Every year Halloween stores release a shockingly tasteless costume to the public that ends up getting pulled before the big day even arrives. This year that costume is an Anne Frank costume that was sold on HalloweenCostumes.com before they pulled it after wave after wave of customer outrage. While it would be one thing for a young girl to take inspiration from Anne Frank's story, it's entirely different for a company to try to capitalize on a Holocaust victim for cash -especially when they seem to think the appropriate pose for the costume model is a sassy little troublemaker. 

Of course, the costume wasn't just limited to HalloweenCostumes.com -it was also for sale on other Halloween websites as well (though it does get pulled pretty quickly from most sites as soon as angry Twitter users have found it). Most of the other sites are labeling the costume as "World War II Evacuee Girl" instead of saying outright that it is Anne Frank. Either way, the result is a pretty tasteless way to cash in on a tragic historical figure.

Via The Daily Dot

Trick-or-treating as a kid in a small town, I always knew which houses were going to give out the full-size candy bars. I also knew which houses had homemade popcorn balls, peanut-butter fudge, and cookies. One old lady would invite us inside to select our treat from a huge table of candy she made. No one gives out homemade treats anymore, due to the fear of being accused of tampering. But does anyone give out full-size candy bars at Halloween now? Since candy manufacturers started offering "fun size" candies, that's what kids get. I don't even hand out chocolate. For one thing, chocolate is too tempting to save for Halloween. For another thing, I figured every parent is going to confiscate the chocolate from their kids' treat bags, just like I did. This is the latest comic from Chris Hallbeck at Maximumble.

Tye Lombardi (previously at Neatorama) went to great lengths for a special effect Halloween recipe. These Alien Facehugger Pudding Cups have edible Alien eggs and facehuggers, they fizz, they glow in the dark, and they taste good! The instructions are pretty involved, because it's an art project as well as a food recipe. These eggs are made to impress. At least she uses instant pudding and pre-made pie crust. You can use cooked pudding and make your own crust from scratch if you want. If you make these, be sure to take plenty of photographs before you let anyone eat them!

If this recipe is too complex for your lifestyle, you can just enjoy the images of the finished product. However, the components of the recipe will be handy to learn, like how to make pastry glue, the techniques for sculpting pie crust, and the magic of B-2 tablets. Check out the entire process at the Necro Nom-nom-nomicon.

'Tis the season …that everyone is re-watching the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens to brush up on the narrative before Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits movie theaters. I used that as an excuse to watch it last night. But if you are a serious Star Wars fan, you'll easily recognize this pumpkin as a Rathtar, the large carnivorous creatures Han Solo was smuggling when he first encountered Ray and Finn.

Now these aliens can be part of your Halloween! Put this Rathtar-O’-Lantern on your porch and you'll be able to distinguish dedicated Star Wars fans from the casually-costumed by their reaction. However, if they think it's  Audrey 2 from Little Shop of Horrors, that's okay, too. You'll find complete instructions for making this jack-o-lantern at Star Wars.  

It had to happen sooner or later. It is now easier to find a Link costume than it is to find a Peter Pan costume. So redditor jay_roo modified a Link costume, because that's what you do when your daughter wants you to play Peter Pan to her Tinkerbell. The picture was taken last night at the Goblin Gathering in Bradenton, Florida. They make an adorable family. And when jay_roo admitted he is a single father, commenters piled on to volunteer to be his Wendy.  

In the US, Halloween is a fun holiday centered around costumes, horror movies, and candy. Countries around the world celebrate either Halloween or other holidays commemorating the spirits of the dead, because the end of the growing season in autumn reminds us of our own mortality. Some of those traditions are a bit like the American Halloween, such as the Kawasaki Halloween Parade in Japan.     

At the end of every October for the past 21 years, nearly 4000 costumed Halloween enthusiasts from all around the world have gathered in Kawasaki, just outside Tokyo, for the Kawasaki Halloween Parade, which is the biggest parade of its kind in Japan. However, not everyone can simply join in the festivities. The Kawasaki Halloween Parade has strict guidelines and standards, so you have to apply for entry two months before the parade begins.

While the party aspect of Halloween is spreading, many places mark holidays that are more somber, or even religious, as they pay respect to the departed. Read about the widely-varying traditions of Halloween or Halloween-like holidays at Mental Floss.

(Image credit: Flickr user Hideya HAMANO)

What could be more tempting than to startle a news anchor or reporter, especially when they've been primed by a spooky report already? It happens every Halloween, and it's recorded on video for posterity.

(YouTune link)

News Be Funny has a mega-compilation of newspeople who couldn't stay calm and cool while reporting on Halloween shenanigans. There are also clips of pranks and silliness and unexpected weirdness that happens when you do Halloween live on the air.   

We've seen sexy vegetables, sexy Gandalf, and sexy fake news Halloween costumes. Since it's obvious that you can make a "sexy" Halloween costume out of anything, why not make a costume out of the costume itself? That is, the Halloween costume kits as they appear hanging on the store shelves this time of year. That's what Jamie Kruger did. You can see more photos at the link. The biggest problem I can see is lack of hands, because you must have a way to break a fall if you're going to wear those heels, or at least hold a cocktail. Is this overly meta, or just stupidly clever? -via Boing Boing

Does your state like chocolate, bubble gum or fruit candy for Halloween? CandyStore.com compiled a cool interactive map to help visualize each state's favorite flavors. It's worth noting that the data is based on sales, not consumption because there's no way enough people from any state actually like to eat candy corn that much.

So do you like your state's favorite and if so, is it actually your favorite? As a Californian, I like M&M's, but they're certainly not my top choice and I don't know many other people who would choose them above all other candies either.

Via Thrillist

The new animation from Simon Tofield is this year's Halloween cartoon. The cat is up in the attic, and he doesn't want to leave. I've dealt with that situation. You don't want your cat to climb the ladder to the attic- you'll never find him again!

(YouTube link)

The attic can be a scary place, especially when the lights go out. It's full of spiders! After the new cartoon, there's a couple more classic Simon's Cat stories in this video.  -via Tastefully Offensive

A great costume that looks exactly like some pop culture character might win you first prize at your local costume contest, but will only take you so far on the internet. To be both viral and memorable, it takes a clever joke. The drawback is that you will spend all evening on Halloween explaining your costume to the many folks who just don't get it, especially after a few drinks. Here are some pun costumes that may make you groan, but you'll laugh a little, too.  

1. Morticia and Gomez

SavioSega and his wife went all out with their couples costume for Halloween last year. The comments they got said that he has a cigar, but she's smokin'. In case you are wondering why they are wearing hula hoops with tennis balls, surely you recognize the Atoms Family.

2. Sister Testa and Sister Norris

Puns can became a habit -a bad habit. As if two dudes dressed as nuns wouldn't be funny enough, they had to wear name tags to make sure everyone knew they were nun Chucks. It would have been funny if they had a chain linking the two of them together, but I'm sure they already had enough to explain that night.

3. Your "Date"

If you've got a baby bump and a Halloween party to attend, you'll want to put some extra creativity into your costume this year. This opportunity doesn't happen all that often. Check out a roundup of clever pregnancy costumes you might want to try. Most of them are a product of thinking about what spherical object one's belly might resemble, and then going with it. Instagram user isthatcarolyn went with a wrecking ball, specifically the one in Miley Cyrus' video for "Wrecking Ball." Some went in another direction. I kinda love this one.

And the winner is... #happyhalloween #costumecontest #crossfit #crossfitmom #pregnantcostume

A post shared by Elite Progression (@crossfit_mahopac) on Nov 1, 2016 at 9:27am PDT

You'd be forgiven if you thought this was just a guy who didn't want to dress up for the occasion. See 20 Genius Halloween Costume Ideas For People Who Are Pregnant at Buzzfeed.

The person who invented edible googly eyes should win a Nobel Prize. They are the secret to making any kind of food extra fun for kids -and adults get a kick out of them, too. Googly eyes and food coloring make this everyday bundt cake into a hairy Halloween monster! It's got three colors inside, three colors of drippy icing, and plenty of eyes all around, enough so that everyone gets at least one. See, while you look at your dessert, it will be looking back at you! Check out the recipe and icing instructions for the Monster Bundt Cake at Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons.  -Thanks, hearsetrax!

It's always fun to dress up in costume for Halloween, but dressing up pets is even more entertaining. Aegean Drawn of Etsy's PawsomeCrochet makes some of the most delightful pet costumes around and they're all made of cozy crochet. 

From the big dog dragon mask above to the tiny pooch taco (which also fits kitties), there's a lot to love about the shop's selection -even if you don't intend to buy but just want to look at cute pets in costume.

So see the whole inventory here.

If you are a horror movie fan and subscribe to one (or more) of the many streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or HBO, you are in for a great October. The hard part is deciding how to want to use your embarrassment of riches. You can select a new movie (or two) for every evening. You can spend a weekend (or two) smuggled up with your significant other binge-watching until you are a quivering mass of fear. Or you can plan a Halloween party with a film festival theme and invite all your friends! Check out the list of the 31 Best Streaming Horror Movies at Den of Geek.