Happy Halloween

We're just a few short hours from Halloween, so I figured it would be a perfect time to reminisce about a few Halloweens past. 

Halloween night, 1976

Back in the '70s, practically nobody did anything  in my neighborhood in terms of Halloween decorating.  There was one exception though.  There was this one couple who used to prop up a few patio stones in the yard as tombstones and the wife would dress as a witch and run around the roof cackling at us kids.  It wasn't much, but to my child's mind it was amazing.  One year in particular stands out where she really got into it.  So much, in fact, that she ended up taking a header off of the roof and breaking her leg.  I really loved it and thought these were the coolest adults on the planet.

I remembered that when I got too old to go trick or treating and, after a few years of moping because my friends were still going out, I began to get into decorating our house to make it fun for the kids.  Fast forward to when I'm in my early 20s and decorating my parents' house for the kids.  One year I was setting up decorations when this same couple, the witch had long stopped her cackling routine, came walking by and we started talking.  I told them how much I really appreciated what they did when no-one else was celebrating Halloween and how I still remembered that one year when she had her fall.  As soon as I mentioned it, she turned beet red and he started laughing so hard I thought he was going to keel over.  That was when I learned the true story of what happened that Halloween night.

It turned out it spending several hours on the roof in a witch costume was somewhat chilly, so she decided to bring a little something with her to keep warm.  Yes, she was taking a little nip here and there between groups of trick or treaters while she was doing her routine.  By the time I got to their house that year, she was completely hammered and that was why she was so into it (and also why she fell).  So, as it turns out, I spend tons of money and effort every year because I was inspired by some drunk chick. 

Another year that comes to mind is the year I decided to be Freddy Krueger in a costume contest.  In the mid-80s, there were no Freddy masks available and I did not yet have a copy of Dick Smith's book.  I was left to improvise and try to figure out the make-up on my own.  On top of that, I had a budget of $0.00 so I had to improvise with whatever I could scrounge from around the house.

First came the costume.  I found an old green sweater in the basement that was naturally aged (read as dirty).  Some of you will recall that Raiders of the Lost Ark spurred a very brief revival of fedoras.  My dad bought one but never wore it, so it became part of my costume.  Next up was Freddy's signature glove.  I found some old plastic railing covers from our pool and cut the blades from that and spray-painted them silver.  They were taped to my fingers with masking tape, while I cut slits in the fingertips of an old glove to wear.                

Next up was the make-up.  There are different ways to learn make-up techniques.  You can learn from books, instruction from someone who knows what they're doing, or you can learn by trying something and failing miserably.  Care to guess which option I went with?  Looking at mom's cosmetics, the pickings were slim.  I grabbed some lipstick and cold cream to make a pink paste on my face, grabbed a bit of charred wood from the fireplace and crushed it up to add a bit of a charred look.  Then I did something that I thought was extremely clever, but was a really dumb idea in hindsight.  I took strips of saran wrap and put them over the make-up, using them to form wrinkles and give it some texture. 

Freddy via trial and error...mostly error

I actually didn't look that bad, considering I did this costume without spending a dime or having the faintest idea of what I was doing.  I headed back to school for the costume contest and shortly before the contest, the perspiration caused my face to start melting off.  There was no way to fix it so I did something that was, in hindsight, brilliant.  I tossed the Fedora, the sweater, and the glove. I messed up my hair and won the contest as The Incredible Melting Man!  Instead of fixing my makeup to match my costume, I changed my costume to fit the makeup.   

Happy Halloween everyone!

          

                         ,