Halloween

A BARB to the suburban Houston school district that banned Halloween costumes this year, saying that they promote satanic worship.According to the Associated Press, the superintendent of the Aldine School District, Sonny Donaldson, reasons that, "subconsciously the costumes plant bad seeds in the children."Donaldson has apparently been watching too many reruns of the "Omen" movies. Children aren't the ones who can't separate fantasy from reality in this scenario.Has it been so long since the adults who made this decision were kids themselves, spending weeks preparing their costumes for the big day?

Michael Ian Black facetiously named his stand-up special "Very Famous" — but it's true, depending on whom you ask. Black, the snarky comedian best known for his pop-culture takedowns on VH1, is a cult-hero for his work on MTV's '90s sketch-comedy show "The State," playing McKinley in "Wet Hot American Summer" and as a strange bowling alley manager on the NBC show "Ed. " He's currently headlining his "Black is White" comedy tour (which stops...

For the last four years since I moved to the condominium where I live in Forest Hill, Halloween has been somewhat of an underwhelming affair. I have never had a single trick-or-treater. Not one. This is primarily due my development being comprised mostly of seniors and the facility having a security code at the front door that residents must type in upon entry which prevents kids from just coming into the building. But this year, I actually had to buy a bag of candy in anticipation of my new neighbors stopping by - the family that moved in next door to me includes two young children.

For the last four years since I moved to the condominium where I live in Forest Hill, Halloween has been somewhat of an underwhelming affair. I have never had a single trick-or-treater. Not one. This is primarily due my development being comprised mostly of seniors and the facility having a security code at the front door that residents must type in upon entry which prevents kids from just coming into the building. But this year, I actually had to buy a bag of candy in anticipation of my new neighbors stopping by - the family that moved in next door to me includes two young children.

It's the most frightening time of the year: Halloween is upon us again. Whether you dress up for a night on the town or turn out the lights to avoid trick-or-treaters, the Book Bag has you covered. Scaring up a good read will be the least of your worries. "Hypothermia" by Arnaldur Indridason Picador, $15 Arnaldur Indridason continues his Inspector Erlendur series here with a foray into the supernatural for the Reykjavik detective. Maria, a historian, has invited her friend, Karen, to use her country house for the weekend.

Some registered sex offenders in Anne Arundel County will be under surveillance on Halloween, police said. The Sex Offense Unit of the county's Criminal Investigations Division will use undercover detectives and patrol officers to ensure that certain registered sex offenders are not taking part in Halloween festivities, the police department said Saturday in a statement. The Maryland Division of Parole and Probation has identified specific offenders who are not allowed to have contact with children, police said.

At Stevens Forest Elementary School, as at many other Howard County schools, yesterday offered a chance for children to parade in their Halloween finery. Pupils from kindergarten through fifth grade at the Columbia school participated in singing Halloween songs and parading in their costumes on the blacktop.

Part of last summer's nature-find collection included brittle branches my kids snatched from the woodpile at our friend's cabin.They were just what we needed for a creepy Halloween table centerpiece.Actually any thin, bare branches will do. Paint them if you wish. Poke them in a clay pot and anchor them with floral foam.Decorate the container with orange or black construction paper and stickers. Cover the exposed foam or plaster with Spanish moss.Here are some ideas to decorate the spooky branches:* Poke orange and black gumdrops onto the branches.

Halloween is Irene Roth's favorite holiday.She celebrates by turning her Mount Airy front yard into a cocktail party from hell.The guest list includes 18 unsavory characters from your worst nightmare or favorite horror movie, gathered around a poor woman with a stake in her heart.Among others, Frankenstein, his bride, a Freddy Krueger type, a mummy and a witch decorate the yard."Most of the things I think of in this sick mind of mine," said Mrs. Roth, who moved to 1006 N. Main St. from New York in May.She and her husband, Mark, displayed their Halloween handiwork for the past 10 years from the porch of their Long Island home.

HIGH JINKS, haunted houses and masquerading spirits make Halloween a celebration for the young and the young at heart. The treats and tricks get under way early this year with events scheduled for this weekend.For those who like to see things that go bump in the night, gory and ghoulish haunted houses have been set up. Area parks are '' sponsoring ghost walks and hikes through spooky woods as well. And there will be hot chocolate and hot cider to warm the heart and toes after the walks.For parents worried about sending their kids out on unfamiliar streets Halloween night, some shopping malls have planned pumpkin decorating workshops, costume contests and store-to-store trick-or-treating.

This year's best Halloween costume award goes to Johnny Rad's Johnny Rad's , the super friendly Upper Fells Point pizzeria and restaurant dressed up for Halloween as Kelly's, the neighborhood watering hole that preceded it. Rich Pugh and company put up the old Kelly's sign and the staff wore Kelly's T-shirts. Best of all was one of Johnny Rad's accessories -- for the first time ever on Johnny Rad's beer list -- Coor's Light, a Kelly's staple.

Pictures of Ravens cheerleaders dressed in Halloween costumes during the Ravens home game against Buffalo on Sunday, October 24, in Baltimore. Welcome to our new mobile site! Here's a quick tour: • Find things to do: 10 Spot picks happening soon are highlighted at the top of the site. • Your second screen: Keep up with boob tube buzz while you watch on the TV Lust blog. • Food and drink tips: Check the Eats section for dinner and drink ideas.

Even though Consuming Interests blogger Liz Kay may have said goodbye to The Baltimore Sun , she's back as guest judge of the Cheap Halloween Costume Contest. Here's what she had to say about this year's entries. Our main winner will get the Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy, and our honorable mention will get a copy of Fast Five (the latest in the Fast and Furious franchise). Winners, stand by -- we'll be contacting you today on how to collect your prizes. We got some super impressive entries in Consuming Interests' first-ever Cheap Halloween Costume contest.

Astronauts, doctors, firemen, mad scientists, princesses and witches went door-knocking in Oakenshawe on Sunday. They looked awfully young for their chosen professions, but just the right age to be trick-or-treating. Dozens of children and their parents joined Oakenshawe's annual Halloween parade, while Remington scared up a good crowd for its new Hauntingdon event in the 2900 block of Huntingdon Avenue. The two events were among many in north Baltimore last weekend, including a Halloween Haunted Adventure at the Roosevelt Recreation Center in Hampden and merchant-sponsored trick-or-treating and a costume contest on The Avenue in Hampden.

In what is easily the concert of the season, Jay-Z and Kanye West perform Tuesday at 1st Mariner Arena. The two are promoting their collaboration, "Watch the Throne," which was released earlier this year and divided critics who either loved its ambition or were disappointed with the sum of its parts. The concert, though, is a meeting of two titans of the industry. Also this week: Halloween parties finish up, Oxes, Mister Heavenly, and dance parties at Lith Hall, Club Hippo and the Get Down.

Halloween costumes did not disappoint this weekend. I saw a zombie Qaddafi and an Utz Girl wearing a motorcycle helmet as hairdo, which justifiably won $50 bucks for best costume at Windup Space's party. Sadly, someone in Baltimore did not do the costume that seemed ubiquitous in Brooklyn: his and hers Beetlejuice masks . But maybe that'll change tonight. Halloween in Baltimore doesn't seem to be over: The Ottobar 's downstairs floor will be turned into a haunted house.

Tonight's Halloween show was hard to take seriously, what with all the special effects, overblown makeup and costumes, and ridiculous props. Fun, nonetheless. Cheesiest props: J.R. Martinez and partner Karina Smirnoff for use of caskets, fake lightning and even a proton gun in a tango set to music from "Ghostbusters. " And then there was Karina's costume -- an inexplicable mix of feathery white fringe from head to heels covering her backside, but just bits of flesh-toned leotard up front.

A gal with a meat cleaver embedded in her head. A living skeleton. Lots of witches, with pointy hats and long noses. And plenty of guys dressed like your host for the evening, the estimable author and, though dead for 162 years, favorite son of old Baltimore, Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. Such was the scene Sunday night at the Westminster Hall and Burying Grounds. Hundreds gathered to tour the centuries-old cemetery and catacombs, be entertained by one of its most famous residents — that would be Poe, buried here after dying in Baltimore under still-unexplained circumstances in 1849 — and, not coincidentally, do their part to help the home he once lived in remain open as a museum and tourist attraction.