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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween y'all! Bittersweet though it is, it's All Hallow's Eve and we are here to celebrate it! It feels like October just started the other day, but it's time to light the jack-o'-lanterns, read a spooky book and watch some scary flicks. 

I've also spent this Halloweentober trying to come to terms with those family and friends I've lost over the years. I've tried some pagan rituals, more for fun tradition than anything else, such as leaving a candle lit by the window (protected in a glass sleeve, of course. I don't want to join them just yet!) and wrote a letter to a friend who's passed and subsequently burnt it, hoping it will reach him wherever he may be. You know, it was quite cathartic. Saying things that I didn't get to say in person while he was here just kind of felt good, like a heavy weight literally lifted from my soul.

I've watched a slew of new Halloween and horror movies and TV shows, including Falling Stars, which I've talked about before on here. I honestly thing this is one of my favorite films, let alone witch movies. I enjoyed Slapface, a unique monster or witch movie with family trauma at its story's heart. I finally watched Haxan, the silent-era Swedish movie about witches and devils that Criterion Collection put out years back. I also watched quite a few non-fiction ghost shows that were previously on History Channel or Discovery Channel back in the day.

I binged a host of episodes from Tales From the Darkside, which is just a perfect Halloween show. There are even 2 or 3 Halloween specific episodes I enjoyed. Anthology shows and movies are like catnip for me, and I rubbed my movie-loving head all over this show...

I went to a couple local haunts this season, something I have really missed the past 10 years or more. Bennett's Curse was an absolute blast. Next year I'm going to get to some earlier and keep it going all month long. T and I carved over half a dozen jack-o'-lanterns. I picked up some more Halloween short story collections, and took a bunch of walks, just to enjoy the feeling of autumn all up on my face as the weather chilled and the leaves fell.

As always, I am in no way ready to let this feeling go, but in an odd, cruel way, the magic leaves my body and mind the moment I wake up November 1. Mr. Samhain packs his bag and exits like a thief in the night, leaving me with only memories of the time we had and ideas for next year behind.

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