Best costumes of the day, part four

OK, here's one more batch of your creative getups -- have fun tonight, and don't bite into anything unwrapped. The readers: Nathan M. as Ed Scissorhands; Wesley T. as Earl from My Name is Earl; Mandel I. as Howie Mandel (yes, his name is really Mandel!); Corina B.'s brother and his crayons; Jill S. as a "fry girl" with Ronald McDonald and Col. Sanders; Tom S. as Superman; and Michael R. as Hunter S. Thompson with an unnamed Bob Ross.

 

An all-night ghost hunt

The guys on Sci Fi Channel's Ghost Hunters may have their work cut out for them tonight; then again, we could be in for an evening of incredibly boring television.

Starting at 11 p.m. ET, the team will explore the Stanley Hotel -- inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining -- on live TV for six hours. You'll also be able to watch video feeds and send tips online, so keep checking the show's site throughout the evening. If you decide to stay up all night to watch, I certainly hope they find something good ...

Candy, scares and free food

Before I share some more costumes, here's one more roundup of festive links:

- What's better: Snickers or Nestle Crunch? (I say it's easy -- Snickers tops all!) ESPN's Page 2 has started a candy bracket to determine the greatest sweet of all. Thanks to Stuart S. for the tip.

- Want a free burrito for dinner? Put some tinfoil on your head and go to Chipotle. (I hope Lindsay W. got one!)

- Did you jump when Carrie's hand came out of the ground? It's OK -- most of us did. Here's a list of the scariest movie moments. Psycho's shower scene nabs the No. 1 spot.

- Radar has a fun feature on the 10 best horror villains of all time. How have I lived this long without seeing Sleepaway Camp?

- AfterElton.com has compiled "The Gay Character's Guide to Surviving a Straight Horror Film." Rule No. 1: "You don't."

- Last week's This American Life had a Halloween theme, including a "spooky story by David Sedaris." You can listen for free online.

Best costumes of the day, part three

Wow, these costumes get better and better -- below you'll see David G. as Ricky Bobby; Warner A. as Charlie Chaplin; Suzie G. and Lyns A. as Jem (truly outrageous!); Caitlin D. and Kathy as Thing 1 and Thing 2 from The Cat in the Hat; Adam J. and pals as the awesome Lebowski crew; Sonja L. as Deputy Johnson with Lt. Dangle from Reno 911!; and Craig E. and Hillary as a convincing Dwight and Angela from The Office.

Exclusive excerpt: 'Monsters'

If you're a monster-movie buff, a new book may strike your fancy: Monsters: A Celebration of the Classics from Universal Studios (Del Rey Books, $29.95) is filled with stills and never-before-seen photos from Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Creature from the Black Lagoon and other classics. In addition, John Landis, Gloria Stuart, Jennifer Beals and other stars contribute essays.

Below is a piece from the book by Sara Karloff, daughter of horror-movie legend Boris Karloff. You can only read it on Pop Candy:

"My Father, the Monster"

I've been asked to tell you about my father, Boris Karloff, and believe me, that's a formidable task indeed!

I can start by telling you that he was the antithesis of the roles he played. He was an elegant, articulate, well-educated, warm, funny man who loved children and animals. He was soft-spoken, gentle of spirit, kind to the very core of his being. He was a good listener, a quick study, an avid reader. He loved gardening and was passionate about the British game of cricket. His idea of heaven was to sit at the oval with his good friend Bernie Coleman and watch a cricket match. He was the quintessential English gentleman.

Those who knew him professionally admired him. Those who knew him personally adored him.

My father was born in 1887 in Camberwell, a suburb of London. He was the youngest of nine children, eight boys and one girl. All the boys, including my father, were formally educated for the diplomatic service, which was a family tradition, and most served in India and China. One brother, John, was actually knighted for his service in China, and my father always referred to him as "my  brother, the sir."

My father was orphaned at a young age and was raised by a half sister. Of course, it was expected that he would follow in the footsteps of his father and older brothers by joining the diplomatic service. But my father soon came to have other ideas. Many days, when he should have been in school, he would sneak into London's theaters, and there he was bitten by the acting bug. Yet despite his passion, he did not actually set foot on the stage for many years.

Have you carved your pumpkin yet?

The festive links continue:

- This person set up a camera to film their Halloween pumpkin rotting in their basement for 14 days. The result only lasts 17 seconds.

- Speaking of pumpkins, if you're tired of the typical Jack-o'-lantern, check out ExtremePumpkins.com. There, you'll learn how to carve "The Puking Pumkin," conjoined pumpkins and other creepy-looking creations.

- Here's a cool project for Battlestar Galactica fans: the Cylon-o'-lantern!

- As always, the Food Network has a ton of ideas for Halloween parties, cocktails, activities and what to do with those pumpkins when you're done cutting them up.

- Balloon Manor is a haunted house in upstate New York made entirely out of balloons. It's too late to visit this year, but you can still take the interactive tour. Thanks to Steve K. for the tip.

- Who's the best screamer? Vote now.

- In today's podcast, I play you a track from the new Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack. Here's a video from another song on the disc, Marilyn Manson's This is Halloween.

Best costumes of the day, part two

Here's another batch of readers' Halloween pics: Below we have Carlos M. as a scary clown with She-Ra in Monterrey, Mexico; Chapin A. as Jack Sparrow with Rahul P. as Mr. Incredible; Nicole F. and her boyfriend as Double Dare contestants; Ashley G. as Britney Spears; and John and Jessica Fu as John Lennon and Yoko Ono (he's Yoko). Give 'em some candy!

Costume-related diversions

A few Halloween-y links:

- Can you remember what your favorite TV characters wore during Halloween episodes? AOL has posted this fun costume quiz.

- If you thought your outfit was snazzy, just wait until you see what people wore to the annual ILM-Lucasfilm-LucasArts Halloween Party last weekend ...

- I love Retrocrush's roundup of the worst costumes of all time.

Look for more holiday-themed posts throughout the day.

Podcast: A mix of new music

For this week's podcast, I wanted to do something a little different: Since I had a stack of good CDs sitting on my desk, I scrapped the interviews and decided to make you a virtual mix tape instead.

Tune in to hear a bunch of new songs by some artists you've heard of (Fiona Apple, Borat) and a few you haven't (Swan Lake, Kristoffer Ragnstam, Tralala). I hope I've put together something that makes your morning jog, cubicle time or evening commute a little more bearable.

Here's how to listen (for free, of course):

- Download via iTunes

- Stream as a Windows Media file

For other options, check out my RSS feed. To see an archive of my podcasts, subscribe via iTunes or visit this page. Thanks for listening!

Breakup of the week

I neglected to mention the Reese-Ryan split, but how much can one say? Last night my husband and I were trying to think of all of the long-lasting celebrity relationships where the women were more famous. We could only come up with four: Oprah (with Stedman since 1986), Madonna (married since 2000), Dolly Parton (married since 1966) and Meryl Streep (married since 1978).

Anyone else? I say it has to have lasted at least five years, so Julia Roberts doesn't count.