Hi, everyone !!
Well... would you believe it?! September has come to an end already and, aside from being the time for Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day to get woken-up, it means Autumn (or, "Fall", as it's perhaps better known to our friends across 'The Pond') is rapidly closing in (once again) and, as it does so, the days are set to get shorter and, naturally, the nights will grow longer... and darker !!!!!!!
Anyway... one advantage of these long, dark nights is that they're pretty much perfect for huddling up and watching movies on your Roku player. I'm sure many Roku owners (myself included) will be enjoying the build-up to Hallowe'en by watching something horror-related or slightly more scary than usual on their Roku player(s) as October 31st draws ever nearer...
If that sounds like you, then you may already be familiar with an annual online event which is known as the "Countdown To Hallowe'en" that encourages participants (i.e. bloggers) to contribute to a month-long blogging marathon in honour of the Hallowe'en season. I've long been a fan of this event but, since I only started my UK Roku blog in 2013, I made my debut as an "Official" 'Cryptkeeper' for the 'Countdown To Hallowe'en 2013' and participated again for the 'Countdown To Hallowe'en 2014' and the 'Countdown To Hallowe'en 2015' last year. Fortunately, being an annual event, this fiendishly fun (and frightening) celebration has presented me with another prime opportunity to spotlight even more of the Hallowe'en / Horror themed Roku content for you in the build-up to Hallowe'en 2016...
As with the last couple of years, because the series of posts I have planned will be devilishly different from my regular weekly offerings (not to mention a lot more frequent, too) I plan to group them all under a unifying banner. However... instead of "A MummyVision Guide To Hallowe'en On Roku" as was the case in 2013, or "Another CreatureFeature Guide To Hallowe'en On Roku" as in 2014, or even "Alucard's Bat-tastic Guide To Hallowe'en On Roku" as used in my 2015 Hallowe'en blogathon, I'm calling it "A Cinematic History of Horror for Hallowe'en On Roku", but I will still endeavour (as always) to bring you one post every day, throughout the month of October, culminating on 31st when (as you might expect) the Countdown To Hallowe'en 2016 ends and the celebrations begin !!!
For quick & easy access to the official Countdown To Hallowe'en website which includes a list of all "Cryptkeepers" (i.e. contributing bloggers) for 2016 with yours truly (once again) among them, as well as details of all past contributors, you'll find the following badge with a built-in link to their website in the upper right hand column of my blog for the duration of the 2016 Countdown To Hallowe'en:-
Please make the effort to click on the badge and visit the Countdown To Hallowe'en website to show your support for this annual online Hallowe'en extravaganza PLUS don't forget to use the links you find there and check out all the other 'Cryptkeepers' taking part this year. I know they'll appreciate it if you visit their blogs & share your thoughts on the contribution(s) they've made.
For my part, albeit in a slightly different format to last year, I'll (once again) endeavour to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, covering one horror movie per year from cinematic history starting in 1895 and ending in 2016. This should average out at about four films per day, so you'll have plenty of choice for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en on October 31st. Certainly, early on, most of the videos I share will be in the public domain... which means many of the links I provide will come from 'YouTube', or 'Dailymotion', or perhaps the excellent Roku private channel by 'Nowhereman', called 'Nowhere Archive', which draws upon Archive.org for it's content. I'll also give details of as many movies I can find within the hundreds of Roku channels available and from the vast amount of content contained therein. When it comes to more recent years, the links I provide may well be for Roku channels which require a subscription (e.g. Netflix, NowTV, Amazon Video, etc.) and some might only be available via Pay-Per-View (PPV) needing a one-off payment to watch them through one of the PPV channels for Roku players (e.g. Google Play Movies & TV, WuakiTV, CinemaNow, or Sky Store). Whenever possible, however, I will provide links to videos that are free-to-stream for as many movies as I can. As in years gone by, I will try to ensure as many of the featured channels are available on UK Roku devices however, due to the high percentage of readers from the USA for this blog, I reserve the right to post about certain channels that may only be available there and not (currently) in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. Either way, rest assured there'll be PLENTY of Hallowe'en / Horror themed content FOR ALL ROKU OWNERS, no matter where in the world they live! ;-)
Meanwhile, if there's any Roku Channel Developers or Content Providers who are featuring any of the horror movies I mention on their channel and would like to be included in this series of articles then please feel free to comment below or via the companion Twitter Feed: @ providing details of your channel and I will be only to happy to mention it by way of an additional option for Roku users to stream that movie. Your assistance with this is much appreciated... although I cannot guarantee that each individual channel will be included for every movie, as there is obviously only a finite number of posts that can be made throughout the month and I may not have the time. Don't let that put you off though because, if I can't squeeze you in this time around, then there's always the possibility of being included in next year's Countdown To Hallowe'en to look forward to! ;-)
Anyway, I just wanted to give you all a "heads up" as to what I've got planned for this blog over the month of October. Of course, there will still be my regular 'Weekly RoundUp' posts to keep you informed of ALL NEW ADDITIONS to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store during that time. All of which means... that there's now even more reason(s) for you to visit this blog on a regular basis as you prepare for your own Roku-assisted Hallowe'en celebration(s)... Mwah-Ha-Haaaaaaaaaa !!!!!!!!
Still, that's about it for now... I hope to see most, if not all, of you back here tomorrow and each day throughout October as we bring you "A Cinematic History of Horror for Hallowe'en On Roku" as part of the Countdown To Hallowe'en for 2016. Be afraid... BE VERY AFRAID !!!!!!!!!!!!
Just don't be too afraid to pay us another visit !!
That's all folks !!
