Do you feel that chill in the air? Fall is approaching, which means Halloween is right around the corner and I couldn’t be happier.
Spooky season is the best for many reasons but for the LGBTQ+ community it’s a field day. And cue the Halloween music mixed with Gaga.
Halloween is a day where you can be whatever you want and so can everyone else. For our community it’s a day to show off the skills you have with crafting a homemade costume and sewing an outfit together. The LGBTQ+ community is known for being artistic and talented.
For many years, I would dress up as a female character like Poison Ivy, a vampire or the Grim Reaper’s wife from a children’s show called “The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy,” but last year was different.
As I felt more comfortable in my sexuality, I looked for male characters to dress as. It’s something so little that can make you feel empowered, yet it can make such a difference. I chose to be Patrick Bateman from “American Psycho” and I wore a suit.
Clothing has such an impact on confidence and let me tell you I felt very good in that suit and receiving positive feedback from my community made me realize I don’t have to stick to gender norms.
Making that change is something I encourage everyone to do. Be something or someone that you usually wouldn’t be and if it’s another gender then I encourage you even more. Take that risk and the reward will be so much greater. You won’t worry about how you are perceived as it’s the night to wear whatever you want.
With how much movies and TV have evolved there are more queer characters to pick from than ever, especially for queer couple costumes. You can be Lestat and Louis from “Interview With the Vampire” or PJ and Josie from “Bottoms.” Or really any character in “Bottoms.”
There are also easier ways to have a costume that isn’t from a show or movie, but you can still put your own spin on it. One of my favorites is a witch with her black cat with someone as the witch and someone else as the cat, or a deer caught in the headlights with someone being the deer and the other person being the headlights. It’s important to have fun with it and be creative.
There are no rules when it comes to Halloween and when the costume is more outrageous usually the better it is. The holiday originated long ago with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. The day marked the end of summer and the beginning of winter.
Over time of course the holiday has changed into a day of activities and fun. Halloween movies are more popular than ever and first took off in 1978 with the classic “Halloween,” based on Michael Myers.
I was raised on scary movies by my grandmother. We still watched the children’s movies but our go to was scary movies. My grandmother has two large DVD towers that hold probably over 60 scary movies. I have loved watching scary movies since then, it oddly brings me comfort.
One of our favorites was “Chucky,” and I may have been too young to listen to his character curse and kill but we would watch the entire series. Most recently, there was a show based on his character that ended in 2024 and had three seasons. Clearly people still love the killer doll and his attitude.
Some of my favorites this year have been “Weapons,” “The Long Walk,” “28 Years Later” and “The Monkey.” A special mention will be “Companion” as I really enjoyed watching something very different from the other scary movies. If scary movies interest you I highly recommend the ones listed.
In this issue, we chat with Tina Romero, daughter of the late George A. Romero, about her feature-film debut “Queens of the Dead.” It’s presented by Independent Film Company and Shudder, which called it “a thrilling new chapter in the legacy of horror royalty.”
In Central Florida news coverage, a second “No Kings” protest was held Oct. 18 outside City Hall in downtown Orlando and Come Out With Pride celebrated its 21st Orlando Pride later that same day. In Tampa Bay news coverage, a new chapter of Pride in Tampa could come after the organization’s hiatus for 2026 and Sapphic St. Pete will make its debut in November.
I hope you will continue to support Watermark Out News and trust us to be your LGBTQ+ news source and have a safe but spooky Halloween.
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