Halloween Party

I’m writing this on October 31st to the sound of fireworks and between the doorbell ringing with Trick or Treaters. I think it’s great, that at such a dismal time of year, there should suddenly be so many reasons to be outdoors. The Trick or Treaters I particularly like. They aren’t a nuisance, but simply little kids dressed up and usually shepherded by a parent. I think they look terrific! Lucy, who’s part of a Youth Library team, co-hosted a – get this – Rave From The Grave at the local library. That’s apple-bobbing, spooky stories, kids in various costumes with skulls, lots of sweets, a spooky quiz and a tour of the library cellars. If this had been a episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer something would have happened in those cellars, but, in fact, everyone just went home at the end of the evening. There are many, many Halloween parties in fiction, but most of them seem to be American. One English Halloween party where things didn’t go according to plan (or did they? Cue sound effects: NA,NA, NA…..) is Agatha Christie’s Halloween Party where, of course, there’s a murder. The list of games she give for Halloween is interesting. There’s apple-bobbing, of course, cutting sixpence off a tumblerful of flour (a sort of homemade Jenga) and seeing your True Love’s face in a mirror. So far, so much fun, even if you end up a bit damp from the apple-bobbing. And then there’s Snapdragon. This last sounds to me as if it’s lucky the party-goers got away with a mere murder. Multiple burns and legalised arson sound the least you can expect. As AC describes it, there’s raisins burnt with brandy in a great dish and the idea is to pick one out. I ask you. Has anyone actually tried this so-called game? You might as well declare we’re going play at Nero Versus The Christians. I’m all for folklore and traditional pursuits, but I do draw the line at watching the old home go up in smoke because some kid wants a raisin. My own family essayed forth to various Halloween parties dressed up in various guises. I didn’t actually see Elspeth, as she’s in Glasgow (at Uni) but had a long discussion with her on the phone about the best way of attaching a (plastic) knife so it looked as if it had been stabbed through the heart. Jenny went for Zombies, but, predictably enough, the sort of Project Runway, Tyra Banks stylish sort of Zombie, Jessica had nifty black ears and a tail as Catwoman (as if there aren’t enough cats in the house already) Helen, home for the weekend, was a snow-leopard print Cavewoman, with matching Cavewoman handbag and accessories and Lucy was invited to a Masked Ball. I mean, gosh, talk about style! Gold dress, gold shoes and gold and white Venetian mask. Peter and I stayed home and watched TV. Sometimes life just isn’t fair….