Halloween Memories

Since my children are no longer young enough to go trick-or-treating, I'm feeling kind of sad today. :-( So, I thought it would be fun to go on a spooky walk down memory lane. I'm adding scary quotes from literature in between each picture... just because.

22 years ago... Baby Grant (Indian Chief) - I was stranded in NJ with no car (Rick had it at work), no money, and no store nearby, when I realized it was Grant's first Halloween! So, I improvised - an indian costume out of a paper bag and a tape cover wooden spoon for a tomahawk!)

"One need not be a chamber to be haunted; One need not be a house; The brain has corridors surpassing Material place." -Emily Dickinson

19 years ago... Grant and Michael (Worter Man, and Super Baby)

"'Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world." -William Shakespeare

17 years ago... Michael and Grant (A "Hobone" and Underdog)


"Men say that in this midnight hour,
The disembodièd have power
To wander as it liketh them,
By wizard oak and fairy stream."
-William Motherwell

16 years ago... Grant and Michael (Bat and Ghost)

"My candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open..." -Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

14 years ago... Grant, Michael, and Alex (Monster, Pirate, and cutest Dalmation puppy EVER!)

"Deep into the darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before." -Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven

12 years ago... Grant, Michael, Alex, and Matthew (Vampire, King Arthur, Superman, and Cookie Monster)

"Be wary then; best safety lies in fear." -Shakespeare “Hamlet”

11 years ago... Alex, Michael, and Grant (Poisonous Dart Frog, Ninja, and Monster)

"Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble." -William Shakespeare

A few more pictures of each of the boys:
GRANT:


"From ghoulies and ghosties and long leggety beasties and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!" -Scottish saying

MICHAEL:


"Dark, dark! The horror of darkness, like a shroud, wraps me and bears me on through mist and cloud." -Sophocles

ALEX:


"It is required of every man," the ghost returned, "that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide; and, if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death." -Charles Dickens

MATTHEW:


"There are such beings as vampires, some of us have evidence that they exist. Even had we not the proof of our own unhappy experience, the teachings and the records of the past give proof enough for sane peoples." -Bram Stoker

And, finally, from one of my favorite horror stories: "What fearful shapes and shadows beset his path, amidst the dim and ghastly glare of a snowy night! With what wistful look did he eye every trembling ray of light streaming across the waste fields from some distant window! How often was he appalled by some shrub covered with snow, which, like a sheeted specter, beset his very path! How often did he shrink with curdling awe at the sound of his own steps on the frosty crust beneath his feet; and dread to look over his shoulder, lest he should behold some uncouth being tramping close behind him! and how often was he thrown into complete dismay by some rushing blast, howling among the trees, in the idea that it was the Galloping Hessian on one of his nightly scouring!" -Washington Irving, "The Legend of Sleep Hollow"

Here are some pictures of our house this year with all of our Halloween decorations...






Happy Haunting - from Little Red Riding Hood!