Ellen Byron

Memories of Halloween

I’ve been promoting FRENCH QUARTER FRIGHT NIGHT all over the place, which has brought up the irony that I wasn’t a fan of Halloween growing up. I have one photo of me in a costume from my childhood and I can barely muster up a smile. Partly because my mother pulled my hair into the tightest, most painful bun of my life, and partly because the dreaded night-time candy crawl was about to begin. Dreaded because all the candy in the world couldn’t make up for my terror of the cold, dark night and the bullies I was sure lurked behind every tree.

Then I grew up and had a kid. Talk about a 180! Much like Scrooge discovered the joys of Christmas, I discovered the wonders of Halloween. (Sidebar: when you think of all those ghosts in A Christmas Carol, it almost reads more like a Halloween tale, doesn’t it?)

I had so much fun dressing Eliza up…

And I came up with great Halloween-themed treats… one of which found its way into a promotion for my first Halloween-themed mystery, MURDER IN THE BAYOU BONEYARD. (To which all who know me say, of course it did!)

But as time went on, Eliza grew up and took charge of her own costumes. The Halloween bake sales faded away, as did decorating our front yard for the big day.

Then something else reinvigorated the fun of this spookiest of holidays: spending it in New Orleans, which I got to do several times over the last few years, as I’ve shared in past Chicks posts.

Here’s an image of what’s become one of the Big Easy’s most iconic sights: the Skeleton House on St. Charles Avenue. The current theme is Taylor Swift, who’s playing the Superdome all weekend. I can’t wait to see what Skeleton puns-perts have come up with! Given my schedule, it will be through viral videos and photos this year.

But next year… who knows?

Readers, where do you stand on Halloween? Ay or nay? Do you have a favorite candy? I had emergency oral surgery yesterday and am on the road for a research trip I couldn’t reschedule, so apologies for a slow reply to comments.

25 thoughts on “Memories of Halloween”

  2. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Ellen? I absolutely loved Halloween as a kid. I even won the Irvington Halloween Festival costume contest when I was 8th grade. That was a huge deal.

    My kiddos, not so much, which was a bummer, but what can you do. These days, I get my Halloween fix by watching classic monster movies and reading ghost stories. Stay spooky!

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      1. I was a scarecrow. Wore a flannel shirt, overalls, gloves, a n old cotton bag with cutouts for eyes and nose, and a woven flower pot for a hat. I tied pieces of rope around my neck, wrists, and ankles and stuck straw in them. I was skilly back then so I used a pillow for a belly. I’m still pretty proud of that costume! 😊

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  3. Thanks for this spooky post, El! Hope you feel better soon, and enjoy your trip!

    I’m a half-hearted aye for Halloween. I’ve got a few pumpkins out front but need to add more decorations for neighborhood kids. Hubby is also curious about healthier snacks to give out this year, so we’ll see. And my kids still dress up, but their costume ideas are so elaborate that I can’t help them anymore (think: anime).

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  5. I always liked Halloween. Trick or treating as a kid, making costumes for my son and taking him trick or treating, bringing treats to school for my students – I even wore costumes a couple of times, but always wore my favorite skeleton earrings! Sadly I haven’t seen a trick or treater for years, finally stopped buying candy when I retired since there was no one to help me eat the treats 😢.

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  6. Funny, I don’t remember much about Halloween as a child though I do know that we went trick or treating in our neighborhood. I have no photos of me dressed up. I do love Halloween and have dressed up through my adult years until just lately. I also have dressed up my dogs and taken them trick or treating. What fun! We used to go to NOLA for Thanksgiving, but it got so crowded that we switched to October for a week. It was so much fun to see that house with all of the skeletons on St. Charles. I have some photos of it also but yours are better. I like Snickers and Milky Way bars the best. Hope you are mending well.

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      1. NOLA is fun anytime, but especially at Halloween and the Christmas lights on St. Charales are wonderful! Glad you are healing. Hopefully it will go faster now.

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  7. Never been a Halloween fan, not as a kid, not as an adult. Maybe because a) I never got to go with my friends, I was always chaperoning my siblings and b) my kids needed multiple costumes every year. What a pain.

    I am a sucker for Reese’s cups and Laffy-Taffy (which I have cut way back on since I got a crown last year).

    Speedy recovery, Ellen!

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  8. Not a big fan of Halloween, here. (Though I am quite fond of los días de los muertos). We’re invited to a Beetlejuice-themed costume party this weekend, but since neither of us have seen either of the films, we’re gonna have to figure out something fast….

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  9. My parents didn’t allow us to go trick or treating once I hit 6th grade. I actually enjoy going in costume – more like cosplay at fan conventions and such. My library director allows us staff to dress up if we wish. I’ll be cosplaying a relatively minor (but significant!) character (Petronella Osgood) from the 12th Doctor’s time as Doctor Who.

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