Desiccated leaves, dismembered from branches, rot in the dying light and crunch like brittle bones under my boots. The wind whispers ghostly verses of songs sung long ago. Halloween is approaching. It’s time to get your creepy on.
“How do I do that?” you may ask. Sometimes eating candy corn and slaying a few pumpkins isn’t enough. Summerlike weather may defy the season or you feel like you’re too old for the holiday.
Watch thriller movies.
Freaky movies like Single White Female starring Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Steven Weber will get you in the mood. I twitched for hours afterward while sending quick glances over my shoulder. I half expected my husband, Danny, to come home with my identical haircut and color. It’s one of those movies where you want to shout, “Get out of the house, NOW! NO! DON’T GO DOWN IN THE BASEMENT! NOOOO!”
BONUS – It’s a great cardio work out without breaking a sweat.
Decorate indoors.
Before I became obsessed with writing, I collected antiques on the weekends. Found objects are perfect for creepy Halloween decor. Old framed photos, black containers, and silver candlesticks highlight the season. Don’t polish the silver! The tarnish adds to the effect. I know. You’re welcome.
Sticky spider webs are not for me. I don’t want to find them months later. Instead, I use cheesecloth, cut the edges and rip holes by shredding it with my fingers.
Once you’ve created a creepy environment indoors, it’s time to go outside.
I enjoy decorating with lights. Later in the short day is the perfect time to draw with light since they glow while I work. The more haphazard, the better.
What could be better than a dead body in the middle of your driveway when you’re expecting guests? Hmm. I can’t think of anything.
Reading or writing something creepy will stir your Halloween spirit.
Peal of Terror – 100 word flash fiction
I plucked my victim while exploring the outdoors on a bleak and damp night as fog floated around my ankles. After luring him into my laboratory, I laid him on the examination table alongside my favorite tools; a razor sharp knife and an enamel bowl for excess.
His epidermis was flawless. I couldn’t wait to get started. My first incision drew fluid to the surface. I peeled his skin in thin strips revealing soft pulpy flesh. Soon the bowl turned crimson.
My mouth watered in anticipation and then, I took a bite. The sweet juice dripped from my mouth to my chin.
I love apples!
Tell true tales of gore.
Warning: THIS IS A TRUE STORY AND TOTALLY GROSS, but hey. It’s Halloween!
A few weeks ago, my Bichon, Roxy, went nuts downstairs outside the door to our unfinished basement. I ran down the steps and opened it for her. I flipped lightswitch and found a huge mouse lying in the middle of the cement floor.
I ran back upstairs and grabbed a bag. I slipped my hand inside and planned to pick it up, turn the plastic inside out and knot the top. Simple. Right? Wrong. When I stooped to pick it up, the mouse was stuck to the floor. “What?” Using my fingernails through the plastic, I pried the mouse from the floor.
IT EXPLODED!
*insert SCREAM here*
The mouse’s underbelly, from the tip of its chin all the way to its tail remained stuck to the floor. I realized why the mouse appeared huge. Its entire body was filled with inch-long, wriggling, white maggots. While cringing and saying over and over, “Omygod! Omygod! Omygod!” I reached back down to scrape as many of the pale squirmy worms into the bag as I could. Then, I tied it up and ran back upstairs for another bag and cleaning supplies. Eww!
The mouse left its ghostly imprint even after a half gallon of bleach…
Go to a corn maze.
And shake that image from your head. Getting totally lost with one hundred other frightened people at night is something I’ve looked forward to for a while.
Visit a cemetery…at night.
Remember, Halloween is the night before All Souls Day. I love visiting old cemeteries. You can feel their creepiness in broad daylight.
Dress up on Halloween night.
You’re never too old for the holiday. I’m getting my creepy on and will channel Morticia Addams along with my husband, Gomez, and Cousin It. Thing might make an appearance as well. His fingers are always pattering around the house, somewhere.
How do you get your creepy on?
Pretty lonely where I live so creepy is kind of natural. I think all of these would be great.
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Thanks John! Every year, I start by watching scary movies and end by dressing up on Halloween night!
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Other than a ghost or two and 4 bats nothing else happening around here.
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Sounds a little quiet. There’s still time for a visit from a zombie or vampire…
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I got my creepy full on reading about you hand-holding that vermin filled exploding mouse, Susie. Now I need to bleach my brain with Christmas snowflakes courtesy of Clorox.
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Hahaha! I warned you!!!!
It was sooooo gross. Thank.God, I was sick at the time and couldn’t smell a thing.
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I thought my story was bad when I once reached down and picked up what I thought was a piece of tumble dryer lint from my dining room floor and it turned out to be a decapitated mouse (courtesy of my cat), but your story beats my one by miles!
I’m a bit of a wuss, so I don’t deliberately do anything to get my creepy on, on a good day I might go as far as baking some slightly scary looking cookies, but that’s it!
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Ha! Scary cookies sound like fun. I’m not thrown by much, but if I thought I was picking up a piece of lint and it was a mouse, I would drop it and scream… Every so often I flinch when one of my tropical plants drop a leaf that looks like a mouse.
Thanks for sharing Vanessa!
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It’s that time of year!!!! Bags of Brach candy pumpkins! (one of the few sugar/candies I still-eat-I-don’t-care.)
We pulled out the Halloween box this weekend. (cheese cloth is so much better…)
HA! Spooky out there: on early early dog walk Sat. we came across large dead rat on the sidewalk with a giant chomp out of the back of his neck…arrival of the zombies.
Enjoy the spooky!
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Wow! I’ve only seen one rat. Our dog killed it in the yard. Watch out for those zombies!
PS – I broke down and bought candy corn…
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That mouse story is crazy!! I don’t know how you kept it together, but admire you for it. 🙂 Happy almost Halloween!
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I was really sick and couldn’t smell anything or I would have really lost it!!! 🙂
Great to “see” you Catherine!
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The mouse story is the creepiest, ickiest story on your post Susie!
Diana xo
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I know! Right? That’s why I posted a warning! 🙂
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How creepy can you stand? I have one particular horror movie that I’m fond of (End of Days), but I know when to close my eyes, too!
Along those lines, I also enjoy “The Craft”. I was really surprised to learn that it was a horror movie after I’d seen it a few times; but considering how the lead character’s friends turn on her at the end of the movie, it shouldn’t be a surprise! (Interesting two movie run for Robin Tunney…witch to Satan’s lover [The Craft, then End of Days] and Gabriel Byrne from priest to Satan [Stigmata, End of Days]!)
If you’re looking for something a little more thriller-y, did you see “Big Driver” the other night on Lifetime? I stopped because I got tired of the commercials, but it’s one of my favorite Stephen King short stories. (The revenge is the kicker!)
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I will have to see The Craft and King’s Big Driver.. Have you ever seen Johnny Depp in the Ninth Gate? That was quite a wild one, perfect for Halloween!
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I’m not into horror movies, I have to say. The only reason I can put up with The Craft is it just has creepy crawlies near the end–not at all like End of Days!
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I started watching some crazy horror movie with Nick Cage and had to turn it off. I can only take so much violence. I can’t even watch Game of Thrones or Walking Dead!
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Alas! As I’m here in Scotland, Halloween seems to belong mostly to the University crowd. So it’s really fun to see your place so decorated. My only decorations are an (uncarved) pumpkin and a little victorian bear carrying a what appears to be a severed head that my kids won’t let me put out for Christmas because they say A) it’s creepy and B) we’re Jewish.
But the dog has her costume. She got hurt and has to wear the cone-of-shame, so I’m going to stick two green tennis balls onto a dowel rod, put it into the cone, and call her a martini.
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Hahaha! Great idea! You’ll have to blog pictures of your dog…
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Eeeeewwww on your mouse story! There’s an old cemetery up the hill from our house that has graves dating back to the late 1700s, so if I feel brave, I’ll visit some dark, still evening…Otherwise, watching “Nosferatu” always does it for me! http://nosferatumovie.com/
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I love old Dracula and horror movies, especially this time of year.
Definitely go to the cemetery and take some pictures! They are so delightfully creepy!
I had to deal with the mouse, but honestly, I didn’t think maggots got that big! I just thank God I couldn’t smell anything. I had a cold. Good timing!
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Every day is creepy for me:) I like different things and the interior of the house is like a museum– even Christmas. For the first time in years I will not be giving out candy this year.. Just too sad as it was one of angelos favourite holidays
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Oh, I can imagine it would be hard. It’s on a Friday night so you can go out instead!
Your house sounds amazing, Linda!
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Your house looks awesome! Creepy mouse I’m glad you found it before it got worse ;/
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Thanks Catherine!
Right???? I couldn’t smell anything since I was sick at the time, so it could have exploded. Our house might have looked like the End of Days with flies in all the windows!
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Seriously gorgeous home you’ve got there, Susie. But the mouse? EGADS! I don’t know how you did it. I can just imagine the feeling of an exploding dead body on my finger tips and it’s giving me the willies. *cringes*
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It was horrid and NASTY!!!!! That’s about the grossest thing that has ever happened to me and I hope it’s the last!
Thanks so much. It’s my art project!
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This was fantastic, Susie! You had me going with the apple story, and then the real gore: dead mouse with maggots—it doesn’t get any ickier than that. Thanks for getting me into the Halloween spirit of scary things and fun times! 🙂
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Thanks Ermigal! It’s always great to “see” you.
Yep. You know me. I always overshare, but I rationalized it in the spirit of Halloween. 🙂
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I love LOVE everything about this post! Except for the mouse story – that was truly disgusting and spoiled my appetite for dinner. Maggots are the nastiest thing ever. Gross.
But your decorations are amazing and I love your costumes and movie picks. You should weigh in on my latest post which is all about scary movies and I want to know people’s faves! We’ve recently watched Psycho and Flatliners to kick off the season.
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Thanks so much, Jess!
I warned you… 🙂 It really happened. It was so insanely gross. I had a cold or I would have found it sooner!
I love to decorate for Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday!
I’ll stop on by! I haven’t seen Flatliners, but I LOVE Psycho.
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You changed your layout. I like it. Happy Halloween!
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Oh! Thank you! It was an easy facelift. Not very painful at all!
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Like you need a facelift. Come on! 😉
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Love the Addams Family costumes. That sounds like a lot of fun. Do you have a lot of trick-or-treaters in your neighborhood?
My office has a fun Halloween party every year. Everyone decorates their department, usually with some theme in mind. And then we have a costume parade. 🙂
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Thank you, Jackie! We don’t have as many as we used to. Under 100. We used to get more like 250 or more!
Your office party sounds like fun!!! You’ll have to take pictures for your blog!
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Oh my God… that first line… Creative Writing has been set back light-years. Your house looks like a castle and You and Danny look Great… The Rox has really got the Creepy going!
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Thanks so much Ted!
It’s the perfect backdrop for Halloween, that’s for sure. We get the spooky music going and have fun with it!
Love Roxy’s Cujo eyes in that shot too. 🙂
Hope all is well with you!
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Oh yeah. You really know how to celebrate Halloween. For me, I love me some great monsters. So I might watch Hellboy and maybe Jeepers Creepers. I don’t get into the decorating, but I do love the stories. “Peal of Terror” was awesome. I loved that.
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Thanks EagleAye! I haven’t posted any flash fiction in over a year.
I love the old black and white monster movies. The new ones are too gnarly for me!!!
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Halloween’s reputedly my favourite day, though not because it’s Halloween. It’s also my birthday… 🙂
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Oh WOW!!! What a fun way to celebrate! Cake AND candy. 🙂
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One of the highlights of seeing NY was everyone getting ready for Halloween, Pumpkins were lined up the old brownstone steps, bars had started decorating, it felt so Autumnal, even though it was bright sunshine and pretty warm. Wish I could have stayed for the celebrations
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I bet it’s WILD there! What a blast it would be! They pull out all the stops when it comes to decorating, I’m sure. 🙂
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Wow! You really do it up big for Halloween. We just carve, old school style, a couple of pumpkins using standard kitchen paring knives, stick a scented candle in each one & declare the house decorated! Then we eat some candy, like all good children.
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Yum!
My friend has a farm and brought over the biggest pumpkin! I think I’ll have to start carving the day before!
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I enjoy watching the thriller movies this time of the year and American Horror Story has me on the edge of my chair lately too. I love to decorate – recently bought a decorative witch’s hat. Happy Haunting – Happy Day!!!
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I haven’t tuned into AHS! I’ll check it out tonight and bingewatch! I hope it’s not too gory. I couldn’t take the torture of last year’s episodes. I bet you’ll rock that hat!
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Watch Out for Twisty the Clown on AHS – Quite the Creepy Clown!
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AHS is really something special…, for demented people, lol!!
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I have to check it out! Maybe tonight, I’ll really get my creepy on….
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Well your display seems a little energetic to me, but hey, whatever works. Nobody ever comes to my house for Halloween so it’d be a total waste of energy. But, I love what you’ve done with your place. Maybe some day I’ll live in an area where people would actually see the fruits of my labor.
But then again, probably not. I love to live way back in the woods.
Thanks for sharing your gross mouse story. I shall never attempt to pick up a mouse. Ever. Ever.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
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I have been accused of being energetic more than once… 🙂
That mouse was the grossest EVER!!!! Thanks for reading! I would stick to the woods. It’s sounds delightful!
Thanks Patricia!
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Halloween’s an interesting holiday. When we first moved into the neighborhood, it was full of little play friends for our kids. 20 years later, they’re all gone, and Halloween is soooooo different than what it was. We still do a little, but not much. Enjoy your blog, stop by mine sometime.
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I will! Thanks for stopping by the Wild Ride! I am having a blog party next Wednesday where you can meet my friends.
Halloween is more subdued around my neighborhood too, but Danny and I will still don our costumes and greet the little goblins!
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