The previous Best Sellers’ Lists highlighted what should be placed in my trick-or-treat basket.
Candy is a vital part of Halloween and really gives the industry an annual boost in revenue. When you really stop to examine the last day of October, the holiday assists other businesses and products with a financial gain such as costume makers, farmers and those who build temporary structures.
While some folks just enjoy the sweet side of Halloween, there is a group of people who believe Halloween is a day for the Devil and evil.
Halloween originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. It was when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.
In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated Nov. 1 as a time to honor all saints (All Saints Day). The night before was known as All Hallows Eve, later shortened to Halloween.
Once the traditions made their way over to the States, they evolved into the Halloween we know today with activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o’-lanterns, festivals, goofy and spooky costumes and eating candy.
As a child Halloween was a day all to itself that I loved because of the candy, interactions at school with my classmates and seeing my neighborhood come to life with my peers haunting for more treats.
Now as an adult, Halloween is the eve of getting holiday lights out of the attic, planning for Thanksgiving travel and saving up for Christmas.
Before it’s time to kick off the “Holiday Season,” let me shine my spotlight for Halloween 2019 one more time, celebrating my favorite things about the spooky day.
10. Practical jokes
OK, there are some sinister elements to Halloween that bring the worst out of people. But if done correctly, it can have a funny ending. There is an art to pranking and executing elaborate jokes on people.
Several of us have tried to get a scare out of our friends and family with a Jason Voorhees mask, a Freddy Krueger glove and a Michael Myers fake knife.
History notes the origin of pranks may have started as a part of May Day celebrations. But Samhain, and eventually All Souls Day, adopted the good-natured mischief. When Scottish and Irish immigrants came to America, they brought the tradition of celebrating Mischief Night as part of Halloween.
If you want to avoid being a victim or target of a prank, I suggest you stay in your home with the lights off.
9. Spooky movies
Speaking of Freddy, Jason and Michael, Oct. 31 is a great night to grab those old DVDs. Better yet, to get a real nostalgic feel of horror, get access to some VHS tapes and pop “Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Friday the 13th” or “Halloween” into the VCR for a night of thrills.
Halloween is the only night I grant permission to watch scary movies. Now my choice will be the Wayans Bros. “Scary Movie” and “Scary Movie 2.” I like mocking the genre.
But for those who like some old-school guts and gore, grab one of the aforementioned horror icons. Toss in “Child’s Play” or “Scream.” Whatever is your taste in scary movies, cut off all the lights in the house and get at least three movies for a spooky sleepover.
8. Pick out a Halloween costume
Are you going for the hot, trendy look of the year? Do you want to feature a clever disguise? Or are you the person who wears the same costume every year? Whatever category you fit into, many U.S. Americans love wearing outfits to celebrate Halloween.
Back in the day, the origin of the costume honored the ghosts. Then the Celts had to get creative to avoid being terrorized by evil spirits. To fake out the ghosts, people wore disguises so they would be mistaken for spirits themselves and be left alone.
Now adults dress up for Halloween parties as people involved in trendy news stories, classic action heroes or as professional outside of their job description.
As for the children, in order to get that candy, they wear whatever is on the shelf at Walmart or what mom pulls out of the closet. I swear some kids come out for trick-or-treat looking like they got dressed with all the lights off in the house.
7. Visit the pumpkin patch
Drive down Singleton Parkway toward Millington. To the right will be Jones Orchard. Since 1940, Jones Orchard has been providing great produce. Traditionally at the farm, October means a beautiful display of fall harvest fruits and veggies. The row of pumpkins at Jones Orchard and similar venues are a sign of autumn. And they provide a great reason for the family to go out and have a bonding experience.
This is definitely a part of Halloween that takes some light — sunlight in particular. But with evening hours, businesses like Jones Orchard turn on the lights so people can enjoy haunted trails and still pick out a pumpkin or two.
6. Go to a haunted house or haunted trail
I’ve visited one haunted house as a youth. It was fun being chased by monsters and ghosts. Later as an adult, I’ve tackled the challenge of escaping a corn maze or facing the horrors of a haunted trail.
If visiting these is great, it must be even more fun for those who operate them and provide the scares.
A haunted house or trail can feature black cats, creepy bats and the shadows caused by bonfires. These venues can pack a lot of Halloween traditions in one area. But the main objective is having fun with a dose of fear.
5. Halloween party
I am not the party type of guy. But I’ve seen adult-based Halloween parties online. They look like a lot of fun, featuring Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Everybody is wearing a creative costume, and alcohol is flowing freely.
My experiences of Halloween parties came at Delano Optional School in Frayser. Each child in the class handed out candy to all of his or her classmates. The teacher provided other treats for us to take home. We would end up visiting Halloween-themed stations operated by a parent. We would do face painting, bob for apples or have a pumpkin pie-eating contest. And we knew the party was over when the teacher turned off the lights.
4. Go “trick-Or-treating”
History says the origin of this Halloween tradition started with people leaving out food for the souls that would visit that night. Now trick-or-treating is a rite of passage for children in the United States. The objective is getting plenty of candy, sweets and other treats.
There are two forms of trick-or-treat that are still around today — Scottish and American ways.
The Scottish Way in the Middle Ages was for soulers, usually children and poor adults, to go to local homes and collect food or money in return for prayers said for the dead on All Souls’ Day. Guisers ditched the prayers in favor of nonreligious performances like jokes, songs, or other “tricks.”
The American way stems from belsnickling, a tradition in German-American communities, where children would dress in costume and then call on their neighbors to see if the adults could guess the identities of the disguised guests. In one version of the practice, the children were rewarded with food or other treats if no one could identify them.
Now we announce our costume weeks in advance because we are entitled to that candy, even if you turn off all the lights around your house.
3. Carve or decorate pumpkins
There are three types of pumpkins you have been seeing around town throughout October. There is the plain pumpkin. Next is the pumpkin painted or decorated in various ways. And finally there is my favorite type of pumpkin, the carved version.
I usually carve an ESPN in the back of my pumpkin with a traditional spooky face in the front. Speaking of tradition, the jack-o’-lanterns originated in Ireland using turnips instead of pumpkins. More background into the pumpkin becoming a jack-o’-lantern is the name coming from Stingy Jack, who repeatedly trapped the Devil. Stingy Jack would only let him go on the condition that Stingy Jack never had to go to Hell. When Jack passed away, Heaven didn’t want his soul. He was sentenced to wander the Earth as a ghost for all eternity.
The Devil gave Jack a lump of burning coal in a carved-out turnip to light his way. Locals began carving frightening faces into their own gourds to scare off evil spirits.
The tale of Jack has given birth to one of the best visuals of Halloween. I love carving a design, grabbing a candle and turning off the lights to see the display.
2. Eating candy corn
I’ve said in the past, this candy is only edible from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1. But for 32 days out of the year, pass me the candy corn. According to some stories, a candy maker at the Wunderlee Candy Company in Philadelphia invented the tricolor candy in the 1880s. At the time, candy corn was called Chicken Feed and sold in boxes with the slogan “Something worth crowing for.” Then over the next 100 years, candy corn became synonymous with autumn, harvest time and Halloween.
The reason why candy corn ranks so high on my favorite things about Halloween list is that I still partake in them. The rest of the list I have either stopped doing or haven’t done in a long time. But candy corn is a must each year for me, despite it being nasty.
Give me the “Scary Movie 2” DVD and some buttered popcorn with candy corn, and flip the switch for a proper Halloween night.
1. Black and orange
Red and green have rights to Christmas. Pink, purple and red claim Valentine’s Day. And green has exclusive rights to St. Patrick’s Day. But if you are a fan of Halloween, you should be sporting orange and black before putting on your costume.
According to the Halloween-focused website Isle of Halloween, the colors of black and orange were chosen intentionally because they function as “opposites.”
Orange is associated with the warmth of autumn, the pumpkins and leaves changing. Then black is for all the spooky, evil things associated with Halloween.
Although I am not a big costume guy, I will be wearing orange and black on Oct. 31. The two colors complement each other well and represent all that is good and not-so-good about the holiday.
I hope whatever traditions you participate in today, you enjoy them and stay safe. Do things out of a good spirit and in good nature. Now it’s time to turn off the lights on this Best Sellers’ List.
THOMAS SELLERS JR. is the editor of The Millington Star and both the sports editor and a weekly personal columnist for West 10 Media/Magic Valley Publishing. Contact him by phone at (901) 433-9138, by fax to (901) 529-7687 and by email to thomas@magicvalleypublishing.com.
