Ghostlusters

Golly.

Well, somebody has to go first.  Here are a couple of things to ponder, just at random:

1) Is Halloween for adults the direct result of a generation that won;t grow up or turn loose of the  reins of the fun?

2) Is Halloween a formalized distillation / concentration of all of those "Masked Ball" fantasies generated by hundreds of plays, movies and operas? 

3) Do adults still go out and do things they never would otherwise do because they are wearing masks? 

4) Here in one of the the tightest holes in the Bible belt, there is a curious inversion goijng on. Many people's religious beliefs keep them from enjoying Halloween, which is, after all a Christian festival (insert know-it-all footnote here about yeah, but stitched closely atop various earlier observances). Anyway, in order to have the fun without the guilt, there are folks who call their orange and black celebrations "Harvest Festivals". At the risk of sounding like Andy Rooney here, does this make any sense? Abandoning the nominally Christian ALL HALLOWS'  EVE in favor of  HARVEST FESTIVALS, with scythes, fertility rites, etc, BECAUSE YOU ARE AFRAID OF THE CONNOTATIONS?

I was lucky enough to host a party last night (non- costumed) and we had a wonderful bluesman come play, the ancient and honorable Drink Small. It was truly a great time and I urge everybody  to participate in an audience  for live music soon.  

Oh, and Halloween provides a great Global Warming Index. Everyone I grew up with remembers sweating in various costumes when we were little. The low tonight is supposed to be in the 30s.  

I learn something new every day, thanks to you guys.  I had thought that Halloween was originally a pagan ritual upon which Christians had layered something.  Figuring the non-Christian, pagan types had been around longer......like Christmas being a not-so-randomly selected date, etc.

 Looking over the Halloween links above, the most frightening one was the Sarah Palin mask with the empty eyes. Does she remind anyone else of Delores Umbrage in the latest Harry Potter movie? 

You're not mistaken, Shandonista.  "Hallowe'en" is in fact the (fifty cent word warning here) euhemerization of a long standing harvest celebration.  Every culture that had a harvest had a cognate to what in the Celtic calendar (the former rulers of Europe, wiped out by your friendly neighborhood Roman Empire) was called Samhain.  Peterman is right in the sense that "All Hallows Eve" is the Christian day, but that day was merely invented to give their congregations something to think about other than ruddy, earthy, sensual pagan rites.  http://www.paganspath.com/magik/samhain-history.htm

It was a shocker to come to Texas many years ago and to discover that ADULTS dressed up in costumes and went to parties for Halloween!  And then the bizarre idea that 'Christians' (Protestant fundamentalists and evangelicals, actually) shouldn't celebrate Halloween made me realize I'd moved to a 'different country'.  (Almost daily I'm struck again and again by how far this place is culturally from my 'first nest' in New Jersey!)

I was lucky as a kid to celebrate Halloween with no 'religious cloud' hanging over the day.  It was when kids would go door to door and get candy.  And the most ambitious of us carried pillowcases.... My 'divorce' from candy basically happened due to one Halloween.  I made an enormous haul -- and ate every bit of the candy by Sunday night.  I learned what addiction was.  The more I ate the more I wanted to eat.  It wasn't pleasure.  It was some switch stuck in my head.  My father was furious when he had to take me to the doctor.  (I broke out in a rash.)  I have no idea what the consumption of tens of thousands of calories of sugar in one weekend did to my body, but geez I was sick! 

And now -- years and years later -- I get nauseous when I eat more than a bite or two of a candy bar.  It has been a great help in keeping from ballooning with the years.  Now, I wouldn't have had to join Weight Watchers to take off 30 pounds last year if I were a saint -- but we will pass over my addiction to starches (bran flakes, rice, potatoes, pasta, and so on.....)  

I'll post separately my early stories about Halloween (when we lived in 'the old house' before we moved 'to town' when I was seven). 

As a small kid, we lived on a dirt road (eighth house down Miller's Lane) atop the first Wachung Mountain(in New Jersey a 600-foot high ridge is called a mountain, go figure... On Halloween, Dad and the next door neighbor (Mr. Branks) would scare the kids (then three of us and three of his) by walking out at the back edge of the lots where the treeline encroached on our back yards -- in the dark, carrying lit pumpkins which bobbed up and down, lit.  It was spooky!

And my father (still in his 30s) would drape himself in a long sheet, place a flashlight under it, shining up from his chest to his shrouded face.  It made one heck of a realistic ghost!  He would wander around the back yard, far from the house, to our horror and delight.  We never saw Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy -- but we HAD seen a real ghost!  And he'd even come up to the house and ask (in a disguised voice): 'Would YOU like to come with me?'  (We must have been incredibly stupid to not have recognized the voice of The Ghost sounded a lot like Dad...)

The annual visits of The Ghost ended the year my younger brother (#3) freaked out and fled screaming and in hysterics to hide under his bed.  My mom could not get him to come out.  The kid was totally freaked!  And Dad had to take off the sheet, turn off the flashlight, and go to my brother's room to explain that there weren't REAL ghosts.  I don't remember being particularly disappointed to learn that 'ghosts don't exist', but I suspect it wasn't a great discovery, either.

Moving on, we used to go visit 'The City' to visit my grandmother and my aunts a couple of times a month, always following the same identical 1.5 hour route to Brooklyn.  We passed the Brooklyn Navy Yard and then the 'Jewish neighborhood' (Williamsburg) where the Hassidim lived.  My sister (#2) early decided the guys (with long beards and dreadlocks) were 'witches'.   (She didn't know witches were women and that males were called wizards, but what do you expect from a four-year-old.)  Driving to visit 'Schaeffer Street' was -- consequently -- like having Halloween all year round.  

For those of you who don't know about my sister's 'witches', here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasidic_Jews .

The best, and I do mean THE BEST thing about this time of year is the commencement of the The Wild Hunt.  This is a freakishly OLD cultural tradition, that I am happy to carry on with my children.  This evening, we'll be taking a walk past nightfall, and we'll be listening for the Furious Host up in the sky.  Be ready...

http://www.vinland.org/heathen/mt/wildhunt.html

I watch "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" every year. I don't know why. I love it when Linus gets upset that Lucy "killed" the pumpkin, when we're reminded not to jump in the leaves with a wet lollipop, when the WWI flying ace takes to the skies to face the Red Baron on his doghouse, and when Linus vows to sit in the pumpkin patch again next year. My kids (all in their 20's) always laugh at me and ask if it's because I expect the ending to be different some day.

Scary movies, today, are filled with such blood and gore, that I find them to be gross and I will not watch them. For a Halloween fright, I prefer things such as vintage Vincent Price movies, the play "Deathtrap" by Ira Levin, and Poe's poem "The Raven".

Doc Nolan, Your candy story reminded me of my middle son, also a former candy monster. One Halloween, when he was about 8 years old, he had some sort of stomach flu. Determined to go Trick-or-Treating, he got dressed in his pirate costume and convinced me he was feeling well enough to let him out of the house. A few steps from the front door he threw up in the bushes. Totally undaunted, he said he felt better and then ran off to join his brothers. Two hours later he was back with his candy haul. With a satisfied grin, he told me there was no way he was going to miss getting his share of Halloween candy - not for anything!

Jonathan Eells, I'm frightened just reading the description at that link and very glad not to be a participant in your walk past nightfall. "The wise traveller falls down at once in the middle of the road, face down. If he is lucky, he will take no harm other than the cold feet of the black dogs running over his body." Jeez. I'll stay at home and hand out candy to all the Sarah Palin's that come to my door, thank you very much. It did make me think of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow's headless horseman, though.

Very scary thing happened last night. And I only half believe in spirits and ghosts. And then I woke up to calm myself with Peterman's Eye. And then this picture loaded. Am seriously spending day under desk today. 

Missive, I think JP was being kind to us. It would have been much scarier to feature the Sarah Palin mask.

And I meant to add. She's real. I think.

Kindlee, that's whereWashington Irving got the idea!  It's also the basis of "Ghost Riders in the Sky".  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxn48wSiCzg)  Some ideas are just too cool to die...

[waves to Missive, under the desk]

Sarah Palin...She's gonna GET YOU, my pretty!  And your little DOG, TOO!!!

Best. Holiday. Of the year!

Happy Don't Eat Fruits and Vegetables Day! Or is it, Happy Dress Like a Whore Day!

Personally, both work for me.

I'll be home, handing out treats to the kids. I think this year I should respond to their "trick or treat" question with "I shall choose trick. Take your head off, and I'll give you a treat!" Or, I may hide up in the tree by the door and make noises when they approach the house.

Once the children have gone to bed and the treats have been given, maybe a nice horror movie to help me sleep.

Ahhhhh...I love this time of year.

And the Ramrods version of GRITS is even better.  This one is PURE CHEESE.  You almost expect Quentin Tarantino to come riding out of the screen...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWTjjm-Gg3c&feature=related

[Another wave, under the desk]

Don't make her release her flying monkeys!

A few more of these videos and I'll be running to join MissIve under the desk.

Just as a side note - Halloween is actually so called as a shortenisation of 'All Hallow's Eve' - All Hallows' Day is November First, also called All Saints' Day, as it celebrates the beatification of all saints.

I lived in Florida for the past five years and no one seemed to do anything for Halloween. It might have been the weather - which rarely drops below 75 degrees on Halloween nights - that keeps the kiddies inside; it might have just been that there weren't enough younger kids around where I lived. After that, I kinda lost my faith in the whole trick-or-treat door-to-door part of Halloween. Nowadays I just attend frightful events and Rocky Horror showings.

I'm afraid I scare easily. It doesn't take much to make me jump (much to my husband's intense delight). I didn't expect to be scared riding through the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. I mean, it's just a kid's ride, right? There we were sitting in one of the cars, safely travelling along the track, calmly meandering our way through the ghostly rooms. Animated creatures would swoop towards you and then veer off...except for this one Werewolf that kept coming at me...closer and closer...and I screamed. It turned out to be a real person in a costume, who then shared hearty thumb's up signs with my boyfriend - who later married me anyway and has never let me live it down.

Forgive an old priest for presuming to fine tune the origins of Halloween. It was the custom of the church to pray at the first mass of All Saints Day for the souls of those who had died since All Saints the previous year. In so doing, those souls were released from limbo and "prayed into Heaven." Since the beginning of the day is sunset (from Genesis, "and the evening and the morning were the first day"), the first mass of All Saints (All Hallows) was held on All Hallows Eve, giving the departed the earliest opportunity to be released from the netherworld. The custom among the faithful was to set out refreshment for them as they made the final journey to their eternal rest, thus the practice of providing "treats" for ghosts on the move, lest the ghosts hang around to haunt. Not particularly good theology, but then the church has thrived on questionable theology for millenia!

Unlike everyone else (I suppose), if I find any particular value in the observation of Halloween, it's that we spend all of life in the anticipated reality of death. Day to day living should never be lived more than a breath away from the awareness of our mortality and the fragility of existence. In my humble little mind, it keeps every action, every thought in an appropriate perspective.

Oh, and I prefer Reese's peanut butter cups if I come knocking.

The Irish started the pranks? Ok, fine, blame us again, if you must. We're used to it...But RUTABAGAS? No effin way, kids. Spuds, turnips, rhubarb, even mushy peas, but rutabagas? Uh-uh...

Pulling the covers back over my head.

I will go with the scarey Sary though...that chica ain't hooked up right.

BOO!

I think a lot of Christians have a bad case of "NIH" (Not Invented Here) or just plain envy - but then again, I'm a Pagan!

GF and I went to a Mexican restaurant (run by REAL Mexicans-imagine that!) last night and no one would admit to knowing about Dia de las Muertas. But, they DID know about the draught Dos Equis special, so we were mollified.

Reaching from the misty history of the archeological Olmecs to The Corpse Bride (Catrinas), this is some interesting stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

Wiki comes through again, but keep your salt shaker from yesterday handy...

Willie, #1-Yes #2-Yes #3-Maybe and #4-Yes it is silly, but hey, to each their own.

Global warming?  Well maybe this year the kids won't have to put on boots and coats and trick or treat in the snow...maybe.  As a kid we were always encouraged to pick cold weather friendly costumes so that people could actually see what we were, instead of having to peel off several layers of clothes to show off the costume at every house.

Nachista,

You just made me think of Seinfeld's children's picture book about Halloween. If you all haven't read it, do. It's a long rant about costumes and trick-or-treating. You know he went as Superman, of course. And his parents made him wear a big brown coat over it. And then the really cheap piece of elastic that holds the mask on inevitably breaks, and his did. And so he's pretty much just a kid in a brown coat asking for candy. Told in Seinfeld-ease, worth a read. Good stuff.

BTW, still under desk.

Drdgscott,

Do you by chance so exorcisms of homes, or iPhones?

Anyone a David Sedaris fan?  In his book "dress your family in corudroy and denim" he tells a childhood halloween memory.  On halloween their "weird" neighbors were gone and their house was dark.  The next night the "weird" neighbors came and knocked on David's door, his mom answered and saw that the neighbors had sort-of dressed up their kids but in weird homemade costumes.  His mom was out of candy and took him and his sister aside and told them to go choose some candy out of their stashes, and she warned them that if they didn't choose the good stuff that she would choose for them.  At the end of the story he related the moral "Going door to door asking for candy on October 31st = Halloween fun.  Going door to door asking for andy on November 1st = beggin."

Scream!!!!!!!! Scream!!!!!  Ohmagosh!  My office co-worders are all CRAZY!  They set up a haunted house and it is so realistic that I cried!  Michael Meyers and Jason stood over me at my desk...STARING at me...never saying a word as I was on the phone to a CUSTOMERr!!!!!  Scared the BAJEEBIES out of me! My office is OUT OF CONTROL today.  Love it!  We all have a blast.  It is all in fun!  It's a nice break from the daily chores.  The Haunted House rightfully won the costume prize.  Other great costumes were Angelina Jolie in The Changeling, Sarah Palin, The devil in a suit, Wendy and Tinkerbell, Rosemary's Baby, and other scary, crazy over the top costumes.  I won a cash prize as well, but I did not dress as Bonnie.  
 
MissIve:  JS was Jason.  He should win an academy award. FREAKY!!!!!!!
      
I WISH EVERYONE A SAFE AND FUN HALLOWEEN!        

MACKDADDY1, what did you wear?
Nachista, I like your avatar.

nachista-LOVE David Sedaris! His department store elf story reduces me to helpless giggles, especially the part where he channels Billie Holiday interpreting "Away in a Manger".

The Hallowe'en one you mention is good too. He's not afraid to show his failings, is he?

I'm going out tonight as Biker Bitch. I won't need a costume...

Remember when out and about tonight to have your vorpal sword in hand:

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

I am very encouraged to see everyone has joined me in picking "other" on the poll.  I have no patience for today's crop of torture porn gore fests that pass as scary movies.  My favorite horror series features the following installments:

Frankenstein (1931)

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

House of Frankenstein (1944)

My second favorite horror series features the following installments:

The Invisible Man (1933)

The Invisible Man Returns (1940)

The Invisible Woman (1940)

The Invisible Agent (1942)

The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944)

Both series were spearheaded by the late great James Whale, the master of cinematic horror, whose own story was charmingly fictionalized in Gods and Monsters (1998).

Kindlee I love your great pumpkin sign.

Half of our office is dressed like the crew from gilligan's island, the other half isn't dressed at all.  My dad is mr. magoo and I'm little red riding hood with molly as the big bad wolf.  I am in charge of handing halloween toys out to the kids that come to our downtown business trick-or-treating...my dog is more interesting to the kids than the treats.  One little girl wrapper her arms around molly, kissed her, and screamed when her mom tried to ge her to movve on to the next business.

Halloween will always be for methe memory of those magical nights when we children ruled the world.

The smell of burning leaves. The pounding of little feet running up and down the back porch stairs. Screen doors slamming. Shrieking and laughing children, fueled only by the vast quantities of chocolate they consumed between buildings. Best of all; they had no cause back then to fear the night and all of its shadows.

It was popcorn balls, rice crispy treats, apples, Mary Janes, Baby Ruths, Butterfingers, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Nestle Bars, Good & Plenty, Bubble Gum, or maybe even a small handful of pennies if the candy ran out.

It was the welcoming smiles of almost everyone in the neighborhood. The same people who chased you out of their flower beds were now welcoming you to their doorstep and giving you candy. It was all of these things in exchange for a shout out of "Trick or Treat".

.... And then, if it wasn't a school night, you would fall asleep on the floor from the sheer exhaustion of the night's plundering while valiantly trying to stay awake to watch "Creature Features" and "Svengoolie" monster marathons.

Happy Halloweenie Everyone!

Good scarey movie "Silent Hill", sheep are evil.

I like B-movies for halloween night because you laugh more than you scream.

"The Dark" is the one I was thinking of with the evil sheep.  They both have Sean Bean in them and I got confused.

Evil sheep? Can such things BE?

New job, further north-further than almost everything.

Two people who run three different businesses from this remote, Marquette County home. Didn't meet them, they were already gone.

Three dogs. One of which, Seneca, is a big, too big, face jumping Golden. By the time I leave on November twelfth, he won't remember that anymore.

The miles of high, dry, trails topped with screenings winding around this one hundred and twenty acres, suggest that they must be successful. Had to take years and a fortune to build.

This big house is heated by an outside wood burning unit. Someone comes by twice a day at four thirty to keep it going. The inside fireplace is up to me and the dogs sit before it in the evening, waiting.

Not a family photo in the place but dozens of the lady of the house who either always wears grey and white, or at least always does to have her picture taken. It seems to work for her.

They are members, or he is, of a curious online invitation only group known by the acronym: IL- KURYAKIN. It has sixty members from all walks of life whose submissions are either the result of amazing self restraint or are heavily edited- probably both.

Its host, Dublin, not someone likely to shake the throne of John Peterman when it comes to writing skill or warmth, presents a topic and all sixty members respond either with what they know about it or with questions.

The time that I have spent reading on the site is recorded: Thirty hours and counting and some of the most interesting offerings have been by a bicycle repairman.

It is not, decidedly not, a social site. And the only acknowledgement of real excellence is how many times members refer back to something as having moved the discussion.

Beginning as they meant to continue, there has never been a congratulatory phrase or word to be seen. I guess that if any got through it might have started a ball rolling wherein praise offered or withheld, would have become a distraction.

I will really miss ever having access to it when I leave this place.

My last employer, the guy who checked The Eye after e-mail and the local obituaries, and who, when his solution of a Times crossword didn't agree with theirs, simply shrugged and said: "Yeah, well they screwed up, somebody will bring it to their attention." they did- today, told me a Halloween story before I left:

It concerned a little flash photo taken in darkness of an asian boy, who looked like a stylized concept model for a Chef-Boyardee Thanksgiving parade balloon.

Very, very short, thick, chubby and moonfaced he was decked out in a perfectly crisp white chef's get-up complete with la toque and pencil moustache.

He was nominally in the company of a group of other kids ranging from a little too old and a little too optimistic ( their trick-or-treat bags were pillow cases) on down to closer to his own age but speedier and greedier than himself.

Struggling mightily to get up the front steps, he was met halfway and looked up to say in an Italian accent way too good for a five year old Montagnard: "Ahma so fatta."

Worried about him, the guy whistled back the group, carried the little fellow to meet them and asked that they look out for him.

The next year, when they swooped in, he asked after the "chef" and was told: "Oh, he died," and they were gone.

It took some investigating and a teary visit to the boy's home to get at the facts and, in the end, it so spoiled the holiday that he no longer participates. A darkened house.

I have to connect back to his server from this black hole of communications, to try and get this out hoping not to have cast a dark shadow over your day of dark shadows.

H.G.

For my fans of the classics, I wish you all could have been to the poetry reading I attended at The Players club yesterday evening.  All the poems were Halloween themed.  I read Alfred Noyes' Ghosts of the New World and Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky.  It was a glorious Halloween celebration.  To help celebrate your Transylvania mania, here is another piece that was read that evening, entitled Horror Movie by Howard Moss: 

Dr. Unlikely, we love you so,
You who made the double-headed rabbits grow
From a single hare. Mutation's friend, 
Who could have prophesied the end
When the Spider Woman deftly snared the fly
And the monsters strangled in a monstrous kiss
And somebody hissed, "You'll hang for this!"?

Dear Dracula, sleeping on your native soil,
(Any other kind makes him spoil),
How we clapped when you broke the French door down
And surprised the bride in the overwrought bed.
Perfectly dressed for lunar research,
Your evening cape added much,
Though the bride, inexplicably dressed in furs,
Was a study in jaded jugulars.

Poor, tortured Leopard Man, Hypatia, you changed your spots
In the debauched village of the Pin-Head Tots;
How we wrung our hands, how we wept
When the eighteenth murder proved inept,
And, caught in the Phosphorous Cave of Sea,
Dangling the last of synthetic flesh,
You said, "There's something wrong with me."

The Wolf Man knew when he prowled at dawn
Beginnings spin a web where endings spawn.
The bat who lived on shaving cream,
A household pet of Dr. Dream,
Unfortunately, maddened by the bedlam,
Turned on the Doc, bit the hand that fed him.

And you, Dr. X, who killed by moonlight,
We loved your scream in the laboratory 
When the panel slid and the night was starry
And you threw the inventor in the crocodile pit
(An obscure point: Did he deserve it?)
And you took the gold to Transylvania
Where no one guessed how insane you were.

We thank you for the moral and the mood,
Dear Dr. Cliche, Nurse Platitude.
When we meet again by the Overturned Grave,
Near the Sunken City of the Twisted Mind,
(In The Son of the Son of Frankenstein),
Make the blood flow, make the motive muddy:
There's a little death in every body.

Oh, so it's EVIL SHEEP you're after, eh???

[A long pause for what my friends will know is me, resisting the urge.] 

Then get thee to iTunes and buy the movie Black Sheep.  Best NZ-Indie film EVER.  

http://www.blacksheep-themovie.com/

 Hello, this one goes out to willie trask and "zorba" and any others who may have ill based judgements towards christians who may make a PERSONAL choice not to celebrate Halloween. Why all the judgement and accusations of hypocracy? I'm a christian who chooses not to celebrate halloween...does that make me bad or evil? Make no mistake, a person has a right to live and celebrate life how they see fit, yes?  I have a simple request for anyone pointing a finger; please do not judge me for my choices as I have no room to judge you for yours. There is hypocracy in us all, the key is to identify it in yourself and get the reigns around it.  Oh and by the way,as I have read through todays comments i believe i spotted about eight different takes on the origin of halloween... do any of us really know what we are celebrating or, in some cases, choosing not to celebrate??? I hope EVERYONE has a wonderful day today and remember to be kind first! be safe ya'all!

Not that I don't appreciate the classic horror flicks of days past, but I must give kudos to the movie 30 Days of Night which was based of a series of graphic novels bearing the same name. The concept of vampires in a town without daylight for thirty days separates this film from the rest.

http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/30daysofnight/

Recommend entering the site with the volume up...... it's pretty interactive

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is another film that I can't turn away from. "Here's Johnny"

Am out from desk. Have decided to tell the story, only because I can say things like this here, with annonymity, that I could never say out loud in 'real' life. I have a very cynical, Doubting Thomas reputation to uphold. 

But I am nostaligic. And I believe that's a form of haunting. And I believe it's safe to assume that many of you share this haunting, hence the love for Peterman garb.

When I was very young, my teachers had to put egg timers on my school desk to keep my eyes from drifting to the window. When I was a bit older, I began collecting antiques, primarily from America's Nineteenth Century. I have a spoon-carved dresser, with original mirror, c. 1850. I use to stand for hours in the dark, staring into that mirror as a teenager. Not to look at myself. To imagine the faces that it had reflected a century and half before. And I swear, I could see a face. A girl. Much like myself. And I wondered if she was as haunted by the future as I was by the past.

When I learned to drive, I would wander out of town on country roads every Sunday, by myself, searching for old farm houses, built in the 1800's. Some are still open for tours. I'm sure you all know those homes. And I would stand in them as long as was socially acceptible, often hiding in out-of-way rooms. Sometimes I would go to the town's library and read their newspaper archives for the year the home was built. I would read about the country doctor and his young wife for whom he built the it. 

It became more than nostalgia. It became a genuine haunting that I couldn't shake. I never talked about my trips to anyone. I was a very 'well-adjusted,' social teenage girl. You don't say those things to anyone and expect anything but strange looks.

It was this 'haunting' that led me to this painting, at an antique fair that I happened upon in one of these towns, adjacent to one of these farm houses, leaning face down in the dirt. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_the_lark

And when I turned it over, I saw the same girl who stared back at me from my mirror, her mirror.

I don't have a lot of time to be nostalgic anymore. No time for looking backward. No time for staring in mirrors or at paintings.

This trip to Chicago to find the 'real' girl in the painting has brought a lot of that haunting back up. I'm not sure that's good.

Last night, I dreampt of the farm house that exists only in my head. I guess you could say it's an amalgam of all the homes I visited. Some less skeptical than me might argue that it's a real place, or at least use to be.

It was very vivid. I woke me up. I picked up my iPhone (so very anachronistic for this story) and clicked the 'refresh button' to check the time. When the screen loaded, that painting, that girl, was on the screen. Hand to heaven.

If you own one of these phones, you know that the screen always loads to the page on which you left it. The last thing I did before falling asleep was shoot off a text. It should have opened to that page. Or, maybe even the main menu.

But by no means should it have loaded a snapshot of this painting, that has been buried in my photo archives and not been loaded for more than a week. No logical reason. 

Am now back under my desk. Phone is locked safely in truck. Am inquiring about a priest accompanying us to Chicago. From under my desk.  

Jaimelynn,

Linus says this to Sally, in his pumpkin patch: "Each year the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He's got to pick this one! I don't see how a pumpkin patch could be more sincere than this one. You look all around and there's not a sign of hypocrisy! Nothing but sincerity reaching out as far as the eye can see."

Everyone has the right to believe what they wish...and to be respected for their beliefs.

I guess I really do know why I like "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (and other cartoons) by Charles Schultz. It's not simply the entertainment value of the animated characters but the underlying meanings that abound in his work. He attempts to teach us all to be kind.

Kindlee. Love it. And love your pic, too.

Jaimelynn, I hope you don't mind that I tell this story.

When Jaime and I were little, our parents changed their minds annually about whether we, as Christians, should be celebrating Halloween. Some years we did. Some years we did what Trask described, Harvest Fests at our church. We could dress up only as biblical people. BTW, Jaime made a kick-ass Moses one year.

Then there was the whole razor blade scare, and we couldn't leave the house for a couple years.

One year, Halloween was a trip to the CVS for a carload of candy and binge eating it all night in front of movies. 

So when we started our own families, we didn't know what to do. But we both knew we wanted to be consistant.

So we both did some research and some praying and made a decision.

I celebrate Halloween. She does not. Neither of us judge the other. I've always been more of a heathen than my sisters, anyway. This just solidifies it.

In the end, for me, it came down to one tiny issue. . .

Tiny candy bars.  

Like I said, total heathen. 

First back to Jamielynn:

Honey... no one had better point a finger at you!  They will have to answer to ME!!  As you can see by my earlier posts that I love to participate in all celebratory events.  It's just my nature...I am a senior citizen party animal. But I certainly believe that we all have the right to make our own choices.  Hypocracy is not my bag.  I will tell you this much: I struggled with Halloween several years ago until I spoke with a priest in depth.  Through him I felt that I had enough knowledge and common sense to make my own mind up.  You can see the result.  I do participate but in a very lighhearted and non-religious manner.  Here at my work, we have a gentleman who chose not to participate due to his beliefs but we were respectful of his rights and he reciprocated and tolerated our childish pranks as well.  Everyone is happy!  Don't feel that you have to aplogize or make excuses for your beliefs.  I choose to believe we are a diverse and tolerant world or as my generation would say "different strokes for different folks!"  Have a great day yourself.

Kindlee:  I was a senior citizen Hooters girl.  It was funny...not sexy.  I won $50 bucks!  I must have done a pretty good job.  If I ever locate a scanner I will gladly share the photos.  You could say I was a real hoot! 

Right here, right now, today....... shouldn't Halloween only be concerned with letting young children have some fun?? A day when their fears are not real and they go away just by turning on a light switch?

MackDaddy!

Love this. Loved your scary post earlier, too. And thanks for getting my tiny sis's back. But, as you can see, she's pretty scrappy all on her own!

Your costume sounds awesome.  Just one thing.  The 50 bucks you "won." Was it all in singles? If so, please write to me privately and I'll explain why it might be in your best interest to return each one to its rightful "contributor."

MACKDADDY1, I would love to see a pic! Congratulations on your winnings.

MissIve, The first thing that stuck me about your haunting experience was that I don't understand why you fear this girl. She seems as though she might be a lot like you.

MissIve, Have you read the book?

PeterLake:

Very nicely put!  My Grandsons are very excited about tonight.  My five year old is a basketball player, my middle garandson is Nacho Libre, and my littlest one is Donald Duck.  We will have chili and pizza after Trick or Trunk at church. The most evil I will have to deal with this evening is the carbs contained in all of the candy they will bring home!

Am reading your posts, mackdaddy1, missive, an kindlee, love them all but right now have a naked as a jaybird, one year old running away from diaper along with a very empty sippy cup!... you want to talk about scary!!!  i'll be back in a few

Kindlee,

Oh. I'm sure she is JUST like me. Notice how she's not doing her work? How she's daydreaming?

That's exactly what scares me. Not scared "She's gonna eat me." Scared to believe in anything so radical.

As you'll see by my halloween costume, illustrated by Sweet D in the link below, I tend to run from anything that requires me to be too serious for too long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=donmqQgum7I 

If you watch really carefully, you'll see Sweet D from It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia, pummeling a homeless man's head with a garbage can lid. She's dressed as a Guardian Angel. And so am I.

And so is my husband. He's Mac today. We're gonna go "keep bums from making a mess all over the city" in D-town tonight. 

Yeah, baby. 

The link doesn't work.

It's at YouTube, under this title:

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia "You Will"

missive check your phone for pic!!

jaimelynn,

Am going now to check. I swear, if you sent a pic of that painting, will come to your home for very special 'Trick' of my own.  

MissIve: I guess I should read the posts a little more thorough.  At the time of my response I did not realize that Jaimelynn was related to you.  Duh!  If she is your sister, no brut force would be neccessary.  She would most lkely outsmart the other party in any situation.  Sorry gals!   

Post slower...I can't keep up today!  We've had about 200 kids and its only 1pm.

I'm done with Hallowwen I just celebratd it for the pat 5 hours. Manning the booth at the local "saafe" Trick or Treating Event for kids.... I went as Little Red Riding Hood borrowed from a GF. & becaue the Strawberry Shortcake outfit was to small.  

I don't mind Halloween, I love seeing the little kids all dressed up in the costumes, but I do miss the origanlity that was there in my childhood. I mean REALLY you HAD TO buy your 10 year old kid the $40 Gypsy outfit form the Halloween Boutique?!   I saw 4 of them when I was kid we made it oursleves from either our old clothes or getting things from a visit to the thrift shops.  I never until my 20's had a Halloween costume that cost over $10.00. I also get upset at the parents, well he can;t have tha t& this & that while they are at you stop for the loot. If you child cannot have peanuts, chocolate, jaw breakers, Ect..., either DO not take them Trick or Treating or Go through the bag when you get home.  This is not a pick & chose holiday.  You DO NOT get a wish list....

Alright now that all my Frustrations are out, tonite I am packing up the dogs & driving up north to get away from the doorbell ringing that will happen. 

Hosueguest ~ Are in Marquette MI or Marquette, WI?

Nachista ~ LUFF David Sardis ~ Thought that was the Funniest part of the book.

Miss Ive ~ Still overwhelmed at the buying of Halloween Candy ~ maybe the Preist for Chicago can help me... On second thought, I need to ask WHy are you REALLY looking for a priest? Remember the burningof Heretics has been over for a LONG TIME.. Even if it has Cinamantic possiblities.....

MissIve,

Oh, that kind of Guardian Angel! I'm sure you and your husband will make a great crime-stopping team. Have fun!

Do you feel the girl in the painting could be considered your personal guardian angel? Certainly couldn't hurt to have one...

I occasionally lapse into an epic tone.  Forgive.

I personally harvested my last tomato just a week or so ago, and it was
so good.  It had hung green on the end of a withered vine or two
weeks.  Then, all of a sudden, it turned red.  I didn't save it.  I ate
it on the spot.  I shared half with a neighbor, too.

There is such a wonderful diversity of celebration around the harvest.  Everybody eats.  And every culture has a unique way of expressing their gratitude for the bountiful harvests that come in to the stores and granaries (and Safeways and Albertsons) at this time of year (at least, in the northern hemisphere that I call home). 

The trouble is that in our history there are those who forbade and punished the legitimate faiths of others, and who denied that diversity itself was a wonderful creation.  Take the catholic figure of Eligius, who warned the Pagans of Flanders to desist from their ancient Harvest time practices: "[Do not] make vetulas (little figures of a Goddess), little deer or iotticos or set tables (for the house-elf) at night or exchange New Year gifts (as Samhain marks the New Pagan Year) or supply superfluous drinks (a Yule custom)."  And they called him a saint.

These are hardly the words of a man who intends to let others do as they will.  These are not the words of a man who affirms another person's right to honor the Gods in their own way.  And yet where are the rejections of Eligius and his ilk?  A dis-beatification? Where are the defenders of tolerance?  Do they bray only when their own ways are slighted?  Or do they stand up for all of us, at a time of sharing?  

All are invited to my table, but will some refuse because I do not pray to their god, under my own roof?  Eligius was talking to polytheists, those Flemish Heathens, who by their nature embraced ALL Gods, and tolerated ALL worship.  Eligius would be the one who, today, insisted that he be given full rights while others are denied their own.  Shame on his ghost!

The story of the Lammas loaves, a wonderful Pagan practice, is about
loves of bread originally baked in the form of a giant, golden boar (Frey, for
those who follow this kind of thing).  Those loaves celebrated the
abundance of the Harvest for all of us, and thankfulness to the Gods of
the fields who made our hard work worth something.  Yet the church
claimed those loaves for itself, and then gave them out to people as
"The Lord's Supper".  One little bite.  And only if you went to church.

Do forgive me, but I'm enough of a Heathen to wish to keep my own loaves,
made by my own work, and share them with whom I please, Gods and neighbors alike.

Blessédly, the world has turned a full circle:  from a surfeit of goodness in the guises of the all the Gods themselves, to a horrible blood-letting under the sword of orthodoxy, and at last we are emerging into a remembrance of the Light that comes from the sun above our heads, the same sun that shone on the crops that are being harvested and brought in for us all to share, at a Thanksgiving table together. The Earth is a holy, good, and bountiful place.  The only one we get.  It is for sharing.

Hence, it is no detraction to say that there is no one story about Samhain, or the Haerfest, or Winterfinding, etc.  That plurality of narratives is what binds different cultures together - not arguing about "whose story is the right one".  They are all of them right, and true, and valuable, and worthy.  Doesn't each Harvest bring LIFE to everyone?  Doesn't each crop feed ALL the children of the New Year? 

Obviously I've turned the corner from a quaint appreciation of Brach's, Hershey, and Marvel Comics to something a bit more heavily laden.  But for me, this weekend is a time of profound holiness, and I felt the obligation to importune.

Jonathan,

Can taste the tomato. Nice.

Jaimelynn,

Still no pic here. Scary? Grace-T?

Kindlee,

I do think that—often. If I can be serious for a moment. Not so much a guardian angel, but a missing piece. Maybe. I can't quite say. And that's the only thing that scares me. 

It's less of a fear and more of an intense anticipation. Like you would feel if you were about to meet someone, face to face, who you had known for a long time through distant correspondance. Does that make sense? Like you know each other, but not really.

You're so sweet to have actually gone to see my 'costume!' Sweet D kicks ass. Yes she does.

Happy Halloween all.

Mr. Pitt is on plane to Mr. Shmord's big 60th B-day bash on a distant island. And Mr. Pitt, Jr., is letting us all go early. 

DPR ~ I am SHOCKED that the film FREAKS is not on your list of Scary Movies. I know its also kind of a sad film in its own right. But it really is one of the Strangest & Scariest films I have seen.

[I never talk at you guys anymore!]
Last night was a girls night in horrorfest with a few close friends and a few crappy movies.
I tend to love B-movies with a passion [Candyman, anyone?], and these high budget films that you can tell were made specifically for the 18-35 year old male crowd are horrible.
[There's just no way that Chuckie, the masturbating killer doll, can really have /that/ much blood.]
Best "horror" movie of all time was definately The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
I've been obsessed since age 11, never seen it live though [my friends offer all the time but my parents don't seem to like the thought of me running around with half naked strangers, thrusting and singing].

This Halloween I'm partying it up as Harley Quinn [the Joker's sidekick/lover, along with my own Poison Ivy, the other side of the evil love triangle. We had a Joker, but he got grounded] and sneaking out of the party early to trick or treat amongst the little kids.
I always envyed the teenagers in their skanky costumes, walking around without parents, laughing and not getting scared while I tried to keep up with my mom, shivering with cold and fright.
These days I love inflicting that feeling on them.

Fun fact; there was no school today, halfway for the end of the marking period and halfway so the prinicpal could put the finishing touches on his costume.

Are you talking about the 1932 flim?  Complete agreement, then!  One of the scariest movies about circus carnies every made, and the origination of Austin Powers' phobia.

Miss Ive, many Heathenish (you little chocolate scarfer) families believe in the spirits of their maternal ancestors (and by that I mean spirits of women), who stay with them and protect the living family always.  They are called Disir.  They are your family, in spirit form, always with you.

Wiki is unusually correct on this one:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%ADs

And here's another authority on the topic (don't get spooked at the end of it): http://www.friggasweb.org/matrons.html

Maybe throw a Mother's Night into your yearly observances?  Who knows what sort of friend you'll make...  

Has anyone see the silent German film, Nosferatu?  That one even scared my dad.

Jonathan Eells ~ Yes the 1932 film is the one I am talking about. Don't quite get the Austin Powers reference though, haven't watched the films in a long while....

Today while at the Kids event saw amny more Dorothy Gale's than I ever expected... Not a HUGE fan of the Wizard of Oz, so am kind of surpised there were SO many of her costumes being worn. I figure it mst be the sparkly shoes.....

Can honesstly say that the witch always freaked me out.

lovey!!! "joker was grounded!". Sent from haunted iPhone. . .

Missy-Could there be something supernatural in your identification? It's fun to think so, and certainly good for scary. Maybe you just identify, babygirl, and that is so cool. I've certainly done something similar, in my dark and private moments, feel the creepy-crawly tendrils of the past wrap about my frontal lobes, or is it the amygdala? Doc would know. It's a characteristic of our species, part of the curse of awareness, that we feel so deeply, that we can imagine, and project our consciousness through time. In both directions. For some really powerful and scary writing about this phenomenon, read H.P. Lovecraft. He nailed it.  For me, it's the goosebumps. I don't pretend that I have any clue what it's about, but it feels good, and I know, I think I know, it's not reincarnation, or channeling, but it's something. Not just luminous are we, but sentient, and prescient.

Don't fight it-feel it...

Rings how did your costume turn out?  My feet are killing me from handing out candy all day.

My driveway is 3/4 of a mile long, and the few trick-or-treaters we get in the area lack the stamina to make the effort.  In 7 years we've had 3 make the trek to our door.

The genre of horror movies never held much appeal to me.  Being an oncologist, I see enough horror stories on a daily basis.  No reason to go looking for more.

Hey, Jaimelynn,

I don't blame anyone for not wanting to celebrate Halloween. What worries me is that the people who don't want to celebrate Halloween because of some stated fear of devil worship will forgo a Christian idea ALL HALLOWS EVE ( and they are Christians, mind you) in favor of worshipping the harvest- a Pagan one.   

There are dozens of Saints days that I don't celebrate or observe or even know about. I fail to recognize days of ethnic significance more often than I fail to recognize my distant relatives and I live in a place where I am related to nearly everyone. But when I abstain from say, the Feast of San Gennarro (Sept 19), I don't go out and eat pizza or Spagh Carb and blame it on my homegirl Kimberly Aiken's winning the Miss America crown the same day.

She and I haven't  even spoken in years. 

I say "Abstain when you will. Celebrate or not what your conscience tells you. ( See St Paul on this)  But, try to be logical. If you fear the Devil ( and I certainly fear evil ) why not stick with the Saints and stay away from those Harvest Rites."

So say I, but (almost ) everyone is entitled to do (pretty much) as they wish.  It isn't hypocrisy, even. It looks to me like having your cake and eating it, too.  If you can make it work, go right ahead.

On an unrelated topic, am I the only one besides Agent666 who notices that "costume" is very very very often interpreted by women over 14 as "sexy costume"?

Someone closer to pagan or Wiccan or one of those other things will pointout how Christian dates and places are conveniently grafted onto older ideas. And someone more interested in further strangeness will point out the apparent one-to-one of Santerian and Candomble deities with  Roman Catholic ones. I leave that to the scholars in our midst.

Me, I'm just wondering if it's OK to use the phrase MILF* when I mention my own adolescent trick or treating fantasy... 

*Mom

I'd

Like (to)

Become amiably conversant with

William, I know that a lot of women in the South only feel like they can express their sexuality on Halloween. I'm sure there lie fertile fields for the Freudians.

And, laughing my ass off, I will submit my current incarnation. Whenever the flipping thing LOADS!!!

All the polls I care about are in: we need bigger pics. This is difficult for a latent exhibitionist...

Nachista ~ Had a friend who has a Little Red Riding Hood Costume, was WAY Easier than trying to get the Strawberry Shortcake one finished.... Was a pretty good day except for a few.... (see post above)

Am now getting ready to run out of work grab the Puppies & head on up to the Cabin for the nite.. Hopefully no ghost of Hunters lost, or Dead highway Bride accidents get in the car with me before I reach the Cabin..... ever hear of Resurrection Mary anyone....(besides Peter Lake)     

Olivia, what do you mean? I have heard women say "I'm so drunk" year 'round...

I'm done at work, going to my mom's halloween party to flip navajo tacos, happy halloween al!

Just back from the post office where, thankfully, my Viking mask had arrived.  My plan for neighborhood domination is now complete.  I've got the giant axe.  I have the properly Rune-embroidered tunic, the belt, and people can just NOT look at the shoes, okay.

It's an hour until departure for festivities.  I wish all of you the very best (candy and treats), and the HAPPIEST OF NIGHTS!!!  

Except for MissIve.  She gets the SPOOKIEST. 

Alright, alright, make it the happiest of spooky nights.

OH!  And a new Peterman catalog.  It shall not go neglected.

The Haunting with Claire Bloom and Julie Harris still works for me. Great sound effects.

Happy Halloweenie everyone. See ya at the dentist.

So far, the count at the door is 11, 11 trick-o-treaters, AH AH AH AH AH, thunder roar, lightening flash...(old-70's-Sesame Street flashback to Count von Count who, of course, loved to count!)

rings90

It is Mi.
The people who work outside all seem to come from Wakefield.
It is nice now but has been colder than a well digger's witch and there were coyote tracks in the snow... on the back stoop and mostly ignored by the dogs. Unusual.
H.G.

Willie Trask,

Who could object to: "Matrons In Lovely Frocks?"

William-That is an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT situation, young man...

Kindlee-I thought I was the ONLIEST one to remember The Count! He was my favourite SS character, followed closely by Cookie Monster.

Two. TWO rememberers, ah ah ah (thunder/lightning)....

ME LOVE COOKIE!!

Olivia, you are not the onliest one to remember the Count.  He was my mother's favorite and I still do my lame impression of him for my 9 year old daughter.  She did like the SS Fast Breaking News Flash that Kermit did, too, though.  No wonder they are also my faves.

 What I want to know is, does anyone know what it means when someone doesn't use a subject in a sentence describing their own experience? 

BTW, I live in the South and have never interpreted costume to mean"sexy."  You must hang with a repressed crowd, Willie.

 My favorite costume was all black....a cat burglar.  Sexy?  Not if you saw my girth at the time!

Nachista,

Do you realize, in your third post today, you claim that half your co-workers were naked?  "the other half isn't dressed at all."

Rings,

I didn't mention Freaks because the poll specifies horror series.  If we were discussing individual horror movies, my list would be extremely different.  I love the Boris Karloff version of The Mummy but all the sequels sucked big fat rhinoceros appendage.  As for Tod Browning movies about circus carnies, check out The Unknown, a twisted 1927 romance with Lon Chaney and Joan Crawford.

Kindlee,

Do you remember we recently discussed the philosophical problem of embracing an idea when attempting to refute it.  I bring this up in relation to your comment, "Everyone has the right to believe what they wish...and to be respected for their beliefs."  Be wary, my dear, the two halves of that statement are diametric opposites.  They can't both be true.  The second part violates the first part.  Consider this extreme but legitimate example:

Let's say that Joe Nazi believes all Jews are evil.  So long as he does not infringe on my rights, he has every right to hold this belief.  But if I believe Joe to be repugnant for such a notion, I am violating his right to receive my respect.  Yet, if my belief that Jews are equal to everyone else has the right to be respected by Joe Nazi, how do we avoid violating his right to believe what he wishes?

There is no way around it.  We have rights to do things but not to receive things.  Respect is a form of belief and I cannot demand it of anyone.  It must be volunteered.  It is not a right.

Hmmm.... Halloween came and went and not one kid (or adult) knocked on the door... the times are changing.  :-(

DPR, Halloween may be over but it appears that my words have come back to haunt me! You are quite right, of course. Your point is very well taken. I wish I could use the excuse that this is what happens to me when I overdose on Halloween chocolate whilst wearing my Surpreme Overlord of the Universe costume, but I can't. Frankly, I am still grappling with the concepts of absolute truth vs. relativism and rights vs. freedoms. If I had spoken only for myself, and said: Everyone has the right to believe what they wish...and I respect them for their beliefs, would that have been better? And, is belief actually a right or a freedom? I appreciate the continuing lessons...it's the only way I'm going to learn. Today (Saturday)has been a really long day for me and I need to think about this some more...and I will. Thanks.

Doc Nolan, Sorry about the lack of trick-o-treaters. When we first moved into our neighborhood, we averaged about 100 kids every year. This year it was 39. Lots of kids don't want to make the trek up the hill we have near our home. Sadly, they don't seem to think that it's worth the walk, especially when they can go to a Halloween party and get all the candy they want without any effort.