it will be really frightening when it’s gone

One day, close to Halloween, my third grade class was interrupted by a Witch.  Mrs. Clark opened the door to our classroom and the Witch entered, shrouded in layers of black fabric that obscured her features and on her head, a black pointed hat.  The Witch carried a large, black caldron from which a smoke or vapor emanated.  She set the caldron on a table in the front of the classroom and began to ladle green punch into cups for each child.  She beckoned us closer and handed out candy and talked to us in an odd, cackling voice.  Some of us were a little scared by the Witch’s frightening appearance, myself included.  She had bumpy green and yellow skin, a crooked nose and pointed chin.  Her fingernails were long and black like claws.  However, our desire for punch and candy soon overpowered all our fears. 

Being third graders, not babies like the second graders, we knew that the Witch wasn’t real.  Sipping our punch, we wondered who was under the black hat and wig and makeup.  Was it one of the teachers?  Maybe it was the Principal?  The Witch didn’t stay long, but before she left, we all learned her true identity.  I was just as surprised as my classmates to learn that she was my mother.

My mom had so completely disguised herself, that her own 9-year-old daughter didn’t recognize her.  She bought a rubber witch’s mask and cut it up so that she could adhere sections of it to her face.  The rest of her skin she covered in makeup.  The smoking caldron was created using dry ice and food coloring turned the punch green.

And that is why I love Halloween. 

It is the one time of the year when we an all be special effects wizards, makeup artists, costume designers and set decorators. Each of us can play a part in a great, crazy, chaotic show.  It’s okay to be frightening or over-the-top funny.  Halloween is an excuse for us to let our hair down, or to pull it up and color it purple.  It’s perfectly acceptable to be daring or gross or act like anyone other than yourself. 

But, what’s even better about Halloween, is that you are not expected to do anything.  You don’t have to dress up if you don’t want to, no one will be offended.  You don’t have to roast a turkey or bake a pie or feed your whole family.  You don’t have to give anyone a present or feel guilted into donating to a charity.  The only thing you may feel obligated to do is buy a bag of candy and give it to children who knock on your door.  Having fun is just a side-effect.    

Halloween is the only day out of the year where it is acceptable for children to take candy from strangers, even strangers who are wearing a hockey mask and bloody overalls.  Even with all the real fears in the world, parents still let their children go door to door trick-or-treating.  All it takes is a few carved pumpkins and some fake blood to make us realize that we haven’t totally given up on trusting each other. 

Happy Halloween everybody!