Halloween always brings back a legendary memory in our household. It would never had happened if it wasn’t for the fact that Macho Guy always had all the fun on Halloween. Every year, he was the one who took the kids around the neighborhood trick or treating. Meanwhile, I stayed home to dole out the candy. ::yawn::

That changed the first year MG and Firstborn took three-year-old Little Brother out trick or treating with them. An old white pillow case with eyeholes cut out transformed Little Brother into a mini-ghost, and off they went.

As soon as they left, I put my secret plan into action. I was going to have some Halloween fun of my own for once. I scampered back to my bedroom and dressed all in black. I dusted my face with powder, smeared dark eyeshadow beneath my eyes, and slathered on bright red lipstick that ghoulishly trailed from the edges of my lips down to my chin. The final touch was the fake vampire fangs I popped into my mouth. I found a length of chain in the basement that I could rattle, and lighted a candle to hold under my chin when I went to the door.

I looked darned scary if I do say so myself, but I decided to do a milk run to test the effect.

I sneaked across the backyard to my neighbor Nancy’s side door. I knocked. She turned. I hissed. She screamed. I laughed. She laughed too when she realized it was me, and then she gave me a candy apple in appreciation for my willingness to make a complete ass of myself.

I rushed home in time to great my first trick or treater, a cute little girl with blonde ringlets who was dressed as a princess. I rattled the chain, opened the door, and hissed. The little princess took one look at me and froze. Her mom, who was around front and couldn’t see the doorway–or me–kept urging her to say ‘trick or treat.’ Princess didn’t budge and never took her eyes off me. I’m sure she never even blinked. I gave her points for not crying. Finally, her mom peered around the front wall, saw me, sighed, and in a world-weary voice said, “Oh.” Translation: “Thanks a lot. My little girl will probably have nightmares tonight.” I held out my bucket of candy. Princess wouldn’t take the bait. She continued to imitate a statue. Her mom kept saying, “Take the candy, sweetheart.” Finally, Princess lurched at the bucket, grabbed a handful of candy and ran like the hounds of hell were after her. She may still be running for all I know.

Okay, I felt badly for scaring the little princess. She wasn’t from our neighborhood and so didn’t recognize me. As hard as I tried not to laugh, I couldn’t help it. The expression on the princess’s face was priceless.

The trick or treaters from our neighborhood all recognized me and laughed themselves silly. As a result, I solidified my status as the crazy mom in the neighborhood. They all thought I was crazy to begin with, me being a writer and all, but that Halloween stunt put me over the top.

MG, Firstborn, and Little Brother returned home with their loot at last. I couldn’t wait to see their reaction when I greeted them at the door with fangs bared, hissing, and chain rattling. MG and Firstborn cracked up, but Little Brother burst into tears, and ran terrified past me into the living room. I spit out the fangs and trotted after him saying, “Don’t be afraid. It’s me, Mommy. See?” He didn’t stop crying or running, and his big brother didn’t stop rolling on the floor laughing. I followed on our little guy’s heels into the kitchen and rubbed off the red lipstick with a paper towel. “Look, sweetie. It’s Mommy. Don’t cry.” He kept going like the Energizer Bunny and finally MG caught up with him. Little Brother, still frightened, hid from me behind MG’s legs and kept crying. I felt like dirt. Actually, I felt like the grime beneath the dirt. I rubbed off the shadow and pleaded with him. “Look, it’s me, Mommy. I dressed up for Halloween like you.” He didn’t buy it.

MG managed to calm our baby boy down eventually, but the kid eyed me suspiciously for days as though he wasn’t completely convinced. My mom, the vampire. At that point, I knew exactly how the little princess’s mom felt, and what griped me is that I brought it on myself.

The following year I went back to handing out the candy without complaint. Trick or Treat, anyone?

Welcome – From October 27th to October 31st, I’ll be participating in Nancy Gideon’s Haunted Open House Giveaway Blog Hop as part of Nancy’s 4th Annual Haunted Open House! Stop by Nancy’s Haunted Open House to read Halloween posts by some awesome authors, wander into the spooky Game Room or sample some of the spooktacular Halloween drinks, appetizers and desserts. And don’t forget to check out Nancy’s Tricks-or-Treats!

Do you believe in ghosts? Apparitions? Visits from the dear departed?

I do.

Naturally, it helps to believe if you have encountered one of the aforementioned spirits during your lifetime.

I have.

It also helps if you’re a child who hadn’t yet closed her mind off to the paranormal.

I hadn’t yet–as it turned out.

I was the first grandchild of my maternal grandparents. They doted on me. Even after my sister and a female first cousin were born, I remained my grandparents’ favorite–my grandfather’s especially.

I loved it. What child wouldn’t?

In my tenth year, when my grandfather was fifty-five, he underwent a hernia operation. It wasn’t a hernia that his surgeon found. It was colon cancer.

The two younger girls and I weren’t told, of course, so we thought nothing of it when everyone encouraged our grandfather to take a trip to Sicily to see his family. When he returned with gifts for everyone–I requested a huge provolone cheese of my own–he seemed perfectly fine, tanned and healthy.

Soon afterward, he went into the hospital again, but this time he didn’t come out alive. It was a sad, solemn day when we received the news of his passing. None of us could stop crying all that day. The worst of it was that the girls and I were too young to visit him in the hospital. I never got the chance to say good-bye to Grandpa.

Late that night, something roused me from a sound sleep and I sat bolt upright in my bed. At first, I thought my sister woke me, but she was still asleep in the other bed in the room that we shared.

I saw that the door to our room was open, and in the open doorway an electric blue mist began to coaslesce. My grandfather–my dead grandfather–appeared in the midst of the mist, only he didn’t appear the same way my grandfather did in life. Instead, he looked like a film negative in that mist. The features that should have been light were dark and those that should have been dark were light. He began to walk toward the foot of my bed.

How could he be in my room? He was dead. Fear unlike no other gripped me. He was a ghost! I tried to cry out for my parents, for help, but my vocal chords were unable to cooperate. I did the only thing my ten-year-old self could think of to do. I pulled the covers over my head and cried, trembling with fear, praying that it was all a bad dream and that my grandfather’s ghost would be gone when I poked my head out of the covers again.

When I finally gathered my courage to peek out, he had vanished and so had the blue mist. I lay awake the rest of the night with a night light on. I never told my parents or anyone else what I had seen. I was sure they wouldn’t believe me, but if they believed that I believed what I saw, well, I didn’t want to spend the next several years on a psychiatrist’s couch.

As I grew in age, and I hope in wisdom, I began to suspect that my grandfather did not appear to me that night long ago in order to terrorize me or to take me with him to the other side. I’m certain he came to me that night to say goodbye. After all, I was his favorite.

It bothers me to this day that I was so frightened that we didn’t get to say our good-byes, although I’m sure my grandfather understood a ten-year-old’s fear of the unknown. I believe that I’ll have the chance to make it up to him someday when it’s my turn to cross over to the other side. I know deep down that I will not be afraid when my grandfather comes to take me home.

My Treat

Let’s see what everyone else is handing out!

It sure feels like Fall outside Time to start thinking about raking leaves, color tours and Halloween. To get us in the mood, I’m sharing Melt-in-Your-Mouth Pumpkin Cookies and one of my short stories – Enjoy:

Instructions: