~;;~ Some Haunting Images ~;;~

As I have mentioned before, my mom used to sew up our Halloween costumes.  I remember the cat one, which I loved, but I don’t remember any others; there might be movies of us on Halloween, but my parents weren’t big on still cameras.  I remember the huge Raggedy Ann and Andy costumes my parents hauled out when they were asked to parties – I hated those things.  They smelled like burlap and I found them disturbing.  Parents were supposed to stay themselves, not turn into gigantic burlap dolls.

We didn’t buy costumes.  My mom was a practical, thrifty woman and thought less of her time than of a dollar.  So there must have been other costumes; I just can’t remember.  When I grew up and had  children, I guess I was even thriftier – having neither time nor money, what with three kids under four (the impact of those first few years lasted decades) and a new business to keep afloat.

Whatever Cam chose, it was always something that allowed him to do a lot of growling.  An alter ego?  Gin, too, here – going for the scary.  We are not a gifted in scary bunch.  Well, I was – when I was teaching high school (she said, and settled back with that smug look of power gone wrong).  This is 1984.  Our eldest is 4.

But we had something far more magical even than homemade costumes: we had a costume box.  It was a collection of odd bits, clothes saved by grandmothers (fancy stoles, old dresses, lots of costume jewelry) or G and me (his hippy-musician days stuff, my when-I-was-young clothes) or picked up along the way.  And there were a couple of hand me down costumes that came from G’s side.

1986

So every Halloween, the kids went digging in the box and came up with their own new identities.  We supplied the make up: face paint, moustaches.  And the some of the props: pirate swords, space blasters, western hats.  They supplied the character – and they knew who they wanted to be.

1987

Chaz has a whole closet full of costumes now, and is the consulting designer for the extended family.  And I have found myself buying the dang cutest on-sale costumes ever for grandchildren I didn’t even have yet.  Scooter is the perfect size for one of these right now.  He won’t wear it, of course.

The celebration falls on such a chancy time of year – this year, as in many past, we have rain and it’s cold out there.  But I’m not walking little ones around anymore.  Inside, dry and warm as toast.

1988

Exterioralized (which is not a word) alter egos.

I kind of miss the hail-fellow-well-met you feel, walking around the neighborhood and seeing your people pass, gaggles of ghosts herded along in front of them.  We live in the coolest place – a real neighborhood, with people we’ve known since our family started.  Now we get the kids coming back with their own kids.  I wanted the ghost to talk again this year, but it’s not going to happen.  Still, I think I’m scary enough at the door all by my own self.

More glowing squashes.  Firewood on the porch.

Modern day: the Flash.  Guess who?

Oh, wait!!  She’s being chased by Nightcrawler!!!! (also played by Chaz)

The non-scary porch, now sans firewood (gas burning free standing stove.  Hotcha!)

Across the street, Jeri’s stunning golden leaves, bright against their dark trunk and encroaching firs.

And finally (until I go take pictures of Cam’s fam), the Beauteous Arwen Undomiel, also played by Chaz.  She’s way versatile.

I shot this and the following last night.  We trick or treat on Saturday night around here when Halloween falls on a Sunday.

I went out into the goopy, drippy, scary night to take pictures of C and L and the two small munchkins.  I climbed the porch steps, knocked, and then waited.  And waited.  And then – ACK!  The JACK’O’LANTERN started talking to me.  That’s what I get for bringing up children in a house that sports a talking ghost.  “Have you seen my ship?” it asked.  And then I looked in the big front window, and there, floating in the middle of their dark living room, was a ghost ship.  It was rocking gently in very liquid water, the sails flapping in a breeze I did not feel.   And that’s what I get for raising a son with a video camera in my hand.  He and his partners had made this looped film, built it from the ground up for just this night.

The ship was actually projected onto their green wall (as you see here, behind the ninjas).  Scooter chose his own costume (after seeing his father’s – fathers beware!!).  You will note that he is NOT wearing the lion I bought for him two years before he was born.  Sheesh.

Ninja hung with several glow-sticks.

It was very dark last night, so I had to shoot with flash.  The pictures, therefore, were kinda dull – you know how the flash washes out everything and makes everything in the background look stark and unfriendly.  So I took the fam out of the original shots in the entry and I put them where they belonged – with the lovely ship.  A composite, of course, which I wouldn’t bother telling you, except for the showing off element.

L, the piratess.

Piratess with pumpkin daughter and Ninja men.

Late afternoon  – just throwing these in because there was a sort of eerie glow to the air and the yard, just before the storm really came in.  I don’t know if you can feel it – hard to shoot.

The glow is easier to see here.  So that was our Halloween.  We did not run out of treats (which I thought we would – even given the rain).  The dogs did not enjoy the fete at all – spent the whole evening locked into their kennels, foiled for the moment: and they had so hoped to take a bite out of each flavor of door-knocking monster –