We are still zombie walking towards the best night of the year (not that you know it from all the green and red stuff that’s up in the stores already, grumble grumble). I’m starting to feel terribly behind. All of the big props are up, but I still need to dress the Shemps and light the props. It was a rough week.

The big task was closing the pool. Naturally, the day that I pulled everything apart and cleaned it was the day it hit the mid-seventies. By the time I had everything disassembled and ready for storage, I was hot and sweaty and ready for a dip in the pool.

Sadness.

I also got my flu and COVID boosters this week, which knocked me on my butt for a day and a half. Fortunately, this coincided with the days I could stream the entries from this year’s HP Lovecraft Film Festival and Cthulhu Con. I have not been able to make it to Portland, OR to see the festival in person, but I have supported them through their Kickstarters for years. They always have some amazing movies and shorts which I look forward to streaming. This year’s stand outs were the movie Dream Eater and the shorts Your Parasite and You and Eldritch Scouts.

Listening To: How To Make A Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie, a great love letter to 80s horror about a director who aspires to make the greatest horror movie.

Currently Reading: Satan in the Celluloid: 100 Satanic and Occult Horror Movies of the 1970s by PJ Thorndike. It starts with some insightful pieces on the horror genre and then moves on to descriptions of 100 classic (and not so classic) films of the ‘70s.

Current Obsession: Short horror films.

Dragon’s Roost Press News

Not a whole lot of forward looking stuff happening. We have received the proof copy of Arkham Institutions and are going over it with a fine tooth comb. We are still waiting on BackerKit to approve our survey. As soon as it gets the thumbs up, we will send out the Smoke Test to 5% of the backers.

The big item on the horizon is the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers17th Monster Mash for Literacy Bash being held this Saturday (the 26th). If you are in the metro Detroit area, swing by and meet your favorite horror writers. Tickets are $10, there will be music, food, special cocktails, a penny auction, and a cash bar. Click the link for more information.

This Week’s Rambling: No, I Don’t Want to Smell Your Feet

One of the biggest downsides associated with the move to the New House™ is the lack of sidewalks in our area. While Tesla has plenty of yard to get exercise, there is very little room for walkies or foot traffic. This means absolutely no Trick or Treating, despite the fact that I have covered the front lawn with monsters (although I remain hopeful that things might be a little different this year).

We averaged between 200 and 400 kids at our old house, located close enough to 8 Mile that we got costumed goblins from both Ferndale and Detroit. A really good year was one where the police had to come to direct traffic (that happened a couple of times). Over the years, we got to see children grow up, returning year after year in different guises. It also allowed me to witness what I came to call “learned fear.” Below a certain age, most of the kids would look at the ornaments, even the really gory ones, and comment about how cool they were, but still remain focused on the candy at the end of the walkway. At a certain point, however, they realized that they were supposed to be scared of all of the scary stuff and acted accordingly. It always cracked me up to see a four or five year old push past their older sibling (who was cowering at the edge of the lawn) out of the way and make a bee line to the weird guy in the costume and mask (or make-up) with the big cauldron full of chocolate (because the first rule of Trick or Treat is that you never, EVER, hand out something you wouldn’t want to get yourself).

Plenty of people, myself included, have discussed how important Halloween is as a children’s holiday. It gives the young a chance to face their fears and not only overcome them, but to be rewarded for their bravery (nothing like hitting ‘em with a little Operant Conditioning early on). It gives people the chance to, even momentarily, become something or someone else — which I consider to be the first step in the process of sloughing off the expectations of family and society and taking steps towards the creation of the their own individual identities.

Most importantly, it is the day (and night), where people show just how good they can be. Strangers are polite and hand out treats. Some of us go stupid crazy and decorate their houses to delight their eventual visitors. Young family and friends support each other, walking hand in hand past the ghouls and skeletons. They learn the importance of social ritual — you dress up, you invoke the incantation, you get rewarded. In all the years that we handed out treats (roughly two decades), I can count on one hand the number of kids that did not say “thank you,” “Happy Halloween,” or best of all “Your house is really messed up, man.”

At this point I would like to thank the GLAHW for allowing me to participate in the Clawson Trick or Trail last Sunday. I may not get anyone at my own door, but at least I was able to hand out stuff to the huge parade of costumed youngsters.

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