Growing up, I also liked the fun of dressing up, the scariness of going door to door in the dark, and the anticipation of the goodies I'd get in my candy sack.
Over the years, I'd dressed in a lot of different costumes, from Cinderella to a space-age robot, a ballerina to a bum, a cowboy to Count Dracula, and a bunch of other characters in between.
My most lasting Halloween memory didn't happen on Halloween itself, but the night before. One Mischief Night, my friends and I decided the time had come to investigate the local haunted mansion, an old, decaying house just a couple of blocks away. The house had sat empty for as long as any of us could remember, and year after year, it became more run-down and ratty-looking--perfect for Mischief Night marauders.
We set out with a few kids, a couple of flashlights, and a whole lot of manufactured nerve. Truthfully, I think the closer we got to the house, the more we all wanted to go home. But no one wanted to be first to back out.
One of the boys found an open window at ground level
--lucky for us, huh?--and lowered himself into the cellar. He dragged over an old wooden chair he found inside and, one by one, we followed, until we all stood in a tight circle in a cold, dank, cobweb-draped room that echoed with the scrabbling of rats' toenails and the flapping of bats' wings....
Or so it seemed to us!
The adventure didn't last long. At the first whimpered "I want out," we all rushed back to the window, climbed through it, and ran home.
Give us a break, though--we were only eight years old!
Now it's your turn. What's your scariest, funniest, or favorite memory of Halloween?
All my best to you,
Barbara
~~~~~~
Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
17 comments:
I don't remember any really interesting halloween, but I do remember being able as a child to go out with my friends just after dark and to trick or treat without the worry of some nut case snatching one of us. Now, everyone around here has to go out on a Sunday afternoon in the sunlight with the fire trucks patroling for security. My how times have changed. It's so sad that you have to be so cautious these days, but it's good to see the community pull together to make it a safe activity for everyone.
It's a Halloween I don't remember what I dressed up as but when I returned home from trick or treating my mother was sitting there watching a new tv. She said she went trick or treating too.
I don't particularly remember a very interesting Halloween... but I wish there had been a creepy 'haunted' house around here when I was little. XD
Having grown up in the country, we did not have the opportunity to dress up and go trick or treating---houses were too far apart. Nor were there any desterted houses to explore.
Jennifer, it really is sad that we're forced to be so safety conscious nowadays. I remember as a kid, we were warned every year about the crazy people who handed out candy they'd tampered with.
Fortunately, I never really heard of anything bad happening, and we all just hoped it was an urban legend.
Thanks for commenting.
Best,
Barbara
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
Christa--too funny! And too smart of your mom! That's a great memory.
(BTW, I'd sent you a direct e-mail to say happy Thanksgiving. Did you ever get it?)
Best,
Barbara
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
Danny,
Hate to say it, but you really missed out. ;-)
Best,
Barbara
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
Estella,
I'd say there were probably many other things you *did* benefit from by living out in the country!
Best,
Barbara
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
Any memory where I used to get a lot of candy when I was a kid is amazing!
Lily,
So you didn't get much candy as a kid?
I'd probably have been better off if I didn't, either. I now have a sweet tooth that just won't quit.
Best,
Barbara
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
My scariest Halloween . . .
I was in the first grade. My mother and aunt took us out. My brother and my cousin were big fifth graders and were allowed to walk by themselves ahead of us. We were within 3 houses of being home with our big bags of candy. I ran ahead of my mom to catch up with my big brother. As I was halfway between my mom and my brother, two big boys with masks on their face ran from behind some bushes, intersecting my path and grabbing my bag of candy. My mom ran after them but of course could not catch them. I was left with no candy from all that trick or treating. My cousin was sweet though and took her babysitting money and took me up to the corner store and bought me some.
Cheryl
Yes Barbara
Thank you so much
I would dress as a ghost and take my little sister (11 years younger) trick or treating. I'd just wander among the little kids and never say a word.
BTW, this is the first reminder for National Half-price Chocolate Day on November 1.
Cheryl, how awful for you! And you were only in first grade, too. That was a *terrible* thing for those boys to do.
I'm glad your cousin was so nice to you. It probably didn't make up for the scare, but at least you got some candy of your own.
Best,
Barbara
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
Heather, I can just see all the little kids with the tall, silent ghost "hovering" over them!
And I didn't know that about Half-Price Chocolate Day. Thanks for sharing...I *think.* LOL!
Best,
Barbara
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
My favorite memory was one day when it was raining and my mom said we were not going trick or treating - which I hated! So instead she just bought some candy!
Lila - that's too funny! I wouldn't have minded doing it that way myself once in a while. ;-)
Best,
Barbara
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
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