Believe It or Not

I really look forward to Halloween each year. For me, the season brings so much starting right around Oct. 1. The sweltering summer temperatures begin to yield to a crispness in the air and leaves on the deciduous trees change their hue to gold and red. Eventually, the leaves tumble down and blanket the landscape, which sets the tone for what is to come. Harvest festivals give a nod to bountiful tables and to those who provide food for us to enjoy. Families start to think about their holiday plans and look forward to celebrating their traditions together.  

For our family, Halloween kicks off the entire magical season through the New Year. We get into the Halloween spirit by pulling out our home (and some car) decorations. Dozens of skeletons are posed in fun ways, like jumping on a trampoline or sitting by the “bonfire” (created with lights) that is roasting a Christmas pig. We add a few inflatables on the roof like dragons or dinosaurs and install a strobe-lit graveyard. Since COVID, we moved the candy cauldron off the front porch and to the driveway so we could better engage with our visitors. We welcome visitors of all ages, costume or not, to come trick-or-treat at the Bolan house.

Halloween traditions began a very long time ago and have been celebrated in many ways across cultures. Wearing masks or costumes was believed to trick evil spirits that were lurking around during a time when the veil between the living and dead was considered to be the thinnest.  Formal ceremonies or simple parades were used to honor saints or those who had passed on.  

Trick-or-treating is thought to have come from “souling,” a practice used by poor people in medieval England who went door-to-door begging for food. The American adaptation has taken Halloween to a somewhat gruesome level but we still have a good many kitty-cats, pumpkins and princesses come to our door. I try not to take the scary parts of Halloween too seriously and value the time I have socializing with my neighbors and the community at large. We have a good time.

I absolutely believe in ghosts and things that go bump in the night but am not frightened by those encounters. I have had so many experiences I can’t explain or rationalize that I have learned to just relax and become an interested observer when something weird happens. And somehow, it happens regularly to me.  

For example, I work upstairs in a house that was built in 1927 with a thrift shop operating out of it. When the house is full of volunteer members and customers, there is a lot of activity as people shop and work. You can hear movement, the occasional crash of glass breaking and the voices of people doing business. After hours when the building is empty sometimes you can hear merchandise carts downstairs being pushed on the wooden floor, doors opening/closing or walls being bumped. You check and no one is there. Can it be explained away? Perhaps. But I like to imagine that it’s the spirits of volunteers who are no longer with us still working to support the cause. I just take it all in and think to myself, “Oh, interesting.”

At home, I have had a great deal of spooky encounters over the last 30 years. From whispers in my ear that sound like my husband who is fast asleep to a poster that came to life one-night to unusual images on the wall to our ghost cats dark and low to the ground, and assorted dead relatives popping in to say “hi,” it’s never a dull moment. I started to write a book in 2007 about some of my paranormal experiences. Since then, I have collected a lot of material but have not finished more than a hundred pages. In the meantime, I will continue to gather stories to tell and hope to share them with you when I retire next year.

As for the fall season, whatever you believe or celebrate I wish you and your family joyous holidays filled with delicious food, great conversation and plenty of laughter.  

“You only live once but if you do it right once is enough.” – Mae West

Susan Bolan  
susanbolan710@gmail.com