Notes from Maine - 2020/10/31

Happy Halloween!

This is my favorite day of the year. I like the cool crispness, the decorations, and all the horror movies on TV.

Some say that the veil between worlds is thin this evening. Maybe that’s inherent in the time of year, or maybe it’s simply because so many of us are focused on the nether world. Whatever the reason, it seems like almost anything is possible.

Maybe tonight, as I’m reading something spooky, I’ll hear a tapping on the door. I’ll get up slowly, on numb legs, already knowing what I’ll see. Through the window at the top of the door, I’ll see a boney apparition, reaching up with skeletal fingers to tap on the glass. Then, when I turn on the light, the monster will disappear. It won’t really be gone though—I just won’t be able to see it.

It’s fun to imagine such things, and they seem almost possible on Halloween night. Last night, we went on a haunted walk at an orchard. They had great scenes built between the rows of trees and creepy people who would jump out. It doesn’t matter how they’re dressed or how loud they scream—timing is everything. Appearing at just the right moment, or standing so still that everyone thinks you’re a mannequin, is the best way to create a jump scare. They had a psychotic dentist, demonic pigs, and tons of clowns. I loved the mechanical spiders that skittered out from enormous webs when we approached. They were awesome.

When I was a little kid, we went through a haunted house that was near the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland. I cried and cried until they found an exit so they could escort me out. Ever since, I’ve loved those places. For years, I was completely stoic. I was always trying to spot the next scare before it happened or I was rewriting the script of the place in my head, trying to make it more frightening. Generally, there’s not much of a storyline to these attractions.

Now when I go, I like to really get into it. It’s so much fun to try to imagine that it’s all real.

There have been some decent movies about haunted house attractions lately.

Hell House LLC is a fun movie. The Houses October Built isn’t as good, but it has decent moments.There are great hall of mirrors scenes in Us.

Tomorrow, everything will be back to normal. Spooky time will be over.