Two years ago today, my life was very different. I was on the brink of a major life transition, and very little made me smile at the time.
When Spirit Halloween’s sneak peeks were announced that year, I wasn’t sure how I would feel. I wanted to feel something, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to buy much, having no real idea where my life was headed. At the time, I was worried that my Halloween collecting days might even be over.
But, amidst a sea of uncertainty, there was a glimmer of hope that came in the form of an animatronic pumpkin known as the Pumpkin Patch Prowler.
As I’ve mentioned before, prior to the last couple of years of collecting, I didn’t really have a particular aesthetic goal when it came to what I bought, but one thing I’ve always been certain of, above all else, is that I love pumpkin people. And when I watched the video linked to above, it was like I was looking at a character from one of my best dreams.
I didn’t dare even consider the fact that I could buy him. Things were far too uncertain to make such a large, expensive purchase at that point in time. But, even at the worst of times, the thought of him kept some part of me anchored to what had always been the most important thing in my life: Halloween.
I got to meet him in person that September.
This moment was the first time in several months that I truly felt like myself. It was like seeing this pumpkin somehow reminded me that I was still alive, and there was still something out there for me. I think leaving him behind that evening was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. That immense feeling of safety and comfort that he brought me at such a moment of uncertainty, was incredibly difficult to walk away from. I don’t know that I ever fully stopped thinking about him after that.
When Halloween came and went that year, I was still a little wobbly, but starting to settle. In my darkest moments, it was still this pumpkin that I thought of. With some encouragement, I tried to find him on clearance, but alas, it was a bust. He was gone and I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again. But I still thought of him often. I have many scraps of stories about a pumpkin man, all of which were based on this pumpkin and this pumpkin alone.
By the time summer 2019 came around, and things were starting to reappear on Spirit’s website, I made the decision that if he appeared again, I would buy him, and figure out the details later. I was starting to become my true Halloween self again, but I knew I could never feel complete without him.
I almost didn’t get him. Spirit had to go all out last year and not only rerelease my beloved Pumpkin Patch Prowler, but also release a life-size version of Twisty the Clown, from my favorite TV show, American Horror Story. Twisty is incredibly important to me as well, and in an impulsive moment I chose him over the pumpkin that had stolen my heart the year before. Long story short, it didn’t work out with Twisty, and I learned that just because you love a character doesn’t mean you should automatically buy every piece of memorabilia relating to him. But even before I knew that Twisty wouldn’t be staying, something told me not to sleep on my dear Pumpkin Patch Prowler, so I went back and placed that order too.
That same day, he sold out. Silly as it sounds, I still go into a panic thinking about the fact that he most likely would’ve been lost to me forever if I hadn’t made the decision to order him right then on that day. He has become such a part of me that I truly don’t know where I’d be without him.
He finally arrived on September 18th, 2019.
I tossed around a few names for him before his arrival, but he is known as Enoch, inspired by the character from Over The Garden Wall. He definitely has some essence of that character, as he’s clearly the one running things around here about 90% of the time! He is the one that inspired me to start using the term “Pumpkin Patch” for my room/collection again, and subconsciously I think he’s been the one helping me find my perfect aesthetic this whole time. Much of my collection is curated with him in mind, and all of the smaller pumpkins look up to him in some way.
Enoch is a Great Pumpkin in his own way. He may not be the same as my childhood image of the character, but one of the storylines I’m working on for my collection of spooky friends will tell of spiritual Great Pumpkins and earthly Great Pumpkins, who are assigned to specific patches. Enoch is so obviously meant to be here that the only explanation is that he was chosen by the Great Pumpkin himself!
Two years ago today I saw him for the first time, and today he still remains my greatest inspiration. You might even say he saved my life, on some level. So here’s to my muse and co-runner of the Pumpkin Patch, the true Pumpkin King no matter what Jack Skellington tries to tell you, our dear Enoch.
Stay spooky, my friends.
Comments
Post a Comment