In which I wish you a happy Halloween

I love Halloween. It was always one of my favorite holidays as a child, and even now I love the innocent spookiness. Between the Great Pumpkin, bags of chocolate, fall leaves, and assorted goblins, what's not to love? The weather is usually perfect--cool, with a crisp tang in the air. The trees have begun to turn, and occasionally, although not this year, there is a round, ripe harvest moon cruising just above the treetops.

I also love the October television programming. I always get a kick out of seeing my favorite characters dressed up for Halloween, and I ruthlessly tivo every special I can find on vampires, witches, and ghosts. (Last weekend's marathon of "Scariest Places on Earth" meant that I stayed in my nightgown until mid-afternoon, sipping Lapsang Souchong and hiding behind a leopard velvet pillow, peeping over the top just far enough to watch.) I was also wildly lucky to find an episode of "Most Haunted" shot at the location I visited last spring in Yorkshire. It happens to be the house I used as a model for the country house in Silent on the Moor. The National Trust was pretty quiet about any ghostly inhabitants, and I remember looking at the house and thinking, "THIS is where that horrible thing I'm plotting happened." Imagine my astonishment to find that a very similiar thing DID actually happen at that house in Victorian times. Spooky.

I am also devoted to the Universal classic horror films: Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, and my FAVORITE, The Wolfman. ("Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers at night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms, and the autumn moon is bright.") Best werewolf poetry EVER. There are a few other, lesser known films that are just as compelling--The Mark of the Vampire and Vampyr: Der Traum des Allan Gray, come to mind. (I do, however draw the line at Nosferatu. Those little rat teeth just do me in.)

And when I have watched all the Transylvania travel shows, the classic movies, and the re-runs of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, I still have Practical Magic and Van Helsing, the first because I completely agree that there is a little witch in every woman, and the second because of Hugh Jackman. (Surely you knew that was coming.)

Once I've exhausted my supply of Halloween entertainment, it's time to put on my slinky black witch's dress, grab my pointy hat and my trusty broomstick, and slip on my red and white striped stockings. It's All Hallow's Eve, and that means it's time to fly. (Even if it's just to the neighbors' for some candy...)