Halloween Screensavers

Many people decide to pull out the Halloween decorations and go to town as soon as October starts. Pumpkins, ghosts, goblins, scarecrows, vampires, werewolves and the like slowly begin to take over every free space, from lawns to windows, front doors and sometimes hanging off balconies. But what if you live in a small apartment building without the means to really decorate as much as you would like? Perhaps you’re never home because you’re always traveling for work, and don’t have the time to cover your lawn in tombstones. Does that mean you have to pass up the opportunity to be festive just like everyone else?A good percentage of people spend a good amount of time on their computers, whether during work or while at home. So why not be festive and download a Halloween screensaver to greet you whenever you come back to the computer after being away from it for a while? Figures from 2005 say that over 250,000 people decided to celebrate Halloween with a festive screensaver; some people spend a significant amount of money on candy and decorations, but most Halloween screensavers are free, or at least have a demo version that can be downloaded. Even better, there are plenty available for download for both Windows users and Mac users alike.

Halloween screensavers can be cute, creepy, a little bizarre, or just about anything to fit the preferences of anyone with a computer. Someone with small children may not choose the same screensaver as a 20-something male in college, so diversity is important.

Consider the well-known ‘Haunted House’ motif, with rolling fog and plenty of ghosts or other spooky creatures lurking about. Sometimes lights inside the house will go out, showing nothing but a pair of eyes staring eerily through the darkened glass. Some houses are set on the edge of a graveyard, which gives way to all sorts of spooky goings-on. Other screensavers show a house on the inside, where objects fly across the room while the thunderstorm outside and the flickering of candles add to the creepy ambience.

It is also possible to download screensavers that show pumpkins, carved in all sorts of different ways, from mean faces to goofy ones. These are often more calm than scary, with the screensaver looping in such a way that it looks like a real pumpkin with a real candle swaying and flickering back and forth. These are similar to winter-themed screensavers that show a loop of a roaring fire in a beautiful fireplace for those who are not lucky enough to have a fireplace in their own homes.

For those not terribly fond of being spooked or scared, especially not when looking at their own computers, consider a screensaver starring a mischievous and adorable black cat or kitten. Perhaps a screensaver with ghosts milling about, not doing anything terribly malicious is child-friendly as well.

Another good thing about Halloween screensavers is that, with the right computer application, it is possible to use a screensaver as a background; that means it is possible to watch that haunted house or that mischievous little black kitten without getting up and walking away from your computer for ten minutes or so. Just remember that setting up a screensaver as a background will take up a lot of resources on your computer, so it might not be a good idea to have it activated while doing anything else that takes up a good chunk of available resources. Unless, that is, you enjoy being frustrated and slowed down.

Whatever your preferred Halloween style — being spooked by a creepy scene or perhaps enjoying the view of a mist-covered pumpkin patch — there is probably the perfect Halloween screensaver out there for everyone. After spending all that money on candy for trick-or-treaters who may or may not come knocking on your door, do something for yourself that doesn’t cost anything and allows you to celebrate Halloween from the comfort of your own computer chair.

Posted in Halloween