From the Editor: Halloween With a Side of Heatstroke
Some of the best “good ol’ days” were wrapped in cellophane and chocolate.
While much of the country is pulling on cozy sweaters and admiring the first signs of fall foliage, here in Texas, we’re still baking like a Halloween pumpkin cheesecake. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, Texans can expect “hot and hotter” from August through October. Yee haw.
In my neck of the woods, the only signs that fall has arrived are the return of pumpkin-spiced everything to the Starbucks menu, the sudden transformation of the seasonal aisle at Walmart into a haunted plastic playground, and the annual reappearance of Spirit Halloween, which swoops in like a witch on a broom and takes over the biggest vacant building in town.
Still, Halloween has always managed to cast its spell, regardless of the weather. When I was a kid, the buildup to the big night was filled with excitement. I would be dressed to the nines in my Kmart Blue Light Special costume, which I’d already tried on twelve times before the big day. My ensemble included a flame-retardant vinyl jumpsuit (or princess dress), and just in case the mask didn’t give it away, the character’s name was generally helpfully emblazoned across the chest. The plastic masks in question were always held on with a thin elastic strap that snapped free if you moved your head wrong.
But that wasn’t the only issue. The eyeholes never quite lined up, and the inside of the mask fogged up from your breath. It would become uncomfortably damp against your face before you finished the first block and always smelled faintly of warm plastic…along with whatever you had for dinner that night. Yet nothing could dull the excitement of Trick-or-Treating your way to candy nirvana.
The inability to see more than two feet in front of you, combined with the very real danger of mild oxygen deprivation, was the reason we suspected our parents insisted on tagging along. But once I became a parent, I realized there was more to it than avoiding a fainting spell in the neighbor’s yard or a header off the nearest curb. There’s something about sending your not-quite-pubescent kids off into the night, hopped up on sugar and costume-induced adrenaline, that makes the adult in you think twice about letting them go it alone.
But oh, the bounty! Our plastic pumpkins (or pillowcases in a crunch) were filled with full-sized candy bars, Pixy Stix the size of baseball bats, and all manner of homemade treats. Popcorn balls wrapped in cling film, caramel apples stuck with tongue depressors, and the occasional banana or orange straight from someone’s fruit bowl. No one questioned it. We just added it to the haul and moved on.
In the spirit of all things Halloween, October’s issue embraces the weird, wonderful, and wicked side of collecting. From vampire-slaying kits and witch bottles to sideshow relics and terrifying toys, we’re diving deep into the curiosities that capture the imagination—and maybe even raise a few goosebumps.
Whether you’re in it for the history, mystery, or just love things that go bump in the night, we hope this issue brings you a few delightful chills. After all, who says Halloween has to end on October 31?
Keep it Creepy, Y'all.
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