Spooktober

 I can't lie, and anyway what would be the point, if you've read this blog before in Octobers past, you know I don't care at all for Halloween. This one day event has become, in the real world, six weeks of solid commercialized nastiness. People who like to think they're anti crime invite their children to play at extorting the neighbors with threats. Bloodshed, loss, and torture are trivialized. It appeals to nobody's better nature. The whole sense of Samhain is engulfed by ghoulish goofiness.

That said, Halloween is a really big deal in Opensim. From September onward, builds begin to spring up online and freebie shops abound with special items to mark the month-long 'one day event' of Halloween. However, unlike the real world, thank goodness, the spirit here is not one of selling as much candy as you can. It's about generosity, and the ingenuity and creative fantasy of outfit builders, scripters, meshers, sim dressers, performers, and huntsmen and women, and good for them.

Would it be better if Halloween (and Xmas too, the other end-of-the-year juggernaut) didn't engulf such a long time span, if there were a little bit more originality in what people chose to come up with in the winter months, rather than all leaping lemming-like into the same pumpkin-scented abyss? 

Sure. 

But in light of the fact that, as you pick up your 57th different version of a dancing skeleton, you really don't care what I think, here are a few interesting Halloween builds you might enjoy. HG addresses as always at the end of the post.

A well stocked and thematic freebie store on Arkham grid's Halloween build

First up, Halloween on Arkham Grid. In RL, grid owner Felix is an architect, and his grid, though best known for its Malls, also includes a number of themed regions he has put together himself, with builds which he refers to as 'scenes'. Halloween is one of those - made as a piece of art, not just a place to grab  goodies. Don't get me wrong, there are loads of free items in the marketplace part of this region. But it's interesting just to look at if, like me, you're not there to get anything.

Like so many of us, Felix got his start in 'the other place', but found it became more of a chore than a joy.

Felix Mafia: I've always been happy to build scenes. In Second Life, I had a construction agency for roleplay regions, but I got tired of it, it had become a job and I already have my job that I love so much.

We all can relate to that. With a grid of his own he has been able to express his ideas about architecture in the landscape, and the interplay of structures, bit art, and terrain coming together as a single gesture. 

That eye for composition really comes through on this Halloween sim. While the sim has its fair share of precipitation and zombie creatures, I really liked the sculpture at the landing area best, the fractured man trying to capture the moon is a great metaphor for our endeavors, which so often get away from us, yet are still worth reaching for.

From Italy to Australia in a single bound, as our next stop is Kylie Brimmers' Halloween City. 

Kylie has a genius for juxtaposition, and this sim once again expresses that. This super Arcadia brand device - is a pretty little paradox to begin with. It's a vintage car that 'goes around' on one wheel. 

The idea of the region is to make available all kinds of oddities to pimp your parcel to perfection, and it's all laid out with a laid back, copy what you want vibe, with lots of incongruous items right next to one another, like this pumpkin puppy and a horrific jack in the box side by side.

Some stuff is inside the buildings, so don't neglect them or you might miss this esoteric cabinet and other boxed up goodies, like outfits and sounds.

Finally for this brief tour - the number of places available is mind boggling, this blog post is just a quick threesome - we have El-loween by Peter Parx. Hit that local environment before you take another step, and you'll get the full force of that infernal sky. Located on Escapelands grid, and now into its third year, El-loween is by contrast to the others a townscape, arranged around some rather sinister open spaces, and set up to be social. There will be a Live music event on October 31, presumably in the evening UK time, since that's the grid owner's RL location. Check listings on opensimworld for more about that.

The urban setting is well worth a tour for the free items and much to simply enjoy, from the killer statuary, to the Ghostbusters, to the worryingly familiar looking beauty parlor. This hamlet comes complete with cycle-path - oh wait, that should be psycho-path. 

The winding path through the woods demonstrates Peter's clever use of space, and is devilishly well done. At the summit, in front of the old house and its dodgy looking ferris wheel, is the pirate's graveyard. A piece of Aley antiquity, the whole sim is to die for. Check out the writing on the tombs, if you survive that far.

All in all, three really lovely places. But wait a minute... does this mean... that I'm warming to Halloween? Oh hell!
HG Addresses: 

Felix Mafia's Halloween sim    grid.arkhamgrid.org:8002:Halloween Land

Kylie Bekkers' Halloween freebie region    ausvirtualgrid.xyz:12000:Halloween City

Peter Parx's El-loween experience    world.escapelands.com:8002:EL-loween Halloween 2025