Hello and Welcome!

Today is September 3rd, 2013. I officially started my Halloween season today. I've been in love with Halloween for as long as I can remember. I remember buying my first latex mask in 4th grade. I remember working the school haunted houses in 7th. Around that same time the first Spirit Halloween superstore opened up in town. I still have the toy ghost I purchased that day. In high school I visited my first real haunted attraction (Austin's Haunted Trails, in the Wild Basin Preserve), and that's what cemented the month of October as my favorite time of year. I couldn't stop Googling props and anamatronics. There was so much out there.

I remember checking the website of a local haunted house for job openings. They were auditioning. I'd just gotten my first car, so I thought I'd go give it a shot. I was so nervous. Not only did I get the job, but I found a second family in my haunt friends.

My freshman year in college not only did I get the job at the haunted house, but for the next two years I simultaneously worked in the Halloween retail business.. I lived and breathed it and loved every second of it.

Before I knew it, seven years had passed. After all the haunted house drama and paint and latex, after I saw friends come and go, I wound up with a full time job. For almost a year, I got to design and create haunted houses. It was the best job I've ever had.

I graduated from college and moved on from the haunt and into the world of adults. I would have stayed if I'd thought there was a future in it, but I'm not entirely sure there is.

It's been a few years since I've parted ways with the haunt. I sure miss it. The first year away was pretty rough on me. I did not take it well (and if any of my friends are reading this, I am super sorry for being such a grouch!)

Anyhoo, I started seeing the Halloween stuff start trickling in to stores not too long after the Fourth of July. To be fair, they were craft stores, so I guess I forgive it. They seem to put stuff up in advance for most holidays to give crafters some lead time.

Then I started seeing the gadgets at the dollar stores. And signs pop up for costume stores. But I wouldn't let myself get into Halloween mode yet. I feel like it ruins the specialness of it if you have it year round.

I've been fighting it and fighting it. But this weekend was Labor Day. The unofficial end of Summer. All the kiddos are back to school. That means the notebooks and pencils start getting packed up. And the pumpkins start getting unboxed.

I saw the Spirit by my house today, and decided to swing by. I immediately bought a Jack-o-Lantern Key cap.But dang if it wasn't busted when I got home. Guess I gotta go back tomorrow....