Trying to understand Halloween

It’s entertaining, it’s ghoulish and it’s a paradox.

Most of the year, parents tell their kids, “Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t take candy from strangers. There are no ghosts under the bed!”

Except on Halloween. On Halloween, strangers (and the candy they proffer) are fair game. And there are ghosts, witches and creepy-crawly things everywhere. I honestly don’t know why American children aren’t more scarred than they already are from this celebration of all things scary.

Halloween confuses me; I’ll admit it. Maybe it’s because, when I was a little girl, my parents, being the wholesome individuals that they are, dressed me up as a mouse, as a college graduate and as a Pilgrim; nothing scary. Later on in life, we scrapped trick or treating and celebrated just the fall season. Which is probably a good thing: I tend to have pretty vivid nightmares and I don’t really see the point of terrifying yourself - or your kids - for a few pieces of candy.

But I’ll admit that I’m looking forward to dressing up as a Glee character this year and not scaring the people in my office. I got a good laugh (and chill up my spine) looking at the photos of our readers’ incredibly imaginative yards and homes, decorated to the nines. The giant spider who hangs out with Frankenstein across the street from my house gets me all warm and fuzzy inside - and who can beat those ghouls flying around in the picture above?

I guess the best part of Halloween is the time it offers for parents and kids to enjoy some time together. Be safe, and have an enjoyable “All-Hallows Evening!”