When I was a kid, I remember donning dads old pants, stuffing in a lumpy pillow, and tying a yellow rope tightly around my waist. Then I dug in the fireplace for ash and smeared it all over my face and old torn shirt that mom would have given me. Lastly, I slapped on a cap, grabbed a pillow case and took off for an evening of trick or treating. No one knew who I was and I was fine with that.
And I guess there was one small thing in the way–she stood 5 foot and went by “Mom”. lol. We had to eat dinner before we left and she wouldn’t let us go out until a trick-or-treater had been at our house. Ugh…like manners of Hallowe’en or something. We chomped at the bit until we got the all clear.
We didn’t have a lot of extras growing up, and there was certainly no money spent on candy and goodies. Hallowe’en was a very special night. We would go trick-or-treating with a pillow case because it’s much stronger than a plastic bag and could hold a lot more loot. We went for miles. Running and ignoring all rules about not eating the candy or staying on one side of the road. We went as a group and never had an adult holding our hands.
We’d start planning for the big night as soon as school started in September–costumes, where to go–all the logistics. It really was a night of magic.
I hope you all have a very safe and fun evening. I thought I’d share a few pictures of my past costumes and such.
Me as Pikachu 
Me as the Uni Killer
(SFU was my Uni)
Piper chewed off the leg of the last trick-or-treater…now what? 
Me as a Zombie… TWD Walker.
I’ve never been able to experience that, growing up in Malaysia, but I’ve always seen it in movies and wondered how cool it’d be to go trick-or-treating. I loved reading about your experiences as a child, and going out with a pillowcase sure does add some depth to my understanding of Halloween, from the ‘ground level’, so to speak. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by and reading Stuart. Halloween was such a huge thing when I was a kid. It still is. The entire month of October is geared up for the Halloween kick off. The stores are filled with candy and goblins and school classes do lots of fall and Halloween crafts. I’m glad you enjoy the post. xo