Being outside is dangerous.
I am continuing on with the subscription donation project. The organization for October is Heart of Dinner. If you are new here (welcome!) or need a refresher about the project, you can always find more details of the project on my About page.
This newsletter means a lot to me. If you are connecting with the work at all, please consider clicking the heart button, leaving a comment, and/or sharing it. Consider it a spooky present to me.
And, in case you missed it, this week’s paid subscriber edition, with a story about a pantless halloween, is free for all.
Last week, I asked a few friends and my marginally viewed instagram story audience to ask me a Halloween or spooky season themed question. These are the answers to (most of) the rest of those questions.
Why don’t you join me in the calming circle:
What is the best aspect of autumn?
Layers! Give me those cozy sweaters and cardigans. Give me those scarves. Give me a medium weight jacket. Give me a floppy beanie. And then let me struggle with putting on and taking off layers all day.
What are your top three candies?
I’m going to answer this question but to the left of this question. I want dark chocolate and then I want salted caramel, peanut butter, or toffee with it.
What is your desert island Halloween movie?
This one is hard because there are so many wonderful spooky movies. I think Clue is my top desert island movie in general so…Hocus Pocus?! Or Rocky Horror! To be honest, most of my top movies have Tim Curry in them so, if it is Halloween specific, I’ll stick with Hocus Pocus.
What’s your favorite cemetery you’ve been to?
I certainly have been to my fair share of cemeteries as walking through them is a top pastime of mine. Last weekend, I went to the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and visited good ol’ Washington Irving. Of course, I’ve been to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. But my favorite is probably the one near my house, St. Michaels. It is quiet and not too big. I’ve gotten lost at least once in Green-Wood. Lost enough so as to have a bit of an anxiety attack. So being able to see the way out is helpful to my nerves and me.
Which ghosts live with you?
In my opinion, it is impossible to live in an apartment building anywhere but, particularly in New York City and not be living with ghosts. I don’t know the names of any specifically but whoever is around, we seem to get along okay. Well, with the exception of when they knocked a frame off the wall at 3am on my birthday in 2021. But after that, it’s been smoooooth floating.
Oh and of course, I spend a lot of time having conversations in my head with people. Those are usually to practice conversations in the memories of past situations. I always win.
Have you ever seen a ghost?
I have not seen seen a ghost but I do believe in them. As a kid, I used to get really strong feelings of presences around. As I’ve gotten older, spirits that visit tend to be a bit more subtle. The best example I have of this is in connection with my playwriting. Some years ago now, a theatre company in Seattle produced my play and, and, and Isabella Bootlegs. Isabella is the name of my real great-grandmother who was a bootlegger in Montana during Prohibition. So, that was the spark of the idea of the play. I don’t actually have much information about her, besides some rumors and whispers, so I wrote a play that I assumed was mostly fiction. It spans generations of women and takes place in Montana and Eastern Washington, the places I grew up in.
On opening night of the play, a bunch of my family was there. I was talking to some friends with my Mom and at some point, she said something along the lines of, “Sam thinks what she wrote is fictional but there is no way she could have known some of those things.” The whole thing may have been truer than I thought. And I definitely attribute that to help from my grandmother and, more than likely, Isabella.
Side note: A cousin I had never met also came to the play that day. He was…not amused, let’s say. My Mom still reminds me of that often. So, if I am killed…
Well, it’s time for me to plug in all the strings of orange lights I have around so that’s it for me today. Happy spooky day and stay safe out there Halloween-ers!
Monday, October 26, 2020
It was a Halloween theme week at work this week. I will not be remember what the specific themes of any of these days were.
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
It looks like I was a mummy? Who came to life? And started to lose some of their bandages?
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
I much prefer having far less hair but I do miss when it could do this.
Thursday, October 29, 2020
Something on someone’s head means the party is over, right?
Friday, October 30, 2020
Look, I’m not saying that I would make the perfect Dr. Frank-n-Furter but I am also not not saying that.
Saturday, October 31, 2020
The aftermath.
Sunday, November 1, 2020
My feet were peepin’ those leafs.
This week, paying subscribers got another round of rejection haikus and voted on what next month’s haikus will be about. If that sounds intriguing to you, consider becoming a paid subscriber.