I had never experienced Halloween as a season before, this was my first time. My whole life I looked at Halloween as one particular day that was incredibly disappointing because I was always the only one in my vicinity to dress up. So I would put on my costume and head to school or work feeling like a complete fool being the only one on the subway or bus in costume. Sometimes when I would look around the subway car and see no one wearing a costume I would psyche myself out and have to double-triple check my phone to make sure it was indeed Halloween weekend.
Halloween has often been a source of embarrassment, misfortune and honestly a major bummer for me, trying to find the right costume only to go to a club or event and have a lousy time surrounded by either people who couldn't be bother to dress up or people who couldn't be bothered to hold their liquor (DISCLAIMER: you will NEVER catch this belligerent byotch in a club again as long as I shall live). But this year, for some reason, (I'm pointing the finger at the pandemic) it seemed like people were really embracing it. I saw way more people in costume this Halloween than I have in years. People were cosplaying on tiktok, instagram and twitter and everyone seemed to be having a genuinely good time embracing the dark, goth, miserable side of life (which shockingly I am very well aligned with). It has been a very freeing time, reading tarot for myself and other folks, unapologetically stocking up on crows and moody lighting and candles and Dollarama and just generally watching dark, spooky weird shit unabashedly. I feel like this Halloween Season I was finally able to embrace how miserable this pandemic has truly made me feel and really lean into that and that's been incredibly healthy.
I'll be honest as a (former) I-love-Christmas-girl I am absolutely not ready for the fake, saccharine energy that Christmas has to offer this year. I'm not inclined to put on my reds and greens, blast the Christmas music I ordinarily adore and act like life is some big, sparkly party when I have grown incredibly disenchanted with the people and the systems that make up our big flying rock. So I think I will linger in Halloween Season a little bit longer. If anyone needs me I'll be holed up at home with my candles, tarot and introduction to the classics. I figure I'll rewatch The Dead Don't Die or start with Rocky Horror Picture Show or The Thing, I've never seen the last two and I think they are just nihilistic enough to bring a certain sense of calm to this impending Christmas season that we will all have to face sooner or later, ready or not.
-Joy