Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Tis The Season, the Spooktacular Season!


 We do Halloween big at Whittle Central. How big? When people ask me how to get to our house for trick or treating, I tell them to look for the house with the cemetery. And the life-size skeleton horse. And the rolling fog bank (which got so thick one year it became a traffic hazard, and we had to turn off the machines).

For me, the mystery writer, it’s a chance to indulge my more macabre side without people worrying about my mental state. For my daughter, it’s an opportunity to decorate herself and the house in gothic extravagance. For my husband, it’s the one day of the year he can show off his engineering skills to the general public—we have a swarm of bats that swoop down the sidewalk, a giant eyeball peeking out of the garage, and a fanged trash can that snaps from the bushes.

It’s all in good fun, though. We like to keep things on the amusing side of spooky (think Scooby Doo) and not downright scary. The only items that cause the least bit of consternation are the snakes draped everywhere—small ones, big ones, snakes looped around jack-o’-lanterns and dangling from tree branches. Kids love them (and the spiders and cockroaches too), but the grown-ups sometimes give them a wide berth.

I think we’ve balanced the scares and the laughs pretty well over the past twenty-one years, with only one trick-or-treater fleeing in terror. This youngster marched right past the buzzards and the T-Rex and the Wispy Ghost and the Floating Pumpkin of Death, didn’t spare a second to ponder Skull Pond or the Pirate Skeleton. Just presented herself at the door with her bag open wide and a firm smile on her face. “Candy please!” she said.

I filled her bag. But then…our dog poked his head out the door.

Cloud is a Maltese, a cuddlesome ball of white fluff and bashfulness, but he loves to greet trick-or-treaters, so he came waddling up in his bedraggled bee costume. The girl took one look and ran off screaming. Ran right through the graveyard, taking down a tombstone labeled Death to Disco and hitting the driveway at a full sprint. We hope she comes back this year—we’re dressing Cloud as a piece of salmon sushi, the most nonthreatening costume we could find, just to be on the safe side.

Here’s hoping your Halloween is more treat than trick! Have a good one!


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Tina Whittle writes the Tai Randolph mysteries for Poisoned Pen Press. The sixth book in this Atlanta-based series—Necessary Ends—is available now. Tina is a proud member of Sisters in Crime and has served as both a chapter officer and national board member. Visit her website to follow her on social media, sign up for her newsletter, or read additional scenes and short stories: www.tinawhittle.com.


8 comments:

  1. Fun post, Tina. It must be very exciting for the kids in your neighborhood. The first thing that struck me is where do you store all the decorations off season?

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  2. What fun, but better you than me. Being 15 miles from the nearests town, we don't get many trick-or-treaters out thisaway.

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  3. what fun, except for the snakes. I'd run away as fast as possible. Quite by chance (I bought the wrong one), we have an ultraviolet penlight flashlight we use to give a carved pumpkin a lovely purple glow.

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  4. Love it, we don't get many - make that any - trick or treaters, in fact, I haven't had one since 1993. I love your yard though. We have one neighbor who does decorate here and I make it a point to drive past their house every chance I get. It's fun.

    Love the flamingo vulture - wonder if I can get a flock of those - this is Florida.

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  5. You made me miss my old neighborhood - we used to get hundreds of kids and everyone went wild decorating. Now I live in a neighborhood with nary a child - I sat by the door with my pumpkin and my bowl of candy and only had six kids stop by.
    Note to self: must get flamingo/vultures next year!

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  6. We don't get any trick-or-treaters (too long a driveway in a sparsely populated area with no kids) but sometimes I drive into Emmitsburg, one of the two nearby towns, where kids in costume swarm the main street for two designated hours on Halloween. Most of the houses are decorated, and the town building is open and giving out treats. It's fun to watch.


    And my dentist has a bevy of carved (artificial) pumpkins all over his waiting room and examining rooms.

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  7. Trick-or-treating is down across the country (sponsored events like Fall Festivals and Trunk-or-Treats are drawing the crowds now, which is too bad, because it was a great way to get to know your neighbors).

    My husband takes the entire week before Halloween off to decorate--the decorations live in the attic, the garage, and two storage units, but we're looking to buy a barn for them real soon.

    He made the flamingo vultures -- it was pretty easy too! Here's the tutorial video he used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNo-F-9H3_0

    Happy Halloweening!

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