It's here! It's here! I can't believe it; it's finally here! It's the most magical time of year! It's Octoboween! Huzzah!
There aren't many things that get me truly excited, and I am usually very frugal in my use of exclamation points, but this is wonderful!
Octoboween is a tradition at our house, a time when we join together in our celebration of the macabre. And it makes me incredibly happy.
The gist of Octoboween is that we watch a Halloween movie every day. But there are so many great films to choose from that we frequently watch more than one. This year I was so excited in anticipation that I started watching a few mid-September.
I wrote about this tradition last year. As October approached and I felt inclined to write about it again, I started to ask myself why Halloween is my favorite time of the year. Have you ever tried to explain why you like something? It can be tough. But I'll try.
There's the glory of the cooling weather and the changing leaves. There's the fact that my grandmother's birthday is in October, and she was my favorite person in the whole world. There's football. But those things are just part of the spell.
To me, Halloween is a time to play. It's a time to be mischievous, to be sneaky. There is something about the ability to laugh at danger, and death, and things that are frightening that can make us feel powerful. Plus, there is something fun about doing things that make others shake their heads and doubt our sanity.
I'm not a big decorator. The only reason anything gets put up for Christmas is because my kids insist on it and do all the work. I don't even do much for Halloween. But there will be a few touches.
There will be a big, black swath of fabric draped above my front porch. There will be a stuffed, rubber rat the size of a large cat in my living room. And my living room is already pumpkin orange, so the mood is kind of preset.
I'm not sure why the macabre is so fun for me. It has been for as long as I can remember. I grew up on Edgar Allan Poe and Vincent Price. I grew up watching Thriller Theater every Saturday afternoon. I grew up telling horror stories. I grew up loving the strange and spooky.
I love scaring people and getting scared. Not the startling "BOO!" kind when someone sneaks up on you. I like the scaring that is like a beautiful dessert. It takes time. There is a recipe to it, many details. And after preparing it slowly and lovingly and carefully, I savor it!
No, we don't eat people. My title comes from Morticia Addams. It's the Addams' family motto. One that we have adopted for our own. Don't worry. We're just playing.