Getting Into the Spirit of Hallowe’en Early With Short Stories & Poetry

I was walking through a local store today and passed Halloween decorations that had been there since mid-August. While I personally feel like the stores are “jumping the gun” a little bit in regard to the holiday decor and treats, I can’t say that I’m complaining too much. Halloween (or “Hallowe’en” or “All Hallows Even”) has always been one of my favorite holidays. Not because of the candy; I got over that excitement as a child when I figured out I could buy my own at any time of the year by going out and getting a job. No, it’s because Halloween is the only time of the year when non-cosplayers can dress up and people won’t think they’re completely crazy.

No matter how old I get, I enjoy being someone new for a day. Multiple years as a child, I took up the cape of the Dark Knight and played Batman for a day. There was one year I dressed up as the Phantom of the Opera, and — possibly most interesting — I opted to don the Austin Powers wardrobe another year.

Looking back, I had an unhealthy obsession with movie characters.

Jack-o-lanterns are another great reason to love the holiday. There is nothing like the smell of candle-heated pumpkins permeating the air on Halloween night. It also serves as a sign that Thanksgiving (and pumpkin pie!) is just around the corner.

It wasn’t long before my love for the holiday poured into my work, first in some unpublished works, and then later in a structured vampire poem Capes of Terror and a free verse poem A Demon’s War. Later on, the holiday also inspired a short story Turnacle. All of these works are available to read on this site, but were originally published in my first collection Seeds of the Future. Books are also forthcoming, along with more poems and short stories.

Halloween allows that rare opportunity to be an inspirational figure for a day. It provides a kind of liberation and fun that you don’t find in most other holidays. More importantly, Halloween provides those memorable sights, smells, and sounds that you remember from early childhood, memories that are brought back to the forefront every year. Memories that can help inspire creativity. For those reasons and more, Halloween will always continue to be among my most beloved and cherished holidays.