Over at his blog, American Frankenstein, national treasure Norm Partridge is curating a host of Halloween movie recs from horror authorities like Laird Barron, Joe Hill, Ellen Datlow, David Schow, John Skipp, John Langan and… waaaay down the list, me. My piece on The Shining isn't a rec (since everybody's seen it and it rounds out Internet polls of top horror movies every year), so much as an appreciation of what it meant to see the film one miserable Halloween, when I was probably way too young, and stuck in a wheelchair, and its, er, lasting influence on me.

And if you're one of those weirdos who gives out dental floss for Halloween, might I suggest a healthier alternative to getting TP'ed by ten year olds… Norm's Halloween masterpiece, Dark Harvest, is to Halloween what A Christmas Carol is to Xmas, and what that tree scene in Evil Dead is to Arbor Day… and right now, it's cheaper than a bag of candy corn. Johnny Halloween, his new collection of pumpkin-headed humbuggery, Johnny Halloween, is out now, too.