Halloween Horrors

When I was a child, the most frightening part of Halloween was.... finding the right costume. I always had a difficult time finding a pretty princess costume or the perfect stuffed dog to be Toto for my Dorothy costume. But even if I found the perfect costume, something would always go wrong on those Halloween nights:


For starters, it's always freezing cold. And I never wanted to wear my winter coat. And if I refused to conceal my pretty princess dress under an ungracious jacket, then my mother would have me wearing my coat under my dress. And, let me tell you, there is nothing pretty about a puffy princess.


One year in particular, I wanted to go as Cinderella. And as the sun went down, and the ghouls came out, I was so excited to go out Tick-or-Treating. I dashed up stairs and put on my princess dress (of course, not without a thick, white sweater underneath). But there was a problem: I'm brunette. And Cinderella simply cannot have brown hair. So we had bought a curly, blond wig (the only one we could find). And that blond wig was piled haphazardly on my head, in a horrible attempt at recreating Cinderella's perfect hairstyle. I took one look at myself wearing that ridiculous wig and I did what any other little girl would do: cry. And of course, my parents wouldn't let me take it off. They bought it for the sole purpose of my costume, so they wouldn't let me take it off until they had at least snapped a few photos. To be honest, I cannot remember that particular Halloween very well (for they say that the mind naturally blocks memories of trauma.) The only memories I have are the photographs that are doomed to haunt me forever: the first, before shot, of a frowning, tearful me wearing that godawful wig, and the second, after shot, in which I was smiling happily at the camera; my brunette hair piled upon my head in a terrible attempt at imitating Cinderella's signature 'do .



Another Halloween that makes me cringe was the Halloween of '99. My older sister decided that that year she wanted to go as a witch, so I decided I'd go as her black cat. My sister got excited about her witch costume and went crazy buying all sorts of accessories: long, black nails, a cauldron for collecting candy, a broomstick, as well as the necessities of the pointed hat, dress and sinister mask. And I'll admit, she looked pretty good. The problem is that everyone else thought the same thing; maybe a little too good. Some of the houses would rant about how she was 'the best witch they'd seen so far' while I stood behind her in my cute little cat ears and tail. I received no comments whatsoever except when someone said that I made for a perfect accessory for my sister. One particular house went so far as to give her extra candy; meanwhile I stood right next to her, and they didn't even give me any extra candy. Not even pity candy.

So although Halloween has many scary aspects, the 'boos' and gore failed to scare me year after year. For the most frightening thing of all, was trying to find the right costume: a well-insulated, wig-less phenomenon that would be better than any costume my sister would wear...

I still haven't found it.