Happy Halloween to you!
This is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I love the sense of community, the costumes, and the magic in the air. Most of all, I love that everyone gives themselves permission to become storytellers. Even people I know who claim to not be creative will light up when asked about their costume plans. It’s a day filled with magic, and we can all take pride in creating it together.
Because Halloween is as much about cultivating vibes as it is about nailing a costume, I thought I’d offer some ideas to draw more Halloween magic into your day.
To start, I should share that I try to read something by Edgar Allan Poe every Halloween. This year, I’m returning to his gothic short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Stephen King once wisely noted, “Monsters are real, and ghosts are real, too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.” In “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the narrator describes his spiral into becoming such a monster. Though the narrator professes to get away with the perfect murder, his victim’s presence continues to haunt him. In the end, the narrator cannot escape the monster he has become. The Poe Museum offers an audio version of this story, and I’d highly recommend checking it out.
But not every Halloween story is scary, right? “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” is a Halloween tradition for many families. Because time flies when we’re having fun, it’s hard to believe that this classic turned sixty this year! First released on October 27, 1966, this animated special continues to delight, and this essay delves into why we return to it year after year.
Because its soundtrack is as familiar as the story itself, fans will be thrilled to learn that pianist and composer David Benoit has followed in the footsteps of Peanuts composer Vince Guaraldi with a fresh offering. Benoit recently released “Pumpkin Melody,” an updated version of the music we’ve come to adore. If you give it a listen, I’d love to hear what you think!
Music is one portal into a Halloween frame of mind, but the costume itself offers the ultimate escape into a new identity for an evening. Makeup will get us halfway there. In this PAPER Magazine spread, makeup artists create dazzling Halloween looks, along with providing the inspiration behind their ideas. These talented creatives show the precision behind their artistry, and perhaps their medium is even more special because it cannot last for long. Come November 1st, we can understand exactly how they feel.
But where do these Halloween looks come from? Many modern Halloween costumes are rooted in the popular culture and fairytales. However, some classic costumes have more sinister origins. The attributes of the witch archetype each have a more interesting and layered history than one might expect. Per usual, The Conversation delves deeper into the witch costume. After reading it, I don’t think you’ll be able to look at witches (no matter how adorable) the same way this Halloween.
Witches are tricky to get right in fiction. These characters present with a loaded history, with heartbreaking historical persecution overlapping cloying modern costumes. Often, their stories approach terrain that’s too terrifying for this reader. However, in The Forgotten Witch, Jessica Dodge strikes the perfect balance in telling a witch origin story with dark magic, without the horror or gory aspects of some modern witchy tales. If you’re hoping to conjure a mystical, whimsical moment this Halloween, this is the perfect book to help you make that happen. And in a recent Instagram reel, I endeavor to show you how.
These are only a few of my vibey Halloween ideas. Please reach out if you’d like to hear more! And if you’ve already conjured your own magic this Halloween, please connect and tell me everything! Because I definitely want to get to know you better.
