Everyone has their favorite holiday: Thanksgiving, Christmas, maybe even Presidents' Day. Actor and director Matthew Gray Gubler from the show "Criminal Minds" is especially fond of Halloween. Not only does he celebrate the holiday on its actual day, but, like most of America, he celebrates it all October long. And he really brings it.
I mean, really...
...the man clearly loves Halloween.
He's even brought the holiday to the "Criminal Minds" set several times over the show's many seasons.
To be fair, a lot of Gubler's work has reflected his love of the macabre.
He appears in "Life After Beth" (which I discussed in this article) as Dane Dehaan's older brother and zombie-hunting security officer, Kyle. In the film, he must convince his brother that his zombie girlfriend is actually dangerous while simultaneously defending their neighborhood from the other zombies of loved ones who have recently come back to life.
Another role Gubler has taken on is that of an apprentice serial killer in the dark comedy "How to Be a Serial Killer." Here he shows off even more of his comedic skills, assisting a murderer who attempts to take him under his wing upon finding him working at a dead-end job at a video store (yes, this movie was made back when video stores were still a thing). It is the exact opposite of his "Criminal Minds" character, Dr. Spencer Reid, who consistently stops serial killers, but maybe that was the point.
In what might just be my favorite role of his, Matthew plays a ghost hunting man who returns home to live with his parents in "Suburban Gothic." This film is a wonderful blend of comedy, horror, and romance between Gubler's character Raymond and his childhood acquaintance Becca, played masterfully by Kat Dennings. Their completely weird but understandable friendship grows as they hunt whatever the spirit is that's living in Raymond's childhood home. Gubler himself loves the movie so much that he hosted screenings of it upon its release last year. The screenings were also pajama parties, naturally.
Recently, Matthew has even created a line of t-shirts and temporary tattoos in celebration of his favorite holiday (all of which are available on his website). Who wouldn't want to represent their Hallowee and October pride with a glow-in-the-dark, haunted skull shirt?
So, what I'm basically trying to say here is that there's only one king of October (sorry, Jack Skellington), and that crown goes to this amazing, wonderful, weird-in-a-good-way man. Now let's all eat some fun-sized candy bars in celebration of the fact that no matter how much you love Halloween, you will never love it as much as Matthew Gray Gubler.
Bonus: Here is Matthew reading the Edgar Allen Poe poem "Annabel Lee" for extra Halloween spookiness.