Confession: I own almost as many decorations for Halloween as I do for Christmas. Next to “the most wonderful time of the year,” Halloween has to be my absolute favorite holiday. Reflecting my enthusiasm, my house always ends up looking like a witch gorged on caramel apples, candy corn, and spiders, went all Norman Bates on a pumpkin in my living room, and then threw up everywhere.
In Yukon, Oklahoma, where I live, the first Saturday in October marks the ever-popular Czech festival. I try to attend every year but look forward to the day for a different reason as well. For me, the festival marks the beginning of Fall . . . and the day I can officially bust out my Halloween decorations without feeling like I’ll be criticized for being overly zealous. I force my husband to march up to the attic and out to the shed to retrieve the bins and boxes, and I go to town.
Whether cute, crazy, or creepy, all of the pumpkins, witches, ghosts, figurines, garlands, and lights make me giddy. Just one glance at my living room filled with decorations or my kitchen table covered in autumn colors makes me breathe in a breath of fun and festivity. I even make it a point every year to either host a Halloween party or at least have people over, partially so I can show off my hard work in decorating and partially to appease my Halloween hosting bug that’ll keep itching until I scratch it.
Somehow the whole holiday makes me feel like a child again, or, in the very least, a teenager. Maybe that’s why I love Halloween so much. It generates in me the sense of carefree joy that we as adults have too often misplaced in our busy and stressful lives. But once a year we get to dress up and be whoever or whatever we want, eat a bunch of candy and treats guilt-free (it’s a holiday, so calories don’t count), watch creepy movies, and party “old-school” with our friends the way we used to when we were a kid. Or, if you have kids, you get to relive your childhood of trick-or-treating with them!
Okay . . . now for the audience participation! I’ve been teaching my 9th graders about writing with imagery and using words with strong connotation to create a mood (whether fun or creepy or both), so… let’s see what you got! I would love to hear you describe the way you decorate your homes for Halloween. Or, if it’s not so fantastic, feel free to embellish it or fabricate something altogether!
Here is a short excerpt from my young adult urban fantasy, Shadow Eyes, due for release February 3rd, that depicts the outside of a character’s home on the night of his Halloween party…
“Orange, green, and purple lights draped over bushes and surrounded tree trunks. A grave yard sprawled over half the lawn where skeletons peeked out in front of their tombstones, clawing the earth with their bony fingers. For added visual effect, a creepy green spotlight was illuminating the grim scene. A homemade, life-sized mummy with ketchup-bloodied rags had been hung from an awning and was pointing its stained, bandaged finger at us. From the driveway to the door, two flickering trails of small ghosts lit the way up the sidewalk. Cobwebs stretched out and attached themselves to outside walls, trees, bushes, and the entryway, and eerie Halloween music crept out the door to the chilled air outside.”
Dusty Crabtree is the Author of Shadow Eyes, due for Euterpe release February 3, 2012!
12 comments:
You make me wanna be a kid again! Great post!
When I think of Halloween, I think of three things. One of them is my cat, Mickey, who is dark gray, but everyone calls him my Halloween cat. The second is pumpkin carving and then roasting the pumpkin seeds, MMM! The third, is how I fractured three of the metatarsals in my foot on Halloween six years ago, stupidly jumping over a hay bale, of all things.
Halloween is a mix emotions. It is always cool to see how creative people get. It is a lot like Christmas, but instead of just decorations, costumes are big part of the fun :)
So true comparing the creative aspect to Christmas. Never thought of it that way. Love roasted pumpkin seeds!
Since my home in Kansas is far from Yukon, I only visit my sister Dusty a few times a year. I am so surprised because I never knew she loved Halloween so much. Of course I should have known from the types of books she loves to read, and her own book "Shadow Eyes." She loves that dark intensity that only Halloween allows us to feel and act. I am not a good decorator like Dusty, however I do love everything about Fall and that include Halloween. I have memories of taking my sisters Dusty and Skye trick or treating when I was in middle school and they were in grade school. Then we would come home and have homemade caramel apples. That is if you call the caramel sheets you lay on the apple and bake, homemade. Make sure you check out Dusty's book upon it's release. Her 9th graders are lucky to have her teach them about imagery because she is the queen at it. Her book is full of powerful words that bring the story to life. You can't help but feel what the characters are feeling. The intensity of emotions is amazing.
Thanks sis! You know I still want you in the forward for being the first to read and help me revise it. :)
Hey, Dusty - I loved the excerpt from your book! However, I DO NOT do Halloween decorations. Not since my children have grown. Glad you're "in your element" tonight! Happy Halloween, Red Dirt Kelly
Our daughter had Dusty last year for English! I love her creativity and enthusiasm. I looove Halloween too! I know it is somewhat of a controversial holiday. I love
being able to tap into my inner child. The one day a year you can be "whatever you want to be" and get away with it, lol! I for one, can not wait to get a copy of her new book. I wish I would have known about her Halloween craze so we could have driven by her house tonight! I would have put on my gorilla mask and "spooked" the Crabtree household!!!
Haha! Gorilla? Nice! Actually, most of our decorations are on the inside this year. We were out trick-or-treating with the kiddos! Sooo much fun!!!
I love decorations too christmas or Halloween it doesn't matter. :)
Very nice post! I love Halloween too. Good luck on your book.
Emma Lane
There are a lot of churches in our town that don't do Halloween, but they offer "Fall" parties...where the kids can dress up, play games, and get candy! Most people both trick-or-treat and then go to a church party--the best of both worlds! It's a lot of fun.
I love how much you appreciate Halloween, Dusty!
Kathy
This year (first year with kids), we did it all! Went to an adult-only Halloween party (that sounded dirty, didn't it...didn't mean for it to), did a trunk-o-treat at a church, passed out a little candy, and went trick-or-treating. Loved every minute of it! Thanks all for your comments!
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