My First Halloween Mood Table!

Although a fairly recent tradition at 10 years old, Halloween Mood Tables have captured the imagination of monster kids everywhere. Created by Madd Matt back in 2007, the concept is simple: designate a spot in your home and make it Halloween Headquarters. It can be an end table, a dining room table, a coffee table, or even a folding chair. Some people have utilized setups as primitive as a two-by-four over cinder blocks. Whatever the base, it just needs to be a spot that makes you happy and screams "HALLOWEEN" to all who see it. Basically, it's a Christmas tree for October 31st.

There's no right or wrong way to put one of these together. Every Halloween Mood Table is personal and made for and by its owner. Mine includes Ghostbusters Funko Pops, LEGO minifigures, and activity books from when I was a kid. Others might have a place for candy, a pumpkin, or more elaborate dioramas illustrating horror movie scenes. Madd Matt has offered some basic tips, if you're interested in crafting one yourself: Illumination is effective, choose things that matter to you and say "this is Halloween" and of course, enjoy yourself. You can theme it, or let it be a (monster) mash of different things. Go wild and get creative!

While always an avid celebrator of Halloween, I had never done an HMT. Over the last few years, it's really taken off, with hundreds of people putting together their own ghastly shrines. Even a couple celebrities have gotten in on the creepy fun. So, what with this being the 10th year since its inception and having a nice large dining table I never use, now seemed like the perfect time to join in.

Here's a look at my Halloween Mood Table for this year. Some of the best bits: 

1. The one-eyed skeleton candle holder with the color-changing eye.

2. The Pennywhistle Halloween Book. The bible of Halloween celebrations and required reading every year.

3. LEGO trick-or-treaters with their own pumpkin pails.

Here's another peek at it in this quick video (warning and apologies, the quality is non-existent. My computer lied to me):

Again, all credit goes to Madd Matt for his brilliant idea and for sharing it with the world. Find more great stuff at his website by clicking here. and from there, you can find his excellent Youtube and Facebook pages too! In the meantime, if you've got a Halloween Mood Table, we wanna see it! Post pics in the comments or tweet them at us!

I Have A Question for You This October

October is just around the corner.  A busy time of year for the Drive-In.  There's the Countdown to Halloween, of course, for which Rabbi no doubt has plenty of ghoulish delights up his sleeves.  As for myself, I struggled for a while with something to do to celebrate my favorite time of the year.  I want to do a marathon of a supremely spooky series, but which one?  Well, Tales from the Crypt is a bit gore-y for my tastes.  The Twilight Zone has been analyzed to death.  I'm craving something... old, but not too old.  Something that really scratches that nostalgic itch I've been feeling.  Something to fit this frightful holiday.  Finally, I thought of the perfect show.  Which leads me to my question...