Kids.. “Don’t take candy from strangers or roam around alone at night!!” many teachers and parents would say. Well… except for Halloween. Culture clash, I think my parents were one of the few who actually followed those “rules” until age 16, after years of begging to go Trick-or-Treating before I get too old and cannot pass as an 8 year old in costume. I remember as a kid we would hide in our house from the little knockers that arrived at our door. I also remember as an adult a few years ago, when I was faced by a scary unexpected encounter WITHOUT a costume…
Halloween like it is in the U.S. did not exist in the Asian country where my parents came from. They didn’t know what this tradition of dressing up in scary costume, making noise, scaring people, and knocking on people’s door for candy was about, until they came to the United States. In their country, there is a holiday similar to Halloween to honor of those who passed away (and their spirits if they believe in that), but nothing like it is here with the costumes. It wasn’t until more recent that their country started integrating U.S. holidays and commercializing on holiday products such as for Valentine’s Day, which never existed there.
Growing up, I didn’t know what Halloween was until either my classmates or siblings explained to me. I didn’t understand what this “strange” ritual of raiding the streets in scary costumes to get candy was all about. I thought we weren’t supposed to take candy from strangers in case they poisoned it like the wicked witch in Snow White. When kids knocked on the house door we would either be really quiet or turn off the house lights so that the kids would go away. I would wonder. What do they want? Our lights are off.. why are they knocking on our door? We don’t have candy! I don’t recall eating too much candy as a kid, nor could we afford to give away mass amounts of candy.
On my sweet 16 Halloween experience I was a kitty in fuzzy over alls and fuzzy and my best friend drew on my face, the nose and whiskers. We roamed around as if I was the kid, and my best friend (french maid) and her bro (some fabric masked goblin, I can’t recall exactly what), was the older kids taking me on this adventure. We got tricks, and we got treats. Some houses we thought were abandoned or haunted, we didn’t even try. It was strange, spooky at night, and exciting at the same time. A little kid, about my size, was pleasantly surprised and complimented me on my kitty costume. We ended up with a big pillow sized bag of candy galore, and when I came home with it my mom made sure that I didn’t devour the whole thing and insisted I get rid of most of it or give away so that I don’t rot my teeth. We also kept in mind what our teachers told us, to make sure the candies are sealed/wrapped, untampered, and tossed out the suspicious ones.
Generally the street of my hometown on a normal day is quiet, not too many people walking around, and not many children seen. But each year, when Halloween arrives, the street and surrounding streets are flooded with candy-hungry children in costumes. You have to drive about 1mph to avoid road kill.
Amongst the crowds and mayhem, it’s seems ritual to see suspicious activities. One Halloween night I was driving home from work (which I dressed up for), pulled into the driveway and sat there talking on the phone, until I noticed a figure on my peripheral vision, standing to my left a few feet away on my neighbor’s driveway. I looked to my left and noticed a middle-aged man WITHOUT a child plus NOT dressed up, staring and grinning at me while I still was sitting in my car, which I proceeded to check to make sure it’s lock. I sat there frozen, not knowing what to do, but ready to dial emergency or drive off like no tomorrow.
He eventually turned around and walked away zombie like, into the streets towards all the children running about, as if he was thrilled at the scene and even chuckled out loud like a menace. I quickly unlocked my car door, ran inside the house, and locked the door in horror, wondering if he would try to enter. I still heard his laughter and wondered if I told this man my real age, and that I’m not a preteen, that it would be enough to spook him away, but luckily I didn’t have to communicate with him.
So those were some of my Halloween experiences I had. I am still fairly new to the scene, since it was only a few times I have dressed up. I never bought a full costume, and usually come up with something last minute, entirely random and often bizarre that causes confusion. Last year I was “Blue”.. the color. I was tempted but held back on going around and singing that dance hit from the 90s. “I’m blue daba dee dab daii..”
Anyways, Happy Halloween! Keep warm and stay safe. Still power outage. I will have to write this crazy experience, which feels like a zombie apocalypse.. in another post.
