Ornoth

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.