The Green-Eyed Monster

The most wonderful time of the year is almost here: Halloween! Carved pumpkins are being put out on every door step. Television channels are showing horror movies in all day marathons. Zombies are invading AMC, vampires are walking the streets (or at least kids everywhere are letting their Goth flags fly high), and bloggers from across the globe are suddenly espousing the love of horror movie greats, like Robert Englund, Bruce Campbell, and Lon Chaney, Jr.

If only every month of the year could be October!

As a self-proclaimed addict of all things horror and Halloween, I am like a kid in a candy store right now…which brings me to today’s topic: candy. When this time of the year comes around, so does all the wonderful Halloween candy. Normally, I don’t have a big sweet tooth, but there’s just something about Halloween that makes me crave it. Maybe it’s all the bags of the good stuff that the stores put out around September. Who could resist giant size bags of Reese’s? Or M&M’s in orange and black colors? I love it all.

With one exception: green candy.

I don’t care if it is lemon-lime flavored Skittles or just green-colored peanut M&M’s; I just cannot bring myself to eat any of it. There is something in my brain that won’t let me. Sounds crazy, I know, but it’s true. I won’t eat the green stuff. It’s the color itself I can’t get past. I don’t trust green.

And I have horror movies to blame.

Let me explain. After a lifetime of watching horror movies, I have found that if something is green, it usually is BAD.

Case in point: Re-Animator. Stuart Gordon’s 1985 movie is proof that the color green is evil. Don’t believe me? Watch the trailer below and pay particular attention to the liquid that is injected into the cat. Yep, you guessed it...green.

This particular color of neon, lime green is stock standard for the horror/sci-fi genre. Anything radioactive is this particular shade of chartreuse. Think Toxic Avenger.

 Need more proof? What color does the Hulk turn when he is crazy, angry Hulk? Bright green. The color of the stuff vomited during The Exorcist? Green. And let's not forget the Wizard of Oz's Wicked Witch of the West. Almost every kid that has dressed up as an evil witch has painted his or her face green thanks to that movie.

It’s enough to put anyone off the color.

So, this Halloween, have fun. Dress up as your favorite character. Carve a pumpkin. Trick or Treat.

Just watch out for the green stuff.