Trick or treat

I suppose the most gratifying thing about this year's crop of trick or treaters was that:

• The vast majority of them were dressed up as some kind of ghoul, goblin, Grim Reaper, ghost, witch, or other traditional horror figure; and


• Hardly any in my neighbourhood came dressed as a character from some work of licensed commercial fiction - at least none that I recognized.

There were a couple of kittens and puppies - especially among the very youngest children. I also saw a couple of hoboes, and at least one superhero (Mister Incredible). But the majority were dressed as creepy characters, and few were specific to any work of commerce that I recognize.

This pleases me immensely. I suppose I am a traditionalist at heart. Halloween is after all the last real holiday before New Years' Eve. But I don't want Halloween to be turned into the mess that the Exxmas racket has become.

I put on my now-traditional show for them, lighting the driveway with candles and welcoming the trick or treaters in the garage, while blasting the neighbourhood with J. S. Bach organ music. Been doing this for around fifteen years now. I started it when we had a large dog who would go nuts when the doorbell rang. I now do it just because I've been doing it for so long.