The jack o’ lanterns were lit, the fog machine was warmed up and the cauldron was full of candy. It was 6 o’clock and we were ready for Halloween.
Or so we thought.
Like most years, we had a Halloween party at my sister’s house. We decorated her carport and made that area the hub of the party so we could be outside and hand out candy to trick or treaters. Although it wasn’t mandatory (just highly encouraged), most all the adults dressed up this year. We had a monkey and a bunny, Punky Bruster and a witch. My sister was Julie McCoy from the Love Boat and her husband was a scarecrow. My husband was Stewie Griffin from Family Guy and I was zombie Princess Leia. Pictures are available upon request.
Carload after carload of children scampered up the driveway and we had a blast handing out candy to all the little princesses and ninjas and vampires. We were a little worried that the scattered showers would discourage trick or treating, but we had so many kids that we almost ran out of candy.
The night was in full swing, the last of the children had gone home and we were all sitting around in the carport enjoying the liquid treat of our choosing. Then, out of the fog, appeared an apparition. As it slowly advanced up the driveway, we could see that it was a creature dressed head to foot in layers of white fabric and tulle. Its face was hidden behind a skull mask and in its gloved hands was a bottle of wine. I was the closest to the ghostly figure, so I stood and offered a greeting.
The ghost spoke in a low growl, “I heard you were having a party. Can I join you?”
It’s not my style to turn away anyone who brings their own booze, spectral or solid, so I said, “Of course!”
We offered the ghost a chair, my sister opened the wine and served it to our guest in a cup with a straw, since the skull mask only had a small slit where the mouth should be. We are nothing if not accommodating.
Resuming our conversations, we all wondered who was behind the mask. Most of the friends that we were expecting had already arrived and of those that had not yet shown up, none would have come alone or be so completely disguised.
My brother-in-law tried to be clever and introduced himself. “Hello, I’m David. Who are you?”
The stranger would not be tricked so easily. “I am The Ghost of Halloween,” it replied.
Short aside just to set the scene a bit more: we all had a fair amount of alcohol in our systems, none of us was armed or had any formal self-defense training and some of us were in costumes that restricted our ease of movement and/or were highly flammable. A paranoid person might label our group as “easy targets” or “sitting ducks.”
Not deterred by our guest’s reluctance to reveal his/her true identity, we continued on with our party. Drinks were passed, food was enjoyed and general merriment ensued.
Then, in the front yard, something exploded.
The noise shook the ground. We were stunned silent, our eyes wide. A few of us started walking toward the yard to investigate. I had made it half way down the driveway when I saw a tall figure strolling from the direction of the explosion. He had on a wide hat and long, dark coat with brass buttons. His pants were tucked into high, black boots and a flintlock pistol was wedged, barrel first, into the sash at his waist. Dark circles rimmed his eyes and his grin was full of black, rotten teeth.
If he had been a real pirate, I would have been one of the first to die. But, I recognized this brigand as soon as I saw the mischievous glint in his blue eyes. It was Captain Bill, my mother’s boyfriend. But, if Bill was here, then where was my mom? I turned to see the ghost remove the mask and reveal my mom’s smiling face.
Damn! She had done it again.
Of course, we had invited mom and Bill to the party, but she had told us that they would not be able to make it. They live seven hours away, she had recently hurt her foot and Bill wouldn’t be able to get time off from work. She asked us to take lots of pictures for her.
Little did we know that weeks ago, she had conspired with one of my sister’s friends to surprise us. Mom and Bill drove up from Florida on Halloween morning and arrived at the friend’s house late in the afternoon. They used her house to dress in their costumes and prepare Bill’s cannon (yes, cannon) for his grand entrance.
My mom was sure that the friend had spilled the beans when she read my blog entry about dressing as a witch and surprising me in the third grade. But, no. That was just a marvelous coincidence.
Later, at the party, we all laughed at how easily we were duped and at how trusting we were. I mean, we invited a masked stranger to join our party! My brother-in-law and another friend were convinced that the “ghost” was going to pull out a knife or a gun and when they heard the cannon go off, they were certain that we were dead. Then there is the fact that we all walked toward the sound of the explosion and straight into the path of a pirate. If this had been a horror movie, we all would have rightfully died gruesome deaths.
Luckily, real life did not turn out like a horror movie. Instead, I have yet another wonderful Halloween memory thanks to my mom.
