MRH: My next-to-last question is just about the character of Sam - the child-figure who moves through the interconnected stories wearing a half cute/half chilling costume comprised of a burlap sack and worn-out red pajamas.

From a composer’s standpoint, I wonder if he one of the toughest characters to create a theme around, because he’s still somewhat ambiguous; you’re not sure if he’s a motif, if he instigates some of the events that happen, or if he’s kind of like a moral barometer who teaches people lessons when they don’t abide by the core seasonal rules.

Douglas Pipes: Yeah, I think something from all three, and I would say as kind of the protector of Halloween. His theme was luckily one of the first things that happened.

Michael Dougherty: Douglas just nailed it quickly, and it was just one of those ‘Aha! I’m so stupid! Why didn’t I think of that?’ moments, because he called me up on the phone in Vancouver (he was still in L.A.) and he kind of played it over the phone, and it was like capturing lightening in a bottle; it was so obvious.

In my mind, Sam is Halloween. He is the spirit of Halloween. He is the Great Pumpkin. If Linus would wait in the pumpkin patch long enough on the right night, that’s who he’d cross paths with (which would be interesting), but my whole goal with that character was to create the equivalent of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Leprechaun, the Cherub.

All these other holidays have identifiable quintessential mascots, and with Halloween we have witches and goblins and ghosts and vampires and lots of different characters and imagery, but there wasn’t one guy. I love Michael Myers in Halloween (1978), but I didn’t really consider him to be a proper mascot either, because he lacked the mischief and fun of the holiday. He’s just a dreadful grim reaper presence, and to me, a really good Halloween character has to abide by the various aspects of the holiday – the cute and the creepy and the scary and the funny -  so when Douglas came up with his musical theme, it was perfect. It’s the equivalent of hearing “Jingle Bells” when you see Santa Claus.

MRH: Lastly, is there a chance Sam might return in another film, if not some kind of multi-media venue with Douglas’ music?

Michael Dougherty: We’ll see. I’m not exactly dying to come up with a next one yet, having just finished this one. [The DVD] came out yesterday, and it’s selling really well, which I’m happy about. It’s selling just as well if not better than a lot of big movies that didn’t get theatrical releases.

I have ideas on how to continue the franchise, but I just need a break right now. I think it lends itself to more stories being told [and] it would be fantastic if you could put one out every Halloween or every other Halloween; maybe four stories done by another director, and I’m just producing or helping guide things along; or we do a graphic novel or only do short films.

Anything is possible, and I think Douglas would have to play a very large role in this.