Phantasm – a figment of the imagination; an illusion or apparition.
I make no secret of my love of Halloween, it’s always been my favourite holiday of the year. Unfortunately it feels like it’s something that’s in the past. Obviously last year it was written off, going from house to house didn’t seem like a good idea and I was actually really glad we didn’t get any trick or treaters.
This year I have no idea what to expect. Are people coming knocking? Whilst it would be lovely I’m not sure I’m happy about groups of grabby hands demanding more sweets and later into the evening money. So once again my house is undecorated and we’ll keep the lights out to try and dissuade any visitors.
The sad thing is, there always used to be rules. If the house was decorated or had pumpkins out, then you could call. Unfortunately that seems to no longer be the case. The times I’ve come home from work to find children banging on my door and shouting because I’m not answering has been horrid. And then I’ve had to peel a terrified cat from behind the sofa. It makes me genuinely sad for those elderly or vulnerable folk out there who are terrified.
“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory.”
Dr. Seuss
It all seems like the fun of Halloween has vanished into a distant memory. The fun celebrations, the scary films to watch in the dark, the dressing up. It’s a holiday to enjoy rather than one that comes with a huge amount of pressure. It’s about the little things rather than the big things. Right down to the updating of our Twitter handles, it all seems to have been forgotten.
Has the holiday itself become a phantasm? Who knows but hopefully in years to come we can get back to something that resembles the Halloween I remember. Until then, I’m going to keep enjoying posting my Halloween image right here on my blog.