Friday Five #42

Yes, I’m early this week. I’m that good.

Those of you who pick up the Friday Five from my page might want to know that there’s an official Web site at http://fridayfive.org/, and there’s an RSS feed at fridayfive_feed that you can put on your friends page.

What was your first Halloween costume?

The first one I remember was a skeleton. Ha ha, look at the skinny kid in the skeleton costume.
 

What was your best costume and why?

Well, that’d have to be my SCA getup. As a member of the Verminssun clan of the barbaric Veassllurds, I got to prance around in nothing but a loincloth. The front half, including the fox’s head, covered my crotch, and the back half, including his bushy red tail, covered my backside. I got a lot of looks and many comments in that one.
 

Did you ever play a trick on someone who didn't give you a treat?

On Halloween? I doubt it.
 

Do you have any Halloween traditions? (ie: Family pumpkin carving, special dinner before trick or treating, etc.)

Really, no. Halloween, the Samhain cross-quarter day, my birthday, and the end of daylight savings—all depressing events—all come within a few days, and it always marks the beginning of the worst time of year for me. So generally I try to ignore it all and hang onto the last vestiges of summer’s happiness as long as I possibly can.
 

Share your favorite scary story...real or legend!

I’m really not a fan of gothic or horror type stuff, although I do have a few classics to point out that might be worth investigating. Clarke Ashton Smith and Lord Dunsany are both very good. Lots of people will mention Poe, but I particularly enjoyed one of his more obscure stories, the “Narrative of A. Gordon Pym”. Similarly, I think people will mention Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, yet be completely ignorant of his most excellent “The Jewel of Seven Stars”. Many folks will no doubt mention Lovecraft, but frankly once I was familiar with his style I found him awfully predictable and formulaic.