The Countdown To Halloween Begins!

The calendar flips. The lingering summer heat has gone, replaced by a crisp chill in the air. Lush, green vegetation begins its annual organic decay, illuminating to an inferno of yellow, orange, red and brown. The sound of fallen leaves crunch as you walk on a frost covered morning. The stiff flutter of dried cornstalks gathered in bunches. The first pumpkins gathered from their patches. The scents of cinnamon spices, wood fires, dried leaves and candy corn. Pumpkin coffee, pumpkin bread, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin beer, pumpkin cereal, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin treats. I don't care. I want it all. This. Is. October.

A tense, euphoric adrenaline blasts through my veins. To most, October signals the end. But to us, it signals the beginning. An awakened spark of energy. Invigorated creativity. Absolute excitement. A 31 day celebration of Fall. And, of Hallowe'en. The High Holiday. Samhain. All Hallows Eve. Jack-o-lanterns, monsters, costumes, candy, haunted houses, trick-or-treat. Truly, can there be a better time of year? Not for us...

Welcome to the Countdown to Halloween, 2017! Our annual 31-day celebration of all things Halloween. As in previous years, I have a full month of posts ready to go. My hands shake with excitement as I look down the list. 

We'll have the annual Cemetery Sundays segment, in which I roam local cemeteries, photographing the ornate beauty of older tombstones and epitaphs (come back later today for our first installment!). I'll also be showing all of the new props, along with how-tos, that will be revealed in this year's edition of the Highbury Cemetery yard haunt. Sprinkle in various Halloween and haunt-themed music and art, as well as our annual t-shirt contest and our annual Freebie Fridays segments (you know, where you get FREE stuff!?), and we are in for one hell of a party. It will all culminate on the big night, with the reveal of Highbury Cemetery, 2017!

So welcome back to all the old friends and visitors and welcome to the new ones! Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to look around! I'm going to be posting like mad for the next 31 days, so stop back daily for more fun. And don't forget to check out the Highbury Cemetery YouTube Channel and Instagram page for even more Halloween-themed goodness.

October is finally here. Let's get the party started...