As most regular followers on this forum know, I’m a huge fan of this time of year, especially Halloween. I’m covered in Halloween/Occult tattoos, and for the 15 years we had our house, I would put on a large “haunt” in our front yard every year.
Every year, our front yard and sometimes the garage would be turned into a cemetery/pumpkin patch/funeral home, and crematorium. There were always between 30-40 carved Jack O Lanterns, candlelit lanterns, headstones, inverted crosses, a flaming Jack O Lantern, fog machines, and one year, a crucified scarecrow.
My wife and kids knew it was important to me and were willing to help, it’s really a lot of work.
We were getting 100’s of kids by the time I couldn’t do it anymore because we had to sell our home in 2015.
All of my Halloween “stuff” has been in storage ever since. Where we live now, there are literally no trick o treaters on our block. The last time I tried to give out candy, we got 3 kids, that was 4 years ago.
2 years ago, Halloween was on a Saturday with a full moon, a rare occurrence. I asked my son if I could put on a small “haunt” in his front yard since that would be very cool, and he said “no problem”. Then the small community they live in basically canceled Halloween because of the fucking covid bug, so it didn’t happen. I was fucking pissed, but the rest of my family didn’t really care one way or the other.
Last year I got to put on my first haunt since 2014 at their place. I practically emptied out our storage space hauling my stuff up there(a 100 mile round trip) in my truck and Becky’s mini van. We set everything up that day, and I waited to see what the response would be in their very conservative, religious community.
It was mostly positive, and we had quite a few kids and their parents come by, and I enjoyed seeing their responses. Then we had to haul everything back here in the rain and put it back in our storage unit. My wife Becky is always willing to help me, something I really appreciate. She’s not a fan of that night, or what it’s supposed to represent, especially to me.
It’s the one night a year I had to let everyone know what my opinion on religion was, and as long as it was my house, I could do whatever I wanted too.
My goal on Halloween night wasn’t to “entertain” the kids and their parents, I wanted to genuinely scare or disturb them and remind them that death isn’t something to mock or make fun of, because every single one of us is going to die.
I didn’t use any blood or gore, there weren’t any chainsaws or people in hockey masks chasing anyone, that’s way too easy. I used the dark, along with candlelight, jack o lanterns, fog machines, and natural firelight. It’s a lot more fun to watch people freak themselves out when they’re not really sure about what they just saw. We always had kids that were too afraid to even make it to the front door they were so scared. My wife would have to reassure them that it wasn’t real, and when they did come to the door, she would give them 2 pieces of candy instead of just one. The one rule I had was don’t traumatize the little ones.
I used to just lean on my truck in front of the house and watch peoples reactions, I fucking loved it.
Anyway, back to why I’m writing this in the first place. Now that I don’t have my own place to haunt anymore, I’ve gotten the impression from my wife and kids that they thought my favorite night of the year wouldn’t have to inconvenience them again. They would always help, but I could tell that they didn’t care one way or another how it went or how much fun I’d had, they were just glad that it was over.
This year Halloween is on a Monday night, which sucks, but I took a few things up to our son’s home on wednesday afternoon to get a head start on things. I set up my “fencing” to keep kids from running through the cemetery and trashing it.
I picked up our son’s younger daughter Zoey from school and took her for ice cream, then we went to their place. I had just finished setting up the last of my barriers(tree stakes w/chain between) when our daughter-in-law came home.
The only way I can explain her reaction would be complete indifference, “oh, that’s right, you’re doing it again this year”. No mention of what I had just done, or questions about what else I was going to do, or when I was going to do it. She just walked into the house and acted as though I wasn’t supposed to be there, they had to get ready for their wednesday night church bullshit, “hurry up girls, we need to get ready to leave”.
Our grandson Grayson’s birthday is October 30th, missed Halloween by one day. When our daughter was pregnant, I used to say how cool it would be if he was born on the 31st, and she said she’d clamp her legs closed to make sure that didn’t happen. When I’ve brought up the idea of giving him a halloween themed birthday party in the future, her response has always been “it’s not going to happen”. Really, even when he’s a little older(he turns 6 this year)?
My wife and our kids and their spouses all couldn’t care less about Halloween, they never have, but they’ve tolerated it in the past, especially when it was at our place. Now, they want nothing to do with it and would be happy if they didn’t have to put up with me haunting someone’s house ever again.
From 2015 to 2020 I wasn’t able to do anything for Halloween except put a jack o lantern that I’d carved on my mom’s grave for her birthday(the 28th).
I’ve decided that I’m not going to do anything for halloween this year, or maybe even ever again. If no one else in my family gives a damn about Samhain, then it’s not worth the time or the effort just to do it for myself. Their lack of enthusiasm and indifference has pretty much destroyed any enjoyment I would have.
Fuck it.
(sorry this is so long)
Well. Look man. It’s guys like you who keep the spirit of Halloween alive. You know it. I know it. Everyone on this forum knows it. Haunts like yours leave indelible memories on kids. I can easily recall every one in twenty house who would put up a big effort for Halloween. That’s 30 some years ago in a town of 50,000 people. And I STILL remember those displays. Maybe ONE memory of a walk through haunted house. One guy in my entire childhood had the spirit and effort to do the whole shebang.
So, whether you decide to hang up your skates or have a change of heart, remember that you’ve nurtured the heart and imagination of hundreds of kids. Hopefully as a much needed vacation from the religious brain washing they get in Sunday school. What the fuck do kids need Religion for? To scare them? They need one night a year, in the frigid October wind, to be a monster and run free throwing eggs and getting candy!
Favourite scene in a film for me? “Meet Me in St. Louis” - kids throwing a bonfire in the middle of a street on Halloween night! That’s what it’s about!
And it’s not the houses that simply give out candy who keep the spirit alive. It’s the adults who dress up and give out candy, the people who decorate their yards and houses, and guys like you who go 120 %.
Thank you for keeping the spirit of halloween alive. If you’re religious counter parts want none of it, let them wait until Christmas. You should do something for your self. Dress up like Death and take the kids out trick or treating, maybe.
You know what else kicks ass about this time of year, Macabre?
Pacific Northwest brother! A little late, but the season is “in bloom”!!! Found this one on the night shift, just now.
Oh. You don’t like mushrooms. I forgot. Well. Fucking. Don’t knock it till you try it.
Amanita Muscaria is a little poisonous - FYI. But if this is in season, then boletes are too! Let the forage begin!!!
I take so many drugs everyday, I don’t need to add another one.
Does that particular shroom make you see weird shit? 
Amanita muscaria, or flycap, are hallucinogenic, I’m not sure about each individual species. I know scarlet (red) flycaps are ok, not sure about the yellowish one pictured though. Never tried either of those, have friends who did though, said it’s quite the ride. Very enjoyable depending upon the company you eat them around.
Indeed. A. Muscaria sometimes have yellowish caps. There is another species which is completely yellow and it’s basically poisonous.
Why would anyone want to take that?
I would never be that dumb … again. When I was young I did stupid stuff. But I learned.
If I chose to alter my brain these days, I use a known and proven product. For example with pot, I know the precise THC amount and other chemical levels. I know the positive and negative effects, and exactly how it will affect me. I can even research the product in detail.
With shrooms, it’s a crap shoot. Sometimes you get high, sometimes you barely get a buzz, sometimes you die.
I know what you mean. I have died three times already. I have been blue, yellow, and pink. Makes me want to stop eating the damn things. And I didn’t understand that joke about liking country. China is a big country. What’s funny about that?
In keeping with the spirit of the thread title… Who cares?
Amanita Muscaria? Really?
A major way to prepare it as a hallucinogen is to force-feed a reindeer these mushrooms, then retain the reindeer’s urine and drink it.
If you’re that desperate to trip, then why not buy a Psilocybe cubensis kit and grow the 'shrooms on a sterile medium? You could have them 365 days a year, they don’t require a grow light . . . just a warm, dark place.
Amanitas can be dangerous, as they can cause liver, kidney, and brain damage. They can also cause blindness and destruction of the bone marrow.
Use mushrooms from grow kits instead.
Maybe you’ll even get to see the machine elves if you’re lucky. They are wiser than we are, and have been known to provide useful insights and valuable advice. Below is a picture of a machine elf which manifested after doing psychedelics:
