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Below are the
top thirteen events that we believe were important to
Halloween in the Twentieth century.
"Halloween
Capital of the World"
 In
1920, Anoka, Minnesota civic leaders suggest the idea of a
town wide Halloween celebration, including a Halloween parade
to stem the tide of pranks.
Bags of popcorn, candy, peanuts and other treats were given
away to the children who had marched in the parade.
Halloween celebrations
have been held in Anoka every year since 1920, with the
exception of 1942 and 1943. In 1937, Anoka proclaimed its
self the Halloween Capital of the World.
"Wilton
Enterprises"
 Since 1929, Wilton has offered the very best selection of
baking, cake decorating, candy making and cookie making
ingredients, accessories and tools for creating
wonderful looking and tasting Halloween treats.
In addition to their
great product line, Wilton also offers seasonal classes and publications that
can help just about anyone to create holiday desserts and serve
them with a spooky
flair.
"War of
the Worlds"
 On
October 30, 1938, Mercury Theatre radio aired their
Halloween special, an adaptation of the H. G. Wells book
"War of the Worlds" , hosted by Orson Welles'. Beginning at
8:00pm, millions of listeners were shocked when radio news
alerts announced the invasion of Martians, initially landing
in Grovers Mill, New Jersey.
Many listeners believed what
they were hearing was the real thing and some people even
panicked.
"Peeps"
 Since
1952, Peeps, those sweet little marshmallow candies have
been a holiday favorite and tradition. Halloween Peeps
include bats, cats, pumpkins, and ghosts.
Although the
original Peeps were standard marshmallow flavor, some of the
newer flavors including cocoa for the Halloween cats and
bats. The basic ingredients for Peeps is marshmallow, sugar,
gelatin, and carnauba wax.
"Vampira"
 In
1954,
Vampira became the first horror show host on television. From
1954-1955, the show was broadcast on the Los Angeles based
television station KABC-TV.
The Vampira Show televised
mostly low budget suspense films and set the stage for a
multitude of hosted horror shows. Portrayed by actress Maila
Nurmi, who's television persona was inspired by Charles
Addams "Morticia Addams" character.
"It's The
Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!"
 In 1966, children were thrilled by this twenty-five minute
long animated Halloween special based on the Charles Shultz
"Peanuts" comic strip characters. How can you get into the
Halloween spirit without watching this one?
It's a definite
classic for young and old alike, with Linus is waiting for the Great
Pumpkin while those around him trick or treat. Will he be
rewarded for his vigilance or left out in the cold once?
"Halloween - The Original"
 In 1978, the classic horror movie "Halloween" was released
into theaters and became the highest-grossing independent
movie ever made at that time.
Due to its meager budget of
only $300,000.00, the prop department used the cheapest mask
that they could find, a
Captain Kirk (William Shatner) mask. They spray-painted the
face white, teased out the hair, and reshaped the eye holes
to give it a more sinister appearance.
"Elvira, Mistress of the Dark"
 In 1981, Cassandra
Peterson was hired by KHJ-TV in Los Angeles as hostess for
their "Movie Macabre" television program that featured
low budget horror movies.
She developed the "Elvira" character with
make-up artist and costume designer Robert Redding. In 1982,
"Movie Macabre" received an Emmy award nomination
and the show goes into nationwide syndication.
Elvira is considered
to be the "Queen
of Halloween".
"Pumpkin Masters"
 In
1987, Paul Bardeen invents and markets the first pumpkin
carving tools and templates kit allowing the creation of
intricate, decorative Jack O' Lantern designs.
The tradition
of carving pumpkins has never been the same since the
introduction of Pumpkin Masters' pumpkin carving kit. New
pumpkin carving templates were added almost every year,
allowing people to make new and even more elaborate carvings
every Halloween.
"The
Simpsons - Treehouse of Horror"
 In
1990, The Fox Television Network airs a "Simpsons" Halloween
special called, the "Treehouse of Horror". The Simpson's Halloween special has become a annual tradition on
the animated television series and are much
anticipated by its fans.
Every Halloween episode contain
three independent segments, each featuring a different
spooky storyline. Unfortunately, Fox has not released the
full collection onto DVD.
"Halloween Online"
 In
1994, Halloween Online,
went online October 31st. as a dedicated Halloween
magazine.
It did not have its own
domain name (halloween-online.com) until June 1998, when it
was launched as a full featured, free standing Halloween
website. Today, it is the Internet's largest and oldest content
driven Halloween site, and flagship of the Halloween
Online Family of Websites.
"The Haunted History of Halloween"
 In 1997, the History Channel aired this
well researched, detailed and unbiased Halloween documentary hosted by Harry Smith.
The show takes us through a three-thousand year
journey of the pagan holiday, which has become one of America's most popular
holidays. Available on
DVD, it is simply a must have for anyone who loves Halloween and
wants to learn more about its ancient history.
"Martha Stewart"
 In
1999, the first "Martha
Stewart's Halloween Special: Bad Things, Good Things", aired
on cable television.
This episode demonstrated Martha's
love for the spooky holiday, and featured a variety of
simple how-to Halloween decorating tips and craft related
projects.
Her popular magazine, "Martha Stewart Living", has
also had several special Halloween issues printed over the
years.
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