Mood: ‘Skullcrusher Mountain’ by Jonathan Coulton
I wait all year for Hallowe’en. Truthfully, it begins the celebration of the end of the year for me, moving from Hallowe’en to Thanksgiving to Christmas and New Years. As I get older, doing the decorating takes more time, but it must be done….and I have a lot of decorations for Hallowe’en and Christmas.
As I was away for a week, including the weekend of the beginning of October, I am behind on my Hallowe’en decorating, so been hitting it hard this weekend. Call it a mistake if you will, but I checked in on Suicide Girls today and saw a post from @LIBRIS in which I was tagged and paraphrasing Ol’ Blue Eyes, when she aroused the need for writing in me, then I thought proceed with what you’re leading me to!
It’s the Hallowe’en ‘survey’ that’s been going around the SG blogverse.
Here goes…
Sweet or Sour? As this is a Hallowe’en thing, I will assume we speak of candies, and as such I am definitely for the sweet! Savory is definitely more for cooking, for me, but as far as candy is concerned, gimme the sweet! I will say over the last ten or so years, I have come to enjoy more desserts that are just sweet enough; birthday-type cakes with frosting and cookies with seemingly more sugar than flour are no longer of real interest for me. A good German apple strudel or not-so-sweet sweet roll and like are so much more enjoyable to my taste buds.
Trick or Treat? In my youth, hands down this would be Treat. However, having rediscovered theater almost 20 years ago, I have been on stage for most of those yeas in Hallowe’en shows, tricking the audiences by taking them away to Salem or Transylvania or Egypt; bringing them into a word encapsulated in a small space and making their skin crawl with anticipation and creepiness.
As The Red Death
…as a Witch-hunter…
…as a vampire hunter…
…or as a blind wizard…
…to name a very few, the feeling of Hallowe’ens of my youth was rediscovered by joining these productions. Productions wherein we tricked the audience into believing the were dangers about…
Even though it would get a little confusing, on Hallowe’en night there would be and extra show at 10:30pm, almost taking us to Midnight and then a ghost tour…more of which later…
Witches or Vampires? Oh, definitely vampires! I read Stoker’s Dracula as a youth and have been enamored since. There is a caveat in that nice or sparkly vampires need not apply. No, give me the evil, predatory bloodsucker any day. Even Anne Rice, may she rest in peace, went soft on vampires after her first few Chronicles, and nowadays, there are really no ‘real’ vampires being written that I know of…
Candy Apple or Caramel Apple? For no other reason than happy memories of childhood when we would (attempt) to make our own, caramel!
Haunted House or Costume Party? Once upon a time it would be haunted house, once again presuming we a re speaking of the kind you pay for at Hallowe’en time. I found out that, bizarrely, they get really pissed off when you scare them!
As I DO love to do a little, not too expensive, costuming, I love to show at parties in costumes that obscure my features and remain an enigma for as long as possible. You see: trick!
Scary Stories or Horror Movies? You may have guessed: scary stories.
Along with the Hallowe’en shows one of the directors would put on a one-night and more intimate story-telling evening on the week before Hallowe’en. This would be in a mood-inducing setting, candle light, carved pumpkins that would be blown out after each story until there were but a few candles left.
As well, one of the theaters that would sometimes be used for the shows was haunted and every year there were at least a few more incidents…
Aliens or Ghosts? It’s Hallowe’en!! GHOSTS! Just wrote about ghosts in the last part, and to expand a little on that, every year a tour of the haunted theater would be arraigned. At Midnight. On Hallowe’en! Even when nothing occurred, the feeling that the tour gave was one to experience!
Ouija Board or Bobbing For Apples? Momma din’t raise no eejits; bobbing for apples! I’ve heard enough stories that, sight unseen, Ouija boards scare the feces outta me.
Graveyard or Abandoned House? In Alaska, this would have been abandoned house, as the graveyards did not go back but perhaps 100 years. Though one in particular was said to be haunted, it just didn’t feel old enough. Now, living on the East Coast, I know there are places that have almost 500 years of ‘usage’, and though I am not entirely sure I’d have the gumption to do it, one of these I would dare to visit of a late evening.
Chocolate or Gummies? To paraphrase Don Lockwood of Singing in the Rain fame: chocolate, always chocolate.
Although I will say that I make some pretty good Rummy Bears, which are exactly as they sound like! Also so good, if sticky and dangerous in large quantities!
I think that covers all of it. As my decorating progresses and my menu for my Hallowe’en Party in two weeks coalesces, there may be more blogging on the subject, but for now be well, all!
I bid you peace!
