Jenn McKinlay: Welcome, autumn! Falling leaves, pumpkins, crisp air,
cooler days and a fun seasonal post by our dear friend the super talented and ever entertaining Ellen Byron!
Ellen Byron: Ah, Halloween. Was there ever a child whose heart didn’t thump with anticipation as the universally beloved holiday of costumes and candy approached?
*Raises hand.*
Yup, that’s right. When I was a kid, I hated Halloween. Hated it. I know, I know, it’s shocking. Who wouldn’t want to dress up and troll the streets for a literal bucket of free candy? Uh, that would have been me. As the witching hour approached, when families let their kids loose on the neighborhood – yes, we roamed free back then - my heart pumped with dread instead of excitement. From my perspective, Halloween was the night bullies were given free reign to pursue their dark agenda of egging younger kids, yelling nasty nicknames, and squirting them with cans of shaving cream. While many adults wax nostalgic about their childhood Halloweens, my memories consist of being terrified that some kid would jump out from behind a bush in the dark of night and scream “BOO!” at me, or chase me down the street laughing maniacally – both of which happened on several occasions. I only remember ever seeing one photo of me in a Halloween costume. In the picture, I’m dressed in a gorgeous pink satin princess outfit that my mother made for me. But instead of a smile, there’s a grimace on my face. To lock down my princess tiara, my mother pulled my hair into such a tight bun that I still wince recalling how much it hurt.
I carried my aversion to the holiday into adulthood, brazenly showing up to costume parties in jeans and tee shirts. When asked what my costume was, I’d answer, “I’m dressed as someone who hates Halloween.”
Then I had a child. And talk about doing a one-eighty.
Every year, I decorated our front yard with pumpkins and ghosts and one of those joke witches that looks like it crashed into your front yard. I made goofy, Halloween-themed cupcakes for school events and parties. And I dressed up our daughter. Oh, how I dressed her up. A clown…
A pumpkin.
A cheerleader and a soccer player. (Notice the prescient logo.)
A cat. A cheetah. A spider witch.
A bride. A red princess during the year she refused to wear any color but red. (I did a lot of shopping at Christmas and Valentine’s Day that year.)
I costumed my darling girl until she hit her tweens and insisted on picking out her own Halloween costumes.
I stopped decorating the front yard a couple of years ago, when Eliza went off to college. But I wasn’t done with Halloween. I gave my journey to my protagonist Maggie in MURDER IN THE BAYOU BONEYARD. Maggie has the same attitude to the holiday that I did, but when she experiences Halloween through the eyes of her fiancé’s young son, her aversion melts away.
While Maggie and I may not have glorious recollections from our own childhood Halloweens, we have something even better – memories of the joy the holiday brings to the children that we love.
Readers, what do you love – or hate! – about Halloween? Comment to be entered in a giveaway for a copy of MURDER IN THE BAYOU BONEYARD!
BIO: Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won the Agatha award for Best Contemporary Novel and multiple Lefty awards for Best Humorous Mystery. Her new Catering Hall Mystery series, written as Maria DiRico, launched with Here Comes the Body, and was inspired by her real life. Ellen is an award-winning playwright, and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like WINGS, JUST SHOOT ME, and FAIRLY ODD PARENTS. She has written over two hundred articles for national magazines but considers her most impressive credit working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. Visit her at https://www.ellenbyron.com/
SYNOPSIS: Maggie Crozat has the Halloween heebie-jeebies in USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author Ellen Byron's howlingly funny sixth Cajun Country mystery. Five local plantation B&Bs host "Pelican's Spooky Past" packages, featuring regional crafts, unique menus, and a pet costume parade. Topping it off, the derelict Dupois cemetery is the suitably sepulchral setting for a spine-chilling play that ends in death. As murders stack up, Maggie fears Pelican's spooky past has nothing on its scary present. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/search/murder-in-the-bayou-boneyard?q=murder%20in%20the%20bayou%20boneyard
Congratulations, Ellen, on your newest book. I’m looking forward to reading about Maggie’s Halloween adventures.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I’m not a huge fan of Halloween decorations, I do like the whole costume-and-candy-collecting part of the holiday. [I remember going out on Mischief night with friends who lived on the same street . . . we’d knock on the door and ask for permission to soap windows.] These days, I get my kicks from seeing the grandbabies in costumes . . . .
I bet those grandbabies are adorable, Joan. :-)
DeleteThey certainly are! :)
DeleteHi, Ellen. I feel your pain.
ReplyDeleteConfession time: I have never gone trick or treating. Ever. I grew up in farm country. The only time we had a trick or treater show up at our door was when my nearby cousin's kids dropped in to show off their costume. So I didn't love or hate it.
Then, as a teenager, I began attending Halloween parties. I remember helping set up a couple of fabulous "haunted houses." That was fun. My friends and I would go to Boo at the Zoo or Dark in the Park and allow ourselves to be scared silly. Also fun. But as a childless adult living in the country with no trick or treaters coming to my door, I'm back to being "meh" about the whole thing.
Except it is a good excuse to buy candy "just in case" and then eat it all myself.
I lived way out in the country for 25 years, Annette, and had the exact same experience. Both of the kids who lived nearby went to some kind of party at their church instead of trick-or-treating. I quickly learned to buy the really good "just in case" candy, because who would let mini Snickers bars go to waste?
DeleteLOL, Annette! We live in the Hills and see less and less trick or treaters. Luckily, I'm more a fan of Easter than Halloween candy. And year-round See's, though!
DeleteI don't think I've ever met someone who hated Halloween, Ellen! As a person who has loved costumes my whole life, the holiday was meant for me. My birthday is two days later, so I often had costume birthday parties.
ReplyDeleteAnd boy, did I dress my sons. I sewed them whatever costume they wanted: red-winged blackbird, Aladdin, Harry Potter, and so on. Now I love giving out candy, and we live on a quiet street so we get a lot of kids and families stopping by.
I loved this book - read it, everyone! Great plot twists, brilliant storytelling.
That is the saving grace for me now, Edith. My nephew's birthday is 10/31, so it's a big party day for him.
DeleteEdith!!! Thank you so much! Wow. does that mean a lot to me.
DeleteThose birthdays around Halloween make for some good times, I think. And I bet your son's costumes were GREAT!
Thank you, Ellen, for confessing to your aversion. I'm a Halloween freak--we have ten times more orange and black and purple and skeleton decor than we do red and green and glittery and Santa--and I've never understood friends who refused to dress up for our every-other-year Halloween parties. As the oldest kid in the family, and the creative one, I made costumes for all of us for trick or treating, which carried forward to making costumes for myself, my husband, and the three girls later. I plan our "couples" costumes for months.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am not a fan of gory or sick decorations. My daughter sent me a photo of a "feet loaf", meatloaf in the shape of feet, something I would never do. Ick. No zombie babies on my lawn, either!
Your daughter was adorable! How could you resist wanting to dress her up? The suede boots with the spider witch costume is a great touch.
Thanks so much, Karen. I was pretty proud of that spider queen crown I made, I have to say!
DeleteAs a kid, I loved Halloween. Did all the trick-or-treating things you'd expect. Once I wasn't allowed to go out anymore, I kind of grew to hate the day for about 5 years or so.
ReplyDeleteBut then I started giving out the candy at the door and got into it again. These days, my house is a destination stop for the neighborhood (and at least a little bit beyond). The fact that I give out candy, comic books and special prizes would have something to do with it.
I don't dress up or decorate the yard but I have a good time giving out the stuff to the ACTUAL kids.
And my list of the rules of Halloween remains in place to discourage stupid acts that threaten the fun of the day.
I love your Halloween tradition, Jay!
DeleteOh Jay, that's wonderful! I always give out little Halloween-themed toys. Sadly, our trick or treaters have trickled to none. Everyone figured out you hall more in the flats than the hills, sigh.
DeleteWelcome Ellen, and congrats on the new book! I love dressing up, and used to sew elaborate costumes for myself. My favorite was probably Wonder Woman:)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lucy! And Wonder Woman rocks!
DeleteI have never liked Halloween.
ReplyDeleteI suppose as a young kid, I might have liked it, but I don't remember that. What I do remember is wanting to go to parties with my friends and instead having to shepherd my younger siblings around their trick-or-treat journeys. Definitely threw cold water on the whole holiday. Plus the whole bullying thing you mention, Ellen.
While I enjoyed dressing up my kids when they were small, it became a hassle fairly quickly. I often needed three costumes: one for activity, one for school, one for actual trick-or-treat. Multiply that by two and that's six costumes. Plus my daughter went straight for asking for ridiculously expensive store-bought costumes (that I refused to buy because who spends that kind of money on an outfit you'll wear once - I didn't do that for my bridesmaid dresses) to insisting on doing her own costumes, which really cost as much money because there was always something to buy. The Boy went from store-bought to "lets roam around in street clothes and just get candy."
Ugh! This year, without kids, I'm hoping we can turn out the lights and avoid the whole thing. That is, if it even happens considering COVID.
Nice to know I'm not alone, Liz. I can see how the burden would increase with more than one kid, boy. Yikes! I don't know if Halloween is happening here this year either. They banned trick or treating, then walked it back, so I'm not sure where we're at now.
DeleteHalloween as a kid was magical - my mom would not let me wear a mask, but she was a fabulous makeup artist. In my memory, she made most of my costumes as well. In those days we trick or treated for ourselves and for UNICEF. After we scored whatever treats were provided, we stuck out our little boxes and trick or treated for UNICEF. It was a win-win, although I don't know how much the charity made from the deal. In my neighborhood we often received homemade treats (now doesn't that make your 21st Century sensibility shudder). I wasn't allowed to eat anything unwrapped and dad would carefully inspect my goodies before they were put into the giant goodie bowl to be doled out throughout November. Thanksgiving and the end of the sugar high arrived at about the same time every year.
ReplyDeleteYep, I liked Halloween!
Were popcorn balls a big deal in your neighborhood? They were in ours, and I never liked them. They always seemed stale. Plus, they weren't chocolate, duh.
DeleteI remember those little Unicef boxes! We filled them with pennies. I wonder if any of them ever made it to the charity.
DeleteYes, they were. I never liked them either. One year we learned how to make them in Girl Scouts, Karo syrup and popcorn - handy to put on trees in the winter to feed birds! We had one man who made candy covered apples, and a few neighbors could be relied on for chocolate chip cookies and brownies. None of this could happen today, but it made our Halloween then!
DeleteI love, love, love Halloween! I have so many happy memories, from the homemade costumes, to trick-or-treating in our neighborhood, to my dad scaring the trick-or-treaters and neighbors (too long to tell here). Now I love sseing the costumes of the kids, parents, and dogs who trick-or-treat their way through our neighborhood. I can hardly wait!
ReplyDeleteI've come to love it too. I actually miss decorating outside. Not enough to do it again, though!
DeleteEllen, congratulations on your new book. Your Cajun Country Mysteries were my very first cozies and I met you here, on JRW, soon after I began visiting the blog! I am looking forward to reading this book!
ReplyDeleteHalloween is my birthday. When I was little, my dad used to decorate our house with witches and ghosts and all kinds of streamers. My grandmother would come from NYC and bake my favorite cake and my cousins would come to my house for the party. I do not remember any of my costumes, but, since we lived in the country, sometimes my mom would drive us around to her friends' homes to trick-or- treat. I was not allowed out on my own.
As an adult, I too made costumes. I made a delicious witch's costume which a friend and I took turns wearing for years. I sewed Jonathan's costumes when he was little. One year he wanted to be a mountain lion. I was still sewing the feet when Irwin came home from work early to take him trick-or-treating before dark. What? Anyway, after the battle that ensued, I gave up sewing costumes for the kid. He was a pretty cute mountain lion though!
Judy, thank you so much for reading the series! I love how your family made your birthday so special for you. What wonderful memories. I know people born on July 4 who assumed the fireworks were for them when they were little, lol.
DeleteFirst off, I am in the middle of reading MURDER AT THE BAYOU BONEYARD and loving it... my first encounter with a rougarou (read it to find out) and of course so great to be reunited with Maggie and her family. Count me on the LOVE HALLOWEEN side. It's a very big deal in my neighborhood. People decorate twice as elaborately as for Christmas. I hope they'll let kids (masked!) trick or treat. I truly do. I'm not clever at all at costume making and I'm cheap, so I'm afraid my kids were tortured by their half-baked costumes.
ReplyDeleteHallie, thank you! I love when people decorate their houses. We're usually the only people in our neighborhood who do, but people in the flats go all out. It used to be such a treat to take Eliza there and see the creative touches.
DeleteI did love Halloween. I wish it were still a kid's holiday. Let's leave seductive costumes to Valentines Day. When orange and brown candy is on sale in August, sigh things have gone to far.
ReplyDeleteHowever I love love love. your latest cozy, Ellen. It has the right mixture of creepy and comedy. Roogaroo indeed. I will be starting your culinary series next. Will a 'martha' character be there?
Coralee, thank you! Re: the new series, Martha is not a character but she was on my shoulder a few times, for sure. In fact, I thank her in the Acknowledgments. I went back in time a few times to recall how we managed the offsite catering gigs. BTW, the Crawatatoes recipe in BAYOU BONEYARD was inspired by a Martha appetizer. ;-)
DeleteI loved Halloween as a kid. We actually waited for it to get dark and then our parents let us loose on the neighborhood in a group with no parents coming along. We would basically trick or treat until our bags were full and then come home for the candy trading. It was safe and wonderful ~
ReplyDeleteHi Celia! You know what, I do remember there was a thrill of being parent-free. Although I spent a lot of time parent-free back in the day. We were so much on our own then. I graduated high school a year early and I have no memory of ever running it by my parents. I'm not sure they even knew! (I had two younger brothers)
DeleteWhen I was little, I loved Halloween because I loved the costumes. My mother and I would plan my outfit from clothes we had around the house, and I got to use an old theatrical makeup kit she had from who knows when. Lots of clowns and hoboes in those days. Halloween peaked for me in third and fourth grades, when we lived in a large college-affiliated neighborhood, and I could reap a bountiful harvest of candy just walking the block to visit the professors who taught at the same college as my dad did. That was awesome, because my sister and I got to go out by ourselves.
ReplyDeleteBut by the fifth grade we had moved to a small town where my mother taught, and Halloween began to fade. Most of my friends went to church parties, but we didn't go to church and I didn't want to be backed into a corner for conversion in the middle of a party.
By the time I was in college, I'd spent many years in a theatrical costume shop, and my standards for excellent costuming had risen, while my time for making said costumes had disappeared. It was fun to greet little kids at the door, but I really wanted a full-bore Elizabethan gown and wimple with Death's Head makeup to do it.
Now I live in a town where all the little kids go down to a festival on the historic town square, and I am just as glad. Maybe I've turned into a Halloween Grinch, but I still buy the good candy, just in case.
Gigi, I'm now fascinated by your life and want to know every place you lived! BTW, a festival in an historic town square sounds like the dream cozy Halloween set-up!
DeleteMy life is weird, Ellen. Grew up in rural Missouri, moved to rural Texas in search of adventure and romance, and now live in an increasingly suburban historic county seat north of Dallas. When you've lived in the country as long as I have, "suburban" equals "they deliver pizza to your door."
DeleteAs a kid, I enjoyed Halloween--but not so much as an adult. However, I would've loved to throw Halloween parties for the boys, but they weren't having it. See, on the way to the bonfire, I planned to have my very tall youngest brother up a deer stand on one of the oaks--flip the lights as the kids walked under the tree and I bet you'd have heard the screams halfway across the county! Lots of excellent places to plan things to scare the bejesus out of the kids--all in good fun, naturally. Of course, these were the same two boys who, as little ones, said they'd teach Frankenstein to be human so people wouldn't be scared of him....
ReplyDeleteEllen, I can't wait to get my hands on your latest--have so enjoyed this series!
Awww... I love that anecdote about Frankenstein! Thanks so much, Flora. I'm thrilled you love the series!
DeleteI've never been a big fan of Halloween. Living out in the country, going door to door was just not feasible. Then when I was teaching that became to most dreaded day of the year because all teaching/learning stopped. I was in a small K-12 building and between the excitement and the candy the day was lost.
ReplyDeleteBut I am willing to look at in now from another point of view. Maybe your book will convince me, Ellen!
Lol, Judi, at least you know my protagonist shares some of your same reservations about the holiday! At my daughter's elementary school, Halloween or the Friday before was a half day, followed by the Halloween carnival. You can guess how much work got done THAT day!
DeleteI loved Hallowe'en when I was young. We looked forward to dressing up and going out. Those days were the best fun. 1950's and the neighborhood where everyone was out and the kids could go out on their own without supervision. Now the grandchildren love it and so do I.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful!
DeleteEach year we anticipated Halloween. Those were the days of innocence and good times where we never worried about anything. I loved it for my children who dressed up and now for the little ones. How time has changed but they still can have fun.
ReplyDeleteThey do, and so do we as their parents. I never thought I'd miss Halloween, but once my kid became a tween and I was a hindrance, not a help, I was sad. But I'd go to a friend's house and give out candy, which was great fun.
DeleteHalloween was my favorite holiday as a kid. We roamed all over the neighborhood in little packs and collected candy and info. We'd hear Mr such and such was dressed as Frankenstein's monster handing out candy on his porch, being sweet to little kids and scaring the big ones. It was so much fun. Nowadays we dress up and sit on our front porch and hand out candy. Frank loves a good costume and usually goes to town. One year he was El Chapo and got his picture taken with a lot of people coming by. This year, who knows? Although I have been seeing some ingenious devices made of PVC pipe that amount to chutes, decorated or not, to send the candy out to the trick or treaters. If I block off the bottom of the steps with crime scene tape and have a chute coming from the porch that should be an easy 6 feet for Halloween distancing. We'll see what Frank wants to do.
ReplyDeleteEllen, I've read the latest Pelican mystery and loved it! When's that wedding happening? Hubba hubba!
What a great idea, Pat!! If I thought we'd have enough trick or treaters, I'd do that. I used to love sitting out on my porch giving out candy but, as Gigi mentioned earlier, our town now usually has a festival for the kids on the town square. I was in England last year, but the year before I don't think we had a single visitor. Of course I buy some good candy, just in case.
DeletePat, lol re: hubba hubba. There will be a wedding but since the plot of BODY ON THE BAYOU totally revolved around one and I don't want to repeat myself, it will be a quick, sedate event. That story about your husband dressing as El Chapo is hilarious. And props to whoever thought of that candy chute.
DeleteHalloween Lover here!!! As a candy freak, it is my absolute most favorite holiday on the calendar. Free candy for dressing up, which is also a blast, sign me up! Looking forward to your latest Cajun Country mystery, Ellen. Woo hoo!
ReplyDeleteI always say my favorite holiday is All Saint's (November 1st) aka 50% Off Hallowe'en Candy Day.
DeleteThanks, Jenn, and right back at you re: your latest. That cover is killer. And Julia - lol. My favorite holiday is the day after Easter. That's the only day of the year See's Candy has a sale! At least used to.
DeleteI love the candy, the costumes, the decorations, the spooky movies. I wish there was adult trick-or-treat. The only bad part for me was that there was usually snow by Halloween so it was always cold.
ReplyDeleteAlicia, I think adult trick-or-treat involves liquor-filled chocolates!
DeleteI liked Halloween as a kid. It was a safe neighborhood and we were allowed to roam in packs, without parents following in their cars--imagine! The costumes were a big fail, however. Although my mom sewed, she had absolutely ZERO creativity for things like dressing up. I don't remember ever having a costume other than a cheap one from the dime (doesn't that tell you something!) store. Alas, I didn't do much better by my daughter. Now, I don't know anyone my daughter's age (mid-thirties) who sews. Will all kids have store-bought costumes?
ReplyDeleteEllen, I can't wait to read your book! Fun, romance, mystery, Halloween!! It will definitely get me in the mood to celebrate!
Thanks so much, Deborah! Like I said, I only have a memory of one costume from when I was a kid. I have to ask my mother about that. I wonder if she remembers what else I wore. And I will say that this year's masks have brought out the sewers. My daughter, who's 20, liked to sew, but she was an exception.
DeleteI enjoy the costumes and the candy, but as someone who scares easily, I've always had a love/hate relationship with Halloween. I never hated it as much as you did, but I've never fully loved it either.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't picked up this book yet, I highly recommend it. It's another great one!
Mark, I loved the holiday, but I was scared spitless by a rubber horror mask as a small child and STILL found them deeply disturbing as a tween. Fortunately, they became less and less popular as I got older. Knowing the sort of toys we were allowed to play with in the 70s, (Lawn Jarts, anyone?) it's undoubtedly because some safety organization discovered they suffocate kids or spontaneously burst into flames.
DeleteMark, thank you! And I HATE being scared. That's my main issue with Halloween. Julia, we did a whole run on Jarts in the FAIRLY ODD PARENTS room one day! The toys kids played with back in our day - yikes. My husband has the toy jigsaw woodworking workshop toy from his youth. It's an actual saw. How many fingers were lost to that toy, I wonder.
DeleteMe too. While my older brother went out with friends, chauffeured by a percent, I stayed home. My parents bought me the candy bar of my choice (usually a full sized Butterfingers or Snickers) and I stayed in my room and read.
ReplyDeleteRick, you're a man after my own heart!
DeleteMe too. While my older brother went out with friends, chauffeured by a percent, I stayed home. My parents bought me the candy bar of my choice (usually a full sized Butterfingers or Snickers) and I stayed in my room and read.
ReplyDeleteEllen, welcome to Jungle Reds and Happy Book birthday! I loved your digital Advanced Copy, thanks to Net Galley. I felt very fortunate to be able to read your Advanced Copy. I love Maggie and Grandmere. In my imagination, I can see that actress Sheila Hancock (British actress) as Grandmere. And Lorelai (Lauren Graham) as Maggie.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry that your Halloween was spoiled by the bullies. I thought that did not happen until the teen years ? Grew up loving Halloween. We always wore costumes to school on Halloween. The Halloween parties were always supervised.
What did I love about Halloween? Wearing MAKEUP from lipstick to false lashes. My parents would NOT let me wear makeup and I loved wearing makeup. Halloween was the ONLY time I was allowed to wear makeup. In these days, neighborhoods were safe enough to go trick or treating, though my Father would always insist on tasting ALL of the candy before I could eat any of them. My own personal food taster. LOL. My father would take me trick or treating. It was also fun dressing up in costumes. I remember being a Princess with the medieval cone headgear. I remember being a Cat. I had many different costumes over the years.
Love the costumes that your kiddo wore over the years.
Diana
This is such a great story, Diana! I love your dad being your personal food taster, lol.
DeleteLOL. I am still laughing about that.
DeleteEllen, congrats on MURDER IN THE BAYOU BONEYARD! I have a soft spot for holiday mysteries and romances, and I'm thrilled the genre is starting to include Hallowe'en!
ReplyDeleteI have pictures of my oldest girl in some very similar costumes - cheetah, pumpkin, and Glamour Witch. I was very energetic and handmade costumes every year. By the time Youngest came along, I had gotten a bit beaten down and so she had to make do with things from the costume chest or a trip to Goodwill.
I've never been good at decorating the front door and porch, though. My mother was much better at it than I am - I remember yarn spider webs and witch dummies, and she helped my brother and sister and I carve our own pumpkins. At my house... let's just say there have been years when the entire decorating scheme is a plastic Jack o' Lantern bucket next to a bowl of candy!
Ha! I was never much of an interior decorator, so I support you in that bucket and candy motif. I can see how the enthusiasm would wear thin by #3. My youngest brother (of 3) jokes that while there was a giant envelope of my childhood photos (Mom never got around to putting any pix in an album), he ended up with a thin envelope holding a couple of desultory shots.
DeleteI have always loved Halloween. The pumpkins, the witches, the ghosts, the ghouls, the spooky trees, the scary stories and books (like yours, Ellen), and the colors of orange and black. Heck, I even loved those packaged costumes with the plastic face masks, although I don't think I ever wore one. I do remember one of my costumes was that of an angel, which my mother made up for me, and I passed that costume down to my son around 35 years later. I have his picture in it, and he does look like a little angel. My daughter got my mother's vintage black satiny dress that daughter used for a witch costume, and then her daughters used it as one, too. It was perfect. When a small child, I lived in a great place to go trick-or-treating, with so many neighborhood kids and everybody knew everybody. Oh, those good old days. I have decorated inside for Halloween since my husband and I married, almost 44 years now. My kids always have had a Halloween background to enjoy, and even though my daughter indicated that I might go over the top sometimes, she now decorates just as much or more than I do for her home. I laugh because my eleven-year-old granddaughter is urging her to get out the Halloween decorations earlier and earlier each year. I would have probably already started decorating if not for the ongoing process of rearranging our house for mother-in-law's furniture pieces we got. But, the long and short of it is that I am wild about Halloween! Putting on my list for today to get out the Halloween books.
ReplyDeleteAnd, Ellen, a big congratulations on your new book! Murder in the Bayou Boneyard is a fantastic title, and your book covers are always the best.
Kathy, thanks so much. It sounds like you passed on your own wonderful Halloweens to your children and now your granddaughter. What a lucky, lucky family.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young we lived out of town, up the mountain (dirt road when we moved in). One neighbor.
ReplyDeleteHalloween activities were anything put together by the town.
I did have some kicker costumes. One was a pumpkin with hoops to make the shape and fabric over them. Difficult to walk in.
The best, which won a prize, I think (memory is a tricky thing) was I dressed as a storm--black fabric with Boom! Crash! and such written on it and in my hands wire coat hangers bent to look like lighting bolts, covered in aluminum foil with the end bent so I could hold them and spin them in my hands.
OMG, Libby, what a GREAT costume!!
DeleteThanks for sharing, El! I liked getting candy on Halloween but didn't enjoy the actual dressing up part. We didn't buy costumes, so I either had to make something (with my huge lack of skills) or we re-used those plastic masks across siblings & cousins.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your latest book! Looking forward to reading it!
Thanks, Jen! Yeah, I ran out of steam for costumes by the time I was a teenager. Glad I'm not alone!
DeleteI used to go all out for Halloween. First as a child through the teen years doing costumes, trick or treating and stuff. As a young adult, we looked forward to parties. Then I became a stepmom and did it all for my "kids". Now they are grown, take their kids to other places for Halloween hijinx and send pictures. So now, I decorate for Fall and look back nostalgically at Halloweens past. 😊
ReplyDeleteAwww... this is so sweet. Honestly, I feel the same way. I got misty-eyed assembling these photos.
DeleteI loved Halloween as a kid,loved it even more when my sons were young and now my grandchildren make it fun again. Everything about it makes me happy and as much as I adored Halloween, my brother loved it even more. He went all out with decorations ( and probably would have left them up all year if possible).🎃
ReplyDeleteHow sweet that your brother was so into it!
DeleteI was more like you as a kid. We didn't wander the neighborhood alone and nobody jumped out at us, but it was kind of a meh thing, I didn't like the idea of dressing up and putting myself at risk of being made fun of, and I didn't like going door to door asking for food. When we were young my mother made elaborate costumes for my sister and me (think Carmen Miranda with a bowl of fruit on her head, Little Bow Beep complete with bonnet and crook, Red Riding Hood with cape and basket), made treats for us to give to the neighbors we visited and took us around to show us off. That wasn't bad but when it became the crowd thing I didn't want to do it. And I went to only one Halloween party as a teenager and dressed as a beatnik - black shirt and dark pants, a lot of eyeliner. I like your costume even better. But yep, when my own kids came it became a lot more fun. Except for the year when my husband stayed home to pass out the treats and wore a cut-out half mask of a very smiley fox - and practically got beaten up by the mom who said if he wanted to scare kids so they wouldn't want candy he should stay inside! :-) Now I love Halloween because (most years) we can admire the little kids and I watch classic Halloween movies all month.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great celebration. Make sure you watch the only scary movie I ever watch because it's so beautifully done... THE HAUNTING.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, that is definitely a movie on my list.
DeleteLet me add at this late point in the day that if Halloween doesn't happen this year because of the pandemic, I'm going to be totally screwed. I have so much candy already (thank you 40% off closing sale of local candy wholesaler) that if I have to eat it all, I'm going to need my own zip code. When you add in the comic books and the toys, I'm going to have a lot of occupied space if I can't give it all out.
ReplyDeleteJay!!! You made me laugh. Good luck! You'll have to report back on what happens.
DeleteEllen, perhaps Jay can send some candy to you or to your kiddo away at college?
DeleteI wish, but neither of us needs it!
DeleteHalloween was always a bummer for me because costumes didn’t accommodate glasses, and parents didn’t make costumes then.
ReplyDeleteThen I became a seamstress and a school teacher and the Sky became the limit!!!
Stephanie, good for you! I got glasses in 4th grade but I don't think I wore them that often until my eyesight really got bad.
DeleteI remember Halloween being a lot of fun. We would go all over the neighborhood and come back with so much candy. I don't remember my Mom being very creative with our costumes, just that we could go out with friends to trick or treat and we didn't have school the next day.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't have school the next day?! Nice!
DeleteEllen, I'm with you. I never cared for dressing up and was very fussy about candy. I used to trade with my brother so I had all the good chocolate, and he had everything else. Even with that, I usually had candy left at Thanksgiving while he didn't. My first cavity was at age 18, and he had plenty as a kid. Candy is dandy but books don't rot your teeth. Love your books. Stay safe and well.
ReplyDeleteSally, thank you so much! Nowadays, all the candy is exactly the same. It's boring!
DeleteI wasn't a trick or treating fan when I was a kid. I was to shy to go up to stranger's houses. And, anyway, we lived far enough out that we'd have to drive somewhere to do the trick or treating, anyway. I think I did try it once, but never actually went up to the house. I just plain chickened out.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy dressing up in costume for school, though. And I love painting Halloween decorations now and watching old horror films (non-gory)ones.
Oh Sybil, I bet you paint some GREAT Halloween decorations! You should share them on social media.
DeleteAw, poor you, Ellen! I loved Halloween, but by the time I turned 12 (living on Long Island, NY)
ReplyDeleteI thought I was too old, so Mom had me take my 2 younger bros to trick-or-treat for 2
yrs. (BTW, I liked the good candy, like chocolate, the best!) Before then, in New Orleans
area, I sometimes wore the same costume as my great-aunt Aggie had made me for Mardi Gras! (She
was a seamstress and made costumes for several krewes most of her life.) Good memories.
Oh, I would love to see some of those Mardi Gras costumes, Lynn!
DeleteMom has pics in old photo albums. When I dig through I'll see if I can send you some!
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry you hated Halloween! I despise bullies! Halloween has always been my favorite holiday! I love handing out candy to all the Trick or Treaters and getting together with all my family and friends. I decorate my yard and the inside of my house. I make Chili and all kinds of goodies. Thanks for the chance!
ReplyDeleteOh how I would love to win your new book! The thing I love most about Halloween is NO FAMILY DRAMA!! It is my favorite holiday! lindaherold999(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI love this series and your covers are great. Halloween is one of the favorite holidays in my family. We enjoy decorating with pumpkins, cornstalks, scarecrows, etc. Also it is so fun to see the little ones in their costumes and hearing their versions of trick or treat. robeader53(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDelete