Field Theory by Hadyn Green

Haha, Mick-rolled! One of my favourite North American Halloween memories is of walking through the darkening streets with hordes of dressed-up little ghouls and ghostbusters, scooting from jack-o-lantern-lit porch to porch while the wind sent mischievous whirlwinds of dry leaves scuttling down the gutters...

... and then suddenly hearing that unmistakable beat, that familiar werewolf howl, a snatch of lyrics - "it's after midnight" (even though it was more like dinnertime)...

...and then seeing the source: a NHPD cruiser crawling up the street, with a grinning, moustachioed member of New Haven's finest behind the wheel and his uniformed pal in the passenger seat, nodding along to the beat of...

THRILLER!

...blasting from their PA system. Even cops love Halloween.

yeah I miss Halloween in the US when our kids were little - a real neighbourhood celebration

Today I've carved pumpkins, because kids here have mostly never seen real ones, and I'm going to sit on the front porch and feed the ghouls in half an hour ..... but really we should hold halloween on April 30th, when it's dark and pumpkins are in season - and teach everyone that of you don't have some decorations up don;t knock on people's doors, they're not playing the game

Amnesia is by miles the scariest game I've ever played, and the biggest thing is actually the sound of 'your own' breathing as you slowly go Lovecraft-style crazy wandering around in the dark. I had to stop playing it 'headphones on lights off' because it was freaking me out too badly.

Small insatiable hordes stopping at every door demanding to be fed leave me wondering what they'll dare when we run out of food.

Say 'Hi' to the trick'n'treaters for me - I'm not staying home.

I’d never heard of Slender until this morning, when one of my children said the reason their light was on at 11pm last night, well past their bedtime, was because they’d been playing Slender yesterday and they were scared. Then they had to tell me what Slender was. And now you mention it too. Must be a thing.

wondering what they'll dare when we run out of food

Spoke to an insurance person today and apparently some charmers pulled the french doors clean off someone's home while they were out. Nothing taken, likely just a 'trick' at being denied the prospect of lollies.