Halloween Post: In Which the Curious Girl is Lost in the Woods
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
I, however, have always loved Halloween, with all its most foul folklore. Perhaps it is because my family was on the conservative side and avoided the holiday, but Halloween has always held a special place in my heart. I think it’s the celebration of fall really and truly arriving – the temperatures are cool, but not cold. The sun’s levels are perfection. However, my love of Halloween also stems from the fact that we recognize this otherworldly spiritual realm and a fear of ghosts becomes not so childish after all, but a real consideration.
The crisp leaves crackle as the Girl steps her booted feet upon the forest shortcut. She is on her way to the yearly All Hallows Eve celebrations, preparing to roast a pumpkin for stew and crunchy seeds for sharing by the bonfire. She is excited for Halloween as much as a small child is for Christmas morning. Halloween is the time for roasting, making cider, and drinking warm whiskey in the company of those you love.
However, as the Girl waltzes further and further into the woods,
she cannot help but hear snaps and cackles. Was it the wind? Or are spirits out
to haunt? Fear is a powerful feeling. The only thing that can truly take us
over, leaving us immobile in the face certain death. The Curious Girl thinks
back to tales of Mothmen, alien abductions, Shadow People, and skinwalkers as the snaps become more frequent. It
is so very easy to become fodder in the woods. For so long she has thought of
the woods as a place for hikes, for picnics, for friends. But she had forgotten
all the tales of people being chopped to bits in the place where only birds and
squirrels can hear you scream.
The Girl remembers fears from her past and begins to cry. She
remember tales of horror as a little girl. Tales of authorities finding sacrificed
animals and homeless people being mutilated. Old buildings being found on rural
farms with remnants of occult activity. She remembers the thing that stabbed
her father and she wants to run, but where does she go? She is lost in the
woods and now whatever is out there will be coming for her. Why did she not
walk through the town? No happy stories begin with shortcuts through the forest. Why would anyone seek solitude in the safest yet most
dangerous place on the planet?
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Happy Halloween. Remember, haunts are active at all times of the year. ;)
P.S. Are you interested in my dark poem about having a plague eat your body from the inside out? Click here.
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