Vampires will venture outside before the sun goes down, witches will walk rather than fly, ghosts will appear out of plain sight and mummies will rise from the dead. Cartoons will also come to life and superheroes will join in the fun. Children in costumes of all kinds will be out tonight, hopefully treating and not tricking, on All-Hallows-Eve. 

Halloween is the one day all year that you can dress in costume without needing a reason, and nobody will judge how ridiculous you may look. I can honestly say I have dressed up for all but one Halloween, and just about all of those years, my costume was homemade. 

The crafting of outfits came from my mother who designed something for me every year when I was a child. I started as a fuzzy tiger and later there was a clown. My mother tested her sewing skills when she crafted an egg suit — made out of Velux fabric. I was a roly-poly oblong egg, cracked around the neck with the rest of the shell for a hat. It was one of the most memorable costumes, though not necessarily the most comfortable. 

As I got older, I took over deciding what to be from year to year. One of the only costumes I didn’t make was a saloon dancer outfit, but buying something straight from the store just wasn’t as much fun. My last year of high school I scrounged for a gray wig in the container marked “Halloween Stuff,” I then found a “nightie,” fuzzy robe, slide-on slippers and knee-high socks. I was the perfect grandma, and even made my dad cry because he thought I looked so much like his mother. 

This year, I contemplated what I could be and finally searched for matching sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt, turning the blue outfit into a Care-Bear costume. I’m glad I spotted a little girl dressed as a Care-Bear at Sea Road School in Kennebunk this weekend, otherwise I would have completely forgot about the red heart on all the Care-Bears’ bottoms. 

I have so much fun dressing up, and I love seeing what other people think-up for costumes as well. This year marks something new for me because it is the first time I live in an area where I’m positive trick-or-treaters will visit and in preparation I’ve bought Reeses, Kit-Kats and Hershey’s bars – all the good stuff. 

Then there are the parties that follow passing out the candy and I’m trying to fit everything in one night (wish me luck). While you eventually reach an age that going door to door for candy is not appropriate, it doesn’t mean Halloween is over as you know it. Ways of celebrating the fun holiday just change over the years. 

And for those of you out there who grimace when you receive an invitation for a “costumes required” Halloween party — lighten up. The spooky night only happens once a year!

— Emma Bouthillette