Beth, you've never heard of the Bravo show?! Oh my goodness! Given your love of horror and scary stuff, you should most definitely see it.
The original "100 Scariest Movie Moments" must have aired in 2005 or 2006, I think. Can't quite recall which year. It was
exactly like one of those VH1 countdown shows (i.e., "100 Greatest Hard Rock Artists of All Time," "100 Greatest Songs of All Time," etc.) - it was 5 hours long, and one hour aired every night for one week, counting down from #100 to #1, and there were all kinds of notable people commenting on the scenes they are listing. It is a great show. They not only show scenes from scary movies that everyone knows (like the bunny boiling in "Fatal Attraction") but they show scenes from movies we've never heard of - but which look more grotesque, disturbing and demented than one could imagine!!
And then the follow-up, "Even Scarier Movie Moments" aired the next year - I'm thinking it was in 2007. This one was only 2 hours and it aired in one night, but it included newer movies that hadn't made it on to the first show/list. And then the third installment - which was some variation of that "Scary Movie Moments" title - was only one hour and it aired in 2008, I believe.
I hate to say it - because I'm hoping this is not the case this year - but I think Bravo did not air any of the Scary Movie Moments shows last year. I remember looking for them all during Halloween season and never saw them listed. I hope they bring them back. Otherwise, maybe you can find them on DVD.
Okay, that location you describe about the L.A. Haunted Hayride sounds like it would be a good location for hatchet-wielding maniacs to run loose and chase after people!!
I don't know how I never heard of it.
I love those villages too - I thought the Halloween carnival/amusement park idea was a great one. Actually, I think Dept. 56 was a great addition to Downtown Disney and I think it fit very well into the whole Disney magic thing. I was very disappointed when they closed that location.
What happens at Frightdome? Is it the 'killers running loose and chasing after you' premise that happens at Halloween Horror Nights and House of Shock and all that? Or is something else?
I wanted to say - I adore Christmas time. But I don't have the same pressure to buy things anymore as I used to, or as other people might have to buy (like you were explaining earlier, Beth). I stopped sending out hundreds of cards and getting dozens of presents for people. When I have money, I really enjoy getting things for people or making really fun stuff, but there is no expectation of that from people I know. I enjoy the kind of ritual of exchanging presents and decorating a tree, a home, an office or wherever. I don't do that every year so it's a novelty to me when I do it. But basically, these days I enjoy Christmas for the sensory experience - I like the carols/songs, I like the holiday food and the aromas (pine, cinnamon, peppermint, gingerbread), I like the TV specials on the Travel Channel, I like the old, hokey Rankin-Bass/"Frosty the Snowman"/"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," etc., shows, I like the beautiful lights, decorations and colors and all that. I like the cool, crisp air. I love it all.
BUT, all of that said - even though I absolutely love Christmas time - I do agree 100% that there should not be so much of an overlap of holidays. We shouldn't be seeing Christmas stuff when Halloween hasn't even happened. It's hard to really enjoy one holiday when another one is already being forced upon you. I don't think we should start seeing signs of Christmas candy and Christmas knick-knacks until after Halloween is over and November is well underway. It would make the most sense to trot out all the holiday stuff and have it ready in time for when Thanksgiving ends. I would like to see more of a separation of holidays and a clearer line between when one holiday ends and another begins!! Right now, they all blend together!
), but I think that pieces of the same exact villages are sold every Fall in Michael's, with new pieces of the set released each year. 
Frankly, I am too jumpy and squeamish to endure a haunted hayride in the dark hills of Hollywood because I know that hatchet-wielding maniacs come running at you on haunted hayrides. And in L.A., they might be real hatchet-wielding maniacs and it could be too hard to tell the fake ones from the real ones!!
Then when they get down to a really good price the ones I want are gone. I've got my eye on the skull ferris wheel. I've lived in the LA area all my life too and have never heard of the Haunted Hayride. That sounds like something I'd love.
