Please skip on to the next blog in your reading list if the title of this post offends you.
Skip on if you don't want to read through what may end up being a wordy post with no pictures.
I won't mind.
I was talking to someone earlier today about why I hate Halloween and got called a grumpy old woman. I laughed it off but it's been playing on my mind.
My experience where I live of Halloween is that children I don't know at all turn up on my doorstep expecting me to provide them with something. Sometimes these are little children accompanied by an adult, sometimes this can be a group of teenagers on their own, not even dressed up.
I live alone. I don't put any decorations outside my house to indicate that this is welcome. I have over the years resorted to turning off all the lights in rooms at the front of the house and sitting in the back. They still ring the doorbell.
For me, with my life experiences I can find it odd that adults are teaching kids to approach and beg from complete strangers, I can also find it intimidating and threatening.
A year and a week ago a woman was attacked on my doorstep by a complete stranger who threatened to kill her. Eventfully I was able to get her inside my house and the police did catch him. For months I was really distressed and jumped ever time the doorbell rang. As you can imagine, Halloween then was really upsetting so close to the attack.
This year, the whole thing makes me angry. I'm angry that my choice not to participate is disrespected by people. I'm angry that for this night I feel I can't live as I want to in my own home. I'm angry that I am mocked for this, that my I feeling unsafe with strangers coming to the door is mocked. Those feelings are not just based on what happened last year but are a product of a childhood of abusive relationships.
So for anyone still reading, if you find yourself calling someone a killjoy for not wanting to get involved I hope you will stop for a moment and think that they have that right. There may be a great deal going on for them that you don't know about.
And yes, this was a wordy post, I did warn you at the beginning.