really enjoys it. I admit it’s a fun thing for kids to do and a good excuse for a party for the adults which I have enjoyed going to in the past few years. When you have suffered from depression and anxiety for as long as I have, just to be included can be a lifesaver.
The main thing I like about Halloween is dressing up and the Horror theme to it. I have never celebrated Halloween in my life in the past because, since I was a kid, I have loved horror. Every day is Halloween for me, ha ha.
Below are photos of Halloween celebrations of me and my family over the years.
The quality of some of these photos is not the greatest but I have tried to enhance them the best I can but they are worth reminiscing about on here regardless.
Contents
2019
This was my third Halloween party and I wore my cool Nosferatu Halloween costume. Like the previous years, the quality of the Count Orlok mask was nothing like in the photo from the place I ordered it from but I wasn’t unhappy about it because it was very close and I enjoyed wearing it. It has been my second favourite Halloween costume since I started wearing them.
I ordered myself some false nails (slightly exaggerated to give my fingers a more bony, scary look), a cloak to wear with it and I wore a black shirt, black trousers and black shoes to try and get the old-fashioned look to it all.
The mask was bloody tight! I had to cut a slit in the back of it and I still had trouble getting it on and off. I couldn’t wear my glasses underneath which annoys me as it means I can’t see much, especially when it gets dark. It was tighter around my left eye and caused my eye to open more but this added to the scary look, ha ha.
The photos below was taken at my sister Julie’s house where I got ready and at my niece Faye’s house (where the party was) on the 26th of September, 2019.
You can watch the classic 1922 silent film classic Nosferatu below.
My very cool Nosferatu mask.
After I got ready for the Halloween party, and had this photo taken on my phone, I noticed (as you can see here) that the nail from my right-hand thumb was missing and I had white make up on my shirt. That was annoying as it spoiled the photo a bit for me.
My great niece Lucy helped me look everywhere for it (bless her) and I eventually found it in the bathroom where I got ready.
Me (minus a nail on my thumb) and my sister Julie in our Halloween costumes.
My very cool Nosferatu Halloween costume.
Me and my sisters Cathy and Julie in our Halloween costumes.
Me, my sister Cathy and my niece Joanne in our Halloween costumes.
Me and my niece Joanne in our Halloween costumes.
My very cool Nosferatu Halloween costume.
Me and my sister Yvonne in our Halloween costumes.
Nosferatu 1922 Silent Film In Full
The 1922 silent film Nosferatu or to give its full title, Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horror. It starred Max Schreck as Count Orlok.
The scene where Nosferatu’s shadow goes up the stairway is a classic scene and it scared me when I was very young. I never watched all of the film until I was older.
2020
There was no Halloween party this year thanks to COVID (the less I say about a lot of bull shit regarding this the better. That’s a topic for another day). Me and my sisters, Julie, Cathy and Yvonne did a video call so I never bothered with a full Halloween costume, just this crap demon ripping through a face mask and a bloody t-shirt. As ever quality of the mask was nothing like in the photo from the place I ordered it from and this was the most I had ever been unhappy I had ever been because it was nothing like what I thought I was going to get. I wasn’t surprised though due to experience but I didnt think it was going to be this bad. I added blood to it to try and make it look better but I never enjoyed wearing it one bit and was glad to take it off after the call. It was my worst Halloween costume since I started wearing them.
The mask wasn’t too tight like my mask from the year before and I didn’t have to cut a slit in the back of it like that one. I could wear my glasses underneath this one which was pleasing.
The photo below was taken at my house on Halloween, 2019.
2021
This was my fourth Halloween party and I wore my cool Freddy Krueger costume. Like the previous years, the quality of the mask was nothing like in the photo from the place I ordered it from but I wasn’t unhappy about it because it was very close and I enjoyed wearing it. It was my third favourite Halloween costume since I started wearing Halloween costumes.
I ordered myself a hat to wear with it and I wore Freddy’s famous stripey jumper and gloves, black trousers and black shoes to try and get the full A Nightmare On Elm Street look. The film starred Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger.
The was another tight mask meaning I couldn’t wear my glasses underneath again or my hearing aids making it hard to see (especially in the dark) and hear. However, it was not as tight as two years ago and I didn’t have to cut a slit in the back of it like I did with that one but I still had trouble getting it on and off. At least this one didn’t hurt my left eye, ha ha.
The photos below were taken at my sister Julie’s house where I also got ready on the 30th of September, 2019.
My cool Freddy Krueger mask.
My cool Freddy Krueger Halloween costume.
My cool Freddy Krueger mask.
Me, my niece Joanne, great nephew Archie and brother-in-law Ken.
My cool Freddy Krueger Halloween costume.
Even Freddy needs to check his phone now and then, ha ha.
Me and my sister Julie.
Whatever I said it made Julie laugh out load, ha ha.
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Notes And Links
This page contains links that send you to Wikipedia and is subject to change.
The image shown above of a carved pumpkin is the copyright of Wikipedia user Toby Ord. It comes with a Creative Commons licence (CC BY-SA 2.5).
The images above are copyright of Frank Parker unless stated.
The images above of me in my cool Freddy Krueger Halloween costume and of me, my niece Joanne, great nephew Archie and brother-in-law Ken are copyright of Julie Shingler.
The images above of me and my sister Julie are unknown because I can’t remember who took them?!
Creative Commons – Official website. They offer better sharing, advancing universal access to knowledge and culture, and fostering creativity, innovation, and collaboration.
The 1922 silent film Nosferatu is in the public domain.
Wikipedia – Official website. Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit in good faith. Its purpose is to benefit readers by containing information on all branches of knowledge. Hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, it consists of freely editable content, whose articles also have numerous links to guide readers to more information.