My Weirdly Cozy Halloween Confessions

 

“Gnome and elf and fairy,
Witch and ghost make merry
On this last of dear October’s days.”
(Lettie C. Van Derveer)

 

Hello my lovely friends!

 

    Halloween has a special kind of magic that makes you want to curl up under a massive blanket with the lights low and something silly or scary on the screen. Since we are fully in the spirit of the season, I thought it would be fun to share a few random, slightly ridiculous confessionals about how I navigate this time of year. Grab a warm drink, get comfy, and let us dive into the goofy cozy vibes together.

 

    Getting to know someone is always fun, but skipping past the usual favorite color talk and diving straight into the weird, specific quirks is where the real bond happens. Looking back, we all have those random childhood memories and bizarre little rules for life that don't make much sense to anyone else, but make up exactly who we are.

 

    Take my peak childhood moment, for instance. Back in fifth grade, I decided to go all out and dress as Pippi Longstocking for our school Halloween party. My sister and her best friend came over to prep my hair, which involved literally weaving a wire hanger through my braids so they would stick straight out to the sides. It worked like a charm, and I actually won the contest for my entire grade. That win landed me a spot at the giant all-city Halloween contest downtown. I didn't take home the grand prize, but walking around with physics-defying hair was an absolute blast.

 

    Around that same age, I also discovered a very specific phobia that still haunts me today. I absolutely cannot stand massive things with faces on them. Giant statues are my complete nightmare, meaning I am totally content looking at the Statue of Liberty from a safe distance across the water without ever setting foot on the island. When I was a kid, my family went to Mount Rushmore and I was doing totally fine until we walked into the museum. Inside, they had a life-size finished section of what the faces were meant to look like, and it completely freaked me out.

 

    That whole fear extended to local shopping trips, too. Our mall had this toy shop that was basically my personal house of horrors because right at the entrance stood a gigantic stuffed mouse that stretched all the way from the floor to the ceiling. It scared me so badly that I would literally start crying whenever we walked past. My dad usually ended up carrying me past the store while I kept my eyes squeezed shut so I wouldn't have to look at its giant face.

 

    Despite being terrified of oversized plushies and stone faces, I somehow turned into a total horror movie fanatic. My rule for watching scary movies is non-negotiable: the lights have to be completely out. Nobody ever wants to watch them with me because I insist on total darkness, especially when I'm putting on one of the old classics.

 

    The funny thing is that the actual gore in those movies doesn't bother me at all. A bad guy can go on a full slasher spree with wild special effects and I won't bat an eye, but the second a character takes a knife and slowly cuts their own skin, I am completely out. There is just something about watching a blade slice through skin that makes me feel instantly squamish and grossed out, even if I can handle every other type of movie violence just fine.

 

    When I'm not watching scary movies, I'm usually nose-deep in Stephen King novels, reading them over and over until the pages wear thin. Middle school was when I first read Pet Sematary, and it instantly became a top favorite. By the time the movie came out in high school, a group of us ran to the theater to see it. Only three of us had actually read the book, and when the credits rolled, the three of us were furious because they cut out so many crucial characters and subplots. I still claim the books are always better, even if I secretly own almost all the film adaptations and TV miniseries on DVD anyway.

 

    At the end of the day, our little fears, nostalgic wins, and hyper-specific movie rules are what make us interesting. We all carry around a strange mix of things that terrify us and things we love, and sharing them is the best way to realize we're all a little quirky in our own ways.

 

I’m so grateful you dropped by! I hope the rest of your day brings you a little extra joy and a chance to unwind. Take a gentle breath, take care, and see you soon.