We stood on the edge of the woods. It was very quiet. Maybe too still? Nervously, we looked around.
A quiet woods can be a little scary. What lurks in there? We’ve read those old fairy tales and we know what can happen….
“Get hold of yourself,” we told each other as we headed for the Pineapple Hill Inn, where we’d be spending the weekend with friends. We’d driven to New Hope, Pennsylvania – a charming old town with a lot of history – located on the Delaware River.
As soon as we stepped on to the Inn’s porch, we were greeted by Igor.
It was Halloween weekend, and we’d missed it the last two years (one spent in Vietnam and the other on a cruise ship in the mid-Atlantic). No wonder we were on edge! We consoled ourselves with a little “trick or treat” candy bar at the Inn.
As evening fell, ghosts and goblins appeared on the street. We’d been told to walk across the bridge over the Delaware River to the neighboring town of Lambertville, New Jersey. The most artistically and elaborately decorated Halloween house could be found on Union Street.
A retired art teacher created many plaster figures which ranged from ethereal to comic to creepy.
The front of her house and the neighboring houses overflowed with creatures congregating in the pale blue light.
As we walked by the door, someone offered us candy. Startled, we backed away. “Thanks, but we’d just as soon not.’” (Who wants to accept candy when they’re goose-bumped scared?)
By the next morning, everything was back to normal. However, after we said our goodbyes to the innkeepers, Igor lurched out in a farewell gesture as we passed him on the porch. “Farewell, Igor, till next year!”
October 2015
Your post proves that Halloween isn’t just for school children.