Hello Halloween

Halloween in the early 2000's was a simple happy time, jelly bracelets hung from my wrists like candy and a big t-shirt was guaranteed to be hanging a few inches above my knee socks. I remember sitting in the kitchen while helping (a.k.a watching) my dad carve the pumpkin while simultaneously chattering at a mile a minute about my strategize to obtain the most candy in the limited time available. 

Right before sunset was the magic hour, where all the kids in the house transformed into witches, fairies, vampires, and princesses. I personally was a vampire for four years running - I loved the concept of being such a mystery. We would all gather in the front doorway to take a million photos of our costumes with proud smiles hidden behind masks or makeup.  

Then we would be released upon the world, or at least that’s what it felt like. In reality we would march with purpose out of the house pillow cases in hand and begin our quest for candy with our dads following a few paces behind, making sure our little feet stayed on track. We knew exactly which houses had the best candy and which ones to skip. Dodging scary decorations and for that one night having so much fear of knocking on every neighbors door, even if they did have a scary costume. As the night grew later, more and more front porch lights started to fade and our steps became hurried, eventually breaking into a run between the doorways still illuminated with friendly light. At some point our bags would grow as heavy as our eyelids at the late hour and we would trek home with our spoils.  

Once we returned home, all us kids would dump our candy in large piles on the linoleum and start trading... this is where I truly learned how to barter. One girl had an affinity for KitKats while I preferred anything and everything sour; so I would trade her almost all my KitKats for the majority of her lip puckering flavors. One boy in our group liked all the candy that most would call "trash". He was easy game and would give up the best chocolates and the most sought after gummies in exchange for candy corns and off brand candies, talk about a good deal! In the end though we all had to pay the candy tax to our parents, watching them steal a selection of sweets. 

After running around the house and burning off all the excess sugar we would crash hard, almost always going to bed with sticky fingers, tummy aches, and no regrets. Halloween was the only night of the year where there was no limit on the amount of candy we consumed. As we drifted off into sugar coma hazed dreams filled with ghouls and ghosts, all we would think of was what we would dress up as next year...

Now a days Halloween holds a different excitement; with house parties and concerts instead of candy and at least on my end a little less fabric to my costumes. However, even with that being said I still get an excited tingle in my chest every year as October 31st arises, my heart knowing that for one night, life will be a little spooky and a lot of fun.

Photographer: Vince Patrick @vince_patrick

Model: Weslee Kate @weslee_kate