There’s just something about this image. It seems very spooky at first glance, but taking a longer look reveals it as a typical farm in the fall. It would probably look quite cheery in color, but I love the extra atmosphere given by the black and white photography. Halloween is a lot like that.
My anticipation has been growing ever since the leaves starting to change color. Now October has finally arrived. I love the cool, crisp air and the crunch of leaves under my feet as I walk down the street. Pumpkin spice goodies? Yes please! You had better believe I love the decorations that have been starting to appear as well. Many were strictly harvest themed at first, but the Halloween stuff crept in soon enough. We’ll all be seeing displays ranging from the cute to the realistically scary soon enough. And even if some types of decorations aren’t to your liking, it’s still great people are trying to make the Halloween season interesting and enjoyable for all in their own special way. Take the Halloween staple that is the crudely made dummy. It’s easy to mock them for their obvious wooden frames and slumped postures, along with being clad either in old flannel or old dress shirts. But would it ever be truly be Halloween if you didn’t see one? I personally enjoy the sense of nostalgia they give.
The theme to Swamp Foetus playing in my mind as the memories flood back. When I was growing up, there was a local radio station which used to play three songs (“Spooky,” “Monster Mash” and “Martian Hop”) every October. I loved hearing them while on the way to (or back from) some evening errand with my family as a child and even today I rank “Spooky” as one of my favorite songs. Looking back, it’s odd how they limited themselves to only those three. Perhaps I was just missing their other Halloween selections? Working on my costume and pouring over the newspaper listings for haunted attractions in the area were always fun. Even if I couldn’t go to one of the professional ones, I always had my neighbors’ home haunts to look forward to. The love of Halloween decorations, along with checking out the newest spooky stuff at stores, practically goes without saying. Let’s not forget the books! I loved scouring through various Halloween and holiday books for new ideas. I still do it today, even though a lot of it is done online now. Pouring through various horror books and magazines always seemed more special during the fall even though I read them throughout the year. Maybe it’s because so many of the films I drooled over would be shown on TV. Speaking of drooling, that’s precisely what I’m doing since I just learned by my all time favorite Halloween candy is still being sold: Palmer’s “Monster Munny” double crisp chocolate coins. It was the only kind of candy I could only get in October and seeing their foil coin wrappers with the various cartoon monster portraits made each Halloween complete. I had even tried saving said wrappers on a few occasions. You had better believe I’ll be searching the stores for them.
I hope you find what you’re looking for this month. We here at Gravedigger’s Local 16 will do its best to help out by providing a steady flow of spooky content. Please feel free to share your own October memories in the comments section. Stay tuned!
