Katie Pumpkinhead’s Pumpkin Patch

 I saw a movie once; I think it was some variation of Barbie. In this movie a fairy realm existed, all the time, invisible to the naked eye. Only when the characters wore special glasses, could they see the true magic around them, the magic that the fairies saw every day without effort. I don't know when or why I watched this movie, I'm thinking I may have been babysitting a child, likely the niece of my ex, but I can tell you it's always made me think of Halloween, and the things I've struggled to put into words for years and years.  I went for a walk yesterday, and the thing that struck me so hard about the world around me was the sudden familiarity of it. I think a lot about a walk I took on October 29th of last year, and the sights I saw. Every walk or drive I took between then and now, I saw the echoes of these creatures and these sights. The residual feeling of something that was and would eventually be again. I don't know if other people's Halloween decor...

 I went for a walk this morning. The last time I took this exact same route was on the evening of October 29th, and it felt like being in a movie. The sun was setting, the leaves were reaching peak color, and everyone’s Halloween decorations were up and running. I felt perfectly alive in my surroundings, and like anything could happen. At times I felt like I was in some sort of opening scene for a new installment of a movie like Trick ‘r Treat.  There was an anticipation in the air that reminded me of how I used to feel as a child, when my father used to “patrol the streets” on the night before Halloween, and I could just feel the spookiness and excitement of what was to come. It was a sign that everyone was finally feeling the way I do all year round, almost as if the universe was giving me one huge gift. I don’t think there’s anything else quite like the magic of that time just before Halloween, when everything just glows and radiates. It truly feels like anything can happen...

 People often tell me that it’s amazing how much I remember about all of my past Halloween experiences.  Honestly, it’s a little strange to me, too. I have moments where I can’t remember something I did mere minutes ago, yet I can tell you, in detail, about the first time I trick-or-treated, at age four, or search tirelessly for a decoration that made an impression on me after being spotted in a few random windows when I was twelve. It feels like a gift, to be able to relive and share all of these things about my favorite holiday, in such vivid detail, after so much time has gone by. So, you can imagine how strange and surprising it is to me when I realize that there’s something I’ve forgotten.  There is an account I follow on Instagram,  Vintage Halloween Store . I can’t say for sure, but I think they were one of the first  Halloween accounts I followed there, before I had a major interest, or the means, to truly start a vintage Halloween collection. I was most...

 As I’ve mentioned before, when I was younger, all of the Halloween decorations in my home had personalities and backstories.  Most of the decorations, in my childhood, were given spooky but silly storylines, in the vein of something you’d see in a kids’ Halloween cartoon special. My interest in horror actually didn’t pop until I was fourteen.  There was one decoration, though, that danced a fine line between silly-spooky and sinister, to me at least: A scarecrow window cling that my mother had had since before I was born.  (This is not my photo. I actually found him listed on eBay several days ago as part of a lot, the first time I’ve seen him in many years, thanks to a conversation with a friend, that, oddly enough, originated with Easter decor memories.) He may not look so intimidating now, but something about his dead stare just got to me in my youth. He usually wound up on our main kitchen window, extended arm pointing directly at the door where trick-or-treater...

 As you most likely have already noticed, especially if you know me on Instagram, a great deal iof my Halloween collection is handmade.  I love supporting artists, and finding pieces that are clearly made with love and an understanding of what those of us who love and live for Halloween want to see. As someone with a lifelong appreciation for art, but zero crafting talent, it’s super fun to see what other people come up with. I realize, though, when I think about it, that I have always had a deep love for all things handmade, which likely began in babyhood, as I was always being brought to craft fairs by my mother and aunts. Craft fairs were interesting places to me, and as I got older, I made sure to save whatever money I could scrape up for them, rather than just trips to the toy store. Craft fairs were magical places, where you truly never knew what you might find. Everything there was the product of someone else’s imagination, and you never knew when you might stumble acro...

 One thing I’m pretty proud of when it comes to this blog, is that it hasn’t just become a collection of hauls. I tried Halloween blogging several years ago (on LiveJournal...) and never felt like I had much to talk about if I wasn’t showing off something I’d recently bought. It actually got to the point where I think I may have been buying things just for the sake of having something to talk about on that blog. That was something I promised myself wasn’t going to happen again, once I had the idea to make a new blog. However, sometimes there are things that you get that you just have to talk about! When I was working on my post about  my childhood belief in the Great Pumpkin , I ran across a decoration I’d never seen before, the  Telco Motionettes Pumpkin Ghost ! This guy literally was the epitome of my childhood vision of the Great Pumpkin, and he instantly became a grail item for me! I took one look at him and suddenly I was the child who couldn’t sleep the night before...

When I was very young, sometimes the changing of the seasons would take me by surprise. I didn’t quite have the rhythm of things down yet. As I got older, I learned the habits of everyone and everything around me relating to Halloween. I knew which neighbors decorated first. I knew when the leaves would start changing. I knew when things would start appearing in stores. To this day I have it pretty much down to a science, and you might argue that if I’d put half the effort into anything else that I have into Halloween, I’d be some sort of highly successful corporate executive, or something. But that’s not me. Anyway, one day, when I was about six years old, I went for a walk around the neighborhood with my grandfather. This was a fairly regular thing we did, when he lived with us, but it was always a fun time. My grandfather encouraged my imagination and inquisitive side like no one else. There was always something new to discover, even if we’d walked the same path a hundred times. And...

 Everyone has moments in their life when they feel like giving up. That feeling of “This is never going to happen, so why keep trying?” Sometimes it relates to a thing that would be trivial to anyone else, sometimes it’s about something more life-altering. But, we’ve all been there. I have moments of discouragement with this blog. Times I’ve told myself, “No one cares”, or “No one will read this”, etc., but I continue on, for the joy of it. And sometimes, something amazing happens. If you haven’t read my previous post,  Have You Seen This Pumpkin? , I would strongly suggest doing so before continuing on with this story. The short version is, I saw a pumpkin in someone’s window when I was twelve years old, and have spent the last twenty-one years trying to find it for myself.  When I published that post, I wasn’t expecting much of a response. I was really just hoping to hear someone say, “Yes, my family had this pumpkin when I was a kid!” Or “I once saw this in a neighbor’...

 Let’s go on a journey today, back to Halloween season 1999. 1999 was an odd year for Yours Ghoul-ly. I was twelve years old and had just started middle school, and to say it was a hard transition would be an understatement. As someone who had few friends to begin with, being put in a larger, more bustling environment made me feel more alone than ever. Learning the ropes, both relating to the new school environment and being a “pre-teen” when I still felt very much like a child, was difficult. I lived for the weekends, and on Sunday nights, my stomach would tie itself in knots in the way only a scared child’s can. It was very difficult for me to think of anything else, because I knew my next school day was always looming right around the corner. Even the most important things to me tend to get lost in times of major transitions, as if I forget who I am for a bit. There was a Saturday afternoon that year, though, that would change everything, and become a very important part of my H...

 Does anyone else get a deeply sentimental fall feeling when they see cornstalks?  For me, they just radiate autumn energy. There’s nothing that says “autumn” to me quite like seeing cornstalks arranged among pumpkins and scarecrows and hay bales, signaling that my favorite time of year is on its way. To hear them rustle when a breeze hits them, immediately takes me to a corn maze in mid-October, anticipating Halloween while trying to find my way around.  However, I recently remembered  why cornstalks are such a prominent, essential part of autumn/Halloween for me, and to say it’s kind of a funny story would be an understatement!  Somewhere between the ages of about five and eight, I went somewhere with my Aunt Trish one weekend. On the way home, she decided to stop at one of the local farms. I can’t remember if this was her original intention or not, but she decided, while we were there, to pick up her cornstalks for the season for her outdoor decorating. Aunt ...

I have a real “thing” about trick-or-treat pails. My parents had a pumpkin pail for me since before I was born. One of those old blow molds, with a puffy witch on the back. The pumpkin’s facial features were bumpy; tons of raised little dots stippled in his eyes, nose, and mouth. His teeth were more square than the ones you see today, and his handle was thicker. I’m not sure what ever happened to him, but I know he got a lot of use from me between the ages of four and seven. When I was eight, however, what can only be described as a life-altering trick-or-treat pail event  happened. The year was 1995. I’m not sure what month it was, but I’m thinking it was teeny bit on the “early” side for Halloween things. I walked into WalMart with my parents and my maternal grandfather, who lived with us at the time, and, like any kid, immediately found some stuffed animal that I wanted someone to buy for me. My grandfather agreed to it without much coaxing; that’s just how he was. But then, we ...

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 c...

I have something truly incredible to share today! Since I truly got into Halloween collecting in my adult life, one thing I have always wanted is one of those old paper maché pumpkins.  I first came across them while trying to find information on a die cut pumpkin decoration that’s been a grail item of mine since I was about twelve years old. I don’t think I realized what a market there was for vintage Halloween items until I, almost inadvertently, started looking. Somewhere in my search, though I never did find what I was initially looking for, I started to see all of these incredibly unique little pumpkins, that brought to mind a completely different era in time. Most of them had their mouths in a permanent “O” shape, as if either surprised or frightened. And, due to their age, they each had particular “defects” that only seemed to add to their character. You couldn’t help but look at them and wonder what they’d seen; what they’d been through. What was Halloween like when these l...

Due to me being such a shy and socially anxious kid, when I started elementary school, my mother, who I can tell you is just about the least “PTA” person you’ll ever meet, decided to become a “class mom”, one of the mothers who volunteers to help out with class parties and chaperone field trips and stuff. She figured I’d be less reluctant to get involved in things if she was around.  I can’t say for sure if it helped or hindered my social development, but there was one particular instance that I think played somewhat a part in my development into the person I am today.  The biggest perk of being the class mom’s daughter was that, when it came to things like goody bag prizes or craft supplies, if there were any left over, I got to keep them for myself. While other kids were whining and attempting to trade things, I was often content because I knew I had the rest of the coveted collection waiting for me at home. There were instances, though, when sometimes there were just enough...