Halloween...in pictures
I've decided to post a few Halloween pictures over the next few weeks (some old and some new). I'll be offering up free MP3s as well, but not at the same pace as I did during October. I was surprised as I wandered about on Halloween and the day after how many stores had pulled their Halloween stuff without putting it on sale. Usually I purchase a decent amount of stuff pre-Halloween, but then go a bit nuts after Halloween. This year there wasn't much around to buy. It was a bit spooky. Prior to Halloween the stores started putting out their Christmas stuff. 
This year seemed earlier than usual. On Saturday I was out shopping with my wife, sister-in-law and son and it felt like Christmas was in full swing. Christmas decorations adorned nearly every store and you'd think you were in the middle of December (except there were few shoppers).What also surprised me this year was how few people decorated for Halloween. Neighborhoods were dark and those who did put something out really limited it to maybe a jack o'lantern and some spiderwebs. Our house had a total of seven trick-or-treaters - sad.
I live on a court and the folks at the inlet didn't decorate. It took til you got nearly 1/2 way up the street until some folks put some stuff out. Our house is at the end of the court and up on a hill. You could see the ghosts from fairly far away, but for TOTs it is all about quantity and our street was far from that. Ah well...next year with Halloween on a Saturday I've already decided to have a Halloween party. My daughter asked me about a plastic tombstone I have in the garage. I told her I use it as a mold to create plaster of paris tombstones. (See pic on previous post - that was one of my earlier stones). I'm going to clear out the front of my home (a.k.a. Jurassic Park) and really get this place spooked out. Hopefully it will draw enough attention so we can see some kids in the neighborhood again.Mark Harvey
(going through Halloween withdrawls)
Labels: bay area, halloween, jack o' lantern, mark harvey, pumpkins
posted by Mark Harvey at 5:29 AM
3 Comments:
Mark, I also live at the end of a court and up on a hill. My house is right smack-dab in the center, all the way at the top. I got about 4 trick-or-treaters this year, which is pretty much what I average every year. I always make sure to put a strobe light or some type of light by the garage to attract attention, but it never seems to work.
I've come to the conclusion that the kids just don't want to make the long trek up the hill. I've even thought about just standing at the bottom of the hill and passing out candy, but the kids would probably think, "Who's this freaky dude?", and avoid the whole block completely... LOL. Even when I mentally go into the day thinking I'll be happy with at least one trick-or-treater, I still get a bit bummed when I only get a few... Well, it still was a cool day and I'm looking forward to next year.
Jason,
Sounds like we living in a similar situation. First year in the new house I went all out and made a huge scene that I thought would attract folks, but to no avail. I guess what makes it tough for me is at my old house I would get 400-500 kids on Halloween - create a nice sized home haunt and have a terrific time. Of course the ghetto brought out the kids in droves and something would get stolen every year, but in hindsight not a bad curse if you can feel accomplished (in quantity terms). I’ve had friends tell me I should also sit at the bottom of the driveway, but I too feel a little strange about doing that. We can’t even get people up to the bottom of my driveway though so I’d just end up alone and bored. “The Haunted Court”? “The Haunted Driveway”? I dunno, they just don’t have the right feel to them. Thanks for the comments Jason…I know I’m not alone.
400-500 kids- now that sounds like a Halloween. I used to be envious of my brother who usually got around 30-40 where he lived.
Well, Mark, don't let your current living situation diminish your enthusiasm for this day (I'm pretty sure it won't). Keep putting those decorations up every year. I still do. I'm a spiritual guy and I truly believe there are others who may not be with us physically, but nonetheless are still around and appreciate the effort... It sucks that you can't see them, but they are around I tell you! Ghost trick-or-treaters are the best! :)
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