Halloween Plans?

[Dervish]

Bit of an after-action report!

Turns out 48 cans of pop wasn't nearly enough. I ran out and still had about 15 or so kids afterwards. I still have a sizable amount of chocolate, so next year I'll do another case of pop instead of two big boxes of candy. It actually costs less.

I beat my record; 5 kids absolutely refused to approach me, and that was even before I really got my creepy, jerky mannerisms down. I also legitimately had 3 teenagers run away from me, which was good fun. I didn't say a single word to them, and they spent a good while trying to figure out if I was a person or a statue (turns out, this was by far the most common thing that people said tonight in regards to me), and there were plenty of "OH MY GOD HE'S REAL" realizations that were most excellent. One kid asked me if the candy was poisoned, to which I shrugged, and I made them pluck the candy out of my hand instead of putting it in a bag. They were also the only group that I walked out to the sidewalk to stare at them, which pretty much sealed the deal. Waltzing after them for a few meters prompted them to run around the corner and out of sight. It was really fun, and I think I was a highlight for them. The one kid asked me if he could take a selfie with me, to which I beaconed him with two fingers and he quickly said, "Nevermind! I don't have a camera!"

One little girl absolutely refused to come up to me without her mother accompanying her, and when she got next door, she was complaining how creepy I was and trying to hide from my line of sight by using her mother and the parked car as a shield. I waved when she peeked out, which freaked her out more. The mother basically validated everything I was doing when she said, "Good, he should scare you. He understands what real Halloween is." Seriously, best compliment ever. I was glad for the mask.

Earlier in the night, the next door neighbour's 20 something stepped outside and saw me and was absolutely freaked out. She ran inside and got her parents, and I had a nice chat with them. They loved how I had things set up and thought I was fantastic. Considering I've never spoken to them before now, I quite like them.

The bravest kids were these 3 sisters and a brother probably around 5-12, and they did not hesitate at all to approach and seemed really excited. When they discovered I was handing out cans of pop, they reacted in pretty much the same manner as if they were told they were going to Disney Land. Seriously, I have never seen any kid so stoked about the cans of pop. I could still hear them talking about it a little bit down the street. They also had a group picture taken in front of the house. You could tell they love Halloween for a lot more than just the treats, and it's kids like this (and the three teenagers above) that are the reason I love handing out candy.

Some of the best kids are the ones who are literally running door to door and they aren't looking ahead and then when they look up and see me, they stop dead in their tracks and look legitimately worried about what they should do. SURPRISE!

I had to tease a bunch of kids to say trick or treat before they got candy, and they barely came out as more than whispers. Either I was that creepy, or kids just have no enthusiasm.

Best costume I saw all night was this one kid who was completely covered head to toe in black, but on his front and back, he had glow sticks that were shaped like a stick figure. It was pretty fun watching him walk down the street.

Most of the adults seemed to love the costume, and I got a lot of startled reactions when people noticed me. For the people who were wondering if I was a statue, I found tilting my head to the side usually got the best reactions.

Overall, it might not have been a party with friends, but it's really nice to be able to give kids memories and experiences that remind me of when I was a kid going door to door and coming across a really spooky house. Halloween's a lot more fun for everyone if you put a little bit of effort in and don't decide to just answer the door to give candy to whomever shows up.