Thursday Thirteen - BOO

Well, it is almost Halloween, so I thought I'd list 13 things I like about October 31.

1. It's weird. Halloween is the strangest holiday there is.  Dressing up and going begging? Who thought that up?

2. Costumes. I enjoy seeing the costumes on TV and in the stores. I like to see them on children, especially. They look adorable.

3. Spooky factor. I enjoy being scared occasionally and so, apparently, does everyone else. I especially like a "fun" scared when you know it isn't going to amount to anything.

4. Memory #1. When I was a teenager, my friend R. and I visited a haunted house/maze in Vinton. As we were going through it, a werewolf began following us and he jumped out and scared us at every turn. After we finished the maze, the werewolf asked R. out on a date (he offered to have a mummy join us). We declined.

5.  Memory #2. I dressed up as a hobo one year; it was my favorite costume. It was homemade and easy. I think I was about 9. I had a plastic black hat and red rouge on my cheeks.

6. Memory #3. My brother and I went trick or treating. The parent (I forget which one) stayed behind the bushes while we went up to the door. At one house, a lady was decked out as a witch and she invited us inside to see her spooky decorations. "No thank you," I said politely. "We're not allowed to go into the homes of strangers."

7. Memory #4. When I was about 11, I went crying to my mother. "No one likes me at school," I sobbed, "because I believe in the possibility of witches and ghosts." Note I did not say I believed in ghosts and witches; only the possibility of them. I have always been strong on possibilities. My mother cuddled me and told me I was just smarter than the rest of them because I didn't disregard things without thinking about them first. And I still believe in the possibility of witches and ghosts, among other things.

8. The Autumnness of it. It's cooler, the leaves are turning or have turned, the holiday seems to suit the air of the time of year.

9. The history lessons. Every year, particularly in this Internet age, I'm reminded of how Halloween supposedly came to be, what it means and why it is celebrated. I get to think about the word Samhain.

10.  I tend to step back and watch with amusements as the religious folks get in an uproar. Sometimes they even try to change the day Halloween is celebrated (it was debated locally this year but they left it alone after a disastrous attempt to change it the last time it fell on a Sunday). These folks dress themselves up as pretzels, they are so bent out of shape.

11. The candy! Well, that is what it's all about, isn't it? It's now a Hallmark holiday embraced by Hershey's and Nestle's. I love chocolate but I also like Smarties at this time of year. I just can't eat too many of them.

12.  Ghosts and goblins walks. My little town of Fincastle often has a ghost walk on the Saturday before Halloween. It is always fun to hear the tales of the folks whose ghosts now haunt the historic village.

13. Making a jack-o-lantern. This is fun because you get to play with the pumpkin guts and be creative all at the same time! And then you get to play with fire, too. What more could you want?


Anyway, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here.  I've been playing for a while and this is my 162nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.