A Halloween Memory

Thursday, October 27, 20058:38:00 PM EDT
Feeling Silly

Well, I don't have a scarey story of my own from when I was a child. Maybe there was one but darn if I can remember it! I do remember one Halloween when my sons were small. Maybe 5 and 7 years old. We were visiting my husbands folks in Virginia in the country by a lake. Mostly older folks lived there and it was a novalty for kids to be around there so the neighbors went all out, Haaawg Wild!

My kids weren't prepared for Halloween down there and so we had to improvise "ghosts" from king-sized white pillowcases. (not very original, but hey.. they were 5 & 7, do you think they cared? As long as the candy was there that's all they cared about. )

Well, we went to a few homes.. all was going "normally", until we got to the house at the end of the street... All was unusually quiet as we headed up the walk. When we reached the door my son rang the bell.. but it wasn't a bell.. it was a Screeeeeeeam! My kids jumped back but then nervously laughed and then it became a "game" to ring the doorbell. Little did they know!

The door began to open to sounds of creeking, from what i could see (which wasn't much in the dark) my kids eyes grew to the size of silver dollars. A monster jumped out from behind the door, and I'm not sure but I think the youngest of my sons dirtied his pants! (there was a foul odor rising!)

Then scarey music began to play and a witch appeared cackling and saying something to the effect of "come in my little pretties". The odor got stronger, I think son number two joined son number one in the "who can have the dirtiest pants" contest!

They made the kids walk thru the room to the badly lit bowl of candy on the other side of the room. The walk consited of a number of undeciforable screams and a bunch of jumping up and down. (I was CERTAIN someone dirtied their pants by now!)

Finally, they were led back to "mom and pop" with the full contents of the bowl on the far side of the room. The kids were now figuring out who the monster and witch were. I think it had to do with when their bull dog Jenny came running out from another room all excited to see the kids... heh..

Well, they made out like champs that Halloween.. they were the ONLY kids in the small developement of middle age and elderly folks... and EVERYONE gave them HUGE amounts of candy! (the fact that Russell Stover Candy Outlet was but a few miles away might have contributed to that!)

Anyway.. it wasn't MY scariest Halloween, but I know for a fact my kids never forgot that one!!

Everyone is guilty at one time or another of throwing out questions that beg to be ignored, but mothers seem to have a market on the supply. "Do you want a spanking or do you want to go to bed?" "Don't you want to save some of the pizza for your brother?" "Wasn't there any change?"Erma Bombeck