Here, There be a Writer: Halloween in School and Beyond

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Halloween in School and Beyond

There are a lot of things about Halloween that make it a fun time of year. Most of it stems from Halloween traditions that I took part in in school. so, Dear Readers, let's take a trip down the Halloween lane...

I remember the joys of getting lots of candy that I cold horde over like a mini chocolate dragon. Or watching the spooky movies, of course back then the spookiest thing I watched was Halloween, which isn't that scary or Charlie Brown. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy watching it every Halloween. There were the school Halloween parties and parade that made school a little less boring and a lot cooler when you could dress as Starlite (from Rainbow Brite) and eat cupcakes and candy all day, and there was no homework, usually.

I grew up in the era of the plastic costume. An idea that someone thought was brilliant and cheap with a plastic suit or dress (depending on the costume) and a plastic mask that was often hard to see through and VERY hot to wear for long periods. I don't have any pictures that survives of the costumes I wore in the time period, but here are a few that I scrounged from the internet.

I do remember wearing the She-Ra one, and I had the Starlite one year, and even needed patching in the arse end due to the fact that if you sat down too roughly, well, you ran the risk of blowing out your arse end.

She-Ra Princess of Plastic from

There was also the free trick or treat bags the were given out by the schools a few days before Halloween. I remember that these bags usually had a few goodies tuck inside of the bag, like coupons for a free small French Fries or ice-cream cone from the local McDonald's, some reflective tape, maybe some stickers. Often the bags come from restaurant chains or local government.

Halloween in school also meant that you had to watch the safety videos, and there were two that circulated throughout the schools. The first one is the one I am most familiar with is this one. The best part is the riff that Horriffic Productions put out a few years ago, and they have become a staple of my yearly Halloween traditions. Those riff can be purchased at Rifftrax. They also riff various horror and spooky movies from Tremors to IT and Children of the Corn, all of which are worthy recipients to the riffing. Check them out!