Hallowe’en Meme

A Hallowe’en Meme has been making the rounds. Butterfly in Disguise invited me to give it a try, and I'm taking her up on it. I'm afraid that some of my answers are pretty boring.

1 – What was the scariest movie you have ever seen?
Neither my partner nor I like scary movies. The last really scary movie that I ever saw was The Omen. The original with Lee Remick, not the recent remake. That will give you an idea of how long ago this was. I remember about 2/3 of the way through thinking "what a horrible movie," mainly from a standpoint of not getting it about wanting to see terrible things like that happen to people.

2- What was your favorite Hallowe’en costume as a child?
My favorite Halloween costume was actually in college. I went as Lamont Cranston. I had the hat, the dark coat, the red scarf over my mouth. I thought it looked pretty cool.

3- Given enough money what would be your fantasy Hallowe’en costume?
It would be fun to do some sort of Celtic shaman thing. Fake tattoos, amulets, antlers. the works.

4- When was the last time you went trick or treating?
Seventh grade. The costume was pretty forgettable. What I remember most was the party that a family up the hill had every Halloween. You would stop by while you were trick or treating, have soda and fried chicken, and move on for more tricks and treats.

5- What is your favorite Hallowe’en candy?
Mini Milky Way bars.

6- Tell us about a scary nightmare you once had.
At the risk of having psychiatrist friends go all Freudian on me (cough **Ur-Spo** cough), I have had a whole series of nightmares about trains. In them I am always walking along railroad tracks in a desolate area when a very malevolent train approaches. Sometimes there are banks of gladioli in funereal arrangements lining the tracks. I wake up sweating and with my heart racing. Not entirely sure why.

7 – What is your supernatural fear?
I don’t believe in the supernatural.

8-What is your ‘creepy-crawlie’ fear?
I work with invertebrates all the time and have no fear of them. OK, that is so not true. My creepy-crawlie fear is giant centipedes. It totally grosses me out that the guy in the picture I linked to is holding one bare handed. These puppies can really hurt you. The front pair of legs is modified into pinchers that can deliver a potent venom. I have heard of somebody regaining consciousness about two hours after being pinched. There are species from all over the tropics, including two in the desert southwest. I once drove a friend down to Sycamore Canyon in southern Arizona to collect them. He got a very nice medium sized one. When we got back to Tucson it had escaped its container. It’s probably still somewhere in the rental car.

9- Tell us a time you saw a ghost or heard something go bump in the night.
I junior high school, I was living in eastern Massachusetts way out in the woods. One night I was sure I heard a werewolf howling. It turned out to be a fox- they can sound really scary.

10- Would you stay overnight in a real Haunted House?
No problem. See #7.

11-Are you a traditionalist or a creative carver of you Jack-o-Lantern?
I’m a traditionalist. It mostly has to do with my lack of artistic talent.

12- How much do you decorate the house at Hallowe’en?
Hardly at all.

13- What do you want on your Tombstone?
Quiet. Pinochle game in progress.