Halloween 2017 Wrap Up

All traces of the spooky evening have now disappeared. I'm one of those people who likes to take everything down ASAP. I even remove most of the decorations from outside (expect for the pumpkins) on the night in question. I like to think that it lends an air of magic if most traces are gone by the next morning's light.

The number of trick-or-treaters in our new neighbourhood was perfect. Last year we lived in the busiest place I've ever lived and it was just a little too hectic. Here, there were about 50 spread between 5 and 9 pm. Enough to keep you occupied but not so many that you couldn't chat with your callers. I opened the door to several vampires, some teenage zoo animals, a tiny Harley Quinn, a very cute Emo and some zombies...there was a group of four girls who called themselves a zombie horde! There was a very impressive shark with a head so large that when I bent down to drop in the candy and she bent down to see what I threw in her bag...well, I was almost swallowed! Fun all around :)

In terms of my costume, well, I did not do the troll. Instead I went back to my grey, black striped pjs. I've had them for several years and have always thought they look like prison wear. In fact, they look very similar to what the prisoners of Azkaban wear. So that's who I was. If anyone asked I was going to be a relative of Moaning Myrtle (you should always have a back story). Some of the kids saw the Azkaban patch on my pocket and got it immediately. I would tell them that they could free me if they paid a ransom in candy. Heh heh. Some kids had fun with the adult in the costume acting strange but for others it was either old hat or maybe just...odd. Which works too.

Held captive by a tiny dementor

The fun begins...

Mat Night & Spooky Viewing

Because I'm originally from Quebec I still refer to the night before Halloween as Mat Night. And well do I remember how excited some kids, particularly boys, got on this day. In the schoolyard, at recess and lunch time, there were many whispered consultations as plans and plots were hatched for the evening's mischief; egging cars, TP-ing trees, or placing poo in brown paper bags on people's doorsteps and then blowing the bag up with fire crackers, ugh!

I never participated myself. No, really. But I was always excited and full of anticipation on this night. Kind of like Christmas Eve...but spoooooky!

As an adult I still find Mat Night particularly exciting. It's got all the quality of Halloween night going for it but I don't have to hand out candy. So I can do whatever I want by way of soaking up the atmosphere.

On this Mat Night I plan on the following. If the weather is good, we'll go for a walk in our back woods around sunset. Then we'll be in the kitchen carving pumpkins and roasting seeds. And then, candles lit, spooky lights on, we'll be settling on the couch to watch three special X-files episodes.

I mentioned before that we've been re-watching the X-files. Well, through our re-viewing we have watched every single episode...except for three. I skipped these because I consider them among the scariest and, naturally, wanted to save them for tonight. (I have another favourite classic scary and ghostly X-files episode, but I save that one for Christmas.)

So tonight's viewing will include first, a double header. "Squeeze" (Season 1, episode 3) and "Tooms" (Season 1, episode 21)



And then the classic 'Home' (Season 4, episode 2). Many agree this is one of the top 5 episodes of the series. And it features Newfoundland actor, Sebastian Spence!



Will I survive the night?

Safety First

Working at Spirit Halloween has given me some insight into parents who buy costumes. First of all you should know there are more adults than children trying on costumes. Second, of the kids that do try them on there seems to be a choice between a costume for indoors or one for outdoors. Costumes for outdoors, trick-or-treating, need to be a larger size so that long underwear and sweaters can be worn underneath. Costumes for indoors, a Halloween party often at school, need to fit...well, at least mostly fit. Listen to Gerry Seinfeld's Halloween clip for more on the fun of kids, costumes and Halloween; it's a classic!

So, as for masks, well, some costumes at the store come with them so I wouldn't know whether or not they get worn. But I can tell you that the majority of our masks are for adults. The mask section of the store, while popular, doesn't need to be restocked as often. Why? Well, sure, the masks are fun to wear around the store but it's not long before we find them abandoned on the floor. Yep, every day I have to put back the wolf mask...or the alien...or the Beast...or that minion nemesis guy in Despicable Me. And then there are those crazy clowns!

"No, sorry, we do NOT have the clown from IT."

Thanks to the Internet Archive for this little safety video!

Eek...?

swapface - creepy

I hadn't come across this particular trend (is it a meme?) before yesterday. Creepy but often funny. For my husband, however, the creep factor is so high for him he can't even look at them!