Nov 01 2009
The Best Halloween Ever!!
October 30th, also known as “Devil’s Night”, was a blast of Indian Summer. The temperature rose steadily in the afternoon until it was 70 degrees in the evening. But no hoodlums came to egg my house or break my neighbors’ decorations – possibly because the worst teenagers moved out of the neighborhood.
The biggest excitement was the building of a haunted forest. Two high school boys asked permission from a neighbor to use his portion of the woods across the street from me. They cleared a path through the underbrush, strung cotton-thread spider webs along the boundaries, hung skeletons and severed heads, and dressed up (along with their girlfriends) to frighten the kiddies. I gave them a few things, as I’m sure the other neighbors did.
One of the girls handed out candy in the middle of the forest – and did a great theatrical scream when a monster came from nowhere and bit her neck just after giving out the candy. They were kind enough to modify it for the little ones, but it was still an adventure.
It was much cooler tonight and windy, but the silver of moon and the scrabbling of dry leaves lent atmosphere. My favorite moment was when a boy of about 8 escorted his mother through the woods, brandishing a sword. “I’ll protect you, Mom!” he yelled.
The Trick-or-Treaters were uniformly polite, with many homemade costumes. I couldn’t choose a favorite from the parade of mock horrors and dream careers. A baby dragon came in a little red wagon, completed with with skull and bones of victims dragging behind. Several students came by, including a Spanish-speaking werewolf. A chubby-faced bear said “Hello, lady” instead of “Trick or treat”, but he remembered “thank you” just fine. The best costume was an elementary-school pirate: a brown felt hat and a girl’s blue peacoat modified with lace at the sleeves and gold rickrack across the chest.
This is what Halloween is for kids: mocking fearful things with make-believe, walking after dark, and having an adventure. The teenagers are talking about what they’re going to do for next year’s haunted trail.
[...] October 30th, also known as “Devil’s Night”, was a blast of Indian Summer. The temperature rose steadily in the afternoon until it was 70 degrees in the evening. But no hoodlums came to egg my house or break my neighbors’ decorations – possibly because the worst teenagers moved out of the neighborhood. The biggest excitement was [...] Read more… [...]