Halloween 2005

scary pumpkins
Originally uploaded by ailishsul.

Every year starting on October 1st I start my steady journey into Halloween mania. There is something that stirs my spirit about this holiday and I can't figure it out. I have a few theories but nothing that sits right. It is not that I like thrillers or slasher films. I abhor them. When watching creepy adventures like Alien and Sixth Sense I close my eyes through theintense parts. I don't even like roller coasters. So what is my fascination with the Hallowed eve.

When I was a kid I remember the fun of pulling out the costume box each October. I still remember the bits of costumes it held. A American Indian costume complete with a papoose and feather headress, a red velvet jypsy skirt with gold trim, an old prom dress, the full length grey pilgrim skirt and the white sheet for ghost or angel. I remember the last time my sister went trick or treating. She wore old clothes, a tweed cap and rubbed brown makeup on her cheeks to be a bum. After that year she helped follow me from door to door . Dad always had to inspect the sweets before I could eat them.When my children were young I remember carrying on the tradition of "inspecting" the sweets. About 50% would disappear so that they wouldn't get sick or maybe that was my share of the takings. With 5 children trick or treating it was quite a haul.

The night before Halloween my Dad would carve the pumpkin but it was my job to clean out the innards. We would roast the seeds after calling my sister Barbara yearly for the right oven temperature. I wish we lived closer to her as the yearly burning of the pumpkin seeds forgotton in my oven would make her smile. I remember one year Barbara was concerned that I would be lonely as the last trick or treater in the family. So she came and made donuts with me. We ate donuts and popcorn and set out all the mini chocolate bars in bowls waiting for trick or treaters. I remember the morning after Halloween being happy our house was not the one egged and glad our pumpkin was not the one smashed in the street. My parents always said that it was a good thing my teenage sisters new a large number of the neighbourhood teenagers so our house missed the tricking.

My Halloween celebrations are happy events with a twist of mayhem. Over the past 5 years with the help of some friends that I've converted to Halloween we have run Trunk or Treating (trick or treating from one decorated car trunk to another) at one primary school and Halloween games for over 100 children 2 years running at another. Halloween Parties involving 100+ children are amazingly chaotic -hence we have moved to home parties with less than 15 .


At our teen Halloween party this year we arranged a murder mystery. We had punch in a witches cauldron complete with floating ice hand and served it in Halloween goblets. I found a ceramic skull candle holder at a charity shop to create atmosphere. Pumpkin man (see photo) greeted guests at the door, ghosts hung from our patio umbrella and the house was lit only by candles. We discovered Count Dracula did it in the end.


On Halloween itself we had a childrens party for my youngest daughter and my friends children. Following a lunch of severed fingers(hotdogs with ketchup), slug guts and brains(sphaghetti and meatballs), and pizza the kids dunked for apples,ate donuts off a string, had a dip in some gunge and played Halloween Bingo. I had an immense amount of fun.


And maybe that is why I love Halloween. It is a chance for me to have fun with my kids and a chance for me to continue to be a kid. Glad some things in life have simple answers and don't change like enjoying Halloween.