Halloween in Madison unofficially starts on the first Friday prior to the holiday. It typically fizzles out sometime around noon on the Sunday of that weekend and often before we actually get around to October 31. This year is rather unique as we have Halloween events running all the way until November 6. It will be curious to see our collective costume staying power in action (I personally have three costumes this year). However, this entry is not about costume staying power, nay, it is about the hype leading up to the Halloween festivities. Below we collect all of the rumblings and tumblings in the Madison media 'verse as we careen down the cliff to that sacredest of holidays that the city so much wishes keep the lid on (for better or for worse depending on whom you ask) - Halloween.

We start off with our award for the "Best MultiMedia Site Dedicated to Madison Halloween." For the second year in a row the coveted prize goes to WISC - Channel3000. While the sites scope is limited, focusing primarily on the State Street Freakfest activities, they prove that they really get what web 2.0 is all about. The layout is slick and easy to navigate, the map is helpful and not mucked up by unnecessary info, and they do a great job splitting up all of the multimedia content. Well done Channel3000 web gremlins, your certificate is in the mail.

Best Halloween coverage is still up in the air with the 2007 Halloween festivities still in the anticipation stages of virginity. The media has been building it up for the past month (or two) but we still don't know if it will be a clean or messy pop. Last year we gave it to the Badger Herald because they had the lead up, event, and follow-up down like no one else, but so far this year they have been performing like the UW Badgers defensive line. Hopefully they will step it up in this weekend and really bring us their "A" game. Right now the J335 students is in the running, but they lose a point because they write about the "slutification" of Halloween like it is a new thing (and real word).

So what does the bigger picture look like with the unofficial launch just hours away? Below is what the media folk in town think:

We start with a little bit of history. The Wisconsin State Journal, WISC, and Isthmus all take a look at the Halloween's of yore. The picture they paint is of a wild, crazy, and festive atmosphere - the closest thing Madison has to the debauchery of Mardi Gras. A scene that waxed and waned and eventually exploded with cars on fire and broken windows. The Daily Cardinal takes the DeLorean back to that year, 2002, the Halloween that ruined it for everybody. The main culprit? Women. Yep, according to WISC, "Police said young females who were flashing the crowd triggered the 2002 melee by putting drunk men into 'frenzy.'" Mind you, no specific officer is attributed to that quote so we need to assume the Madison police have a hive mind.

Over at the Badger Herald Jason Engelhart contributes an article we assume he wrote as a paper for a Theology 101 course delving into the marriage of pagan and Christian traditions of eating and drinking over All Hallows Eve.

Katie Dean writes about local decorations around town for The Capital Times. We like the article, but we need to take a second and remind Dean (as Engelhart observes above) that both Halloween and Christmas are rooted in pagan traditions swirled with Christianity.

For the second year in a row the Wisconsin State Journal gets all parental on student readers, "The party, which is expected to peak late Saturday night, should be scary only in the spirit of the holiday. Ghoulish thrills are welcome. What revelers need to avoid and discourage is the hooliganism that led to bonfires, injuries, broken windows and reams of arrests in the past -- not to mention huge costs to city taxpayers." Keep that hooliganism in check boys and girls or expect a rolled up State Journal tanning your hiney come Sunday.

Freakfest sponsor Isthmus rolls out the non-stop coverage earlier this month. This week they profile Freakfest performers Rob Dz, Locksley, and (Battle of the Bands victor) Ra Fury.

Nathan Comp sits down with Alder Eli Judge as he preps for his first Halloween as an elected official.

The Cap Times says the city is pleased with security this year - a big improvement from last year's debacle. WISC reminds you to get your bikes of the bike racks. Badger Herald takes a look at detox.

Badger Herald reports that the police plan to embrace many of the successful aspects of last year, "Some important security factors that have worked well in the past, Wray said, are the fencing, the ability of the police officers to engage with the crowd, the University of Wisconsin Housing’s 'no-guests' policy, the positive impact of the students and the overall positive atmosphere of the community."

According to WISC students are split on Freakfest and the downtown festivities being organized.

Badger Herald has two, both negative. Bridget Roby sees a decline in Halloween spirit, "increased city control over the event for this year’s State Street Halloween tradition, now officially called Freakfest, has decreased its appeal for many students." While Henry Weiner longs for the Golden Years of Halloween, "I’m not just another UW student who thinks the cops should stay home Halloween weekend and let us do whatever we want. That’s just stupid. What I am is a UW student who thinks the city is lying to itself if it thinks it’s moving in the right direction with the Halloween policies it’s implementing."

Meanwhile, the Daily Cardinal projects a positive turnout and happy festival going.

As for trouble making outsiders? Madison just isn't cool anymore. Just ask the Minnesota Daily where they write "Please don't even think about going to Mad-town, either, because there is nothing worse than being ordinary. Plus, going to Madison for Halloween is so 2004."