Ah, yes… the leaves have fallen, the birds are preparing to fly south for the winter (I actually don’t know what the immense and growing population of pigeons really do for the winter in San Francisco, but I’m praying they fly away…either way) that means it’s time for Halloween!

I L-O-V-E Halloween. And, no, it’s not just because girls can be scantily clad in their “costumes” (which mostly consist of lingerie and animal ears) and not be considered slutty. Ok, well maybe that has a little to do with it. But, mostly, I like the idea of dressing up. Of seeing what everyone else dresses up as. Being creative with costumes. Costumes are great – for one night (or in San Francisco, really, whenever) you can be someone else. You can dress up and stay in character for a whole night. You are whoever you want to be – little red riding hood, a cat, a belly dancer, whatever. You can be whatever you want, no matter how silly or stupid or ridiculous it may be.

Plus, I’m a big fan of carving pumpkins. And baking the pumpkin seeds isn’t half bad either.

I also like being scared. Well, kind of.

Allow me to clarify.

The adrenaline rush when fear first heats up your bloodstream is addictive. First, the little hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. It charges through your body and makes even the tiny hairs on your arms stand up. It challenges your heartbeat. Racing. You can feel your heart beat in your temples, in your neck, in your wrists, even in your feet. Your breaths become quick, like you’re gasping for air. Your hands become clammy – they shake. You can’t take your eyes off whatever just scared you, but all you want to do is look away. The fear uncontrollably takes over your entire body.

Anyway.

I like the initial feeling of fear. But I do not like the aftermath. I enjoy scary movies, while I’m watching them. I do not appreciate the horrific nightmares that come thereafter and require me to sleep with all my lights on and music blaring so nothing crawls out of my TV.

Not to mention, I can’t watch these said movies alone… I have to be with someone I can snuggle with and that will catch me when I jump six feet in the air after a monster slithers out of the closet. I need protection from the big bad creatures from these scary movies.

But, the scary movies that really get to me aren’t the ones with monsters or big, slimy creatures. They’re the ones that the fear comes from within. Like, “The Skeleton Key” (don’t laugh). That movie is all about voo doo and the demons within us coming out. The ghosts from our ancestors coming back to haunt us. Like, “The Grudge,” or “The Ring,” when all the fear is inside. Those are the movies I’m scared of. In fact, I’m probably going to have nightmares tonight just thinking about them.

Halloween also means it’s getting closer to Thanksgiving which happens to be one of my absolute favorite holidays of all time (except for my Birthday and Valentine’s Day, of course).

Ahhh, ‘tis almost the holiday season!

Have a spooooky Halloween! And don’t take candy from strangers.