I was trying to think of a fun Halloween movie I could watch with the kids that wouldn't creep them out and settled on Ghostbusters, figuring that if push came to shove (and it always does when I think the kids should watch a particular movie) I'd be able to use the legendary status of the movie to get them to watch. And to sweeten the deal even more, we went to the dollar store to get candy. As we drove to get candy, Max announced that he didn't like Ghostbusters and just wanted candy. That wasn't part of the deal.
So we watched the movie, which was mostly uneventful until Chelsea got home from work, and then Max screamed when Gozer fried the Ghostbusters. It was kind of funny. But we got through the movie and Sophie said she liked it. Max said he never wanted to see it again because it was too scary, so I told him that he wouldn't have to watch it ever again. Until next Halloween.
But the real measure of victory is that neither of the kids ended up in my bed in the middle of the night. I love it when a plan comes together.