Thursday – All Hallowed's Eve
Nov. 1st, 2007 03:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninanevermoreToday on my drive into work, I was thinking about my conversation with the Angel of Death late last night. I paid him a visit after I unplugged my spooky lights and turned off the scary-sounds CD I had playing in a boom-box on my front porch. It was a good Halloween, though it got off to a slow start and I was worried for awhile. My first trick-or-treater didn't show up until almost 8 o'clock, two tween goths who made out like bandits because I thought they'd be my only visitors and I gave them heaping handfuls of candy to get rid of it. After them, others arrived in a steady stream for the next hour, and fear that I might run out and start having to hand out canned goods made me less generous with each progressing goblin.
Finally I had one last thing to take care off; I'd been wanting to ask the Carney a question since I drove by him that morning. At midnight when Halloween was officially over, I made a trip to the Ferris Wheel.
"Why didn't you dress up?" The Carney had a jack-o-lantern sitting next to the gate and a bowl of candy next to his controls, but that was it. His candy bowl was still full; I guess not a lot of people are interested in the sweet things that Death has to offer. Not that I blame them for this.
"Some people dress up as me for Halloween," he pointed out, "Besides, it would be tacky. Can you imagine getting off the ride to meet Death, and he's dressed like a clown?"
"I'd love that, personally," I said, "But I think you'd make a better pirate. Arrgh!"
He shook his head and took a drag on his cigarette. "You know, I've met hundreds of pirates, and not one of them has ever said arrrh to me. Still, people love that stereotype, for some reason."
"You could have dressed up with a cowl and scythe, and been what they expected to see, anyway. That wouldn't be so tacky."
"It wouldn't be tacky, but it'd be stupid. What would be the fun in dressing up as myself?"
"You wouldn't be dressed as yourself, you'd be dressed as people think you are. You're actual self is a carney, so you'd be different dressed like a reaper."
He gave a non-committal grunt.
"I think it would be more fun if you dressed up as the devil, though."
The corners of his eyes crinkled in a smile that he held at bay from the rest of his face. "Would it, now?" he drawled. "You didn't dress up at your job, either, that I can see."
"They don't let us dress up at my company. People in the petrochemical industry get to dress up for work in this town, but it's considered poor taste for those up in the funeral industry to do it. Kind of for the same reason that you don't wear a costume, I guess. Who wants to have a funeral arranged by a zombie or a werewolf? Actually, I did dress up, it's just that nobody could tell."
He looked me up and down. "It's not much of a costume if no one can tell you're wearing one," he pointed out.
"I'm dressed as a witch. It's just not obvious until I put on the hat."
I wore what I wear almost every Halloween when I've worked in offices where I can't dress up –a flowing black skirt and a dark blouse with long, ruffled sleeves. The outfit is perfectly appropriate for a professional environment, but also looks very witchy when I get home to great my trick-or-treaters. Because I had lights, candles, jack-o-lanterns and sound effects, a group of teenagers one year complained when I answered the door wearing jeans and a boring t-shirt. They were expecting something more interesting and spectacular. Since then, I've tried not to spoil the effect of my decorations by not extending them to my wardrobe.
"I've met a few witches," the Carney said drying, "mostly when I see them these days, they're wearing jeans and t-shirts."
"It's Halloween," I told him, "People don't want the reality, they want fantasy. It's all about coming as you aren't, and coming as nothing else really is, either. Next year, why don't you dress up in an expensive suit like a corporate CEO? Smoke a cigar instead of those cheap Dorels. It'll be like my costume; no one but you will even know you're dressed up. It's a subtle, subversive sort of fun."
"I'm the first person people see when I die," he said, "If I dress up as a corporate CEO, smoking a cigarette, they'll think I'm the devil and worry about everything they ever did wrong."
"That's the idea, giving people a little scare and then something sweet to go with it. That's the spirit of Halloween." I glanced over at the bowl on his fencepost. "Can I have some candy, please?"
"Maybe. What are the magic words?"
"Trick or treat!"
He handed me the bowl, and I took a fun-sized bag of candy corns that I dropped into the hollow plastic jack-o-lantern I'd brought with me. They were the only thing inside of it, and the bag made a hissing sound as it slid around as I bid Death good night, and walked away to go home and get some sleep.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * # * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Finally I had one last thing to take care off; I'd been wanting to ask the Carney a question since I drove by him that morning. At midnight when Halloween was officially over, I made a trip to the Ferris Wheel.
"Why didn't you dress up?" The Carney had a jack-o-lantern sitting next to the gate and a bowl of candy next to his controls, but that was it. His candy bowl was still full; I guess not a lot of people are interested in the sweet things that Death has to offer. Not that I blame them for this.
"Some people dress up as me for Halloween," he pointed out, "Besides, it would be tacky. Can you imagine getting off the ride to meet Death, and he's dressed like a clown?"
"I'd love that, personally," I said, "But I think you'd make a better pirate. Arrgh!"
He shook his head and took a drag on his cigarette. "You know, I've met hundreds of pirates, and not one of them has ever said arrrh to me. Still, people love that stereotype, for some reason."
"You could have dressed up with a cowl and scythe, and been what they expected to see, anyway. That wouldn't be so tacky."
"It wouldn't be tacky, but it'd be stupid. What would be the fun in dressing up as myself?"
"You wouldn't be dressed as yourself, you'd be dressed as people think you are. You're actual self is a carney, so you'd be different dressed like a reaper."
He gave a non-committal grunt.
"I think it would be more fun if you dressed up as the devil, though."
The corners of his eyes crinkled in a smile that he held at bay from the rest of his face. "Would it, now?" he drawled. "You didn't dress up at your job, either, that I can see."
"They don't let us dress up at my company. People in the petrochemical industry get to dress up for work in this town, but it's considered poor taste for those up in the funeral industry to do it. Kind of for the same reason that you don't wear a costume, I guess. Who wants to have a funeral arranged by a zombie or a werewolf? Actually, I did dress up, it's just that nobody could tell."
He looked me up and down. "It's not much of a costume if no one can tell you're wearing one," he pointed out.
"I'm dressed as a witch. It's just not obvious until I put on the hat."
I wore what I wear almost every Halloween when I've worked in offices where I can't dress up –a flowing black skirt and a dark blouse with long, ruffled sleeves. The outfit is perfectly appropriate for a professional environment, but also looks very witchy when I get home to great my trick-or-treaters. Because I had lights, candles, jack-o-lanterns and sound effects, a group of teenagers one year complained when I answered the door wearing jeans and a boring t-shirt. They were expecting something more interesting and spectacular. Since then, I've tried not to spoil the effect of my decorations by not extending them to my wardrobe.
"I've met a few witches," the Carney said drying, "mostly when I see them these days, they're wearing jeans and t-shirts."
"It's Halloween," I told him, "People don't want the reality, they want fantasy. It's all about coming as you aren't, and coming as nothing else really is, either. Next year, why don't you dress up in an expensive suit like a corporate CEO? Smoke a cigar instead of those cheap Dorels. It'll be like my costume; no one but you will even know you're dressed up. It's a subtle, subversive sort of fun."
"I'm the first person people see when I die," he said, "If I dress up as a corporate CEO, smoking a cigarette, they'll think I'm the devil and worry about everything they ever did wrong."
"That's the idea, giving people a little scare and then something sweet to go with it. That's the spirit of Halloween." I glanced over at the bowl on his fencepost. "Can I have some candy, please?"
"Maybe. What are the magic words?"
"Trick or treat!"
He handed me the bowl, and I took a fun-sized bag of candy corns that I dropped into the hollow plastic jack-o-lantern I'd brought with me. They were the only thing inside of it, and the bag made a hissing sound as it slid around as I bid Death good night, and walked away to go home and get some sleep.
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Date: 2007-11-01 09:10 pm (UTC)One of the first projects Cliff and I worked on was a Halloween show. One sketch was "Fun Funeral Parlour" because the first 3 letters of funeral spell F-U-N. The catch of this parlour was that we dressed people up according to the next upcoming holiday for a small fee. Thing was, we no longer partook of the Good Friday holiday - the customers started to expect too much.
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