Our church used to do a "Trunk and Treat" party at the church building. We would bring our cars and pick-ups, decorate the backs of them, and then and hand out candy in the parking lot, as the kids went (in costume) from one vehicle to the next. The church would supply hot apple cider and hot chocolate. This wasn't a fear of satanism so much as just getting church members together and letting our kids have fun in a more controlled and, presumably, safer environment.

I agree with the above point that Halloween is about fun, but I think Bradbury's point in "The Halloween Tree" is also valid. Part of Halloween is a recognition of man's past attempts to somehow understand the mystery of death and attempt to placate it's needs and demands. The roots of Halloween were an attempt to somehow deal with death and our innate fear of it.

The balance is to have fun, and, at the same time, recognize that we each -- even in a modern society -- have to deal with death and it's threat to our own sense of well-being. The use of the imagination and creative mind helps sort through some of this. This is not to diminish the very real role religion plays in dealing with this aspect of life.

My church also does the "Trunk or Treat" idea every year. We have a BMX bike demonstration, dancing, a carnival inside the gym, etc.. I think it's a positive way to celebrate.

Ray wrote stories about Mexico and the Day of the Dead. I remember when I first read one of them. In my mind, as I passed the meat swinging from hooks in the market place I slapped the flies away. There was a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Kids were sucking on skeleton candies and eating white bone sticks with relish. Under the ground, the dead waited.

For me, in the sixties, it was driving out to the desert on Halloween night, to see the graveyards full of candles, to walk between the graves in the dark and watch the shadows dance when the wind flickered through.

Ray is not afraid to face the dark. In fact, sometimes I think he revels in it. And as long as I am alive, every Halloween I will thumb my nose at death. I will do this by filling my house with skeletons and green mummies, witch faces and clutching fingers.

And when I am no longer alive, I will ooze under your door as that gust of wind that has no explanation, and blows the door of your bathroom shut.

I hope you all had a great Halloween!