The real horror is how the fun of making your own costumes and decorations for Halloween has gone by the wayside. Halloween used to be a perfectly charming and joy-filled night, if one hearkens back to the Golden Age of Americana. Then came ready-made, retailed stuff. Well, I say "Time to take back your innocent fun!" Now, listen to me. I want you to go to your window, open it up, and scream out...well, you know, just scream out! Because it's Halloween!

Oh, and check out these cool links on do-it-yourself Halloween ideas.

• 101 Halloween Ideas—I counted: 101 exactly
• Halloween Costumes Plus—Homemade costumes, decorations, recipes, safety tips, healthy treats, and more
• Halloween Tips—More ideas for costumes, decorations, games, crafts
• Pumpkin Carving 101—The basics (not the amount of carvings!)
• Extreme Pumpkins—Inspirational gallery of amazing pumpkin carvings
• The Pumpkin Wizard—Free pumpkin carving patterns, and more
• Costumes & Masks—Models of costumes, printable masks, makeup ideas
• Halloween Magazine—Decoration ideas galore
• Halloween Decorating Ideas—Nice autumn decoration ideas, too
• Decorated Homes—Tour some frightfully decorated homes online