Our Round Robin leader asked us to share a childhood memory or scariest experience of October 31st. All Hallow’s Eve or Hallowe’en, the one night in the year when ghosts, ghouls, witches and wizards, sprites and gobbledygook’s are supposed to go bump in the night.
Growing
up in post-war England, although we all knew what Halloween was, I don’t ever
recall celebrating it in the way it is celebrated today. The festivals I do
remember were Christmas, New Year, and Easter. In a few of the locations we
lived there were also Mayday celebrations, usually in the form of a church or village fete, dancing around the Maypole being a feature of the latter.
It
wasn’t until my children were growing up that we began to have Halloween
parties. We might have decorated inside the house with tattered rags hung over
a pointy hat and a cobweb or two populated by homemade spiders, but there were
no outside displays as can be seen today. There were no costumes no trick or
treating, just simple games like apple bobbing, hide and seek in the dark, and
carving jack o’ lanterns. One year I found a set of red glassware which made
whatever liquid in it look a bit like blood but, as the kids attending that
party didn’t much like the effect, it was never repeated. Definitely different
from today when it seems the gorier the better.
But
why all the interest in Hallowe’en? Traditionally, from the earliest pagans
until now, October 31st has been celebrated as a festival of
darkness. It is the time of year when the veil between the living and the dead
is considered to be at its thinnest, allowing departed souls to return and walk
among us.
In some cultures, an extra place will be laid at the table. In others, to keep dead souls away, bonfires will be lit and those brave enough among the living may jump over them. Mexico’s
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| courtesy bloomberg.com |
Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is probably known world-wide. For Wiccans, Hallowe’en, or Samhain (Sowin) is celebrated as one of the four great Sabbats forming the Wheel of the Year.
I don’t remember any scary experience from my childhood years but my scariest Hallowe’en was the one when my Dear Departed Husband, who was a dyed-in-the-wool Stephen King fan, decided we should watch the movie IT, with Tim Curry playing the role of Pennywise.
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| Tim Curry in makeup for Pennywise courtesy reddit.com |
We closed the drapes, lit candles, and sat down to watch the movie. But—I have never liked clowns (coulorphobia) and as the movie played out I either covered my eyes or my ears, much to his amusement. When I said I’d had enough and was going into another room to read, he realized that I was not joking. I’m not sure if he watched the movie to the end but he did promise that there would never be a repeat performance, and there never was.
It’s
fair to say I am not much of a Hallowe’en fan but don’t mind the trick or
treaters, although I do wonder if any of them would be happy with one little
soul cake as was the tradition. Children and poor people would go round to wealthy
houses promising to pray for the people of the house if they provided a cake
(treat) or a trick (some form of mischief) if they were sent away empty handed.
Next, visit these Round Robin bloggers to see what trick or treat they might
have in store for you.
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.
Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/
Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-2sc
Rhobin L
Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.com
