When we lived in Portsmouth, Halloween was a community event. Doorsteps were decorated with pumpkin lanterns, fake cobwebs and plastic spiders. The street breathed in the excited chatter of witches, their cats and spooks, including the odd devil.
I always took my daughter and
her friends out for the evening, but as the cold cut through their flimsy
witchery and their pumpkin lanterns swung to reveal the next door to knock
on, they would forget about their little red noses and icy toes and shout,
‘Trick or treat!’. Occasionally their call was answered by a ghost or a
werewolf but after a nervous scream, fruit lollipops, chocolate buttons and squishy
jelly eyes would be on offer for their little red fingers to pick at. After we
had exhausted all the well-known bounty streets, we’d return home to the instant
warmth of our gas fire. Now, I only heard the tinkling of a spoon as it stirred
steaming cups of hot chocolate along with the rustle of sweet wrappings being
torn open to unleash that candy floss aroma; sweets were gobbled as the number
of giggles measured her treasure.
But as we now live in the countryside with
no street lighting, Halloween has changed for us. There are no witches and
ghouls out shopping to satisfy their sweet tooth. The only Halloween babble is
the wind as it rushes through the branches and screeches from nesting owls. Our
black cat waits on the doorstep while our pumpkin lantern casts its
gruesome shadow against our door, but still, no one knocks. I must admit, I
initially felt empty and ached for the magic of Halloween that had seemingly
been swept away from our house, street and hamlet by a wayward witch’s broom.
But eight years on, although I still
miss the tiny taps of hopping feet on my doorstep and remain sad that my 17
year old daughter has long outgrown her costumes, on Halloween we still carve a
caricature on a pumpkin, gorge ourselves on the smell of freshly baked monster
cakes and instead of walking the streets, hunker down with our homegrown spiders
for a hot chocolate and a scary movie; all in front of a crackling log fire.
We still celebrate Halloween, but in
our own and new way.
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