written by Raulla S. Mitchell

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect, but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.”

Carl Jung (psychologist)

How do you celebrate Halloween?

Do you dress up in a fave silly or ghoulish costume for a party?

Do you toss together something last min to surprise unsuspecting trick-or-treaters when you open your door?

Do you chaperone the kids (and dog, in costume too), joining in their shrieks of laughter and calls to each other as they run in the dark from home to home in your neighborhood?

For years, I used to dress as Wilma Flintstone.  My husband as her stone age hubbie Fred.  Our next door neighbor created these costumes for us.

One year my Fred no longer wanted to go barefoot.  He determined that an oversized bright orange tunic with black patches and a royal blue tie were sufficient to signify Fred, without his big bare feet at the bottom.

That was the year of our descent from full-on Wilma & Fred,  as I recall it.

Who IS Fred with shoes on?  He’s NOT Fred, that’s who.

Wilma’s white jig-jag bottom white dress has shrunk over the years.  Maybe, I’ve put on a few, or things have shifted… No, it’s shrunk.

I choose to thrive in the land of deNile.  Free choice is a good thing.

My other sartorial option: a femme fatale vampire feline – homage to Don Taylor’s 1977 flick “The Island of Dr. Moreau”.

Cinephiles, or femmes d’un certain age, remember, Dr. Moreau, the mad scientist who experimented with inter-species breeding on his lost island filled with the sounds, dreams and nightmares of human-tiger-leopard-jaguar creatures, starring the gorgeous Barbara Carrera? Unforgettable.

I searched far and wide and finally discovered a beautiful faux fur black tail and leopard ears to pair with a royal purple velvet hooded victorian cape.  My ancestral Romanian-Ukrainian-Lithuanian-Russian DNA (black hair and anemic complexion, a natural Goth) brings me nearly to completion without much make-up beyond a good pair of fangs.  Not all fangs were created equal.   Some are better than others, and you get what you pay for where fangs are concerned.

For those of you who know me, any other ideas?

What about you?          

Any plans to dress up this year?

Please tell me that you still leap into the spirit of Halloween dress-up!

The last thing I have to say about dressing up for Halloween is “pourquoi pas?”

When is there a better excuse to dress up and pretend to be someone else, even if just for one night?

Come on, have some fun, let out those primal screams, giggles, roars,.. – You know you want to!

Remember: play is instinctual and vital to the creative spirit.  Why wait?  If not now, when? → Read more