Halloween

Halloween is one of my favourite holidays.  I love the marriage between the macabre and fun.  It doesn’t seem a natural union, like marshmallows and peanut butter, but somehow it works.

I don’t think Halloween is wholly for children though.  Not because I think their little innocent minds can't handle the implied preternatural horrors of the night.  Most are less perturbed by gore, terror and malevolence than many adults.  No.  I just think adults have more fun with it. The costumes become feats of artistic frenzy, as originality strives to match technical ability; the abundant parties where being socially retarded is actually a bonus for once; the elaborate pumpkin carving beyond the prerequisite of the evil smiley face (which usually looks like the poor squash has had a stroke when a child's been let loose on it). All these factors contribute towards a night where you can indulge in your more alternative side and be a bit naughty.

This year however, I just can't be bothered with it. I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's because it's my last child-free Halloween, and I'm secretly resenting all the grown-up Samhein parties I'll no longer be invited to (not that my social calendar was ever particularly over-saturated with invites anyway).  More likely, it's because I'm not in the mood to haul my heavily pregnant bulk off the couch every fifteen minutes, just so I can pretend to be impressed by the paltry creativity of a parent who has draped a sheet over their kid in a last minute effort to secure a few squares of nougat.  That was a very long sentence.  I hope you took adequate breath before reading it.
 So, tonight I'm ignoring the doorbell, turning off all the lights and pretending to be deaf to calls of "we know you're in there" bellowed through the letterbox. In fact, I'm writing this sat in a dark cupboard with a tub of treat-size sweets (I'm sure they used to be called fun-size.  I guess the manufacturers realised it's a misnomer to call a smaller version of a chocolate bar 'fun').  Actually, that's not quite true.  I'm actually sat on the couch with an empty tub of sweets.

I’m looking forward to when Little Parasite is older and Husband and I can have some fun decorating the house with cobwebs, skeletons and ghouls for a blindfolded ghost hunt and serving bleeding heart cakes and rice crispy scabs.  And other activities that ensure Little Parasite requires a lifetime of therapy.

What’s your favourite holiday? What are your fondest (or darkest) memories of Halloween?