Spooky Online

How did they ever do Halloween without the Internet? I find myself asking a version of this question about once a day, but the Web really does come in handy when holidays roll around.

First, there's the whole reason for the season question. I sometimes find myself wishing I had not been so distracted by the prospect of candy in elementary school when the teacher was explaining the origins of Halloween. That's where Wikipedia comes in. They have an entry on just about everything, and I find myself starting searches there with increasing frequency.

So, now that I know that a jack-o'-lantern originated in the UK and was a carved turnip before the Americas contributed pumpkins to the tradition, I need ideas for clever carvings. I could do a general search, but I really want a stunning squash, so I'll check flickr for pumpkins people liked enough to photograph and share.

I like my Cartman pumpkin so much, I want to throw a party. I'll need some menu help. What do people eat on Halloween, besides candy? How about Sea Creature Soup with Slime Ailoli? Emeril thinks that and a little Vampire Chicken with "Blood" Braise should provide some nutrients before the sugar rush. That's just one possible menu when I have a browser handy. Epicurious offers a number of ideas.

Alright, I'm hosting this party, so I have to have a cool costume. I was so busy trying to get the menu together I didn't really have time to order a costume online, even though I could still get one via overnight delivery. And I've spent a little too much money on the food, so I want something clever, but inexpensive. I could do an image search for: mummy costume. Those seem a bit more involved than I want to get into this year, so I do some poking around and find some cute notions here. Or, as I did last year, I could do something really clever and low maintenance. Where was that site...? Oh, right: it was a site like the Costume Idea Zone where I learned, hours before going to a party that I could easily become a Waist of Time.

Wow. The 'net has made it so easy to find what I need for Halloween, I have some time to search Evite for a haunted house in my area.