Katie Pumpkinhead’s Pumpkin Patch

 As the Criminologist in The Rocky Horror Picture Show once said: I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey. It begins in the year of our gourd, 2008. It was, if I recall correctly, around the time of July 4th, and a Yankee Candle catalog appeared in the mail. This was shortly before the beginning of the layman's spooky season aligned with the Fourth of July, so you can imagine how thrilled I was when this catalog contained Halloween...featuring a collection of skeletons known as the Boney Bunch. I was immediately enamored with them (It's probably worth noting that I was also heavy into my Tim Burton, particularly Corpse Bride,  era at this point.) and felt compelled to make a wishlist. My mother was holding on for my Aunt Trish, who as you know if you've read previous entries here is the reason I got into Halloween in the first place, to decide what she wanted so we could just place one big order to save on shipping, and this took maybe a week or so. Now, at

If you know me at all, you probably know: It’s never too early for Halloween is the hill I will die on. January 3rd, April 22nd, August 12th, November 1st itself…It doesn’t matter. To me, spooky is not a season. But a strange trend I’m starting to notice this year is, even within the Halloween community itself, even among the most avid lovers of Halloween, I’m seeing posts that basically state, in so many words, “I love Halloween, but it’s too early.”  Huh? Now, I understand that for some people, it may not feel as special when treated as a year-round thing, and that is a perfectly valid way to feel. In fact, one reason it took me until my mid-twenties to start leaving my Halloween decor up all year round was because I was afraid Halloween would lose something if I tried to quell that longing by surrounding myself with it for too long before or too late after. I’m in no way trying to shade or gatekeep against those that love Halloween but find more magic in keeping it seasonal. There’s