Happy Halloween

10/31/2024 – Happy Halloween

"Hey man, I think I like being scared

And I wish you all were there

Man I really, really think, really think

That I think I like being scared"

- Dangerous Toys, Scared

“Scritch, Scritch, Scritching at the door.” The Bounty Man, Into the Badlands (1991).

Every year since 2018 or 2019 I have wanted to tell a Halloween tale.  Every year over that time Halloween has come and gone, like a wraith that goes bump in the night and my tale never materializes.  

On September 28, 2024, I sat down though, and I started to write a Halloween tale.  I am three thousand five hundred words into that tale but even so, we have just scratched the surface with what I want to tell.  It is something, that I need to spend a lot more time with before I can release it, or any part of it.  

Now we have 9 hours still left in Halloween 2024, but I think starting this story and peeling back the onion a little bit has come to make this one of the better Halloweens I can remember.  That little, tiny bit of paranoia that always in the back of my mind, doesn’t seem to be there this year.  Candy has been purchased, and while I won’t be handing it out myself, I am putting a bowl out on the front porch. That move is more of a psychotic dog whom I live with trying to get out and bark at anyone who comes to the door, more so than the traditional, I want to lock myself in, so the boogie man doesn’t get me. 

Now, I thought about cheating when I told my Halloween tale.  Writing something short, but a little gory.  Like about that homeless man you brought home and decided to turn into chili, or something else like that, those dark little flickers that pop into all our minds, that we push down, so we don’t have to think about it ever, ever again.  Again, it was cheating to me, because there is a reason I have always hated this holiday, and I think the tale I am spinning his helping me accept that. 

This year when I got the obligatory Michael Myers image from my younger brother, it didn’t bother me. Sometimes when you face your fears head on, you start to realize they don’t have the power over you they once did.  I am sure before the day is through, I will be getting another image or meme of from him.  However, when you think about how foolish ole MM is, he loses a lot of power.  Did you know the original Michael mask was a Captain Kirk mask turned inside out?  No wonder I hate MM he is a Trekkie not a Jedi.  In Halloween II do you know the doctor shoots Michael in not one of his eyes, but both!  Yet, he still wields his scapple trying to hurt people.  Now let’s be honest, how much fucking PCP or angel dust must he have been on to do that?  Also, this dude is obsessed with his sister.  I love both of my sisters, and if someone hurt them and I might go a little psycho on them, but I wouldn’t hunt my sisters down and why because his full sister boyfriend stole his Halloween mask?  The kid should have been grateful, who wants to dress up like a clown anyway, and more over kill for it, it’s just weird.  Anyway…  My issue isn’t just with MM but all slasher films in general, they just are not my circus and not my monkeys.  However, that is a tale for another day.  

Anyway… This year I am trying to embrace the Halloween.  If you ever want to watch an excellent TV show on the origins of Halloween watch the Supernatural episode “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester” talks about Samhain and some Pagen rituals of how Halloween got started.  I dig it, because I love history and a good origin story.  

So… I will just Say Happy Halloween! I will not give you any ghost or goblins today.  I am honestly two tired rights now to think of anything else to say.  I would also recommend the following for good fun Halloween viewing: Haunted Mansion (most recent Disney), I would not recommend Haunted Mansion with the Muppets.  I would also recommend Werewolf by Night from Marvel.  You don’t need a marvel connection for it, just fun little nod to the gold age of horror flicks.  Bram Stroker Dracula is good, but I prefer the Lost Boys.  Finally, I just started listening too Lore, that is pretty cool to, so if you want some mild ghost and goblins that is my recommendation.