In Preparation for Ghosts and Goblins

Delinquent blogger that I am, I am FINALLY getting around to the tag from crse. But I think that Thanksgiving was a pretty good excuse for my tardiness.

1. What's the scariest movie you've ever seen?
In high school, we used to pile into someone's family room (about 15 of us), and watch 2 horror movies every Saturday night. The scariest was the least gory, but the most supernatural, with lots of symbolism and creepy stuff. It was ever-so-lamely called The House Beside the Cemetary. Watching part of The Exorcist with my babysitter when I was nine was a bad idea (finally saw it all, and yep, it's scary, but not as bad as I remembered). Absolutely have not seen all of The Shining, because I saw the preview at the drive-in when I was little (I think I was supposed to be asleep?) of the elevator doors opening with blood gushing out in a torrent. But renting The Ring with Hubby, who then went to bed, and deciding to watch the rest by myself, was a truly bad choice. I was very involved in trying to figure it out, and there was lots of psychological-y stuff which made it interesting. And then the was the "ahhh" moment, which movies like The Sixth Sense have that explains everything, and gives some closure to the creepiness. Except this movie kept going. And there was no closure. WHAT was I thinking???!!! I had to watch an hour of Sex and the City before I could go to bed.

2. What was your favourite Halloween Costume from childhood?
Scarlett O'Hara - I made a hoop out of coathangers, and my mother took a full, fifties-style skirt and sewed three layers of crepe-paper streamers to the bottom to give length and fullness. Also, all the fairy-princess and angel and little red riding hood costumes my mom made for me.
Bonus: Favourite as an adult was in second year university when Hubby and I went as a vampire and a vampire victim (I wore a white cotton nightgown, sheer white makeup and lots of dark eye makeup, and fang marks, complete with blood trickle). Or, in third year when I went as a harem girl with bared midriff, harem pants, and a veil, so no one really knew who I was. Those were the days!

3. If you had an unlimited budget, what would your Fantasy Costume be for this Halloween?
Hmm, part of the budget would be for the personal training and possible liposuction required for these costumes, but one of the cinched-in waist, deep-neckline, cleavage-y dresses such as in the movie Amadeus. Or a real Scarlett O'Hara costume (the apple green dress she wears to the barbeque at Twelve Oaks).

4. When was the last time you went Trick Or Treating?
Well not counting taking the kids, seventh grade (just like crse, so I'm leaving her answer)

5. What's your favorite Halloween Candy?
Tootsie Rolls (only get them at Hallowe'en). And pretty much anything chocolate.

6. Tell us about a scary nightmare you had.
Being chased by someone trying to hurt me, and having to hide, and there's always lots of stairs. And a couple of years ago, I had a repetitive dream for over a month (a couple times a week) in which PoD was killed, and it was awful - I saw it over and over, and couldn't do anything to stop it. We weren't in touch at the time, so I asked Gerhard if PoD was back from Bosnia, but he hadn't heard anything. So I finally asked Gerhard for the contact (e-mail) info. A few days before I got up the nerve to send one, Gerhard called to say he'd heard from PoD, and he was physically fine, but was splitting with his wife. The break-up happened around the time of the dreams. Not the first time that a repetitive dream has meant something for me.

7. What is your Supernatural Fear?
I don't dwell on it. Because if I think about it, and have to figure out what bothers me the most, I will not sleep well at night.

8. What is your Creepy-Crawlie Fear?
Cockroaches. Centipedes/millipedes. And earwigs.

9. Tell us about a time when you saw a ghost, or heard something go Bump in the night.
Like crse, my only ghostly experience was in a dream. And my friend, who dies of AIDS when I was on my honeymoon, came to me in a dream to say he was all right, and that he just wanted to say goodbye.

10. Would you ever stay in a real Haunted House overnight?
NOT ALONE. And NOT with people who like to say jump out and say "Boo" just for fun (for them!). Actually, I'm thinking "haunted" more like Harry Potter's poltergeist, Peeves, than Amityville.

11. Are you a traditionalist (just a face) Jack O'Lantern Carver, or do you get really creative with your pumpkins?
I get the patterns and do 3 or 4 pumpkins. I like the really complicated ones, with a raven and the word "Nevermore", or a black cat balancing on a tree limb. And I LOVE scooping and scraping, the feel and smell of pumpkin. And roasted pumpkin seeds.

12. How much do you decorate your home for Halloween?
Mostly outside - pumpkins, scarecrows (3), sometime hay bales. That's before. On the night, pumpkin lights, a haunted house light, spiderwebs, lanterns, and I only have candles on.

13. What do you want on your Tombstone?
Lots of clinging, overgrown ivy. But I won't be buried under it, 'cause I'm getting cremated and scattered at Treefort at Circle R (the camp I went to from age 8-16).

Tags. Hmmm, if you're reading and playing . . . "you're it!!!"