....Ghosties take warning! High winds and a raw atmosphere prev
ailed all Friday evening. Mr. Hall had retired upstairs, well-sated from his weekly indulgence at Daniel's and Colleen and Mrs. Hall had remained down- huddled in the dark, watching "The Haunting" late into the night. So it was through heavy-lidded eyes, as red as the sky, that they greeted the Halloween morn. The decorations were all about, properly arranged for maximum scary effect. Some sort of mushy fungal blight had befallen half of this year's crop of pumpkins, and for a while it appeared as though they were going to be way scarier than their healthy counterparts; but scooping up (an
d scooping out!) the remaining survivors, the Halls were able to compile a worthy assortment of scowling spooks for the front porch. Helpful household tip: gather up your leftover jar candles half-used and no longer as fragrant, and stick them in the pumpkins. They burn beautifully and aren't as likely to be blown out by the wind. The Hall had several colorful jars to chose from and not only did they do the job admirably outside- the porch, while appropriately scary, never smelled so sweet!
Anything that glows, makes noise or sparks is always appreciated around the Hall, but Mrs. H. had noticed there were several tubes of unused glowstick necklaces still lurking around the bar cabinets, remainders from last year's Fallout Party (and other festive events requiring luminous accessories.) Stashing them between the fog machine and the Big Tub 'O Candy by the front door, she was able to hand out glowsticks to all the little kids that came by. It was a dark night to be sure, but visitors to Penguin Hall could be distinguished all the way down the block by the glowing rings around their necks, bouncing and laughing down the street.
There was a steady stream of trick-or-treaters until around 8:30 pm, and then the crowd turned into one of mainly older children and teens. Usually this signals a general want of imagination in the group, but Mrs. Hall was singularly impressed this year by the unique vision of the youths in their neighborhood. One chap, sporting a huge purple and green shiner on his face, arrived alone at the door. Mrs. Hall called Mr. H. over, paraphrasing Longfellow: "The shades of night were falling fast, as through the little suburb passed, a youth, who bore through frost and ice, the sweatshirt with the strange device: The Letter P". "Do you know what I am?" he spake, an
d both Halls stood dumbfounded- "I'm a black-eyed pea!" he shouted, and grabbing a handful of candy from the tub, ran off.
ailed all Friday evening. Mr. Hall had retired upstairs, well-sated from his weekly indulgence at Daniel's and Colleen and Mrs. Hall had remained down- huddled in the dark, watching "The Haunting" late into the night. So it was through heavy-lidded eyes, as red as the sky, that they greeted the Halloween morn. The decorations were all about, properly arranged for maximum scary effect. Some sort of mushy fungal blight had befallen half of this year's crop of pumpkins, and for a while it appeared as though they were going to be way scarier than their healthy counterparts; but scooping up (an
d scooping out!) the remaining survivors, the Halls were able to compile a worthy assortment of scowling spooks for the front porch. Helpful household tip: gather up your leftover jar candles half-used and no longer as fragrant, and stick them in the pumpkins. They burn beautifully and aren't as likely to be blown out by the wind. The Hall had several colorful jars to chose from and not only did they do the job admirably outside- the porch, while appropriately scary, never smelled so sweet!
Anything that glows, makes noise or sparks is always appreciated around the Hall, but Mrs. H. had noticed there were several tubes of unused glowstick necklaces still lurking around the bar cabinets, remainders from last year's Fallout Party (and other festive events requiring luminous accessories.) Stashing them between the fog machine and the Big Tub 'O Candy by the front door, she was able to hand out glowsticks to all the little kids that came by. It was a dark night to be sure, but visitors to Penguin Hall could be distinguished all the way down the block by the glowing rings around their necks, bouncing and laughing down the street.
There was a steady stream of trick-or-treaters until around 8:30 pm, and then the crowd turned into one of mainly older children and teens. Usually this signals a general want of imagination in the group, but Mrs. Hall was singularly impressed this year by the unique vision of the youths in their neighborhood. One chap, sporting a huge purple and green shiner on his face, arrived alone at the door. Mrs. Hall called Mr. H. over, paraphrasing Longfellow: "The shades of night were falling fast, as through the little suburb passed, a youth, who bore through frost and ice, the sweatshirt with the strange device: The Letter P". "Do you know what I am?" he spake, an
d both Halls stood dumbfounded- "I'm a black-eyed pea!" he shouted, and grabbing a handful of candy from the tub, ran off. A number of Colleen's friends from one party arrived at the door; it looked as if they were going to miss Colleen altogether (she was at another party) but suddenly the doorbell rang and Colleen and some stragglers from her group arrived. Milling about just long enough to finish the pizza, the rest of the Halloween candy and comment on the spiced pumpkin seeds, they sat for a moment and then were off. Mr. Hall viewed the devastation in the kitchen. Thank God it comes but once a year, he muttered as he turned off the outside lights and unplugged the fog machine. But Mrs. H. just smiled as she poured a well-earned sherry and warmed up the VCR for some vintage horror tapes- another happy Halloween behind them.
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2 comments:
Gotta love the black eyed pea.....
hope all's well at your end of the world!
There were several wonderful costumes that night; wish we could have shots of them all. Thanks for the nod and backatcha! BTW: Datson 280Zs rock!
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