When I first told my family, in August, that I was moving to Boston, my 14-year-old sister looked up at me said, “Well, are you going to be back for Halloween?”
Halloween, not Thanksgiving, not Christmas. Halloween because Halloween is Cleveland, TN’s biggest holiday, with a block party that draws in tens of thousands of people. Cleveland has ghosts, more than one famous ghost for the city (Nina Craigmiles and Tall Betsy, for starters), a “bleeding” mausoleum, several haunted houses. One can find Halloween decorations in yards and on porches popping up as early as the first day of September. Seriously, it’s like some people in town wait all year for Halloween.
My brother and I have had long discussions about why this is so. Maybe it has something to do with the South. Or maybe with poverty– remember those Halloween episodes of Roseanne?
It’s strange, because the presence of the Church of God headquarters in town would seem to dampen any excitement concerning what is considered by some to be Satan’s Day. But when you think about it, these are folks who believe in demons, and use terms like “spiritual warfare” in a pretty literal way.
Whatever the case, I do miss being in Cleveland on Halloween, miss seeing my family’s costumes. Miss the surprises that occur at the block party (like the year I got to see Little Richard perform, and Jenny was there).
Here is a photo of me and my brother last Halloween, in our wigs. Kind of crappy quality because it’s a photo of the pic hanging on my fridge:
Boo!
