What is your best memory of Halloween?

1. 84

   RJ Schwartzposted 7 years ago

   What is your best memory of Halloween?
   
   Think back on all the Halloween parties, trick or treating, or TP'ing the house of a "friend" - what was your best memory?  Let's forget about politics, current events, or page views for a while and just have some fun reminiscing.
   
   

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2. 90

   MizBejabbersposted 7 years ago

   My best, happiest memory of Halloween was the year that I finally grew into a costume my cousin gave me. She was five or six years older than I was and she was a naturally larger person. As far as I know, I was and still may be the tiniest person in my family. Anyway, my aunt had made the costume for her, then about a fourth grader, to wear in a play. It was what I would call a "pumpkin fairy" costume consisting of an orange broadcloth body with orange crepe paper tutu. My legs were bare, so when I wore it much too big, the crisp fall weather was too cool to go barelegged. I covered myself in an old bedsheet, only to take it off when I walked up and rang the doorbell to Trick or Treat. I guess I was about 11 when I finally grew into that costume that my nine-year-old cousin had worn. Anyway that Halloween was just perfect. Late summer weather continued into the 70s and 80s at night. I put the little costume on on and it just fit. The night was so warm that we all left off the sheets we usually wore to keep us warm. My friends and I had a wonderful time trick or treating, and I felt like the belle of the trick or treaters in my little orange tutu.
   I lived in a small Ozark town, and back then we kids could go out on our own without adult supervision after we reached the third or fourth grade. Our street was a main drag into town, and we walked about two miles greeting our neighbors and collecting candy and treats. We wandered under the street lights just visiting with each other and with other goblins. And maybe best of all, we didn't have to worry about razorblades or needles in our candies, especially our favorite, the homemade popcorn balls one neighbor lady always gave us.

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3. 77

   Amanda108posted 7 years ago

   My best Halloween memory would have to be the year I was 12 and went trick-or-treating for the last time.
   
   I had always just gone with my brother and parents in a small subdivision near our home. This year we were invited to go along with a couple friends a few neighborhoods away, the kind of old family friends whom we had known since birth. But also the sort who, as we grew older, we didn't have as much in common with. We didn't get together to "play" anymore and we all quietly understood we would always share loyalty and fond memories, but without necessarily being present day parts of each others' lives. Not tonight though! The parents all passed out candy and sent us kids off in a group by ourselves to collect candy. We made the most of it!
   
   It was all 100% innocent - no mischief, no breaking rules or TPing houses, and nothing sinister or mysterious happened. We simply ran from house to house in the cool, dark night (the kind that makes for an absolutely perfect October 31st). I recall thinking at one point that it felt like flying. Just crisp air and freedom. The perfect combination of childhood fun and the hint of independence I was growing into.
   
   I realize it sounds simple and standard, but to me it cemented a love for what Halloween could be: a melting pot (cauldron?) of old and new, light and dark, innocent fun and adult exploration. A goodbye to something old and familiar, but the start of a new season full of potential.

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4. 83

   tamarawilhiteposted 7 years ago

   I grew up in a rural area. I tried ONCE walking a mile with my brother to hit a dozen houses. No one had candy because they didn't expect visitors. Told my father. He drove us to my grandparents' house a few miles away in a dense neighborhood, and it was like Christmas and Halloween combined. We walked up the street and back down, our bags filled. And we got to stand in front of my grandmother and surprise her, because she wasn't expecting us.
   Every year after that, we just got in the car and went to her neighborhood for Halloween.

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