Halloween. Oh, it is upon us.
Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween. I know some people who fear this date in a pent-up kind of way. They don’t let their kids dress up because they think Halloween is an evil holiday.
Regardless, I like Halloween and everything about it. I have fond childhood memories of this day, dressing up like a little witch, a Red’s baseball player, and many other delightful characters. Mostly we were hobos. It was a cheap costume.
My favorite treat when out collecting candy came from a house on Merrimack Avenue. The woman living there gave out homemade popcorn balls wrapped in waxed paper. Now that I think of it, I can’t imagine the amount of work she must have put into that feat. Our neighbor was teeming with kids, all of us Trick-Or-Treating. But those popcorn balls were the tastiest things ever.
These days, 50% of kids prefer to receive chocolate candy for Halloween. About 24% would rather have non-chocolate candy. And then, there are those funky 10% of kids who want gum more than anything else.
Back to the popcorn balls. These days, they wouldn’t fly. Parents would pitch them in the trash when rooting through the bag, screening for safe treats. This is for good reason, as we all know — sometimes people put poisons and other such things in Halloween candy.
It’s been going on for a long time. In 1970, a five-year-old boy named Kevin Toston ate Halloween candy laced with heroin. The investigation uncovered the source. The heroin belonged to the boy’s uncle and was not intended for Halloween candy. What an uncle.
Four years later, an eight-year-old named Timothy O’Bryan died of cyanide poisoning after eating Halloween treats. But the police found out the truth. The boy’s father had taken out a $20,000 life insurance policy on each of his children. And with that, he poisoned his own son and also attempted to poison his daughter to cash in. That is one bad dad.
But forget about the rotten stuff. There are a lot of fun facts about this date. Of course, we all remember the iconic movie Halloween with Jamie Lee Curtis. It came out in 1978, and I’ve only seen it once. During high school.
But here is something fun about it. Because the movie was on a tight, tight budget, they had to use the cheapest mask they could find for the character Michael Meyers. The mask they found turned out to be a William Shatner Star Trek mask. Good old Captain Kirk. Shatner didn’t know anything about this. He found out years later and said he was honored. I’m not sure I’d be as happy about the fact.
Another thing we think about during Halloween is the witch. They aren’t all doom and gloom. The word “witch” comes from the Old English wicce, meaning “wise woman.” A long time ago, Wiccan were highly respected people.
I’d never heard this one before, but according to legend, if we wear our clothes inside out and then walk backward on Halloween, we will see a witch at midnight. I might give this a try, but by midnight, I am fast asleep. So. All bets are off.
All of that aside, most of us do something for Halloween. About 75% of us will hand out candy. Only half of us will carve a pumpkin. And the daring sort? Those 22% will visit a haunted house.
So, whatever you do or don’t do, Halloween is here.
But I want to know where June went. Wasn’t it just May a little minute ago?
Seems like time flies faster than a witch on a broom.
Boo!
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Fears are nothing more than a state of mind.
— Napoleon Hill
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There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them.
— Andre Gide
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We are afraid of the enormity of the possible.
— Emil Cioran
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The fear of Halloween. Witches at midnight.
