Katie Pumpkinhead’s Pumpkin Patch

A brief exchange of comments with a friend on Instagram earlier today got me thinking about my childhood Halloween collections. Strangely enough, almost all of my childhood decorations and knickknacks, which, believe me, there were a lot of them, mysteriously disappeared somewhere in my late teens/early twenties. My memories of these items are vivid. They each had a story and personality, and would become part of ongoing arcs in my head that would be added to every October when it was time to put the decorations back up, I only wish I still had most of these items to share here today, but alas, I guess I’ll never know what happened to them.  I did, however, manage to rebuy the most important collection of my childhood Halloweens in adulthood. As you can probably tell, I have quite a few little families of Halloween characters, whom will all be introduced here formally in good time, but it seems only right to introduce the ones who have followed me here from my childhood first:...

This may come as a shock, but my second-favorite holiday is, and always has been, Valentine’s Day. It’s one of those things I could never really explain. As a child, I loved seeing the decorations, looking at the cute things for sale,  receiving little cards from classmates that otherwise wouldn’t give me a second thought, and, possibly above all else, trying to make sentences out of the little conversation heart candies. I’d spend countless hours at the kitchen table, trying to make a love note that said something like “Hey You. Let’s Kiss. Be Mine. Love You.” Terribly romantic stuff, I know. As I got older, it became sort of the “in thing” to hate Valentine’s Day, especially if you were single, but even at the loneliest points in my life, I could never bring myself to do such a thing. I don’t think I ever saw the holiday as being exclusively about romantic love. For me it was always about just love and happiness in general. Be it romantic love, friendship, family, a pet,...

Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved pumpkins. Not all pumpkins can last forever, though. So there came a day when one of her pumpkins started to rot. Luckily, the girl had a beloved sister. Maybe they weren’t connected by blood, but they were bonded together by mutual understanding and acceptance. Her sister carved the pumpkin into a tiny jack o’lantern for the girl and all of her spooky Halloween friends. “Where did the pumpkin go?” Little Horus the ghost asked one night. Calling upon Sam to come and investigate.  “Something ate him!” said Sam. “A raccoon, most likely. I do hope it was a nice meal.” “And now” said Sam “I have a nice hat!”

Would you believe me if I said there was a time where even the slightest spooky thing used to scare me? Honestly, I almost don’t believe it either.  But there was a time, even though Halloween was always, and somewhat inexplicably, depending on who you asked, my favorite thing in the world from the time I was four years old, that most scary stories were a “no-no” for me. I could sit here for hours spinning yarns about the several years I spent afraid of mirrors thanks to Bloody Mary, or the nightmares induced by a monster made of slime on a show my teenage cousin was watching at our house one evening, but there is one very particular memory I’d like to talk about today. When I was little, there was a set of books in the library that I didn’t dare go near. A dark compilation of tales known as Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. Looking at that book cover really brings me back. In my mind, the thought of opening that book was akin to opening the dreaded spell book...

"Why so sad, little pumpkin?" the girl asked. "I don't think I'm in the right place," the pumpkin replied.  "Whatever do you mean?" the girl questioned. "You are, after all, in a pumpkin patch." "It's not that I don't believe I fit in here," the pumpkin said. "I know that I'm loved. My family is here, or so it seems." "Then why do you seem so out of place?" the girl wondered.  "I just think that maybe I'm meant to be somewhere else," the pumpkin mused. "Have you ever seen a place that felt more like home than anywhere you've lived?" The girl nodded, remembering a place that lit up her heart. She closed her eyes as she remembered an autumn breeze, the sound of it rustling through the trees, bringing to life the scarecrows that lined the fence in the park that gave her peace like nothing she'd ever experienced before. She thought ...

There are some people who toss out their pumpkins almost the very second that Halloween ends. There are some that let them hang around until Thanksgiving, and then promptly dispose of them, because Heaven forbid we have pumpkins at Christmas. As you can probably imagine, I am neither of these. I believe in holding onto a pumpkin, and keeping it in sight, until the day comes that it’s squishy, moldy, or otherwise rotten. My record holder lasted until exactly Halfoween (that’s May 1st on the Gregorian calendar) before having to be put out to pasture. That said, we lost one yesterday. The first pumpkin of the 2019 season to depart for whatever the pumpkin version of the Rainbow Bridge might be called. (Rotting Bridge?)  Our dearly departed was purchased on my vacation to Delaware last September, from a little farm called Fifer Orchards. She (yes, she was a she, as she eventually wound up with a drawn-on face with eyelashes most human women would kill for) was know...

If you somehow haven’t already figured it out, I love Halloween decor.        Or, as I tend to refer to it, “everyday decor”. I’ve collected a lot over the years. Even in childhood I’d often choose to spend my allowance or birthday money on Halloween-related items. I’ve amassed many different items of many different styles. Pretty much anything that relates to Halloween, makes my heart happy.  I have, however, always had a particular love for vintage Halloween, which seems to be reaching its peak in my adult life. I suppose if I had to describe my particular decorating aesthetic at this point in time it would be something along the lines of “haunted pumpkin patch meets 1950s Halloween party”.  I’d own a lot more vintage decor if I had more money and space, and also if it were a little easier to find. I was incredibly lucky this past September when I took a trip to Delaware to visit my Aunt Joanne. In her area, there are loads of vintage and...