So it's Hallowe'en, and I just realized that here at Mediaite we have a disproportionate number of horror-filled posts, about monsters and vampires and zombies and Glenn Beck. And no, this isn't just an excuse to post a picture of Megan Fox, how dare you imply such a thing! If were were going to dangle Megan Fox-bait like that, don't you think we would have posted pictures from our "About 800 Pairs of Megan Fox’s Boobs" post? Sheesh, what do you take us for? (Here's the link, if you missed it.) But really, in our modest four little months of coverage (and by "little" I mean "how many Drudge links, exactly?"), we really have been hot on the monsters-and-aliens-and-zombies-and-scary-things beat. So, without further ado, I will go ahead and prove it with a quick n' handy list of them for your Hallowe'en Pageview-Inflating Pleasure! Er, I mean, get your 'Ween on! Oh, forget it. Here we go! (more...)

I read The Shining before I ever saw the movie, when I was maybe 12. It's an incredible book, one which taught me to fear hotel room bathtubs, what a topiary was, why you can't forget about the boiler, and the phrase "officious little prick" (I've met plenty of them since then.) I hate horror movies in general but I make a huge exception for this one, because I loved Stephen King books so much growing up and because this one was so damn good. Directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Jack Nicholson in what might be his most iconic role, it's a classic movie filled with classic clips. So — in the spirit of Hallowe'en, Mediaite brings you a celebration of The Shining — from The Simpsons to The Family Guy and all the redrum in between. (more...)

An article on CBN.com that alleges, among other things, that "most of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches" has been removed by the site after becoming an object of mockery by The Huffington Post. (We linked a cached version.) The site ran a slideshow and poll of the most evil candy brands.

Why did CBN remove the post, which originally appeared at Charisma.com? Is HuffPo guilty of mocking Christianity, or are they justly targeting a fringe belief?

We've reached out to CBN to find out why they took the post down, and we await their response. There are several possibilities. It's possible that CBN's editors re-thought the content of the article, given the negative attention being paid to it. The piece also suggests the existence of an unholy trinity, and a laundry list of "behind-the-scenes" Halloween activities that includes:

* Sex with demons
* Orgies between animals and humans
* Animal and human sacrifices
* Sacrificing babies to shed innocent blood
* Rape and molestation of adults, children and babies
* Revel nights
* Conjuring of demons and casting of spells
* Release of "time-released" curses against the innocent and the ignorant.

It's pretty sensational, out-there stuff that might have slipped through initially due to the writer's credentials. On the other hand, CBN head Pat Robertson engages in fringe activities like prophecy, so this is a sliding scale.

Or, it's possible the deluge of traffic from HuffPo might have caused server problems for them.

Many Christian conservatives are sensitive about mockery from the left, which they view as anti-Christian. I asked Dr.Thomas Howe, Dean of Apologetics and Professor of Biblical Studies at the Southern Evangelical Seminary and author of books like The Big Book of Bible Difficulties, if things like "time-release curses," demon orgies, and demonic candy are part of mainstream Christian thought.

"None of (this is) considered main stream Christian beliefs. Beliefs in curses is occultic, not Christian. I am not aware of any evidence supporting any of these claims about Halloween, neither do I subscribe to the notion of a demonic trinity. This is not found anywhere in the Bible, and it is not a historic Christian doctrine."

Dr. Howe is an ordained Southern Baptist minister.

It seems, then, that the Huffington Post is not running afoul of mainstream Christians in mocking this article. Although we don't yet know why CBN took the article down, according to Dr. Howe, they made the right call. This  goes to show that just because an organization puts something online, it doesn't mean they speak for an entire religion.