GHOULS, GOBLINS AND GLINDA

Halloween is one of the most celebrated holidays in America. It began a long time ago, when the Celtic tribes of Europe began celebrating the end of summer and the harvest season, and the beginning of the cold, dark winter. The Celts wore elaborate costumes and lit huge bonfires to ward off evil spirits, who were said to emerge at that time of year to destroy crops and endanger the livelihoods of the townspeople.

The Scots and the Irish brought new customs to America, such as carving vegetables into jack-o-lanterns, and giving out “soul” cakes in exchange for prayers to the deceased, which evolved into the exchanging of candy and the fun of going out trick-or-treating. This, of course, made it a holiday mostly for children, but it didn’t hurt the pocketbooks of giant candy companies like Nestle’ and Hershey, which profited nicely from this pagan ritual.

By the 20th century, Halloween had become a more community-focused, secular holiday centered around parties, festivals and parades.  Even some enterprising and talented writers took note of the popularity of the holiday, and created TV shows and movies to capitalize on it.

Charles Shultz, one of the most famous cartoonists, introduced the idea of the “Great Pumpkin” in 1959 in his syndicated cartoon strip “Peanuts”. However, it wasn’t until 1966 that it became an animated TV show which has aired every year since, capturing the delight of millions of new kids as well as many older adults. This TV special, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”, unfortunately lost the rights to broadcast on network TV after the corporation Apple+ bought the streaming rights to it in 2020. BOO-HISS!!!

Trick-or-treating was a big deal when we were kids. My earliest recollection of celebrating Halloween was when I was about 8 years old. I attended Public School #9 in Carteret, New Jersey, and every year on Halloween they had a contest for the “Best Original and Innovative Costume”. There were about 60 kids who participated, each one donning his or her own unique and outlandish outfit. My oldest sister Celia and my Mom got out our old Singer sewing machine, and using worn red, white and blue bedsheets and pillow cases and a couple of weathered American flags, turned me into a pint-sized version of Uncle Sam, complete with stovetop hat, long white hair and white chin whiskers. In the parade of ghouls, goblins, and witches, I marched around the school building with all the other kids, but I stomped with each step, determined to be noticed. And I was. With my outstretched arm and index finger pointing straight ahead, I commanded attention. As I came upon the judging station, I shouted, “I WANT YOU… FOR THE ARMED SERVICES!” I guess I made a big impression, because the next thing I knew, one of the judges came up to me, lifted my left arm and declared me the winner of the costume parade. I was also given a $50 United States Savings Bond. I never felt prouder of being an American kid.

As I mentioned, our family was big on Halloween. During the mid- to late-1970s, the family got together, rented a meeting hall such as the Kiwanis Club or Knights of Columbus Hall, and we had an elaborate family Halloween party. There were about 30 adults and probably 20 or so kids at that time. We played games, carved pumpkins, danced, sang, drank, you name it, and it was always a special time for everyone. Since our family was so large, it was difficult trying to gather everyone all together, even just to have a party. So these get-togethers were our way for everyone to “catch up” on each others lives.

Mom made a great looking witch here with my brother-in-law Skip:

Speaking of witches, Halloween is also synonymous with these mythical, but often terrifying, creatures. The spooky imagery surrounding witches, including their association with the Devil, dark magic, and the supernatural, fits perfectly with the general theme of Halloween.  Walt Disney put this observation to good use. He frightened the bejesus out of kids by creating some of the most frightening depictions of witches ever, such as the stepmother in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and the fairy in “Sleeping Beauty”. Disney adapted these characters into “The Evil Queen” and “Maleficent” for his animated films. Disney’s witches served as antagonistic villains, embodying societal fears of female power and vanity.

There was no more true depiction of an evil witch than the one conjured up by then-famous author L. Frank Baum, who wrote “The Wizard of Oz” in the year 1900. As a prolific storyteller of his time, he would often regale schoolkids with his tales. While penning his newest adventure story, he began reading it to some children and realized that it didn’t have a title. He glanced around the room and noticed a filing cabinet had been left open. He noticed that the front of the drawer had the label “O to Z” on it. That was his inspiration for the title.

If you were like most kids, you probably had nightmares after watching The “Wizard of Oz” for the first time. The close-up sight of that evil-looking green face of the Wicked Witch of the West, as seen through the crystal ball, wasn’t exactly heartwarming. As for me, when I was 9 years old, I kept a bucket of water next to my bed for weeks after seeing that movie… just in case.

I guess I should give at least some credit to the good witches of the world. Glinda (the Good Witch of the North) did save Dorothy and her friends after all. Samantha (from “Bewitched”) did use her “twitching” powers for good most of the time, although Endora, Samantha’s mother, didn’t always treat Durwood (er… I mean Darwin, or rather, Darrin) very well. But, I must say, my favorite “good witch” was Samantha’s Aunt Clara, with her ditzy demeanor and her odd habit of collecting doorknobs. She was supposedly 4,000 years old, so it was no wonder she couldn’t find her way into a house except through the fireplace, and her spells almost always backfired because of her forgetfulness. Still, it was hard not to love her quirkiness.

Anyway, good or bad, everyone should still celebrate Halloween. Whether old or young, give yourself a chance to dress up and be someone else for a change, have a little fun, go trick-or-treating with the kids, throw a party, carve a jack-o-lantern, or just watch a rerun of a scary Halloween movie… “Nightmare on Elm Street” comes to mind, or better yet, “Night of the Living Dead”. Oh, and don’t forget to keep the lights on and a bucket of water near your bed… just in case.

I hope you have enjoyed this little Halloween trip down memory lane. Please write a comment if you would, so I know you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. And please subscribe so you get more fun blog entries later on. Till next time…

Lenny