The Haunting

Does everybody love Hallowe'en? Are there people out there who don't particularly enjoy this day? I've had encounters with spirits mostly good, but some bad. Hallowe'en amplifies the scary, the haunting, reinforcing that All Hallows' Eve is a night I prefer to have a no-bad-spirits night, real or dressed up.

When I was a child, I didn't like Hallowe'en either because I always felt weird on that day and didn't know why. I just did. Sure, I loved the candy, and ate as much as I could possibly attempting to feel better, but all I felt at the end of the night was weird and sick.

Dressing up was a creative activity I could do anytime and didn't need a special day to do it. I was well into adulthood when I realized I'd hidden my authentic self so dressing up as someone or something else was like putting on two costumes. The times I did dress up, it wasn't for Hallowe'en. As a middle school student, a girlfriend and I choreographed and performed a dance to Edvard Grieg's, In the Hall of a Mountain King.

The troll courtiers shout Slay him! The Christian man's son has seduced the fairest maid of the Mountain King! Slay him! Slay him! A troll imp: May I hack him on the fingers? Another troll imp: May I tug him by the hair? A troll Maiden: Hey, let me bite him in the haunches! A troll-witch with a ladle: Shall he be boiled into soup and broth? Another troll-witch, with a butcher knife: Shall he roast on a spit or be browned in a stewpan? The Mountain King 's final curse: Ice-water to your blood! The music begins softly like the central figure, Peer Gynt, is tiptoeing. It crescendos and builds and as the music gets louder and faster; it changes from a minor key to a major key, and frenetic pandemonium follows. The end is punctuated by sharp, staccato, fortissimo chords as Peer Gynt escapes the clutches of the Mountain King and his trolls. In our dance, we captured the scoundrel, Peer Gynt, and ripped out his fingernails.

As a University student, one New Year's Eve party, I dressed up as Mata Hari with a trench coat and an old fashioned wide brimmed fedora I found at the second hand store. When I was a preacher's wife and very pregnant with my daughter, I dressed up as 'Eve, After the Fall' using a white top and a sheet draped around one shoulder and my baby bump. Another time I dressed up as a farmer to tell the parable of The Sower in church. The congregation was a little puzzled until I started telling the story.

I had a day care in my home for four and a half years when my children were young. We always had a dress-up area hung with fun clothing plus hats, jewelry, shoes, gloves, glasses, and anything else I found that I thought might spark the children's imaginations. My youngest son loved to make his own 'shooters' which could shoot imaginary strings of plasma from cardboard. He'd make masks and head gear, too. With his permission, he's pictured in this post wearing one of his creations. Love the 'fangs' made from turkey basters. His imagination is still incredible!

Pumpkins, another symbol of Hallowe'en, were gourds used to make pumpkin pie and roast seeds to eat in the small town I grew up in. In my home day care, the children used their hands and finger paint to decorate the pumpkins. Their squeals of delight were magical.

There's nothing wrong with having some fun at Hallowe'en, whether you're dressing up, eating candy and carving pumpkins into faces. If I had grandchildren, would I participate? I sure would, but I wouldn't encourage costumes or pumpkin faces that model the 'dark side'. Those who are sensitive to the spirit world, and there are many of us, know it's not an avenue for child's play. It's also not a reason for pranks to turn into desecration and destruction, either. In the last days before this year's American Election Day, honestly, do we need another day of scary, weird stuff?

Like so many holidays, I struggle to get past the trappings. What's the real spirit of Hallowe'en? Well, according to a few articles I read on the history of this day, I think we're all familiar with All Saints Day, a day to pray for the souls of the dead. Did you know this day used to be called Mischief Day and that it "was a night devoted to tricking or pulling pranks on unsuspecting people? By the 1930s, the pranks turned into full-blown vandalism, resulting in millions of dollars of damage to major U.S. cities". Apparently it was Canadians who put forth the idea that maybe if we gave children candy they wouldn't be so inclined to playing tricks and mischief hence ringing the doorbell of people's homes yelling "trick or treat".

And what about those scary pumpkins? "As folklore goes, Jack — a drunkard and evil-doer — cheated death three times throughout his life by tricking the devil out of taking his soul. When he finally died, Jack was barred from heaven and refused entry into hell by the angry devil. Sentenced to walk through the dark worlds of good and bad for eternity, Jack carries a carved-out turnip with a glowing ember inside to light his way. Sound familiar? Jack-o'-lantern."

Dressing up could have been "linked to Christmas and an old custom called 'belsnickeling,' where costumed children would perform plays for their neighbors in exchange for treats, not unlike modern-day Halloween". (All quotes are from this article: https://www.today.com/life/holidays/history-of-halloween-rcna34503.)

In any case, Hallowe'en today in Western culture seems to be a mixture of the Celtic Samhain and Christian All Saints Day but it really took off in the 1900's after retailers in the U.S. began turning out costumes, cards, and decorations. I wonder how many people will be honoring their ancestors and praying for their souls? I don't think we need a day to do that. A great time to honor our ancestors is anytime you're thinking of them with gratitude for their contribution to our lives or just missing them.

Ah well, these are my thoughts on Hallowe'en day. Truthfully, tonight I'll be my authentic self probably wearing cozy pajamas. We'll find a comedy to watch and eat homemade caramel popcorn. No tricks, only treats.