We are now deep in the season of spooky and it is vital that we stay true to all which that means, suggests, and signifies. We must be very careful in these murky waters! For we’ve also got scary and creepy, haunting and terrifying, all of that which provokes horror and terror of the deepest kind, and spooky encompasses all of these and none of them, such is its mystery and allure.
It is a time of monsters and ghosts, witches and zombies and ghouls, vampires and werewolves and so much that is strange and unearthly, but it is also a time for skeletons, yes! skeletons! in all their calcified glory, and all that such bony things represent, so many of which lie in the very earth which we, the alive, walk every day. Hey you! Whistle when you walk past that graveyard in the darkness! That boneyard is all about mortality, and one can get philosophical and religious and sad about such things, in a totally sober and serious way, and spooky is about that, as well, but it is also about something else, in case you haven’t noticed. That’s why we cheerfully fill our yards with skeletons of every possible kind, with nary a sad thought while we do it.
Along with this world there has always been that other world, the world of the supernatural and mysterious, one which evokes mystery and awe and perhaps a bit of fear, though not much, for too much would not be spooky. Much that was once truly terrifying, a world where witches and supposed witches could be put to death, has become a thing of the past – though not everywhere, surely – and nowadays that other world has evolved into spooky, and we are the better for it.
And there is so much that is truly terrifying and haunting and creepy in this world, “existential threats” and so much more, along with the many every day horrors that our species brings upon itself and the planet, all the ugly possibilities of a dystopian future, the visions of which never seem to go away. Spooky is one way of taking a break from all that, while keeping in mind that fear is part of what we are made of, for if there is one enduring piece of hard-wiring in our overworked psyches, it is surely that. And spooky is one way of messing with those circuits, if only briefly. Let spooky be! Don’t contaminate it, please!
Of course ambiguity is also one of spooky’s charms, part of its allure. We have all those campy old movies, the classics like Frankenstein and Dracula and the Wolfman, but we also have the Twilight series and the Night of the Living Dead, and swinging way back the other way Abbot and Costello Meet (the monster or horror of your choice, here) ______________ . What is one to make of it all?
Spooky has a home in its heart for all of this, but we must be vigilant and not go too far. This is especially true with what we put on public display. The line between “just enough” and “too much” is drawn mighty fine, and in the end the decision is yours as to what spooky is all about, and one look will tell you who has overstepped and who has stayed true to spooky’s spirit and intent. Of course we can disagree, but please! spooky is special in its own way and keep that in mind in this season we are celebrating that seems to be some kind of renaissance of something. And that something is spooky, no doubt about it.
