Halloween Experts

As Halloween draws closer, it’s time to start planning your pumpkin carving for this year. In the next few weeks, I will post one article per week dedicated to designing and sculpting the best Jack O’Lantern that has ever graced your porch. The first step in this process is knowing your pumpkin!

The pumpkin is a squash, a fruit, of the same family as cucumbers. They probably originated in Central America. Seeds from pumpkin like plants have been found in Mexico dating back to 5500 B.C. They were a staple of the Native American diet. When European explorers and settlers learned of the plant, they sent seeds back home. Today, pumpkins are cultivated all over the world.

Pumpkin is a rich source of Vitamin A and potassium. It has a high fiber content. Depending on how it is prepared, pumpkin can be a very healthy food source. Historically, pumpkin has been used medicinally as a cure for freckles and a treatment for snakebite. Today, the consumption of pumpkin seeds is known to promote prostate health for men.

Pumpkins come in all shapes and sizes, from “Baby Boo” miniature pumpkins that fit in the palm of your hand, to the giant, prize-winning varieties that can weigh upwards of 1500 lbs. They come in a rainbow of colors, from the common orange, to green, white and blue varieties. They can be smooth skinned, or extremely rough. Each variety suggests new and unique designs!

The basic components of a pumpkin are as follows:

The Stem: Located on top of the pumpkin, the stem is usually brownish green. It was the umbilical cord that connected the fruit to the vine, and brought in nutrients from the main body of the plant. When choosing a pumpkin, it is best to find one with the stem still firmly attached. Never lift your pumpkin by the stem, or it will break off. This will become the handle for the “lid” of your Jack O’Lantern.

The Shell: This includes both the skin, also called the rind, the shiny orange outer covering, and the pulp, also called the meat or the flesh, the part that is cooked and used in many wonderful recipes.

The Blossom End: When the pumpkin vine produces blossoms, each is a potential pumpkin. the scar where the blossom used to be attached is what we consider the bottom of he pumpkin.

The Guts, Brains, Goop: Actually, they are called the fibrous strands that fill the cavity in the middle of the pumpkin. These gooey strands contain the pumpkin seeds.

The Seeds: Pumpkin seeds can be planted to produce the next season’s crop of pumpkins. They are made up of the seed shell and the nut inside. There are many excellent recipes for snacks and foods made from pumpkin seeds. (See our recipe section!)

Watch for upcoming posts for choosing the design for your Jack O’Lantern and the proper pumpkin and tools to use for it.

In the summer of 1816, at the age of 19, Mary Godwin, the daughter of a radical feminist and a philosopher, ran off to continental Europe with Percy Bysshe Shelley, the well-known poet. The couple was accompanied by a friend of Shelley’s, Dr. John Polidori. They took a house near Geneva, for what was intended as a romantic summer get away. Unfortunately, the weather turned ugly, and days of thunderstorms wore on the nerves of the party. To pass the time, they gathered around the fireplace in the evening and told each other ghost stories and local legends. They hit upon the idea of a competition. Each of them would write a horror story, and when they were finished, they would choose a winner. Mary began her story at once, however, the weather eventually turned sunny, and the gentlemen were off exploring the countryside. At the end of the allotted time, only Mary’s story was finished. She published it in 1818, under a pseudonym, with the title “Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus” Mary went on to marry Percy, write other books and to publish her husband’s poetry posthumously, after he drowned, tragically, at the age of 30.

Mary Shelley’s great work, Frankenstein has become the most famous monster tale of all time. It tells of the scientist, Victor Frankenstein, whose quest for glory prompts him to construct a creature from dead body parts, and then attempt to reanimate the tissue with a jolt of electricity, in the form of lightning. One of the reasons that her story seemed so plausible, and therefore, more frightening, was that such experiments were actually being carried out at that time, on a much smaller scale. Another acquaintance of Percy’s, Dr. Lind, was intrigued by making frog’s legs twitch and jerk by applying electricity. Their friend, Dr. Polidori, was conducting similar experiments on tissue reanimation. Was Mary’s story more than a tale of horror? Was it a warning, like the tale of Prometheus, against the arrogance of man, who was seeking god-like powers over life and death?

The story was first committed to film in 1910, by Edison Studios. To date, the tale of Dr. Frankenstein and his creature, has been told on film hundreds of times. Some have portrayed the creature as a mindless, raging beast, while others envisioned him as a gentle and misunderstood giant. In the 1930′s, the monster was most famously portrayed by Boris Karloff. It is his version of Frankenstein’s monster that has inspired many thousands of Halloween costumes for nearly 80 years.

Don’t assume that you know the whole story of Frankenstein. Although we have come to know the monster by his creator’s name, he was never actually given a name of his own. Victor, who was enraged that his experiment would not obey him, and lunged at him instead, called him “the creature”, “the fiend” or “that devil”. But, you can read Mary Shelley’s original story for yourself! You can find the complete text of “Frankenstein, or A Modern Prometheus” online at www.literature.org/authors/shelley-mary/frankenstein/ , and at www.gutenberg.org .

In the glittering salons of 1930′s society, from New York to Hollywood, and all over Europe, a small, round woman, possessed of an indomitable spirit and exquisite taste, reigned over entertaining. Elsa Maxwell was a gossip columnist, whose elaborate parties were well-attended by the wealthy, the famous, and the infamous. Elsa believed that people should be actively involved in a party, and so, she invented and introduced the Scavenger Hunt to her guests.

A list of objects or goals to be hunted is provided by the organizer. Hunters can work individually, or in teams. The goal is to accumulate as many items on the list as possible in a given period of time. Items may be hidden, or hunters may ask others, often strangers, neighbors, or friends, to help them acquire the items they seek. The hunting ground can be limited to a house or property, a mall, a neighborhood, or it can be unlimited, and bound only by the time restriction. The items may be collected, photographed or video taped, as directed by the organizer. The winning team or individual will be the one who has collected the most listed items by the end of the time limit. In the event of a tie, some judgement of the quality or value of the collected items may determine the winner.

Scavenger Hunts have become very popular Halloween entertainments. Sending guests out into the dark night to retrieve treasures lends itself to a spooky Halloween tale to start the evening. Make sure that your guests do not go out alone, and carry flashlights and/or reflective items. Depending on the age of your party guests, the hunt may be limited to the backyard or expanded to include the neighborhood. Be aware of any local curfews and inform your neighbors, in case they stumble upon one of your guests snapping a photo of their scary jack o’lantern, or creepy tree.

Here’s a idea for a Scavenger Hunt for kids. Purchase a posable plastic or cardboard skeleton, of nearly life size. Trace the skeleton on a large sheet of paper, and hang this outline up on the wall or door. Next, carefully take the skeleton apart at the joints. Hide the various parts around the house or back yard. Send your hunters out to unearth the body parts, and let them tape the pieces they have found onto the outline until the skeleton is reformed. Award a prize to the team that finds the most skeleton parts!

There is nothing like a good book to put you in the spirit of the holidays. In the case of Halloween, that would mean a good, scary story to get the blood pumping, adrenaline flowing and inspiration bubbling. I have listed some favorites, here, to get your Halloween reading list started. For those pressed for time, most of these wonderful reads have also been developed into movies, although I urge you to read the originals for the full effect and genuine spirit of the tales.

For adults and children over the age of 10, I would recommend some classics:

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. Still vibrant and scary, this short story was written by Irving in 1820, and survives as one of the earliest examples of truly American fiction. The story tells of a superstitious young school master, Ichabod Crane, whose courtship of the young Katrina Van Tassel, sets off a competition with the town bully. The hapless Crane also runs afoul of the local ghost of a headless Hessian soldier, with a penchant for midnight rides. If you haven’t read this story since you were required to for school, it’s time to pull it down from the shelf and read it again!

“The Halloween Tree” by Ray Bradbury. One of the undisputed deans of American science fiction and fantasy, Mr. Bradbury has given us some of the creepiest and most readable stories for the season. In this book, we meet 8 young boys who are all meeting to go trick or treating together. On the way to their meeting place, young Pip is whisked away by a great, dark Something. The boys meet the mysterious Mr. Moundshroud, who takes them on a journey through time and space to save their friend. From a funeral procession in ancient Egypt, Druidic rites, witch trials in Medieval Europe, and the catacombs of Mexico on the Day of the Dead, the boys learn about the origins of Halloween and how attitudes about death have been influenced it, while trying to save their friend.

“Something Wicked This Way Comes”, also by Ray Bradbury. This novel introduces us to two 13 year-old boys in a small midwestern town, who are conflicted about their upcoming 14th birthdays. On October 23, various townspeople tell the boys that they can feel that something is about to happen. The boys are delighted to learn that a carnival has set up just outside of town and are determined to be among the first to attend. The carnival, a sinister group, led by Mr. Dark, promises that a visit to Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show can make all one’s deepest desires come true. And wishes do come true, but always at a heavy price. In the case of this story, I will also heartily recommend the movie, for which I have linked the trailer here. It has brilliant performances by Jonathon Pryce and Jason Robards, and character actor, Royal Dano, and stays true to the feeling of the novel.

Just for fun, you may want to add the book “Halloween”, by Jerry Seinfeld. This picture book is based on Jerry’s own holiday experiences as a child. From pajama costumes to the quality of treats, he makes us smile remembering our own youth. This is a perfect book to share with younger children, aged 4 and up.