There is much psychological chatter about why adults like to dress up for Halloween. A simple explanation is that it’s fun to be creative and connect with the inner child that still wants to play. For a deeper inner look, psychologist Dr. Scott Bea said in “Psychology Today,” “It’s about becoming disinhibited, playing with different elements of our personality, maybe some that exist outwardly, but probably ones we don’t get to play with an awful lot.”
Whatever the psychobabble is, I’ve never been a fan of wearing a costume. Having not participated in Halloween as a youngster, I’ve tried it twice in my adult life — once as Sandy with my husband Danny from “Grease” and once in a Roman toga fashioned from a sheet. Both times I was ill at ease and never “got into character.” Costumes are not for me. However, I like to watch folks who are comfortable, creative, and lively in costume.
There are many places that go all out for Halloween from New York City’s 2 million parade participants to spooky Sleepy Hollow, New York, to Anoka, Minnesota, which claims to be the Halloween Capital of the World going back to the origin of its festival in 1920. New Orleans, well known for its celebratory debauchery, is notably on most every top Halloween destination list in the United States. It is also home to many a spooky cemetery that can add to a frightful experience.
Sasquatch was dressed for Halloween at River Bend RV Resort.
It used to be that if you left your house darkened and didn’t offer goblins candy that you might wake up to find gooey eggs on your front door or pumpkins smashed in your yard. Thankfully, here in the Methow Valley, I have not heard of that behavior. Rather the communities provide festivities that allow for fun and frolic for the whole family.
Trick or treat along Riverside Avenue in Winthrop or “Get Spooked!” at the Methow Valley Community Center in Twisp on Tuesday (Oct. 31) from 5-8 p.m. Students from the Independent Learning Center are creating props, costumes, and sets for a “zombie”-themed haunted house. Liberty Bell High School students and volunteers are transforming into zombies to add to the creepiness in the main building. Beware!
For those faint of heart, there is a scare-free option — “Happy Halloween Lane” — in the gym where trick or treating is invited through a maze of friendly inflatables. No chance of a zombie there.
In a spread-out community like Mazama, there are not a lot of options for door-to-door haunting. Instead, the Mazama Store is the place to go for the evening’s festivities. Several neighbors to the store open their homes starting at 5 p.m. as part of the designated trick-or-treating trail for which the Mazama Store provides a map.
It is a spooktacular people watching event as parents and children alike take off excitedly to rush through the trail. Upon return to the Mazama Store courtyard, there are donuts, cider and a warming fire to add to the ambience. Happy Halloween!
