What’s Your ‘Spooky Season’ Style?

Today I’m going with a light topic for fun.  It’s early October and even down in the sub-tropics we’re knee-deep in the gold, yellow, and rust-red shades of fall  - but it’s all from decorations! The retail shelves are full of Halloween décor.  Did you know that 70% of Americans budget for Halloween decorations with the intention of spending as much as $100 – and many of them spend more, as a quick trip through your neighborhood will likely confirm.

One day recently I was in a shop looking at the latest Halloween goodies and it occurred to me that my style for Halloween is very specifically about cheerful ghosts, friendly spiders, happy pumpkins, and any other version of Halloween cuteness.  I love Halloween decorations, but they have to be very upbeat.  (In my mind I call this style ‘Bibbidy-Bobbidy-Boo’.)

On the other end of the spectrum are those who feel like if there aren’t any blood and guts, it’s not Halloween.  They love Halloween costumes that feature fake blood, decrepit body parts, and knives and hatchets emerging from somewhere on their person.  Their Halloween parties feature bowls filled with cut-off ‘fingers’, ‘eyeballs’, and blood-red punch.  Their motto might as well be,  “If it’s gross, it’s close but if it’s gore, I love it more!” 

Then there are those who are more on the mystical side.  If you visited them in October, you might see a crystal ball here, a tarot deck there, or maybe even a Ouija board.  (But then, for some of us, you would probably see these things no matter what time of year you visit!) 

Others celebrate the Celtic New Year, known as Samhain, as a part of the pagan Wheel of the Year.  Samhain is a time when the veil between worlds is thin and it’s possible to connect more easily with those on the Other Side.  And we can’t leave out the sugar skulls and colorful skeletons from the Mexican Dias de la Muerte (Day of the Dead).

What’s your Halloween style? Whether you’re good with nothing but a jack-o-lantern or you go all-out with decorations and costumes each year, I’m sending you good wishes throughout this season.  Don’t forget to set aside some time to remember your beloved dead and to celebrate their memory in your heart.  No matter what your ‘spooky style’ may be, make time to have fun.  There’s always a hint of magic in the air this time of year!