It would be argument for a week, laughter for a month, and a good jest forever. -King Henry IV. Part I. Act

We’re having a little Halloween celebration at work today—I am answering calls dressed as a Renaissance queen [cause in my mind that’s how I see myself].

My brothers and I LOVED Halloween as kids. I think we looked forward to it as much as Christmas. We planned our costumes for weeks, nothing simple for us. Not only did the look have to be just right, but the character as well [is it any wonder that 2 of us are involved in theatre in some capacity].

And we didn’t go for the usual ghosts and goblins either…..

If we did opt for a more conventional costume choice, our ghosts were ultra ghoulish, our goblins were uniquely “gobliny,” our bums were uber-detailed in make-up and body language and our witches were more on the order of Macbeth’s Weird sisters.

Our get-ups went more towards the esoteric…..

I remember one year we were a trio of gals that were precursors of Mike Myers’ “Coffee Talk” character—complete with appropriate accents. We did a 10 minute act at each house we visited. [This was in the days parents could let their kids go all over their particular suburban enclave alone and not worry] People were giving us extra candy for our entertaining them.


Our crowning achievement was the year we went as two side chairs and a stereo. We got a box that was about 4 ft. long by 3 ft. high and about 18 inches deep and decorated it to look like a stereo cabinet [complete with knobs and speaker cloth]. Then we glued a small ashtray [it was the 60s people!] and lamp onto the top. Voila—stereo!


Next we got two old slipcovers of our grandmother’s and cut small eye holes in them. We put coat hangers along the tops of them to simulate the chair back. My younger brother and I wore these and our older brother manned the “stereo.” We would ring the doorbell, and then R and I would crouch down and put our arms out to create the chairs. B would hunker down inside the box. The people would open their front doors to this odd tableau. We would then go inside the house and recreate our little vignette—never saying a word. Neighbors went nuts trying to figure out who it was.


Needless to say, I carried on the tradition with my own too. My husband was into Halloween big time as well, but I was the one who invented the kid’s costumes. I spent many hours at my sewing machine…..

Enjoy your candy corn everyone.