Hello, Friends! Flossie Benton Rogers here. Are you old enough to remember the vintage Halloween costumes for kids from the 1950s and 60s? They came in a flimsy box and usually contained a mask slipped over the back of the head by a thin rubber string, an outfit of some sort, and assorted props. The latter might include a broom, a pair of “glass” shoes, or a devil’s trident. A kid’s Mom would sometimes add embellishing touches, such as jewelry or a chiffon scarf. Which costumes did you pick?
My favorites were the happy, attractive ones, such as the benevolent, blonde-haired queen and the colorful gypsy. Am I dreaming or did the gypsy come with a tambourine? I was Cinderella one year, and the “glass” slippers had an elastic strap designed to keep them on your feet. The result was not terribly sturdy. The shoes pretty much flopped all over the place. They were pretty, though!
One year I remember having limited choices due to the items in our neighborhood store being quickly depleted, and I ended up with the devil costume. That red mask was harsh! It might have been easier to do what some kids did— wear a ghost costume by cutting two eyeholes in a sheet.
Whatever we did—hayrides, trick or treating, scoring homemade popcorn balls and caramel apples—the kids went out in groups, the parents were involved, no one got hurt, and we always had fun. The masks and costumes were ways of donning an alternate persona for one night a year and acting out our fairy tales or pretending to scare our friends.
Masks and costumes can also be ways of donning an alternate persona as an ongoing pretense or habitual act of deception. Most often the mask is one where a person seems to be supportive, but underneath has hidden motives or an ax to grind. The costuming or trappings around the person help to enhance the deception and build a false sense of security in the people around the play-actor. Personality disguises and false personas occur in several books in the Wytchfae fantasy romance series.
Runes, for example, has a character that lives and breathes in her false persona for years on end. Hopefully the unveiling is a surprise to readers. In Mind Your Goddess a character pretends to seek help from the compassionate goddess Epona, but turns out to want only revenge.
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Flossie, your post brought back so many fun memories for me! I didn't get to trick or treat much because we didn't have any neighbors, but one Halloween the local town had a costume parade. I didn't have a costume, so I found an old ball gown of my mother's and added a scarf across my face as a veil. I became a "dancing girl from an Arabian Nights tale". I didn't even know that there was a costume contest, but I actually won a prize! It was a "Money Tree" with dollar bills stuck all over the branches of a small, artificial tree. I was over the moon with excitement!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your story, Kathy. I know it was a lovely costume, and no wonder you won a prize! It was clever as well as beautiful. My mother always had such lovely party dresses. I still have two of them. One is shimmering gold, and the other brilliant red. I have posted pictures of my mother in the gold-- on FB I think. I'm glad you and I have good Halloween memories.
ReplyDeleteLike Kathy, I didn't get to go trick or treating because we lived in the country and our neighbors were few and far between. However, long before so much meaness started happening and schools stopped holding fun events, my elementary school always hosted a Halloween festival with all the trimmings--bobbing for apples, different haunted houses, pony rides. Every child went home with a bag of goodies. Your post has envoked some happy memories. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your memories, Loretta. Oh, yes, I remember the elementary school festivals and bobbing for apples. Those events were such fun, although my mouth is not really large enough for an apple-- right! LOL
DeleteLOL! Flossie. :p
DeleteThanks, Flossie! I really enjoyed your blog. It brought back memories. I remember dressing up as a gypsy, and my friend deciding to be a football player and she was stumbling all over the place. We used to trick-or-treat for hours, and one year I got a little frostbite on my toe-Utah. The first thing Mom did when we got home was to check all of our candy for anything bad. Those were carefree years, though, where we could just wander anywhere for hours.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your memories. You and your friend must have had a great time that year as a gypsy and football player. Wow-- frostbite! That doesn't happen here, but I do remember getting fuzzy headed from the cold one morning as I walked to school. It was 17 degrees. I only had on a thin sweater, as I didn't realize how cold it was. Our teacher put me by the radiator. It's a good feeling to remember our Moms checking the candy.
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