Halloween. It's Bigger Than Christmas

It is stating the obvious to say that Halloween has grown leaps and bounds in popularity, beyond anything I remember as a kid, when our flammable costumes came in boxes and could be thrown on in less than 30 seconds. Today's Halloween isn't just for kids anymore. In fact, I think adults get into it more than kids do, especially here in New York. Halloween is a huge deal here. Something about New York and costumes just feels right. Unlike the burbs where everyone has to drive to someone's house for party, here, the parties are on the streets. There's the Greenwich Village Parade, of course, which is worth seeing at least once. And on Halloween in New York, it's not at all unusual to see people walking around, riding the subways, and sitting in restaurants having dinner in costume. It's quite the spectacle and yet another thing I love about living here. This Halloween falls on a Friday, so I'm afraid to ponder what tonight is going to be like.

I'll say it: Halloween is now bigger than Christmas. And it's starting to catch up to New Year's. In fact, more and more, I'm starting to see Halloween and New Year's merging into twin events, separated only by a couple of months. More New Year's events have become costumed affairs and more Halloween events carry the fanfare that was once unique to New Year's Eve. And now, if you have no Halloween plans, be prepared to feel like an outcast. Last Saturday, I was visiting KB and someone asked me what I was going to be for Halloween. For a second I felt this bizarre sense of obligation, like during Christmas, when I have to buy presents for everyone in my family or I'll look cheap and unloving. As Christmas has now become about buying presents, Halloween has become about finding the funniest, sexiest, or most clever costume possible, dressing up and going to a Halloween Party. So when she asked me and I said "Um, nothing," she looked at me like I'd just dropped a deuce on KB's couch. I felt like a loser. Truth is, I have an emergency "go to" costume or two somewhere in my closet that I can break out at a moment's notice, though they'll probs need some serious ironing. But I hadn't been invited to a party (by that point) and so, I'd made no Halloween plans. But her reaction, which was by no means unusual, struck me as kind of funny. Everyone is expected to kind of do something on Halloween now, especially this year, when it falls on a Friday.

I love Halloween. It's one of my favorite.... what? It's not a holiday. We're not taking the day off or anything. What the hell is Halloween, now that I think about it? All Hallow's Eve. There's an origin to it that if I wasn't in a hurry, I'd look up and tell you. I know it's a pagan holiday. Christmas is also a pagan holiday. Those pagans, you have to love them. They really know how to enjoy life, don't they? More people should be pagans. But maybe we already are. You don't hear too many Christians talk about it, but a LOT of their most sacred rituals and holidays have pagan origins. And "pagan" doesn't mean Satanic, for goodness sakes. Look it up.

Anyway, I'm off topic. I love Halloween, and this year, because it falls on a Friday, I'd planned to get more into it than I have in recent years. Last Sunday, Sister T., brother-in-law @L, and his and my friend, Hunter E. Thompson (not his real name), went to see a documentary on Keith Haring which is playing on 12th Street (it was quite good actually, if you like Haring and want to experience what life in New York was like in the late 70s and 80s, it's worth seeing) and then we grabbed a bite and went to a Haunted House that they'd set up in a location near Delancey Street. Sister T. and @L are really good at coming up with ideas like this that I wouldn't have thought of myself. I hadn't been to a haunted house in years, but I used to LOVE them as a kid and when we'd go to Salisbury Beach or Canobie Lake, the haunted house ride was always my favorite. This one was pretty good, they had actors who were in costumes and covered in gore and who made noise and jumped out to try and scare us. There was the requisite chain saw guy, the crazy girl in the bed who kept chanting nonsensicals, people missing arms, disorienting walks through thick, billowed walls of sheets where you couldn't see in front of you, and a crazy nutjob who peed on us. Yes, we paid $30 to get pissed on. I can't tell you I was scared, I think the haunted house rides as a kid were scarier. But it was still fun and it really got me in the mood for Halloween.

Hunter E. Thompson invited me to a party at his apartment tonight, but alas, I can't go. My dad's having some health problems, and at my mother's request (demand?) I need to drive up to New Hampshire this weekend to help out with some things. Sorry to be so vague. I'll elaborate another time. I can say this though. Real life can be a lot scarier than anything Halloween can come up with.

HAPPY HALLOWEENS, EVERYONE!