Book Shelf Seminar: Scary Tales

Halloweeny or a Hallowinner—
Which witch are you?

October 1st used to give me shivers. Halloween was fast approaching and I was the ghoul who was supposed to make it thrilling. As a mom it was my least favorite holiday. As a kid it was my favorite.

My mother created award-winning costumes. I just wanted vampire teeth. Mom hand-beaded my Indian Princess ensemble, and trimmed it with real suede fringe. Long grass from the field was sewn into my Hawaiian skirt and coconut shells attached to a tan leotard. Dangling Gypsy earrings were made from the rims of canning jars, which Mom painted and glittered. My off-the-shoulder white peasant blouse had golden spangles, and the skirt was flounced with a variety of colorful fabrics. Mom was a Hallowinner.

I was a Halloweeny. My costumes were witty and the kids didn't get the joke. Coming up with seven clever costumes was a yearly horror more terrifying that any goblin I might see. One year I made Gabi go as a table. I cut a hole in the middle of a big box, cut the bottom flaps off, and covered it with a tablecloth. Plastic dishes and silverware were glued on. My mortified daughter stood in the middle of the table and carried it waist high, dressed as a vase. Her neck and arms were green and she had flowers on her head. It was avant-gard, daring, and un-cool for a fourth grader. She just wanted vampire teeth.

But I had a few tricks under my pointy hat. Ghost stories. With the lights out, and a few candles burning, I told the one about a couple parked in lover's lane. "As they cuddled, they heard on the radio that a boy and girl were bludgeoned to death by a man with a hook instead of a hand. 'I'm afraid,' the girl whispered to her date. He held her closer. Suddenly there was a scratching sound on the window. Assuming it was a branch, they snuggled up. Scratch. It scared them, but the wind was howling and they felt safe in each other's arms. SCRATCH. This time it was chilling, and they quickly left for home. When the boy went around to open the car door for his girlfriend, hanging from the handle was a bloody hook."

My all time favorite Halloween story starts out, "Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay . . ."

The Gobble-uns'll Git You Ef You Don't Watch Out!

and ends with the chilling verse, "'er the gobble-uns'll git you ef you don't watch out!"


I read these stories to my little grandkids around the campfire this summer and it was perfect for the 4-6-year-old crowd. I wish I had I the old Boy Scout handbook with spook stories built right it. It's sad when a memory surfaces and you can't pin-point where you stashed it. Back in the day we had a Disney cartoon movie featuring the story of Icabod Crane, which we loved to watch as a family. I wish I could find a copy of that.

The perfect finale to an evening of scary tales is a ghostly cake with glowing eyes:

Ghost Cake

Bake a cake in an oblong pan.
When cool, dump out of the pan carefully onto a tray.

Now cut off two pieces to create a rounded ghost shape.
The two extra pieces will become arms.

Use white meringue type frosting from a box to glue the arms on the sides of the cake.
Frost the cake.
Use black licorice for the mouth.

Now the spooky part:
Break an egg, dump out the insides, and place each 1/2 eggshell (open side up) for eyes.
Soak two sugar cubes in lemon extract.
Place sugar cubes in egg shells, and light them with a match.
The eyes will glow.

Serve with some oozing body parts:

Bloody Fingers

Put some red food coloring in 2 cups of water.

Pour the water into a rubber kitchen glove and freeze.
Cut the glove off,
and float the frozen, bloody hand in a punch bowl
filled with apple cider.

Now that I'm an Oma, I love Halloween again. No costumes, no trick-or-treating in freezing temps with miserable toddlers, no sugar tantrums. Grandmas can do whatever we want to do! It's a fun stage to be in. I would love a book of Halloween party ideas, ghost stories for pre-teens, and spook alley suggestions that would make their eyes pop.

I want to take off my Halloweeny costume,
and be a Hallowinner!

Homework: Do any or all or be inspired.

~List 10 ideas for a spook alley, or a Halloween party.

~Tell a ghost story you remember from your youth.

~Suggest a favorite book of scary tales. What age is it appropriate for?

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