HALLOWE’EN MEMORIES

Published by Rick on Tagged Uncategorized

It’s amazing to think that 60+ years ago, when I was in primary school, on Hallow’en I could go trick or treating, be out for 2-3 hours, come back with a shopping bag full of assorted candies, and not be worried about any consequences. This was before any stories emerged of sickos putting razor blades inside fresh fruit, or injecting poison into Hershey Kisses. This was before it was deemed unsafe for kids to go walking around their neighbourhoods without a parent or some other adult supervising, due to kids being assaulted by local hoodlums. The worst I can ever remember in the 5-6 years I went trick or treating was when I was nine, and some bullies came up to me and a friend, threatening to beat us up if we didn’t give them our bags of candy right then and there. Fortunately for us, we hadn’t been out long, so we didn’t have that much to give them, and we still wound up with a decent haul.

There was vandalism, but the worst I ever did in that realm was soaping up on people’s windows. I toilet papered a few houses, but never on Hallowe’en. I just knew by the way my luck went, that if I did anything really destructive, I’d get caught. One time I tipped over a bicycle that was sitting in front of someone’s house, and unfortunately the kid I was with knew the people who lived in the house, so he didn’t hesitate to rat me out. That’s what friends are for, right?

I never went much for costumes, either, usually just putting a white sheet over myself with some eyeholes cut, a simple ghost (or maybe Klansman!) costume. The year I got bullied I was dressed as a girl with a blond wig done up in pigtails, that’s about the only deviation in costume I can remember. As an adult, I remember working in Denver for the month of October in 1974, and for Hallowe’en dressed as Ricky Ricardo, Desi Arnaz’s character on “I Love Lucy.” There was another time in the late 80’s, when I had a spot on at The Comedy Store in LA, and chose to dress as Pee Wee Herman. That was pretty much it for me and costumes, and the most I expect to do tonight as pub quiz master is dress all in black. Maybe to add an orange colour, I’ll wear my San Francisco Giants cap.

Living in San Francisco in the 70’s put Hallowe’en in an entirely different perspective, especially on Polk Street and Castro Street, the two major gay strongholds in The City. There, Hallowe’en was on a par with New Year’s Eve as far as celebrations went, and those two streets would be closed to cars as the revellers would outdo each other for most outrageous costumes. My all-time favourite costume was some guy dressed as a thumb, with his head sticking out of where the thumbnail would be. The re-creation of the whorl pattern that makes the thumbprint was really elaborate and concise. My second favourite was someone dressed as an answering 8-ball, with people asking him yes or no questions and the guy holding up various responses on black triangles. I could never imagine myself being that sort of creative.

In LA, they did a similar thing, closing off main streets in West Hollywood to accommodate the outrageous garb. I went one year as a spectator, and in the course of walking through the throng, I accidentally stepped on the hem some guy’s lengthy Bride of Frankenstein dress which caused the dress to rip. I got third degree from the guy, who probably thought I had done it on purpose, and would not let up, going on about “You’ve ruined my night,” and assorted accusations. That would be my first and last time going there, as even before that incident, the vibe just didn’t feel as campy or entertaining as what I remembered from San Francisco.

In my 10 years living in London, I don’t recall ever seeing anything even remotely resembling the street fairs that Hallowe’en would be in SF or LA. In my north London neighbourhood, where there are an abundance of families, trick or treating usually starts by 5:00, as the sun is already down by then. Kids go door to door only on one or two streets, with parents accompanying, and most of the kids look well under the age of ten. Maybe there’s been the same paranoia that the US felt about the tradition, but rarely have I had anyone come to our door after 7:00. Our household has put out four Ferrero Rocher chocolates for the kids, which is as much as we’ll probably need.

Interesting that there’s so little enthusiasm for the tradition here, as trick or treating dates back to 16th Century Scotland and Ireland, where young people would go door to door and sing, dance, or do some other performance for either money or food. It was only in America where the tradition took hold, but not until the 1920’s and 30’s. That’s what Americans are really good at, taking someone else’s idea, exploiting it, and making it a cash cow. Still, I say enjoy yourselves tonight, and be careful out there!

October 31st, 2023



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