Halloween Extravaganza!!! Winner Announced

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I am one of those people that is simultaneously terrified and fascinated with scary things. Anyone ever seen Wrong Turn? I will never set foot in West Virginia because of that movie. But, we have "paranormal activity" in our house (according to the real life Ghostbusters hired by the previous owner) and it doesn't scare me at all. I'm contrary that way.

Anyway, what are your favorite or scariest horror/Halloween movies? I'm interested to know so I can either rent them or steer clear of them.

Below is the story of my worst Halloween ever, for those of you interested in reading it. But if you want to get down to business, the winner of the $25 Amazon gift card is listed at the bottom of this page, with details how to claim your prize.

You know how sometimes the lowest points of our lives become the funniest when you look back on them? Well, last Halloween was one of those times. My son was four and trick-or-treating as one of the transformers.  My daughter was two and dressed like a ballerina. She should have been a ninja. Ever since she’s been able to walk, she’s had this incredible ability to slip away undetected. And she’s a master at hiding too. She’ll find somewhere small and dark, where you think, there’s no way she’ll hide there, it’s too scary. Then she stays silent for…however long it takes to find her. Seriously. This could be up to thirty minutes. It’s creepy.

Anyway, while trick-or-treating, my daughter put her ninja ballerina skills to the test and disappeared. Right in the middle of the biggest, most pimped out Halloween house I’ve ever seen.  Lit up pumpkins lined the walkway. Gravestones dotted along the lawn. Ghosts swayed from the trees (I have not yet verified that those were decorations). Fog machine, creepy soundtrack, the whole shebang. It was like a Halloween party store and an amusement park got together and had a baby on their lawn.

My son had one thing on his mind. Candy. So he went running down the walkway toward the tacky house promising tricks and treats. I could see the owners at the door dressed up like characters from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Now, I’m a regular Frankie fan, but how was I supposed to explain a man in a corset and high heels to a curious four year old? So I ran ahead with my son while my husband was supposed to be watching ninja girl. 

After thanking the Rocky cast for the candy, I turned around to find my daughter missing and my husband studying the mechanical hand popping up from the ground (he’s an engineer, ‘nuff said?).

A search party that could rival the FBI ensued. Ten frantic minutes later, we found a chocolate faced ballerina hanging out with a ghost behind one of the gravestones. Goodbye early bedtime.

Fast forward a couple hours later and ninja baby was asleep in her bed. My son was sitting on our bed watching the Disney Channel with hubby. I was doing some writing at our breakfast bar, not pigging out on the kid’s candy. All of the sudden, some black creature from hell came flying straight at my head. I screamed then ducked under the counter. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a bat. I rolled my eyes at the irony.  A bat loose in the house on Halloween. Can we get anymore cliché? 

Regardless, it still freaked me out. Have you ever studied a bat’s flight patterns? They are completely chaotic and unpredictable. I know they’re blind and use echolocation, yadda, yadda, yadda. But I think this one was drunk too. Anyway, I was so paranoid the thing would get stuck in my hair, I got down on the ground and crawled – army style – across the kitchen floor, screaming, “Bat! Bat!” My husband came running down the stairs, thinking the house was on fire and I locked myself in the playroom.

After a few minutes, I peeked out the door to see him waving the American flag we usually have hanging outside like he’s practicing for Color Guard. He later explained it was the only way to catch the bat without hurting it. A net, somehow, didn’t cross his mind. Whatever. I’ll leave the bat wrangling to him. 

So, hubby yelled that the bat flew upstairs where my son was sitting quietly watching Wizards of Waverly Place. Did he bat an eye (pun intended) that a drunken winged creature was zooming around the room like a helicopter with a broken propeller? Nope. Wizards of Waverly Place is that good.

Hubby followed the bat to our room, flag in tow. The flag soared around the room, mimicking the erratic patterns of bat flight. Decorations flew off shelves. Pictures fell off walls. Finally, the bat got wrapped up in the flag and both went down in a flurry of red, white, and blue.

And to top it all off, ninja baby threw up chocolate chunks in her bed. 

And that was my worst Halloween ever.

AMAZON GIFT CARD WINNER IS.....

Violet

Congrats. Email me at leia@leiashaw.com to claim your prize. If I don't hear from you by Wednesday night I will draw another winner.