"When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween."
~Author Unknown
I'm afraid of the dark. Horrified.
Terrified.
In fact, I'm so afraid of the dark that I refuse to enter the basement after the sun sets or to get up from bed until my alarm goes off. I simply can't take chances. I mean, it is perfectly logical that some type ghoul or ghostly apparition lurks in the hallway between the hours of 11:30 PM and 5:30 AM.
Ever since I was a child, I've fought fears of the night. I believe I was six years old when my parents finally caved and bought a television set for my room. And no, it wasn't due to my abnormal obsession with Sesame Street or Romper Room. They did it for their own sanity, because every teensie-weensie noise woke me up, causing me to run and scream and alert the entire household of the ghosts and witches hiding in the corners.
To this very day I have some strange habits. For example, I cannot fall asleep unless the closet door is fully closed. As a child, I had an entrance to a crawl space in my bedroom closet. Obviously the witches lived in the crawl space. Closing the door-tightly- kept them at bay. I still insist on a firmly latched closet door, and frequently ask Chad-o to get up and address the situation. Weird. Very weird.
About a month ago, I had to go into my classroom on a Sunday afternoon to do some organizing and decorating. I was honestly frightened to go by myself. Me- alone- in a dark school? No. Not happening. My mom's a saint. She escorted me. She, of all people, realizes the extent of my fear.Did you ever watch The Exorcism of Emily Rose? I did, and my life was forever changed. Four years later, I continue to wake up at 3:33 AM...it's awful. I'd give anything to undo the damage caused by that horrid film.
So, knowing that I am beyond freaked out when it comes to the dark and noises in the night, you'd think I would harbor a severe dislike for Halloween, right?
Quite the contrary, my dears. Quite the contrary.
I love Halloween. It's my all-time, favorite holiday.
(Please enjoy the snapshots of my spooky little Halloween tree.)
2 comments:
I like Halloween too. I love the creativity of the costumes and I love that it name comes from the words "All Holy Evening" the day before "All Saints Day" a Catholic Holy Day celebrated on November 1. Tomorrow is All Souls Day, praying for souls who have died. Even the word Holiday comes from the words Holy Day. Not the sacra-ligious, anti-Christ day that some people make it out to be. Jack learned in history class the Catholics were trying to convert Pagans to Catholicism and started both Holidays to coincide with Fall harvest festivals and some pagan ceremonies, etc.
When I worked at St. Joseph's Center, we always dressed up. One year the theme was famous saints, and the staff dressed up as the New Orleans Saints. My niece and nephews go to a Catholic school in Texas and dressed as Mother Elizabeth Seton and St. Francis.
I don't hate the dark, as much as I hate what could be hiding in the dark, creepy crawlies (anything over 3/4 of an inch) and members of the rodent family.
Hope you had a great Halloween, Cathy.
I agree with the closed closet door. Mine is NEVER open at night. But for me the bewitching hour of wake up was at 3:15 for a long time after watching the Amityville Horror movie.
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