Candyman, The Man Who Killed Halloween

One of the most famous urban legends related to Halloween is that of the poisoned candies while kids go out trick or treating. 

 But is there any truth behibd this story?

 

On Halloween night 1974, perhaps the worst Halloween crime in living memory occurred. Father-of-two Ronald O'Bryan laced candy with cyanide and poisoned his son earning him the name The Candyman.

That night, Ronald O'Bryan, a father from suburban Deer Park, Texas, who had volunteered to take his son and friends trick-or-treating in nearby Pasadena, fatally poisoned his 8-year-old son Timothy with a Pixy Stix laced with cyanide. At trial, it was found that O'Bryan had opened the Stix, added the cyanide and stapled it back shut.

Four other friends were also given the poisoned Stix, which O'Bryan claimed had been given to the boys while trick-or-treating at a darkened home.

None of the other boys ingested the candy, though one was found asleep that night with the candy in his hand; he had been unable to remove O'Bryan's staple.

Prosecutors said O'Bryan pushed his son into eating the candy before going to bed Halloween night. After complaining of the bitter taste, the boy went to bed, but moments later he began vomiting. By the time he was taken to a nearby hospital, Timothy had died. 

Two days after the boy's burial, an insurance agent discovered that O'Bryan had taken out a $40,000 life insurance policy on each of his children prior to Timothy's death, unbeknownst to their mother.

A jury convicted O'Bryan of murder in less than an hour. He was executed in 1984 by lethal injection.

His fellow prisoners had named him the "Candy Man." Many longtime people still remember him as the man who killed Halloween.

Links:

• Chron
• Wikipedia
• Mirror
• Click2Houston
• Murderpedia

Haunted Houses

Lots of haunted houses to discover. Don't miss them!!!

Halloween Jokes

Some jokes to have fun...

Halloween! Wiki for Kids

Happy Halloween! It's time for a Kids Wiki all about Halloween traditions, Halloween costumes, Halloween facts, and HALLOWEEN CANDY! So put on your costume and let's celebrate the happiest day of the year! 

Donald Duck - Trick Or Treat - 1952

Trick or Treat is a 1952 animated short film produced by Walt Disney. This cartoon, which takes place on Halloween night, follows a series of pranks between Donald Duck and his nephews. The film introduced the song Trick or Treat for Halloween which was written by Paul J. Smith and performed by The Mellowmen.

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat for Halloween

Better give a treat that's good to eat

If you want to keep life serene

Trick or Treat (Trick or Treat)

Trick or Treat (Trick or Treat)

Trick or Treat the whole night through

Little scalawags

With fiendish gags

Can make it tough on you

So when ghosts and goblins by the score

Ring the bell on your front door

Better not be stingy or

Your nightmares will come true

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat for Halloween

When the pumpkin shells

Cast evil spells

Your little white house turns green

Your little white house turns green

Your little white house turns green

Every post

Is a ghost

If you've got a witch's brew

And if you want your gate to circulate

Ho ho! We can do that too!

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat for Halloween

When ghosts and goblins by the score

Ring the bell on your front door

You'd better not be stingy or

Your nightmares will come true

So when ghosts and goblins by the score

Ring your bell or pound your door

Better not be stingy or…

BOOO!

Michael Jackson's Thriller (Long Version)

 

Michael Jackson's Thriller (Lyrics + Album Version)

[1st verse]

It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark

Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart

You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it

You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes,

You're paralyzed

[Chorus]

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night

And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike

You know it's thriller, thriller night

You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight

[2nd verse]

You hear the door slam and realize there's nowhere left to run

You feel the cold hand and wonder if you'll ever see the sun

You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination, girl

But all the while you hear the creature creepin' up behind

You're out of time

[Chorus]

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night

There ain't no second chance against the thing with forty eyes, girl

Thriller, thriller night

You're fighting for your life inside of killer, thriller tonight

[Bridge]

Night creatures call and the dead start to walk in their masquerade

There's no escapin' the jaws of the alien this time

(They’re open wide)

This is the end of your life

[3rd verse]

They're out to get you, there's demons closing in on every side

They will possess you unless you change the number on your dial

Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together, yeah.

All through the night I'll save you from the terror on the screen,

I'll make you see

[Chorus]

That this is thriller, thriller night

'Cause I can thrill you more than any ghoul would ever dare try

Thriller, thriller night

So let me hold you tight and share a killer, diller, chiller, thriller here tonight

[Chorus]

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night

Girl I can thrill you more than any ghoul would ever dare try

Thriller, thriller night

So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller

I'm gonna thrill you tonight

[Rap performed by Vincent Price]

Darkness falls across the land

The midnight hour is close at hand

Creatures crawl in search of blood

To terrorize your neighborhood

And whosoever shall be found

Without the soul for getting down

Must stand and face the hounds of hell

And rot inside a corpse's shell

The foulest stench is in the air

The funk of forty thousand years

And grisly ghouls from every tomb

Are closing in to seal your doom

And though you fight to stay alive

Your body starts to shiver

For no mere mortal can resist

The evil of the thriller

[Into maniacal laugh, in deep echo]

The Orcs

The Orcs is a presentation that we worked during the Castanyada Season 2010. It has been seen at school already, but you can enjoy it once again.

Halloween Fun

If you want to have fun this Halloween, just click on the links and try a lot of on-line games at:

Squigly’sGames

FWG

HalloweenArcade

Let's have some more fun for this Halloween.

First, you can create your how scary story clicking here.

Secondly, send a free Halloween eGreeting card to a mate, a friend and family... 

The Witch and the Cat (Halloween Story)

Once upon a time a cat fell in love with a handsome young man. The cat went to a witch and asked her to change her into a pretty young woman, so that she might marry the young man.

The witch agreed, for she cared nothing for the young man, or whom he married.

The cat, who was now a pretty girl, moved into the cottage next to the young man's home and soon they were engaged to be married.

However, the boy's mother, who knew something of witchcraft, did not like the girl. She did not like her green eyes which had black slits like cat's eyes, instead of round pupils as ordinary humans have.

The mother suspected that the girl was really a cat and told her son. However, he would hear nothing against his sweetheart and said his mother was merely jealous.

Determined that her son should not marry a cat, the mother waited until the whole family was seated in the parlour, then she let loose a mouse to run across the room. Immediately the girl, forgetting she was a young lady and only remembering her cat's feelings, pounced on the mouse and shook it in her mouth.

Then the young man believed the girl was a cat and the marriage did not take place; and the girl went back to being a cat and took up her old ways...

The Kingdom of Witches

The Kingdom of Witches

At the end of the world

On an island alone,

Lies a city of secrets,

Mortar and stone.

Surrounded by serpents,

Spirits and spells,

The Kingdom of Witches

In mystery dwells.

Through the dungeons and ditches,

Strange shadows and lights

Fill the nooks and the niches

With unearthly sights.

Sultans and sages

From Karth and Darbeen,

Seek the counsel and favor

Of the Witch King and Queen.

Squadrons of crones

On brooms to and fro,

Fly cackling on errands

To the city below.

Each witch house and hut

Holds thrills, chills, and frights,

And plots, pits, and perils,

On long witchy nights.

So, if you would learn

Of each hex, curse, and potion,

And the march of the dead

At the end of the ocean

Then set you a course

To where no compass tells,

And the Kingdom of Witches

In mystery dwells.

Halloween Vocabulary

If you want to learn the main vocabulary for the Halloween Holiday, take a look at this presentation:

Halloween Facts

Halloween falls on the 31st October of every year and is a time when people dress in scary costumes, go trick or treating and play traditional Halloween games, such as apple bobbing.

Halloween involves a variety of traditions from different cultures and religions and there are many interpretations of these.

The word Halloween is a modern interpretation of its original name, All Hallow's Eve. The first day of November was traditionally celebrated by the Catholic Church as All Hallow's Day when they took time to pay their respects to the saints.

The date of Halloween, 31st October, marked the end of the Celtic year and was believed to be the day when the spirits of those who died in the previous year would come back and possess a body of the living to allow themselves into the afterlife. However, the people who were living were not keen on being possessed and would dress up in scary costumes to try and frighten away spirits.

How did the tradition of trick or treating come about?

Trick or treating nowadays involves dressing up in costumes and knocking on neighbours doors for treats. If treats are not given then tricks are played on the neighbour. Trick or treating is thought to have come from a traditional European custom called 'souling'. It is believed that Christians used to go from door to door in villages to ask for soul cakes and for every cake you gave them they would say a prayer for one of your dead relatives.

What is apple bobbing and where does it come from?

The Romans used to celebrate Pomona, their goddess of fruit, in October and the symbol for Pomona was an apple. It is believed that this is where the Halloween tradition of apple bobbing comes from. Apple bobbing is a game traditionally played on Halloween. A number of apples are placed in a large bowl of water. Players have to try to catch one of the apples using only their teeth. The hands must remain behind the back at all times.

Where does the name Jack O'Lantern originate from?

Carving a face in a pumpkin and placing a candle inside is to represent the Irish folklore about a man called Jack. It is thought that Jack was a notorious trickster and once even managed to trap Satan up a tree. When Jack died, he was refused from heaven because of his bad behaviour and as revenge; Satan refused Jack entry into hell, but gave him a single ember to guide him through the darkness. The ember was said to be placed inside a turnip to make it last longer. Over time the turnip has changed to a pumpkin.

Monster Mash

To celebrate Halloween 2012, why not to listen to this song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett and watch this amazing video clip...

Let's have an eye on the lyrics:

I was working in the lab late one night When my eyes beheld an eerie sight For my monster from his slab began to rise And suddenly to my surprise He did the mash He did the monster mash The monster mash It was a graveyard smash He did the mash It caught on in a flash He did the mash He did the monster mash From my laboratory in the castle east To the master bedroom where the vampires feast The ghouls all came from their humble abodes To get a jolt from my electrodes They did the mash They did the monster mash The monster mash It was a graveyard smash They did the mash It caught on in a flash They did the mash They did the monster mash The zombies were having fun The party had just begun The guests included Wolf Man Dracula and his son The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds The coffin-bangers were about to arrive With their vocal group, "The Crypt-Kicker Five"

They played the mash They played the monster mash The monster mash It was a graveyard smash They played the mash It caught on in a flash They played the mash They played the monster mash  Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring Seems he was troubled by just one thing He opened the lid and shook his fist And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?" It's now the mash It's now the monster mash The monster mash And it's a graveyard smash It's now the mash It's caught on in a flash It's now the mash It's now the monster mash Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band And my monster mash is the hit of the land For you, the living, this mash was meant too When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you Then you can mash Then you can monster mash The monster mash And do my graveyard smash Then you can mash You'll catch on in a flash Then you can mash Then you can monster mash

Halloween Orange

A different way to carve a scary Halloween decoration. Try if you want, the results are impressive!

Halloween's Short History

The word Halloween comes from the ancient Celtic expression All Hollows Eve, that is: the night before the Day of the Dead.

The Celtic people lived in the areas which are now Great Britain and Northern France more than 2,000 years ago.

November 1 was considered New Year’s Day, among the Celts and this holiday was calledSamhain, honouring Samhain who was the lord of the dead and of the cold, dark winter season.

The Celts believed that on All Hollows Eve night the spirits of all those who had died come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. So they built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices; and dressed up in scary costumes and run through the streets holding torches and making noise to confuse the spirits.

Halloween is an old tradition in Ireland and Scotland. In those countries, people dressed up and carried lanterns made of turnips. When people moved from Ireland and Scotland to the United States in the 1840’s, they started using pumpkins because there were no turnips in The United States. This is where the Jack O’Lantern tradition comes from.

The Nightmare before Christmas

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a 1993 film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a being from Halloween Town who opens a portal to Christmas Town.

Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, is bored with doing the same thing every year for Halloween. One day, he takes a walk into the woods and discovers some trees with different doors representing various holidays. The Christmas Tree door attracts his attention so he comes into the world of Christmas. Christmas Town is amazing to Jack, so he decided to share it with the citizens of Halloween Town, and they decide to make their own Christmas celebration.  The problem is that they can't get it quite right...

One of the most famous cuts from this film is This is Halloween. Watch the clip:

Here you are the lyrics of the song:

[SHADOW]
Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?

[SIAMESE SHADOW]
Come with us and you will see
This, our town of Halloween

[PUMPKIN PATCH CHORUS]
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night

[GHOSTS]
This is Halloween, everybody make a scene
Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright
It's our town, everybody screm
In this town of Halloween

[CREATURE UNDER THE BED]
I am the one hiding under your bed
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red

[MAN UNDER THE STAIRS]
I am the one hiding under yours stairs
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair

[CORPSE CHORUS]
This is Halloween, this is Halloween

[VAMPIRES]
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song

[MAYOR]
In this town, don't we love it now?
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise

[CORPSE CHORUS]
Round that corner, man hiding in the trash cam
Something's waiting no to pounce, and how you'll...

[HARLEQUIN DEMON, WEREWOLF & MELTING MAN]
Scream! This is Halloween
Red 'n' black, slimy green

[WEREWOLF]
Aren't you scared?

[WITCHES]
Well, that's just fine
Say it once, say it twice
Take a chance and roll the dice
Ride with the moon in the dead of night

[HANGING TREE]
Everybody scream, everbody scream

[HANGED MEN]
In our town of Halloween!

[CLOWN]
I am the clown with the tear-away face
Here in a flash and gone without a trace

[SECOND GHOUL]
I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?"
I am the wind blowing through your hair

[OOGIE BOOGIE SHADOW]
I am the shadow on the moon at night
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright

[CORPSE CHORUS]
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
Halloween! Halloween! 

[CHILD CORPSE TRIO]
Tender lumplings everywhere
Life's no fun without a good scare

[PARENT CORPSES]
That's our job, but we're not mean
In our town of Halloween

[CORPSE CHORUS]
In this town

[MAYOR]
Don't we love it now?

[CORPSE CHORUS]
Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back
And scream like a banshee
Make you jump out of your skin
This is Halloween, everyone scream
Wont' ya please make way for a very special guy

Our man jack is King of the Pumpkin patch
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King

[EVERYONE]
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!

[CORPSE CHILD TRIO]
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song

[EVERYONE]
La la-la la, Halloween! Halloween! [Repeat]