Halloween

Halloween has always been one of my favorite times of the year. Not only is it the begining of autumn, which is maybe the only time I enjoy rain on the roof and cold weather before I get utterly tired of it, but as a holiday it captures so many of the things I love: fantasy, stories, fairy tales, costuming, gothic aesthetics, the macabre, apple cider, pumpkin spice lattes, candy corn… the list goes on!

This year especially, my excitement for all things Halloween is upped by a new expansion of World of Warcraft coming out, the Nightwish concert, and most significantly, discovering Once Upon a Time. That show is crack for a fantasy addict! Not only does it combine and reinterpret a cast of fairytale characters (which I love), it purports that a multiverse of fantasy worlds exists (reminiscent of His Dark Materials), including Wonderland, a fairytale/folklore world, Neverland and a Gothic/Victorian/horror world. Additionally, the setting and costumes resemble a wonderfully anachronistic world that reminds me quite a bit of a Renaissance/fantasy faire, giving me an excuse to reinvent aspects of faire garb without feeling bad for failing at historical accuracy. Needless to say, I was particularly looking forward to dressing up and celebrating this year. 

Fittingly, it hasn’t even been the 31st and I’m already having a fantastic Halloween (season) including a wine and cheese party last weekend and a house party on Friday. I spent last three days at my first convention, dressed in a Red Riding Hood/Ruby costume partially pulled from my own Ren Faire costume. Due to a serious twist of luck I already had most of her costume already, including a white chemise, green bodice and burgundy peasant skirt. All I added was a matching burgundy red cloak and a curling iron to the hair. I was quite pleased with the results. Also, for an incurable costume lover such as myself, there is something absolutely amazing and reality-escaping about waking up in a hotel room, getting dressed in fantasy garb and walking around the Hilton in costume for an entire day :)

Favorite moments:

-“Is it bad that seeing a unicorn head pendant reminds me of Robot Unicorn Attack?”

“Nope. Actually, that just made my day.”

-A little girl asking her mother (who was probably not with the convention) if I was Little Red Riding Hood

-Discovering that our hotel floor provided free breakfast, afternoon snacks and cookies

-Walking by a nuclear mutant section of the haunted house and cracking a Green Party joke.

Overall, it was a great experience, although I think I’ll try to find more heavily fantasy-themed conventions in the future! It’s rare that I take this much time to celebrate a holiday at all, but Halloween is special. It’s one of the few holidays that still kindle that childlike sense of excitement and festivity and simply for that, it’s worth taking the time to enjoy the season and shamelessly indulge in my love of fantasy and the macabre.