October Thoughts Day 31: All Good Things Must Come to an End

It’s here, it’s here, it’s finally here, today is Halloween! These 31 days have gone by in a flash, and yet at the same time it feels like they have taken forever. I suppose that is how you know it has been a good month. This October wasn’t anything like I expected it to be and I still don’t know how I feel about that but time marches on. I have a few things on my October bucket list to cross off and a whole glorious day to do it in.

It has been fun seeing people in costumes early and hearing about all the festivities, but nothing can take away the splendor that is Halloween night. I have my candy platter at the ready in case any trick-or-treaters get lost and accidentally end up at my house. The decorations are all in place and the things that light up have been lit.

October gave me a wonderful surprise last evening. I got to sit out on the porch and watch a massive fog bank roll in. In mere minutes it had engulfed the house and was so dense that it disrupted the satellite feed on the TV. After the fog came a hard rain that sounded like it would beat through the roof. It was quite a treat. Hopefully this inclement weather system has worked itself out so this evening will be clear and bright. I always hated wet Halloweens. Trick-or-treating is no fun if you have to wear your rain gear. It defeats the purpose of having a marvelous costume.

I hope you have enjoyed the thoughts this year, they weren’t totally up to par, but I hope you found them entertaining nonetheless. I hope this October found you well and blessed, so much so that you can ride on the coattails of all that feel good straight into Thanksgiving.

Soon the magic of October will be boxed up and set upon the cosmic shelf for another year. The easygoing ways we have come to love will be replaced with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season as the old year slowly fades to make room for the new. So then, the challenge for today is to enjoy the remainder of October to the fullest. Bob for apples, finally pay a visit to that corn maze, wear a crazy costume, pass out candy, go on a hayride, drink come cider or eat pumpkin spice something. Make merry till the clock strikes twelve and your carriage once again turns into a pumpkin. Once you are tucked away safely at home and after you check under your bed for monsters looking to steal your candy, snuggle down in bed and make a list of all the things you were thankful for in this most wondrous of months. Hold on to that list and those feelings as you move into November and beyond. Consider it a belated October gift to yourself. Now quit reading and go out there and carpe some diem.

Happy October everyone and Happy Halloween!

October Thought Day 30: A Sincere Pumpkin Patch Anniversary

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.” I don’t remember when I first saw it, but from then on it has pretty much been a pre-Halloween viewing staple. According to the official website, it is “the third special based on Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip—and second holiday-themed special after A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

No matter what special it is, I have always identified with Linus. I too carried my blankie around for years and I like to think I have the same childish enthusiasm and zest for life that he does. Linus isn’t going to let anyone sway him no matter what they think or say. He is a problem solver and we both have rolled pumpkins along because they are too heavy to move otherwise. I love his tender heart especially when he equates carving a pumpkin with gourd murder. Side note: I like how in cartoons, TV shows or movies pumpkin carving takes about three minutes tops if that and it always looks perfect. I think I need to hire their art departments. Unlike Linus however, my favorite part of the carving process is scooping out the guts.

Whenever I watch this special, the costumes always get me thinking. I know there is a long held adage that if you can’t find a costume you just cut some holes in your sheets and go as a ghost. In all my years I have never seen anyone dressed up like a ghost, nor have I seen anyone in cut up sheets. Where did this idea come from? At some point someone had to do it, or else it is another of those urban myths.

Like Linus I too have jumped into a pile of leaves for fun. However, what they don’t tell you is that it hurts and it is not as fun as it looks. Leaves have no padding what so ever which means that you hit the ground hard if you take a mighty leap. It looks fun in the movies, not so much in real life. I’m lucky I didn’t break an arm or a leg.

Every time I watch the show I am reminded that I want to try Snoopy’s leaf blowing technique. While Charlie Brown is raking leaves, one falls off a tree and drifts down toward Snoopy, who then blows on it to keep it aloft until it gets to the leaf pile. When I tried all I got for my troubles was short of breath. Gravity kept fighting me and the leaves didn’t want to float like on TV, yet another harsh reality.

I love that Linus writes to the Great Pumpkin like some write letters to Santa. Actually I just like the fact that Linus writes, I think it is a lost art form. I don’t care that it is an old show and not reflective of the times now. Maybe it will revive something. I wish I had though up the idea of writing to the Great Pumpkin, and speaking of, what a great character. I love that he comes from the pumpkin patch. Whenever I visit one I peer closely under the vines and around the pumpkins to see if I can find the entrance hatch to his workshop. It always makes me wonder what the Great Pumpkin looks like. Is he a pumpkin with arms and legs, or a composite man made up of many pumpkins? Is he tall or short? Does he have a round belly (he must, if he is pumpkin shaped) or is he orange like an Oompa Loompa? Or is he more like Santa, but orange and black instead of red and white? Does he live underground like Batman or is that simply where his workshop is located? So many questions, maybe that will be an October Thought for next year, fleshing out the character of the Great Pumpkin.

I love that Linus has his own brand of magic and that he can use his blankie like a whip. He’s a pint sized Indiana Jones. I also love how he finishes his letter to the Great Pumpkin, “PS, if you really are a fake, don’t tell me. I really don’t want to know.” I couldn’t agree more. It is fun to pretend.

I love that the show brings up the idea of Pumpkin Carols, yet another thing for me to try and find. It seems I will have some holiday homework. And since I am in a questioning frame of mind, what does a sincere pumpkin patch look like? I’ve always wondered and I still don’t know the answer. Also, I have never gotten a rock as a trick or treat favor and neither has anyone I’ve asked. Is that really a thing? Is that a trick that is actually played? Or is it like the ghost sheets, something people generally say happens but doesn’t actually?

For a holiday cartoon it is kind of a downer. The ending is bad and the depiction of kids is truthful but cruel. Kids can be mean, especially when you march to the beat of your own drum like Linus does. He gets ridiculed for his belief in the Great Pumpkin by friends and family alike. I respect him for sticking to his guns and it makes me like him all the more. He passes up trick or treating and a Halloween party to validate his beliefs. What a guy.

Every year I hope against hope that this will be the time that the Great Pumpkin rises for Linus from the pumpkin patch, and every year both he and I are let down, but he never gives up. He falls asleep in the patch waiting so strong is his resolve. I think it is sweet that in the end his cynical sister goes out to get him and leads him back home to bed. She may think he is a twit and she may disagree with him, but he is family and she still loves him.

There is a lot to mine from such a seemingly simple cartoon, which is probably why I like it. Ok, I like it because it has Linus in it and a Halloween connection, but the fact that it is more than surface deep doesn’t hurt either. So, with one day left before the big celebration, go out and find your sincere pumpkin patch and let me know if you get to meet the Great Pumpkin!

October Thought Day 29: Living in a Pumpkin Paradise

There is a quote that says, “I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.” I don’t know that it would necessarily have to be a pumpkin, but this time of year, I would happily take a pumpkin throne. I am reasonably certain I would also have a pumpkin crown and pumpkin scepter to go with it. If the pumpkin were big enough, and some of them are, I’ll bet I could find someone to carve me an actual throne out of a pumpkin. Oh, now I’m getting ideas….

I meant to go to the pumpkin patch this year; and not to find a pumpkin throne either. I dreamed of all the oddly shaped wonders I could find. I poured over carving templates and crafty ideas. I tried to decide which color I would get and what size. It was a pumpkin delirium that I didn’t want to come out of.

In my pumpkin buying frenzy of a few years past I think I bought 31 pumpkins….ok, it may have been closer to 40. This year I didn’t make it to the patch at all, but I have some pretty wonderful friends who supplied me with plenty of gourdy goodness in all forms. Yesterday I got to carve them. Ok, I had help and it was only one, but it was very satisfying. I bucked tradition and didn’t do my normal face; instead I carved a ghost that looked frightened. On the template I chose the ghost looked adorably alarmed. On my pumpkin representation, he looks scared to death and has jazz hands. Ah well, you can’t win em all. I named him Mortimer.

While I was carving I was thinking about my pumpkin throne and all the different ways we use pumpkins this time of year. Naturally my curiosity got the better of me and I turned to the internet to assuage it. For instance, did you know that this month a champion weight pumpkin at a fair in California tipped the scale at 1,910 pounds (which is more than the weight of a U-Haul)? It had to be brought in on a flatbed truck and moved to the scales with a special hydraulic system. Such a behemoth could be used to make over 600 pumpkin pies, but that’s not even the biggest pumpkin on record. The world record holding pumpkin weighs in at 2,623 pounds. What on earth are they feeding these things, small animals? I am content with the ones that are the size of a standard classroom globe. I have no idea what I’d do with a giant pumpkin other than carve a throne or make a small play house. I went back to the California pumpkin contest and looked at some of their statistics and had a good chuckle, because the first award winning pumpkin won at a whopping 132 pounds. I think pumpkins have gone on steroids since then.

Weighing isn’t the only world record pumpkin related activity around. There are places like Keene, New Hampshire that have set a world record in most carved pumpkins lit outdoors and displayed. There were 30,581 pumpkins used to set that record and I can’t even begin to imagine what that would look like. The good people of Keene have set up a thirty-four foot scaffold to display a majority of the pumpkins, but even it can’t hold them all.

But simply carving in bulk is old news and now there is a new trend in pumpkin mania, pop up pumpkin displays called Rise of the Jack O’ Lanterns. The displays will be made up of more than 5,000 hand carved pumpkins and they will all be lumped together to create one tableau. Think of a dinosaur or a car being made entirely out of pumpkins. Each display will take 10-15 hours to carve and in addition to the large displays there will be smaller works of pumpkin art. When I carve a pumpkin it looks like a third grader did it. These people who basically make sculptures out of pumpkins amaze me. They can do portraits and scenes from paintings; it blows my mind, the creativity of people.

Like my friend who made me a pumpkin diorama. She hollowed out a fake pumpkin and then created a haunted house tableau on the inside. There are bats and toadstools, moss, a mansion, skeletons and more. She even lit it and decorated the outside of the pumpkin. Stuff like that energizes me. What talent and creativity. My other friend painted me a pumpkin man on a rock. It isn’t a big rock but the detail is fantastic. I have it propped up in my room to enjoy and like my fake pumpkin; I will have this rock till the end of days. Both shall be cherished parts of my décor.

With all this pumpkin creativity around, my challenge to you is this, get out of your pumpkin rut and do something different. Carve something new, visit a pumpkin patch for the first time, find a pumpkin celebration or make your own. Maybe even wrap yourself up in a blanket and watch your very own pumpkin glowing by the light of the moon and take a mental picture of it. In short, enjoy the wonderful fall gourd in a way you never have before.  

October Thought Day 28: Holiday History

Talking about past candy scores made me think about Halloween’s past and how much things have changed. Change is inevitable, sometimes it can be painful, but it is interesting to see it progress. I remember that Halloween used to mean parents dressing up their kids and sending them out to get candy. Most of the time children were unsupervised or if they were it was with an older sibling. You went door to door in your neighborhood, got your candy and happily munched it without a care in the world. Then came the few bad apples that put dangerous things in the candy. So parents had to send the haul to a scanner before their kids could eat it. Then it got too dangerous to trick or treat so parents started taking their kids to the mall or churches or trunk or treats to keep them safe. Now most people go to an alternative Halloween affair, which is fun, but not the same as what I did as a kid.

It’s sad that in my short lifespan things have changed so drastically. In my mind that is craziness. Halloween has always been one way and to change it seems wrong. But has it really always been that way? I knew a little about the history of Halloween, but for the sake of this question I dug a bit deeper.

In the beginning, the time around what we now call Halloween was thought to be when the veil between worlds was thinnest and evil spirits could run amok. To confuse the evil spirits, people wore masks. If the spirit thought you were another beasty it would leave you alone. In the Middle Ages that morphed into people going door to door asking for soul-cakes for food. If they got a cake the recipient would promise to say a prayer for the giver’s departed family members. During that same time frame, the religious theme was compounded by people beginning to dress up in costumes, particularly those connected to biblical figures. These costumed people would roam the towns and tell bible stories as well as myths. This idea of mumming is partly responsible for the concept of trick-or-treating that we have now.

Trick or treating became popular in the US in the 30’s as a way to diminish youth causing mischief. The idea first took hold in the western US and then moved east. According to Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween, “It began as a new year’s celebration and a Christian commemoration of the dead. Over time it has served as a harvest festival, a romantic night of mystery for young adults, an autumnal party for adults, a costumed begging ritual for children, a season for exploring fears in a controlled environment and most recently a heavily commercialized product exported by the US to the rest of the world.”

Having learned the history of my favorite holiday, it makes me wonder why people do it now. I have never met anyone who dressed up because they were trying to confuse evil spirits. I have never heard a trick-or-treater offer to pray for a family’s loved ones in exchange for candy. Do we participate because of national tradition and a sense that we have always done it so we just keep on keeping on? If I had to make a guess, I would say collectively it is done to go with the flow, for kids it’s because of candy and for adults it’s an excuse for a party. I think there are some out there who use it as a day of remembrance like me, but even I do it for the fun of dressing up and decorating. I also love the parties. It is a way to get ready for the coming winter, a no pressure way to practice for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s funny and a bit sad that something steeped in such tradition has become a watered down version of itself.  

So why do you celebrate the holiday, or do you?

October Thought Day 27: Sweet Nostalgia

My favorite thing about Halloween when I was little was the candy….ok, my first favorite thing was the costume, but my hands down second favorite thing was the candy. My dad and I plotted and schemed and did dry runs through neighborhoods to see how we could maximize our sugar gathering potential. One year I came away with three pillowcases full, it was marvelous. There was nothing as satisfying as sorting it all out at the end of the night and divvying it up. The popcorn balls, apples, raisins and stickers all got shoved to the side and then I got down to the good stuff. My parents never exacted a candy tax; and even if they had I thought it was only fair to share, and by share I meant that I kept the good stuff and gave them the left overs. No, I wasn’t that bad, I gave them some of the good stuff too.

It actually worked out really well. For the most part, the stuff I kept they didn’t like and the stuff I gave away was their favorites. I can’t remember what my favorites were; probably the mini candy bars and the Reese’s, maybe the Dots oh and Tootsie Rolls, definitely Tootsie Rolls. I got to eat a few pieces that night and then it all went in a bowl that was put on top of the refrigerator. After that I got one piece after dinner each night or as a treat at other times, at least that was their understanding of the system, I never let on that I devised a method of reaching the bowl and helping myself and I never took enough to raise suspicions. I think I would have gotten in more trouble telling them how I got the candy than the actual eating of the candy. Most years it lasted almost until the following Halloween.

Now that I am an adult I miss trick-or-treating. I miss the strategy sessions and the mission impossible type feats of getting to the candy bowl. Being able to buy my own bag in the store doesn’t have the same appeal and walking to the cashier and yelling trick or treat just gets me weird looks. I liked having to “work” for it by going around the neighborhood. It somehow tasted better that way, more satisfying.

Now that I’m on the purchasing end of the spectrum I can observe the holiday from a different perspective and get mad at the unseasonably early marketing ploys. It was late July when the first Halloween candy aisle got put up at my local store. That is way too early. Even August is way too early. There is no reason Halloween candy can’t come out in October. But of course that messes with their marketing. You buy the candy in July/August, you eat the candy in July/August and then you have to buy more in September…..which leads to eating in September which makes for another grocery run in October. I get it, but I hate rushing things. Like now, Halloween is still four days away and we haven’t even gotten to Thanksgiving and they are selling Christmas candy and trees. Sigh.

But we can’t end a candy post on a sour note, so here is some trivia for you to munch on. On average according to the all wise and knowledgeable internet, Americans spend about $44 on candy each year or 2.1 billion on candy total. Imagine what would happen if we all kicked in our candy money for one year, think of the national bills we could pay. Treat indeed. The top five candies are candy corn, Snickers, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Kit-Kats and m&m’s, which sounds about right to me.

So what is your favorite candy? What are the most trick-or-treaters you’ve ever had? Do you prefer giving candy or getting it?

October Thought Day 26: The Place to Be

Back home there was a quaint little coffee shop on the corner called “The Place to Be.” I thought the name was kinda clever as it was advertising in and of itself. After all, it simply was the place to be. It was cozy, the servers were friendly, the couches were deep and soft and the coffee was good. In short it was the perfect coffee shop. Alas, not all good things can last and now it is a very uninspiring furniture store. But what’s my point?

There are lots of places to be around this time of year. Many people travel to New England to watch the leaves change in a glorious riot of color. More than a few head to Keene, New Hampshire for the massive pumpkin festival that has set world records in pumpkin carving. Some intrepid souls hitch their wagon and set out for Salem, Massachusetts for the historical reenactments. Salem is a town that has taken its fifteen minutes of fame and turned it into a lifestyle, which is also what St. Helen’s Oregon has done. The movie Halloweentown was filmed there and every October the town recreates the set for the thousands of visitors who flock in. And speaking of towns that capitalize on entertainment, one can also go to Sleepy Hollow, New York to experience the legend of Sleepy Hollow firsthand. The town keeps the story alive all year round, but do a little something extra come October.

Halloween is a growing holiday and it seems like more and more places want to put their individual stamp on it. There are coffin races in Manitou Springs, Colorado and the World’s Largest Halloween party is held in Louisville, Kentucky. The Halloween capital of the world is in Anoka Minnesota where the first Halloween celebration in the country was said to occur. But the Halloween fun isn’t limited to the states, Airbnb is offering a night in Dracula’s Transylvanian castle this Halloween.

There are ghost towns a plenty all over the country and the seven scariest ghost towns in America (according to the internet) are Dudley Town in Cornwall, Connecticut, Bodie in California, Animas Forks in Colorado, Centralia in Pennsylvania, North Brother Island in New York, Thurmond in West Virginia and the Seattle Underground in Washington. Truth be told, there are “haunted” locations to visit in each one off the fifty states if you know where to look.

But ghost towns aren’t the only spooky locals; there are also towns with odd spots in them like the Oregon Vortex in Oregon or the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. Then there are the towns you simply want to visit because they sound Halloweeny like Candy Town, Ohio, Cape Fear, North Carolina, Frankenstein, Missouri, Pumpkin Bend, Arkansas, Pumpkin Hollow, New York, Scary, West Virginia, Spook City, Colorado, Tombstone, Arizona and Witch Hazel, Oregon.

No matter where you go there is something fun to see, do or experience in the fall. Your challenge today is to get online or go to your local chamber of commerce and see what interesting attractions you can find locally then go visit them, share with me or if you can’t travel, make your own home the place to be.

October Thought Day 25: Whadda Ya Want on Your Tombstone?

I always loved that tagline from the Tombstone pizza ads, it gave me the giggles. It also made me think of pizza shaped tombstones and zombie delivery ghouls. Ever since I was a tiny tot, I have been fascinated with cemeteries/graveyards. They don’t scare me, they fascinate me. I even like the name graveyard, a yard full of graves. It paints quite the word picture.

I am an architecture/art nut and cemeteries have some of the best of both of those worlds, the creativity and artistry is off the charts. However, I am not an equal opportunity cemetery lover, it has to be certain cemeteries with certain qualifications, and any old graveyard won’t do. They have to have character. Cemeteries where there are only flat plaques in the ground don’t float my boat. The place just looks like a really big lawn and there is nothing interesting about that. I enjoy places like St. Louis Cemetery # 1 in New Orleans, the Roman catacombs, and the tombs in and around Westminster Abbey. The older and more run down a cemetery is the better I like it, and I love, love, love the old west goofy inscriptions on the tombstones. It gives a whole new meaning to having the last laugh.

When I first got mono I thought about the tombstone that reads “I told you I was sick,” that is one of my all-time favorites. So of course I Googled it and it came up with all sorts of other funny stuff which was not at all what I was searching for, but for today’s thought, it works.

It always astounds me what people will write on a tombstone. Pop culture references are all well and good until you have to spend an eternity with them. A man named Micah Green let his last words be forever immortalized as “I see dumb people” Really Micah, you want to antagonize the living who take care of your plot? Another of my favorites is showman impresario Merv Griffin’s tombstone which says “I will not be right back after these messages.” Still making us laugh Mr. Griffin, right along with Rodney Dangerfield whose stone oddly enough doesn’t say “I get no respect,” but does say “There goes the neighborhood,” which I like much better. Then there is an anonymous stone that says, “I made some good deals, I made some bad ones. I really went in the hole with this one.” It’s nice the occupant can find the humor in their situation.

One of the most disturbing tombstones I came across while googling was from a lady named Kim. The stone reads, “Jesus called, Kim answered” and it has a picture of someone who I assume is Kim with a cordless phone etched onto it. That thing gives me the creeps.

What you put on your tombstone is like trying to decide your senior quote, but for the rest of your unlife. People do all sorts of creative and crazy things. While googling I have seen full sized car, motorcycle and scooter headstones. Some people choose to build a family mausoleum. Others have chosen to turn their stone into a bench, which is my personal favorite. Some people get philosophical, some add bible verses, and some put only names and dates. It is interesting to see how people choose to be remembered; to look at the changing styles and trends. I’m not morbid; it’s the history major in me.

There are whole studies devoted to funerary iconography. I think it is fascinating how people view their dead and their placement. With the day of the dead celebration, loved ones decorate the tombs and picnic there. In New Orleans they dance their way to the cemetery. I love the idea of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery where you can go and watch movies projected across the side of a mausoleum. Plus they have a whole cultural events calendar….for a cemetery, for the living. Very cool, it is on my bucket list to go there one day.

When people take the time to lovingly craft a cemetery it shows. I appreciate the neat and orderly rows of Arlington, but I also enjoy the tombstones out in the middle of nowhere that are grouped together, halfway listing because they have been there so long. Someone cared enough to stake out a spot, hem it in and bury their dead. These places have character, which is also why I find old church yards marvelous.

There is actually a list of scenic cemeteries one should visit, Green-Wood Cemetery in New York City, Granary Burying Ground in Boston, Highgate Cemetery in London, Pere-Lachaise in Paris, the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, La Recoleta in Buenos Aires, Cememterio General in Santiago and the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem. Google them and you will see what I’m talking about. I love it when planners set up eternal resting places as places of contemplation and beauty rather than some afterthought for the afterlife.

This is what I like about October, for every macabre topic; there is also beauty to be found. So this is my challenge to you, find the beauty in something that normally wouldn’t be considered beautiful. Maybe it is a warty pumpkin, or a bug. Perhaps it is the dull flat color of an overcast day or someone you normally wouldn’t give a second look to. Look past the initial impression, dig deep and find the gem within, then let me know what you see.

October Thought Day 24: Dia de los Muertos

I know it is a bit early for this thought, and if you really want to be a stickler, it happens in November so by all rights it shouldn’t even be here; however, aside from all the scary, creepy, pumpkin spice loving, leaf peeping, everything, I think following a Dia de los Muertos pattern is really how I have celebrated October all these years.

The belief in supernatural circles is that on Halloween and the following day, the veil between the worlds is thinner and the dead can interact with the living. I don’t know if I believe that or not. Ok, let me clarify. I certainly have never had an expired loved one chat at me on Halloween or any other day, nor have I tried to contact them, nor do I plan to. I think that specific part is a bit far-fetched. However, I know there are things that can’t be explained by science and rational thought. I do believe there is a supernatural world that we can’t see and I believe in life after death. I don’t know if the dead try to communicate with us though.

This is what I do know. In October for whatever reason, I think about those who have passed more than any other month and it has nothing to do with skeletons, zombies, tombstones or any of the other Halloween related stuff. Some people feel their loved ones absences more acutely around Christmas or Valentine’s Day, but since October is my month of reflection I think of them now.

Dia de los Muertos is a two day festival on November 1^st (All Saints Day) and 2^nd (All Souls Day) honoring the departed. In this particular belief death is seen as a part of the human experience and it is felt that the dead would be offended by grieving and sadness, hence the festivities to honor them with laughter and joy. Being the irreverent person I am, that’s how I would like to go out if I had a choice, with laughter and joy. I understand the place of mourning, but why not choose to celebrate the life that was lived and the memories that were made.

For the Die de los Muretos celebrations, the graves of loved ones are decorated which I think is a lovely tradition. Candy and sweets play a large role in the celebration and their sweetness is seen as a counterpoint to the bitterness of death.

This year for the celebrations I will remember the life of my Uncle Richard. It is still hard to view this loss with anything but sadness. Though he passed five months ago I still find myself dialing the phone to tell him something or taking a picture to share that I know he’ll get a kick out of. Then I remember and it hits me like a ton of bricks all over again. This November 1^st will be for him. I will try to find the joy of remembrance and celebrate. I know he wouldn’t want me all teary and mopey and I know that if he is looking down on me he sees the goofy pictures I take and reads my long winded posts and chuckles. He shakes his head at his goofy niece and misses me too.

So my challenge to you this October/November is to remember. Look back fondly on those who impacted your life but were called to a better place. Remember the good and cherish those who you still have to hold dear. Who will you remember this October?

October Thoughts Day 23: Free to Be

October is an odd month, which is probably why I like it so much. It is a study in duality and is all about imagination and perception. One can see beauty and not fully appreciate it. One can participate in Halloween and not really enjoy it. Do you like scary, sweet or a little of both? October is all about mindset. It is about opening up oneself to experience wonder. It is the precursor to Christmas. In October time slows down and you have a chance to look at the world in awe. You have the opportunity to reflect on what you have and reminisce on days gone by as you prepare to hunker down before for the long cold winter months.

October is where you can get caught up in flights of fancy. Maybe there are fairies in the woods, perhaps that sound really wasn’t just floorboard settling, there probably is a Great Pumpkin. October gives you permission to dress up and act silly, and to celebrate the ending of the year a little bit early. October is all the best parts of the other months wrapped into one.

Yesterday I got to tour the leaves of New England by private plane with a billionaire. Ok, it was in a movie, but I got to suspend my disbelief for two hours and go on that flight in my mind. I read a compilation of scary stories from around the world and got to chat with citizens of many different countries and hear what their folk tales were. Because of my overactive imagination, last night I pulled the blankets up tight over my head and didn’t come out of my sheet cocoon till the morning light because I scared myself silly over something called a Taileypo. I love that a three minute short story about Appalachian apparitions can scare the stuffing out of me.

I love that about October. In October there is permission to do almost anything. You can sunbathe or ski, visit farmers markets or sit by the fireside. You can dress up as a cute bunny or the most ghoulish zombie the world has ever seen. There are books about cozy things and short stories that make your hair curl. There are cider parties and holiday bazaars, pumpkin patches and corn mazes. Yes, October is a little bit of everything and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  

October Thought Day 22: Days Gone By, Give It a Try

Since I seem to be feeling so nostalgic this week, I thought it was time for another classic post, this one about Washington Irving’s Sleepy Hollow. I was stuck in bed all day and had cabin fever something fierce. Since I couldn’t get out, I decided to go in. I put my old VHS tape in and relaxed to the soothing dulcet tones of Bing Crosby. He isn’t just for Christmas you know. Bing took me over hill and dale all the way back to fall in New England in the 1790’s.

Not having lived in New England I tend to have a very romanticized idea of it in my head. To me it is a magical land that is always viewed in dreamy sepia tones. It is always fall there and gentlemen still wear top hats. I know it isn’t like that in real life, but I like to pretend. I once spent a wonderful week in Virginia and the thing about the Eastern seaboard is this, the land is drenched in history, you can feel it. You get the same feeling when you travel to places like Rome, Greece or Paris. The very ground you stand upon is saturated with stories and memories of bygone times. If you sit still and listen you can hear it whispering its secrets. I know I felt that in Virginia.

I like the old stories and the idea of people sitting around the fireside telling tales, not necessarily scary. Electricity wasn’t even a glint in Edison, Franklin or Tesla’s eye and people had to rely on the sun and candles to light the way. It made everyone gather in rather than drift apart. You shared news and told stories, which with that entire unknown world out there beyond the trees; of course superstition would play a role. The unexplainable had to have some sort of explanation after all; otherwise life was too weird and disconcerting. Someone disappeared, ghosts did it. Crops failed, someone forgot to throw three seeds over their shoulder and spit. Lame horse, it was probably pixies. There was an order to things that superstition and stories provided. We may laugh at it but we do the same thing.

I love the tale of the headless horseman, I see him as the only sympathetic figure in the whole tale. He was a Hessian trooper in the revolutionary war who had the misfortune to lose his head. Now I don’t know about you, but if I lost my head and was doomed to come back to haunt the town I’m pretty sure my sole pursuit would be to find the silly thing. I love that he carves a pumpkin for a replacement head and I love that a covered bridge is his barrier. It’s like he is picking all my favorite October things.

Speaking of favorite things, I also love the descriptive language that Irving uses in his story. I wish more people wrote like that. “If ever I should wish for a retreat, whither I might steal from the world and its distractions, and dream quietly away the remnant of a troubled life, I know of none more promising than this little valley.” “A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere.” Now tell me you don’t want to go there. 
 
I like that in the story none of the characters except for the horseman are likeable, or at least that’s how I read it. The only one I feel sorry for is the poor scared horse Ichabod rides. Brom Bones is a stuck up pompous jerk who thinks he is god’s gift to women. Katrina Van Tassel is a shameless flirt who uses the affections of the schoolmaster to make Brom jealous because she wants to play hard to get. Ichabod is a lazy opportunist who only wants to marry Katrina for her money. See what I mean. They all have it coming if you ask me. 
 
At the end of the story you are left to wonder, was it really Brom who chased Ichabod that night or was there really a horseman after all? Did Ichabod really succumb to the horseman, or did he in fact move out of town and settle down somewhere else? Did Katrina and Brom live happily ever after or did Brom end up cheating on her in the end because he got bored with a farmer’s daughter? If Ichabod did survive, did he ever tell the story to others or did he keep it quiet out of shame and embarrassment? There are so many questions left unanswered for such a simple story, which may also be why I like it. The reader gets to fill in the blanks.

The closest we get to scary stories now-a-days are urban legends, but even they aren’t told that much. Perhaps the closest we come are the form letters we get over email and social media. Pass this on to five friends in the next ten minutes and you will get your wildest dream fulfilled. Maybe media is how we experience stories now. Instead of gathering round the fire we all file into the multiplex and have a story told to us. Maybe Star Wars is our shared fireside tale and Marvel superheroes are our version of Greek gods.

Interesting times we live in. If you haven’t already read Mr. Irving’s tale, I encourage you to do so. It is short but beautiful. Listen to it on tape if you really don’t want to read. If you absolutely have to watch the movie instead, make it the Disney version, not Tim Burton. Nothing against Mr. Burton, he is one of my Halloween heroes, but for this tale, Disney runs closer to Washington Irving’s vision. It is a wonderful read on a dark and stormy night. Watch it with the lights off, read it by candlelight and listen closely for the sound of hoof beats on the wind. The headless horseman is coming; he is searching for a head. Maybe, just maybe he might take yours.

October Thought Day 21: The Classics Never Go Out of Style

We’ve come to the point in the October Thoughts where my mother asks if I have written about candy corn yet. I told her no and that I was thinking skipping it this year because what more is there really to say on the subject. She was quite disappointed and it occurred to me that candy corn for her is like my Halloween tape to me. Who was I to stand in the way of a tradition? So I scoured the internet and found some tasty tidbits about my mother’s favorite tri-colored treat. Here we go.

For something that was invented in the 1880’s candy corn has held up considerably well. Rather than fading into obscurity like some holiday confections, it has grown and evolved and continues to do so. I could say that candy corn is unique to October, but like most prosperous things, it has branched out and expanded to other parts of the year as well. Now there is a type of candy corn for almost every holiday. The only one not coopted so far as I can tell is St. Patrick’s Day.

According to the internet, candy corn is the top selling candy with American’s purchasing over 20 million pounds of it a year. If all the kernels sold were laid out end to end, they would wrap around the earth 4.25 times. That’s a lot of corn; and now I’m picturing Earth with a candy corn ring around it. How cool would that be! Candy corn is also the most searched for candy term in Google, and out of all 50 states, people in Alabama search for it the most. I have no idea why. Once a candy corn bag is opened, if stored properly it should last 3-6 months, if unopened nine.

I enjoy seeing what the candy corn companies come up with year to year; they never fail to surprise and delight. During my pumpkin spice buying binge I managed to come across three, no make that six new types of corn and of course I had to give almost all of them a test run.

There are the new Fall Brunch Favorites, which consist of French Toast & Maple Syrup, which tastes almost exactly like it sounds. Then there is Waffles & Strawberry, which surprisingly tastes more like waffles than strawberry. Rounding out the mix is the Chocolate Chip Pancake candy corn that as far as I can tell tastes exactly like regular candy corn. I was a bit disappointed by that one.

Then there are the chocolate candy corns, Birthday Cake and Chocolate Sea Salt. The birthday cake corn tastes exactly like a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting and the chocolate sea salt is very nice. I couldn’t really taste the salt, but that’s not a bad thing. There is also a Peanut Butter Cup candy corn which I was not brave enough to try. After all, a girl has to draw the line somewhere. Peanut butter cup candy corn just sounds too weird.

While I was searching the web for candy corn facts, I found out that they also came out with a Caramel candy corn this year. Now that sounds promising. During my search I also came across a candy horoscope that gives you a chart of popular Halloween candy and you pick which is your favorite. If you happen to choose candy corn, your Halloween candy horoscope calls you an “illusionist” and explains that “You keep people at a distance so as not to reveal your true self, adapting your personality to fit in with those around you.” I think that’s a touch heavy handed for a simple candy choice, but then again, it is an online quiz about candy.

While I love candy corn dearly, I am not as crazy about it as I am pumpkin spice. Some candy corn products go a bit too far in my estimation, like the candy corn flavored Oreos. Maybe it’s because I really don’t like Oreo’s all that much, but candy corn flavored ones weird me out. They just sound wrong. There are also candy corn MnM’s which I seem to recall not being overly fond of, candy corn popcorn and Fruity Pebbles cereal which both sound horrible, but not as horrible as candy corn coffee. There are also candy corn marshmallows which are good, candy corn kisses which are ok, candy corn Dots which can swing from yuck to yum in the same tasting and my new favorite, Hershey’s candy corn chocolate. I thought it might turn out to be not so great, but it is heaven in a wrapper. I can’t even begin to describe it, it’s that good. If you see a bag, I highly recommend that you grab it.

Brach’s is my favorite purveyor of the tri-colored deliciousness and the only other company that can even compare is Jelly Belly which makes its own wonderful corn contribution. Handy fact, if you find yourself with extra time on your hands and a solid piece of clay, you can actually make an ear of corn out of your candy corn. Exciting stuff I know.

There is a National Candy Corn Day on October 30^th and now that you are well armed with all sorts of candy corn trivia and product recommendations you can celebrate accordingly. If any of you are brave enough to try the peanut butter cup corn, let me know how it goes.

October Thought Day 20: The Sounds of Halloween

I found my Halloween cassette tape today and my whole October was saved. Seriously. When I was unpacking the decorations I came across the tape case and naturally assumed that the tape was inside it. I went to play it earlier in the month and when I opened it up all I was met with was empty space. I poked the empty space just to make sure the tape hadn’t acquired the super power of invisibility in the year since I had last seen it. Alas, it hadn’t. There was no tape to be found. It was a harsh blow and I had no idea where to look for it. This particular tape had been my very favorite since my mother gave it to me as a Halloween present in 1986. What can I say; I was a weird little kid who grew up to be a weird adult.

The tape is from Hallmark of all places and has a cheesy actor in vampire costume on the front cover listening for the sounds of Halloween presumably, either that or he’s singing and listening to his pitch, it’s hard to tell. There are two playable sides totaling a very random forty-six minutes. Side one is scary sound effects; more on that in a minute, and side two is knock-offs of popular Halloween songs. The tape is not nearly long enough for my liking and frankly I’m surprised I haven’t worn it out from years of overuse.

There are only five songs on side two and quite honestly I could do without one of them. There is Ghostbusters which never goes out of style, Monster Mash which just might be my October anthem, Thriller, which is a close second, the Bach-Toccata and Fugues in D-Minor done on pipe organ and lastly Purple People Eater which I loathe with the fire of a thousand suns because the people who sing it are just plain irritating.

While I could, and have listened to Thriller and Monster Mash over and over, the Toccata is my favorite hands down. The piece throws in some extra Halloween sound effects at the beginning which only adds to the enjoyment. It starts with a creaky door opening and closing, then you hear loud footsteps going up to the organ. There is silence, and then the music begins. I could float away from pure joy just on the opening chords.

From the first note I am transported to a dark gothic cathedral on a cold October night. The organ and player are up in the balcony and hidden by shadows, but the music, the music swells and overflows the pipes. It fills the empty spaces and carries me upward to the cathedral ceiling. I’m flying on the melody, pitching and rolling with each note. I am always sad when the piece ends and more often than not I hit rewind and listen to it a few more times. Someday I hope to hear it in an actual cathedral rather than on the speakers of my headphones. But for now I am content.

But as great as the Toccata is, it is nothing compared to the sound effects on side one. I think that is my favorite part of the whole tape. I can listen to each creaking hinge and monster voice till the echoes reverberate in my ears without the tape. Whoever thought up the effects was one creative individual. There are Igor’s, cat-men, and witches with the absolute perfect cackle. There are accented vampires, clanking chains, creaky doors, ominous footsteps, screams, haunting laughter, spooky wind gusts, howls and more. I love it. I always have. As a kid I would pop the tape into my portable My Little Pony player, hook it to the handlebars of my bike and zoom around the neighborhood. I would also do the same on the factory floor of my mom’s work. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a six year old flying by you on a tricycle with streamers, listening to witches cackle on a My Little Pony player. It simply isn’t done. I think I am the original Wednesday Addams minus the dark hair.

Anyway, I was feeling pretty low today and then I found the tape. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Well, it would have been nice for it not to have been lost in the first place, but I’ll take this minor miracle. I happily popped the cassette in and my mood instantly shifted. I floated away on the Fugues and my cares were forgotten. I listened to the scary effects and remembered trick-or-treat’s gone by. I always made my dad play the tape in the car on Halloween and he was happy to oblige. After all, we had to get into proper trick-or-treat mode. I remembered the smell of the car, the weight of the candy in my sack and the dark nights. Hearing that tape brought back memories of Family Fun Night’s at my school and wearing my horrible clown costume to my great aunts for pictures and hugs. Listening to the tape was like stepping into a time machine. I’m so glad I found it. I even found spares for sale on Amazon of all places, so I just might invest.

What is a favorite Halloween/October thing of yours? And while you’re pondering that question, I’m going to go listen to my tape again.

October Thought Day 19: The Poetry of October

I’m cheating a bit today. As I was scrolling Pinterest I came across an October poem that grabbed my attention. I read it, reread it and then sat back and thought. I went outside and watched a farmer bale his hay. I came back in and looked at websites for ghost towns; and all the while that poem played in the back of my mind. I couldn’t shake it. Good poetry/writing will do that, it sticks with you. So here it is for you to enjoy.
“There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood. Touch of manner. Hint of mood; and my heart is like a rhyme, with the yellow and purple and the crimson keeping time.
The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry of bugles going by. And my lonely spirit thrills to see the frosty asters like a smoke upon the hills.
There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir; we must rise and follow her, when from every hill of flame she calls and calls each vagabond by name. – Bliss Carman

The very first line is written as if the author knows me personally, “there is something in the autumn that is native to my blood.” I think if you were to examine my blood at the microscopic level, you would find little pumpkin shaped plasma cells tumbling end over end and shifting color from orange then back to red. I’m almost positive (no pun intended) I’m right. I really do think October is a part of my very chemical makeup, and I think it has been for a very long time. Is it odd to identify so strongly with a month? Obviously I don’t think so.

Then comes the next thought, “and my heart is like a rhyme, with the yellow and purple and the crimson keeping time.” Ok, first of all, I love the word crimson. It is so much better than merely saying red, and what a wonderful idea, a heart beating to the rhythm of the fall colors. Yellow. Boom. Purple. Boom. Crimson. Boom, boom. They forgot the vibrant wonder that is orange but I forgive them as orange is hard to rhyme.

“The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry of bugles going by.” The writer had me at scarlet which is another marvelous word; and the fact that the mere color of the trees can shake the author so powerfully, I feel that way all the time. I just talked about it with the example of the car going over the dancing leaves. There is so much beauty in October days that it takes my breath away. There are so many things to see, smell and taste that it is almost an assault on the senses. Farmers markets, nature, mazes, decorations, the night sky, leaves, everything conspires to get your attention; the glisten of an apple with fresh morning dew or the rasp of a cornstalk blowing in the breeze. It’s wonderful, an embarrassment of riches.

“There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir.” Exactly. I couldn’t have said it better myself. It turns out, I also have gypsy blood running rampant in my veins. Whenever the fall starts to peek out from underneath the skirts of summer I get this incredible feeling of wanderlust. I just want to get in my car and drive, it doesn’t matter where, I’ll know when I get there. I just want to see things; new things, old things, beautiful things, anything, everything.

As the poem intimates, October is calling each of us, the question is, will we heed the call?

October Thought Day 18: Giving You a Case of the Creepy Crawlies

I spent a good part of the day doing my best sleeping beauty impersonation. Turns out I am rather fabulous at it, and no princes came in case you were wondering. But when I wasn’t catching forty winks I was of course watching more October movies. The primary film of choice today was Arachnophobia. I’ve wanted to see it since it first came out in 1990 but never got around to it. To my delight it proved just as campy and ridiculous as I had hoped it would be. Not having a fear of spiders I was more tickled than afraid, though there was one bit that did make my skin crawl. In order for you not to have nightmares I won’t share what it was; you’re welcome.

After the movie was done I had a good laugh and vowed to always check my slippers before putting my feet into them, then I popped in a new creepy film. But then a funny thing happened a small black spider suddenly appeared. I watched him scuttle around on the ceiling for a while then climb down my bookcase. He disappeared from sight and I didn’t give it another thought until he showed up on my leg. I think he had been there quite some time before I actually looked because I’d felt a tickle off and on but paid it no mind. I flicked him off and went back to watching the movie, but then a little while later he showed up on the back of my hand. How he did that without me seeing I have no clue. So I flicked him off again and forgot about him till he showed up on my shoulder. After flicking him a third time in mild irritation then watching him crawl under my bed I remained hyper vigilant for the remainder of the day, so of course no spider showed himself until just before I started writing this.

My little arachnid friend reappeared on the wall next to my bed and brought a friend who was biding his time next to the water glass on my night stand. He was a persistent little fellow I’ll give him that. He and his cohort were probably trying to get my attention so they could give me an idea for my next October Thought. Notice I say were. Buy now I had had enough so both of them got squished. Usually I leave spiders alone so they can take care of all the other pests, but I’m pretty sure these two were waiting till I went to sleep so they could do a spider dance on my nose and take selfies and I wasn’t about to let that happen.

I feel bad for squishing them and I hope they didn’t have any spider cousins who witnessed the massacre and are now plotting revenge as soon as I close my eyes. If you don’t hear from me tomorrow, send help and tell my rescuers to look for a big cocoon in the corner of my room.

The moral of the story is, if you watch a movie about spiders, it will somehow summon them to your bedroom, so plan ahead and watch with Raid. Sleep tight ;)

October Thought Day 17: Make Time for the Wonder

I feel like I haven’t adequately been describing October and the awe it fills me with. Sure I’ve talked about the scary stuff and some of the beauty, but it’s the little things that take my breath away.

A few days ago I drove behind a car on a leaf strewn road. No big thing this time of year, that particular scenario can be almost anywhere; but I almost stopped in the road from the beauty of it. The sun was hitting the golden leaves juuuuust right and they glowed and were downright dazzling. As the car passed over them they were whipped into the air in a frenzy, blowing hither and thither and getting caught in the swirls of exhaust. They were dancing and I was the lucky spectator. It was a right time, right place moment and I wanted to pull over and park and watch other motorists stir up the leaves. And the sound the leaves made as they danced; it was a crackle and whisper at the same time.

But it isn’t just the leaves that hold my attention; the moon has been especially wonderful this month. Most nights it is surrounded by this lazy hazy glow. It looks like it has a gauze web pulled over itself like a shawl, perhaps to ward off the nightly chill. A few nights ago it was big and full and beautiful, a lush celestial temptress. A handful of nights it has taken on this wonderful orange tinge which is my favorite kind of moon. I’m sure there is some sort of scientific explanation and name for this phenomenon, but I call it an October moon. Last night was the Hunter’s Moon and that simply meant that the gorgeous orb was bigger and brighter than normal. I laid out on the concrete with my blanket and just stared. The stars twinkled like diamonds in the velvet black expanse of sky and the weather was perfect.  

Even the weather is cooperating this year. Today the sky was overcast yet still sunny and it looked cold but felt lovely. There was a soft autumnal breeze gently riffling the air and the temperature was like a warm bath. It was perfect and if I could bottle it up and keep it in a jar I would do it in a heartbeat. Imagine being able to do something like that, having a mason jar that held inside it a perfect October day. You could twist the lid and close your eyes and be transported to the most wonderful feeling. I suppose it’s a good thing that we can’t bottle Octobers, it makes those special moments all the more precious when we do stumble upon them.

So, your challenge for today is to find an October moment in the hustle and bustle of a busy Monday. Breathe it in and experience the wonder. You won’t be sorry.

October Thought Day 16: Would You Rather Part 2

Because I have more in common with Rip Van Winkle today, you get another Would You Rather, with a twist.

1)      Eat hair soup or a slimy booger cupcake?
Um, neither. I’m gagging just thinking about these options. I supposed I’d pick the hair soup, but if the boogers….nope, nope I can’t even type it. Next question.

2)      Have to trick-or-treat forever or live in a haunted house forever?
Does the haunted house have cable and electricity? Can I get food delivered? Are the haunted bits more like Casper than the Shining? Cuz if it’s Casper and cable then I’m all for the haunted house. But if it’s run down and spooky then I had better pick the trick-or-treat option cuz I’m gonna need food somehow. Unless I’m a ghost. Am I a ghost? Wait, trick-or-treating doesn’t happen all day long. I could live my life and then go out at night to get candy. But is it Halloween every night or am I randomly going to people’s houses on say Christmas or a Tuesday? Cuz that’d be weird. Ok, haunted house it is. Hmmm, that’s not how I thought I’d answer that question.

3)      While trick-or-treating get only candy corn and Smarties or only raisins and Dots?
Man, that’s tough. I’m gonna go with raisins and Dots. Again, not how I thought I would be answering that question.

4)      Have a black cat cross your path or walk under a ladder?
Black cat. I haven’t met a midnight kitty yet that I don’t want to immediately cuddle. Walking under ladders is just weird and dangerous.

5)      Go on a date with a vampire or the Frankenstein monster?
That’s a tough one. I love Franky, but I don’t think he’d be much of a conversationalist. On the other hand, Vlad would talk and talk but I fear I might be what’s on the menu. Better stick with Franky.

6)      Spooky or cute?
Depends on my mood. Right now I’m gonna go with spooky. No surprise there.

7)      Dark and stormy night or crisp clear fall day?
Again, it depends, but I’m gonna go with dark and stormy at the moment. You’re all shocked I know.

Well, that was short I thought there would be more questions I could find. It seems October would you rather isn’t as popular as I had thought. Here are some other random questions that I found.

8)      What is your favorite Halloween themed song?
Oooh, that’s hard. It’s a five way tie between Warren Zevon’s Werewolves of London, Sam the Sham’s Little Red Riding Hood, the Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Thriller, and Van Morrison’s Moondance. I can’t pick just one, I can’t. Oh my goodness, MONSTER MASH. It has to be Monster Mash. How could I forget?

9)      Name something you wouldn’t want to run into in a dark forest or in an abandoned building. Um, I’m gonna go with “What is a monster that is bent on eating me for $500 Alex.” Anything that wishes me harm, be it man or beast I don’t want to run into it. Oooh an even better answer, a figment of my imagination. I have a pretty healthy imagination; I wouldn’t want to run into anything that I can conjure up. But wait, it would be a figment and therefore could not hurt me. I’m going back to my original answer.

10)   Are you superstitious?
Not really. But would I really tell you if I was ;)

11)   Do you prefer gore or thrillers?
Thrillers. It is much scarier to make one think. Gore is unnecessary. Sure, it’s horrible, but look at Rear Window, Psycho, Buried, or Jaws. Not lots of gore or any at all and they still shock and scare. Gore is the cheap way out and I’m not impressed.

12)   Ever made of potion of any sort?
Yup. I decided to make a concoction out of flour, water, baking soda, sugar and crackers in my grandfather’s microwave while he was out running errands. I had back smoke pouring out of the kitchen and I melted the plastic plate I was cooking it in. I’m not sure what kind of potion I was going for, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t have the intended effect and I was banned from using the microwave.

13)   If you got trapped in one scary movie which would you choose?
Ha ha ha, Casper. Hey, the question didn’t stipulate that I had to find the movie scary. I’m sure someone was scared of Casper.

14)   In a zombie apocalypse what is your weapon of choice?
My mind…..or a really big knife. Unless I can choose a gun with an unlimited supply of bullets. Then I choose that. I’m more of a fortified bunker kind of gal.

15)   Are you the one who gets scared or the one who does the scaring?
Heh heh, what do you think ;)

16)   How old were you when you saw your first scary movie?
6? It was pretty young, and I really shouldn’t have seen it. The same goes for the one that I snuck and watched when I was 9. Lifelong irrational phobias let me tell you.

17)   If you could have a spooky Halloween pet, what would it be?
It’s a tie between a bat, a raven or a wolf. I would pick a black cat but they aren’t scary and neither are owls. Not many people have pet bats. I pick a talking bat.

18)   What was your first Halloween costume?
The first one I had was a bunny. The first one I remember was a horrible hand-me-down clown costume that I wore for years and hated with a fiery passion. The first one I had any say on was a flapper. Man I loved that fringe dress.

19)   Orange and black or purple and green?
O and B all the way. Nothing beats the original.

20)   If you were in a horror movie, are you the final girl, the first to die, the comic relief, the skeptic, the smart one or the killer?
 I’ll let you decide. Mwahahahahah

Ok, your turn. I can’t wait to hear your answers.