Who needs Halloween? We can turn on any screen and get our fill of non-fiction scary stories any day of the week. We’re oversaturated with worrisome information and constantly being overstimulated by fear lurking in every corner of our daily lives. Where’s the escapism if we’re already there?
Has the innocence of the holiday gone to the wolves? When we were kids, our biggest concern at Halloween was how to work our costume over our ski coat and mapping out which homes gave out candy bars and which handed out apples. Traditionally though, Halloween has always drawn the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity, life and death. Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic Festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts.
Our modern culture needs to embrace the ideals of Halloween more than ever. We need to let it stand as a reflection and healthy catharsis of where we are right now. Let’s don our best costumes to ward off the ghosts and unfriendly spirits, letting the Fall slip into the Winter so that we can rise again from the dead next Spring. With this in mind, we’ll see you on Gaylord Street this Halloween visiting all of the friendly neighbors who graciously sit on their porches greeting the happy ghouls and goblins for a night of celebration, fully submersed in this ideal.
Your neighbors – Sam & Shaleen DeStefano