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.
