By Salvatore A. Barcia Jr. (posted October 23, 2018)

“Adam can you guys come down to the basement with me to check the circuits?  You’re father’s asleep and I don’t want to wake him.”

We thought nothing of his mother’s request.  Little did we consider the day and its penchant for trickery . . . Halloween.

Childhood Dreams

Halloween has long been a day of celebration.  Kids trick-or-treat, teens act mischievously, parents celebrate vicariously through their children, and adults enjoy costume parties.

In the 1970s costumes for the average person mostly came from Kmart.  They were flimsy plastic jumpsuits with incredibly uncomfortable and rigid masks.  The jumpsuit tore easily and the mask’s rubber band magically wound around your hair to sting your scalp. Relief came quickly since the rubber band would break 10 minutes into trick-or-treating, forcing you to hold the mask over your face.  My favorite was my skeleton costume at five years old – I was certain people thought bones were roaming the streets.

Candy, of course was the ultimate prize. We indulged as any other red-blooded child would. It was the early days of worrying about razors or poison in candy, so we were the first to face TSA-level inspection systems.

By our preteens we still wanted to trick-or-treat, but “coolness” ruled so we became mischievous. Egg fights, shaving cream wars, and socks filled with baby powder replaced costumes and candy. This was the plan on our fateful night.

Childhood Friends

I spent my Halloween at Adam’s house.  He was my closest friend as a child.  When he lived on my block I’d “call for” him and we’d each simultaneously appear in front of our houses.  (At the time it was OK for a first grader to be out on the block without parental supervision). We ritually ran down the block yelling each other’s names until we met for a kid hug.

Adam moved away when I was still only six. This tore my heart out – to a young kid six blocks equaled a move to Guam.  We managed to stay friends, but with no hard feelings drifted as we got older and other social groups emerged. A quiet boy, I had some difficulty finding my social niche for a while, but eventually I found my way.

Terror Revisited

We were around 11 or 12 years old this night.  His cousin Eric plus a few other boys joined us for typical preteen activities including a little ring and run (I was a true rebel).  Sleeping over his house, we later enjoyed popcorn, comic books, ghost stories, and horror movies (prior to widespread cable and VCRs, TV could only be on so late, so around midnight or 1:00 am channels would play The Star Spangled Banner followed by static – allowing Poltergeist to create its portal to the spirit world).

Later in the evening the lights went off.

Approaching the stairway, Adam’s mother shined a light to illuminate our path.  We relished the spooky atmosphere and laughed about horror movie clichés. Howling and other scary noises added to the mood.

Costumes on Display

After those preteen years Halloween remained a favorite holiday, as I’d imagine it does for many people, and of course costumes continued to rule the day. In high school, only the seniors were allowed to skip the jacket and tie dress code and play dress up.  I decided to be a toilet bowl, with a tank on my back and lid over my head.  Although the subject of many obvious jokes, I quietly enjoyed my costume’s extra attention.

I’ve had some other memorable costumes. While with Rutgers Marching Band, pink rabbit ears plus an Energizer label for my bass drum allowed me to become the famous bunny. During a legendary Weehawken Halloween party, I beamed with pride at my appearance as The Joker. For an annual 80s party, a raincoat, Clash t-shirt and boom box recreated the classicSay Anything scene. In my first year of teaching, wrapping myself in sports tape – although ruining my clothes – turned me into a mummy.

For many, Halloween offers a chance to ruffle feathers with risqué and provocative costumes. With debates over such attire raging in today’s highly intellectual social media venue, the “offense” factor now comes with the risk of being the latest virtual villain. I’ll leave you to decide what is fair game.

Heartbeat Skipped

We were quite complacent as we giggled and joked, taking our first steps down the stairs. Our festive mood remained unbroken. What a perfect scenario to elevate a great Halloween!

Then it happened.

With the timing of a well-tuned Rolex, a figure suddenly burst through the darkness.  Wearing a ski mask and turtleneck, he carried the fiercest looking ax I had ever seen.  He charged up the stairs and my heart momentarily stopped.  We brave little boys immediately scampered back to Adam’s room, diving under beds, seeking safety in closets, and finding openings between shelves for protection. I laid on the floor under a blanket, my Catholic upbringing forcing out a few Hail Marys. Chills filled my body, and seconds seemed like hours. We pondered our impending doom and listened for sounds of terror.

Instead of screams, however, we heard laughter. We’d been had.

Of course his dad wasn’t asleep!  We had fallen for a classic. Reflecting on the scare, each of us replayed our heroic intentions in the face of danger.

“I was ready to do my karate moves,” said one.

“Oh, I wasn’t really scared,” confirmed another.

“I knew it all along!” added a third, his voice skipping.

In reality we were all terrified, and our obvious faux posturing after the fact was part of the fun of well-executed Halloween trick. In the end we all had a brilliant laugh.

A Day to Enjoy

Halloween is full of unique rituals: showing up at a stranger’s house requesting candy; hanging bloody limbs on your front porch; mimicking a maniacal killer. Just make sure you reserve such activities for October, since you might raise suspicion applying these celebrations to spring flowers or the summer solstice.

These days, I enjoy Halloween with my class, and later watching my son and his friends excitedly run house to house in a quest for the best treats. I dress up and play the part as we wander the neighborhood, snagging a little candy myself. It’s just as enjoyable as when I wore my skeleton costume so many years ago.

When Halloween comes, don’t stress. Hang decorations, don a costume, devour some candy, catch a horror flick, enjoy the spooky mood . . . and maybe delay the Christmas lights until after the ghouls retreat. It only comes once a year.

And once in a while, allow yourself a good scare.

Happy Halloween everyone!