Halloween Tree

Today I put up my Halloween tree, a nice change of pace from cleaning up hurricane debris. Yesterday at my favorite store, the Other Side Vintage in Tallahassee, I bought a set of tiny painted-clay ghouls to add to my collection of ornaments—so I was pretty excited to get my tree up and admire my new additions. I love Halloween!

When I was a kid, I was crazy about ghosts and witches and would spend lots of time drawing them and imagining their adventures. I envied their freedom, I think. They didn’t have to go to school or work in boring offices or try to conform in any way to the wearying expectations of human society. No, they spent their time flying and cavorting, hanging out with owls and cats, staying up all night. As I drew, I’d dream about what it might be like to be able to walk through walls or take off on a broomstick.

As I put up my tree today, I thought about how cool Halloween is—because it’s the one holiday when we celebrate the weird and the strange, the misfit, the rebel, the freak. Oh, and I also watched a great new show on Netflix, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a reimagining of the old Sabrina the Teenage Witch series. Check it out. I promise you won’t be disappointed. It’s got everything you could wish for at this time of year—moonlit forests, candlelit Victorian houses, foggy pumpkin patches, magic, romance, scares, poignancy, humor, and fun. I highly recommend it!