It was just about the time that Bruce Springsteen began his dreams of stardom in New Jersey. In a town not too far away from the Boss, a brother and sister prepared for the big day. Steve and I ran home from school and grabbed our costumes, such as they were; white flat sheets that we cut mouth and eyeholes into covered our Levis and sweatshirts. Pillow cases served as candy bags that would be refilled repeatedly.
It was all about the sugar.
We were kids with super-conscientious parents.
But Halloween belonged to us.
It was the only time of the year that we were allowed to have candy.
I don”t recall ever having a different costume as a child and I know I didn”t care.
We had our own haunted house in that town and it was for real. Breeze Knoll was a 19-room, three-story Victorian mansion and the most expensive house in upper-middle class Westfield, New Jersey. It even had a massive ballroom. John List, 46, lived there with his wife, Helen, 45; his daughter, Patricia, 16; and his two sons, John Jr., 15, and Frederick, 13. His 85-year-old mother, Alma, lived in an apartment in the attic. In October 1971, List applied for a firearms registration for home protection and proceeded to kill his entire family. To add to the fear factor, he was a fugitive from justice for nearly 18 years and was finally arrested in 1989 after the story of the murders was broadcast on “America”s Most Wanted.” He was sentenced to serve five life sentences. He died in prison in 2008 at 82 years old. Another interesting tidbit, Robert Blake portrayed John List in the 1993 film “Judgment Day: The John List Story.” The 71-year-old actor would have faced life in prison for the 2001 murder of Bonny Lee Bakley, his wife of six months and the mother of his 4-year-old daughter. A jury acquitted him of the murder.
With our PRO-Keds placed firmly on the downed crime tape, acting as a starting line, Steve and I ran across the List lawn. It was nothing short of horrifying.
Once in junior high and high school, I left the candy behind and began dressing up as some of my favorite musicians: Joey Ramone, Joan Jett, Jerry Garcia and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister. One year I was Ellie Mae Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies and my boyfriend was Jethro.
My children have dressed as the Lion King, Alice in Wonderland, Raggedy Ann, a cowboy, Frankenstein, the Bride of Frankenstein and of course the ever-popular princess and witch.
We”ve celebrated by taking the haunted train in Sacramento, school parades and ghoulish parties with food fights and campfire stories and Stephen King movie marathons. One year my daughter Nicole painted a perfect portrait of Pennywise from the movie “It” on the front window of our home.
Halloween conjures up all sorts of ghosts from the past.
This year I nearly lost my best friend. That was the scariest thought imaginable. Following a kidney transplant, she found out she had developed an infection. She was in a coma for some time and endured extensive surgeries. Last weekend I drove to Portland to see Gaylene. We celebrated Halloween early, going to “The 13th Door,” the scariest haunted house since I ran across the yard in New Jersey. The next night we watched “B” movies at the “Movies at the Mortuary.” My favorite was the “Undertaker and his Pals,” It was all great fun.
Even though I don”t care for candy anymore, probably because of the Oct. 31 annual overdose, I enjoy seeing children and adults transform themselves for a day and imagine that they are super heroes or whatever they dream of being.
Mandy Feder is the Record-Bee news editor. She can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or 263-5636 Ext. 32.
