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NCE IN A
BLUE MOON charley thomas staff writer
H
alloween this year will be unique from the rest for one specific reason unrelated to the coronavirus — in true 2020 fashion, the holiday will host the rare solar event of a blue moon. To put this into perspective, there will only be 11 blue moons on Halloween throughout both the 20th and 21st centuries, the most recent one having been 19 years ago in 2001. In the last 19 years, a lot has changed. From movies to candy to costumes, everything has had its Halloween trends go in and out of style, and this article will help you to see just how much can happen between two particularly spooky blue moons.
MOVIES 2001
“Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge,” a childhood favorite for many, was released to theaters across the country on Oct. 12, 2001. The movie came as a sequel to the original “Halloweentown” released in 1998 that, despite having a budget of only $4 million, received generally positive reviews from kids and adults alike. It follows an adventure of Marnie Cromwell, a young and particularly talented witch, that must stop an evil warlock from sabotaging Halloween night. Kalabar, the warlock antagonist, has stolen Marnie’s grandmother’s all-powerful spellbook, and he plans to use it to turn humans into their costumes permanently at the stroke of midnight. The movie included many Halloween traditions like bobbing for apples, decorating with spider webs and cauldrons and dancing to songs such as “Monster Mash” and “Thriller” to help get its audience into the fall spirit.
2020
The star-studded movie “Hubie Halloween” premiered Oct. 7 on Netflix. Set in Salem, Massachusetts, perhaps the most eerie town in America, the film focuses on the devoted outcast of the town, Hubie (Adam Sandler), who is more often than not the victim of his community’s pranks and mockery. This Halloween, however, Salem finds itself in the midst of a murder investigation, and it’s up to Hubie to save his beloved town as well as it’s favorite holiday. The stunning cast of “Hubie Halloween” has been the reason for much of its publicity, sporting a seemingly endless list of accomplished actors like Maya Rudolph, Kevin James, China Anne McClain and Shaquille O’Neal. As Halloween restrictions continue to be set because of the coronavirus, a home-showing of “Hubie Halloween” with friends and family may emerge as a popular celebration of the ghostly holiday.
