Ghost, goblins, and haunted houses, oh my! My favorite holiday is just around the corner. Halloween is a time to embrace the true essence of fall. I will spend my October afternoons at haunted houses while drinking pumpkin spice lattes. I love being scared, but what I love more is cuddling on the couch with my dog while watching Halloween movies. There are certain things that are a must for the holiday to feel like Halloween to me.
1. Disney Halloween Movies
I prefer Disney movies because they take me back to my childhood. I also refuse to watch anything rated R (religious/personal reasons). So, Disney is my jam! Specifically, Halloweentown, Halloweentown II: Kalebars Revenge, Halloweentown High, and Return to Halloweentown.
Even though in Return to Halloweentown, Kimberly J. Brown, who plays Marnie Piper, was replaced by Sara Paxton, I still enjoy watching it every Halloween. Marnie Piper’s mother hoped Marnie would not accept her witch heritage. Marnie disregards her mother’s wish and found herself in a world full of witches and warlocks.
The adventures Marnie went on to save Halloweentown and her family intrigued me. Her life made me envious.
2. Haunted Houses
Even though I don't watch scary movies, I love haunted houses. I do not get scared easily, so I enjoy taking friends who are terrified of everything so I can laugh at them. It sounds harsh, I know. I like to think of myself as the productive friend. My friends can hide behind me while I laugh at how scared they are of a plastic doll oozing with blood.
My favorite memory from a haunted house was when I ran out in fear of being punched. After being chased by a guy with a chainsaw, I walked toward the exit of the haunted house. Before I reached the end, someone grabbed my ankle. “Don’t touch me! I will…” I screamed. Before I could finish my sentence, a six-foot-tall man towered over me.
“You will what?” he asked.
I did not take the time to answer. I ran out of that haunted house and did not look back.
3. Pumpkin Spice Everything!
Yes, I am the stereotypical girl who is obsessed with pumpkin spice. Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin spice Oreos, pumpkin spice truffles (from Target…if you have not tried these I suggest you do), pumpkin spice bath bombs, pumpkin spice candles.
Just talking about pumpkin spice puts me in the Halloween spirit. There is nothing better than waiting in line to enter a haunted house with a pumpkin spice latte in hand.
Be right back. Going to Starbucks to get a latte!
4. Trick-or-Treating
Who doesn’t think of candy when they think of Halloween? Some of my favorite memories are of my sister and me trick-or-treating. I dressed up as a cowgirl five times as a kid. I walked around my aunt’s neighborhood with my cow print cowgirl hat and a lasso.
“I’m a cowgirl,” I yelled.
Can you tell I was “that girl,” the one obsessed with horses?
The best part of trick-or-treating at a young age was the freedom. Although my mother followed us around the neighborhood, I was independent. My sister and I roamed the neighbor in search for the best candy. I felt like a saleswoman, but instead of trading money, I traded my cuteness for candy bars.
5. Costumes
Fortunately, I outgrew the cowgirl costume. I like to think I wear it on a daily basis now, so I do not feel the need to wear it for Halloween. I love costumes. Not the typical cat or nurse but the unique costumes. Costumes take away the day-to-day expectations set by society. I do not feel the pressure to look “pretty.” I can intentionally be dressed ugly or scary and be praised. One year, I dressed up as the reporter from Remington Park, Chris Kotulak. I was invited on TV to report for the evening.
6. Decorations
I appreciate gory, bloody, and fear-evoking decorations. However, my favorite Halloween decorations are the cute ones. Pumpkins with funny faces put a smile on my face. Inflatable yard decorations are my favorite. Ghost friends waving in the wind with a pumpkin in between make me scream “Halloween!”
7. Halloween Colors
Purple, orange, and black. I like the darkness of Halloween. Every other holiday has bright colors. Christmas is known for its cheerful green and red. Valentines Day’s colors looks like someone puked up Pepto-Bismol. But Halloween has a personality of its own. You don’t have to be cheerful to enjoy Halloween. The darkness of your soul can be exposed.
8. Family Tradition
My dad was the Halloween king. Every year, my dad and my cousin set up a scare zone in my aunt and uncle’s yard. The kids in the neighborhood were scared and excited to trick-or-treat in our yard.
One year, my dad put a scarecrow in a chair with a pumpkin for a head. While the kids stared at the scarecrow and waited for it to jump up, my cousin jumped out of a pile of leaves and grabbed the trick-or-treaters from behind. This scared all the kids with the exception of one.
A teenaged boy entered through the white-picket fence, with excitement, and ran past the scarecrow to get his candy. After getting his candy, he skipped toward the exit of my aunt’s yard. Then came a loud groan. He gleefully skipped over the leaf pile in the middle of the yard—the one where my cousin was hidden.
Although my cousin stands six feet and is not afraid to take up space, the teenager who stepped on his abdomen was much larger than him. The trick-or-treater did not know what he had done, but my family laughed about this incident for the next three Halloweens.
Embrace Halloween
This Halloween, go buy yourself a pumpkin spice latte, watch Halloweentown with your best friend, and dress as ugly as you want because Halloween is a time to take off the restrictions you have set on yourself for one night.