#496 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Monday October 31)
Good morning,
Today is the strangest of holidays. We are a society split between the religious and the secular. And yet, neither really applies here, as we engage in a weird pagan celebration of ghosts and goblins. There is no rational basis for me to be attached to this holiday. Yet I remember that, at various times in my life, Halloween was one of the most important days of the year.
The attraction of Halloween ebbs and flows with our stage in life. As a little kid, there is hardly anything more exciting than donning a costume and roaming the neighborhood, being regaled with candy at nearly every home. There were, of course, the random homes where disagreeable adults turned out the lights. In those instances, we would listen carefully to discern whether the occupants were actually away or whether we could detect movement inside….
I was always restricted to only one “sweet” per day by my parents. Apparently, I had an early predisposition to diabetes. Plus, I was the son of a doctor and a Jewish mother—a deadly combination! But on Halloween, the guardrails were removed. It was a free-for-all, as we attacked the streets for ridiculous amounts of unhealthy candy.
When I was a young adult, Halloween offered the opportunity to dress in a silly costume and attend parties in apartments bedecked with spooky signs and punch being served from a bowl with dry ice sending “smoke” into the air. Eventually Halloween became the “early warning system” that the calendar was marching toward the holidays. Halloween again became a holiday of epic proportions with the coming of children, who partook of the ritual with the same zest as we did when we were younger.
SUGAR!
A joy of Halloween that befalls all kids is being both wired and exhausted, going to bed with upset stomachs, but with the thrill of victory!
SCARY ARTISTIC AND FUNNY MOVIES
There are few genres of movies I really don’t like. The gratuitously scary movie is one of those. That said, there are some great movies that are scary and yet artistic. To me, the best scares are from impossible and creepy situations—not clowns, chainsaws, or Chucky. And then there are scary spoofs. These are my favorites in the artistic and humorous subgenres:
Silence of the Lambs
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Psycho
Young Frankenstein
The Shining
Rosemary’s Baby
Scary Movie
Misery
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The Wicker Man
Cape Fear
Shelter Island
Honorable mention:
Jaws
Alien
The Exorcist
LISTS OF UNACCEPTABLE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES
I have always resisted costume parties. I’m just a party-pooper in that regard. But if I did dress up for Halloween, I’d certainly wear one of them in protest of those who think they’re somehow “wrong.” For those who dress up and celebrate the holiday, go for it and have fun!
Have a great Halloween,
Glenn
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