The Very First ‘Pumpkinseed’//October 110th, 2021

 If you ask me my earliest memories of things related to Halloween, there are many. 

The initial thing that comes to mind is my first year trick-or-treating, at age four. I have vivid memories of my pumpkin costume, a hand-me-down from my cousin, and being coaxed out from under a table and into the magical world of Halloween, that would become my world from that moment on. I often catch myself wondering if that’s where my specific obsession with pumpkin people originates from. 

I think a lot about those classic McDonald’s Halloween pails, served with a Happy Meal inside. A small collection of them existed in my home before I was born, and I played with them like toys before I’d ever even experienced Halloween. Each one had a name and a personality (my favorite being “Katta”, the witch) and would often leave me with a craving for French fries (or a milkshake, in the ghost’s case) when I was done playing. One day soon, those guys will get their own post here. 

There is one vague memory that’s sat at the back of my mind for awhile, though. Like the pails, my parents had many things around the house from before I was born. And the Halloween item that I actually have my very earliest memories of playing with, was actually a small pin the shape of a pumpkin. But this wasn’t just an ordinary pumpkin, either. It had a little string on the bottom, and when you pulled it, a smiling ghost declaring a friendly “Boo!” popped out from inside, wearing the top of the pumpkin like an oversized hat.

It’s one of those things I never really consciously thought about anymore, but the memory was always just there, hazy in the back of my mind, that my first experience with Halloween was with this interesting little relic that I found among a bunch of tiny toys that my parents kept in a little bucket under one of the lamps in the living room when I was a toddler. Every so often I would see it in my mind’s eye, a blurry vision of a little plastic pumpkin and the smiling face of a ghost.

I only started actually thinking more about it recently, after discovering ScaryRigged, a shop run by a lovely lady named Heather, that specializes in vintage Halloween jewelry. This shop has become my absolute favorite for Halloween jewelry. Everything has so much character. I often keep an eye on it for updates, and one day, lo and behold, in Heather’s Instagram story, there was the pin from my youth, that had been nothing but a hazy memory for so long.

It’s such a strange feeling, when these little relics return to my life. I didn’t know the first time I ever held this pin, that my life would one day revolve around all things relating to Halloween, but this truly was the first real piece of that puzzle. Up until I saw this for sale again, I was wondering how accurate my memory even was, but when I hold this in my hand, I know I’m holding the first little pumpkinseed that helped me grow into the pumpkin that I am.

What are your earliest memories of Halloween-related things? I would love to know!

Stay spooky, my friends.