Navigating October When You Don’t Like Scary
by Theresa Gauthier
Halloween isn’t what it used to be. I still have to remind myself to be careful this time of year. Watching television is dangerous in October when you really don’t care for the sort of things most people seem to want to watch.
For me, Halloween is still about chocolate bars, Charlie Brown, and Jack O’Lanterns. I prefer my carved pumpkins to be cute and smiling rather than demonic and creepy. I prefer my table decor to be cute and clever—a real pumpkin hollowed out to hold a pumpkin dip or a pumpkin soup—rather than barf-inducing. (I’ve seen photos of those Jack O’Lantern’s vomiting up the guacamole and a plastic skull holding a head of cauliflower covered in a sort of barbecue sauce to make it look like a brain. (Yuck!)
This reference will mean nothing to younger readers, but I like the quote from Richie Cunningham in an early episode of Happy Days when he was at Ralph Malph’s Halloween party. “I’d rather dance. It’s more fun than terror.”
Yes, Halloween is a minefield of anxiety when you really don’t want to see anything—well, that you don’t want to see. To be fair, I’ve read Stephen King and I don’t enjoy his books. I had to since my sister adores him, plus I wanted to read them. I love a good book, and a lot of people have told me how good a writer he is.
The Stephen King books I’ve finished are:
Firestarter—loved the ending! Brilliant story!
The Eyes of the Dragon—loved this! Not scary, but so well written! Great story!
The Stand—felt like two different books to me. After a certain character death, it felt like a different book.
On Writing—Stephen King’s memoir on writing illustrates his talent, his sense of humor, and really made me wish I could read his books.
I’ve started others:
The Gunslinger—I saw no point in finishing it since I doubted my commitment to reading the rest of the series.
It—too scary. I read 100 pages or more, but couldn’t finish.
11/22/63—not scary, at least not what I read of it, but not at all compelling. I lost interest.
The scariest book I’ve read recently is The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. The protagonist is Alice, who, at the age of seventeen, sets off to find her mother who has been kidnapped. Alice and her mom have been on the run for 17 years, and there’s a great deal Alice doesn’t know about her family. Finding an ally, she embarks on an adventure with little to no idea what she’s up against. Things take a dark turn, and this isn’t for the faint of heart—although if you regularly read scary books, it’s probably nothing to you at all.
My favorite author is, of course, Charles Dickens. Rereading his ghost stories is a suitable plan for Halloween—and no I don’t mean A Christmas Carol. I prefer to that in December. (Though I did read it in July once—for Christmas in July, which I celebrate annually, and I listen to the audio book whenever the mood takes me regardless of the date.)
What will I do for Halloween? For me, it’s about chocolate, Charlie Brown, and reading a good book. Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow or Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein come to mind.
Enjoy the season whether you prefer terror or dancing.
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