Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o’Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds…in between mouthfuls of candy corn…with Musing the Trauma of Blog of a Dead Dreamer shares a blast of October dreams…
Why is Halloween important to you?
Halloween is the greatest time of the year, by far. You can have your Christmas and all the others. Sure, they are nice, but for me, Halloween is my Christmas. It has been for a very long time. Each year friends can look forward to my patented ‘trick or treat’ bags full of all kinds of goodies and/or gifts. They may or may not get anything for Christmas, but at Halloween, it’s a guarantee that I will do my best to get everyone into the spirit.
Halloween is a great time where everyone just let’s go and becomes more relaxed. It doesn’t contain the formalities and etiquette of other holidays so there is a more relaxed air and no one has to put on any pretenses or be on their best behavior. It’s a time for people to gather and just have some fun and it doesn’t even have to cost you a dime. It’s a time of year that everyone, at least for one night, is especially friendly and fun, and what can be better than that?
Describe your ideal Halloween.
My ideal Halloween would certainly be spending that particular night in a documented haunted site. Something along the lines of heading to a spot with Zack and Aaron and the crew of ‘Ghost Adventures’. Maybe somewhere like Savannah Georgia or a scary little spot in England. Something definitely reported to be haunted, though, and with a team that has the equipment to do readings and video etc. That would be awesome. It used to be seeing Gwar live on Halloween but that got to happen. Gwar, Halloween, and being covered in fake blood from the band is a pretty good way to go on that night,too.
What Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?
As far as Halloween collectibles, I am in love with Spooky Town. I absolutely love everything about them. The artwork, the detail, the painting, the themes, the figures and sheer mass of variety. I could not believe that someone had finally taken the old, ceramic, classic Christmas Village theme decorations and turned it up a notch for Halloween. They are awesome and every year I look forward to adding to Spooky Town and putting it out. This is also the time of year I put out my collection of Todd Mcfarlane’s Twisted X-mas.Those never cease to get a comment by anyone who has never seen them before.
When was your very first Halloween, the one where you really knew it was Halloween, and how was it?
I don’t recall how old I was, maybe 6 or 7. this was the first time that I knew something special was going on for this holiday, so it must have been about 1977/78 or so. My brother and his wife went through a great deal of trouble to get together one very scary costume for me. It was a hand sewn Creature From the Black Lagoon costume and it was pretty cool. It probably could have been sold in any store for quite a bit, his wife was quite the seamstress. they knew loved monster because while most kids lugged around a teddy bear, I never went anywhere without my Godzilla.
What made it stand out, though, was that people were out in full force. It seemed to me at such a young age, that it was thousands of people and kids in costumes in my neighborhood. It was a neighborhood of row houses so it was an excellent spot for trick or treating. This was my first scare by someone in a costume, a very elaborate Dracula costume. I was frozen in my tracks with fear but couldn’t take my eyes off of him. This is when I knew what Halloween was about.
What’s the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what’s your answer?
A Halloween question I would like to be asked, hmmm?
I’m not sure about that one, but one thing I would love to know from others around the country is if Halloween is still going strong in their part of the world?
It seemed to me not as many kids were out and about, so I was stunned to learn that Halloween is actually the 2nd biggest holiday of the year. Maybe people just do more for the holiday in a controlled environment these days, such as parties, etc., and not so much with the trick or treating outdoors.
I guess my question would be, would you be upset if Halloween went the way of the dinosaur? My answer would be absolutely, yes. I would probably stop celebrating any holiday at all if that happened.
Here’s a little something I made just for fun about a year ago, and thanks again!