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"Have You Come to Sing Pumpkin Carols?"

It's the soundtrack of my past.

By Ariel JosephPublished 2 years ago Updated 8 months ago 4 min read
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Halloween is for everyone.

You can come for the tricks or you can come for the treats. You can come for the chance to play pretend. If only for one night, you can escape, forget yourself and be someone else.

I love everything about Halloween. I love that it comes with the fall, when the leaves are blowing off the trees and the days are getting shorter, plunging the world around me into darkness. I love the uncertainty and mystery that comes along with Halloween. The way that on this one night, it feels like absolutely anything is possible. Like anything can happen and it just might.

As a child I loved Halloween for the costumes, and the games, and the adventure of running around my neighborhood later in the evening then I'd usually have been allowed. And of course I loved the candy.

As an adult I love Halloween for all these reasons and so many more. I can't think of a single Halloween that has ever let me down. From the Halloween nights I barely remember, to those I remember all too well, it's the one day a year that I'm always looking forward to. And when it's all over and I go home and fall asleep, knowing I will wake up the next day to a new energy as November is ushered in, the only regret I ever have is that I couldn't make Halloween last longer.

I've always had a rather eclectic taste in music and I like to design my playlists with the intention of capturing a feeling.

I believe that Halloween is for everyone and so is my go to Halloween playlist.

Maybe it's odd to jump from 70s punk rock to a theme song from a popular children's show, but the energy behind these tracks is what matters to me. I want a Halloween playlist that's all inclusive. This one combines music of many different genres, from many different time periods, and from many different artists. Every track has just one thing in common, it reminds me of my favorite holiday, in one way or another.

I add to this playlist consistently, even in the middle of the summer if inspiration strikes, because the goal is the ultimate Halloween playlist. A Halloween playlist with a track for everyone. Tracks that make you smile, and tracks that make you want to dance, tracks that send a chill up your spine. Tracks that spark a memory.

Every year as I get into costume I listen to these songs and I can time travel, and once again, I can feel just the way I felt on a Halloween years ago.

When I hear "The Great Pumpkin Waltz" from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, I remember coming home from trick or treating and sitting on the floor in front of the TV with my brothers, watching our favorite Halloween specials we'd recorded on VHS. I can remember feeling so warm and content and safe, even as my siblings and I meticulously counted our pieces of candy to argue over who got the most, and if that person then had to share their stash.

When I hear "The Time Warp" from Rocky Horror Picture Show, I remember seeing the movie for the first time in the 7th grade, in my best friend's bedroom, and spending the whole day laughing until I couldn't breathe, while we practiced the dance moves until they were perfect.

Fast forwarding to a decade later, living in New York City, and seeing the movie at a live theater where I could show off my perfected Time Warp skills, in the aisles with hundreds of strangers who loved this cult classic as much as I do.

I've even got some spoken literature on my playlist, because I'll never be able to forget the way I felt in school when I first heard the "The Tell-Tale Heart" read aloud on tape, and my long time love affair with the works of Edgar Allan Poe began.

I guess what it comes down to is the memories and my desire to keep them alive in my mind as long as I can, and to make as many more of them as I can. I cling to these memories. I hold onto them and remember how special life can be and how one night, one moment even, can stay with you forever. I can escape into these memories and relive a time that made me who I am today. The music is the trigger. It's the soundtrack of my past.

Everyone needs an escape once in a while and whether you're the type who loves a Halloween full of horror and thrills, or a Halloween full of childhood comforts and wholesome fun, it's the one holiday that always felt to me like it could truly be whatever you want it to be. Whatever feels right for you. It's an opportunity to look within and figure out what kind of an escape you need right now. It's a chance to do something different, something out of the ordinary, and make a memory that'll last a lifetime.

If Halloween is for everyone, the music should be too. Whether it's spooky and scary, or warm and comforting, Halloween is for everyone.

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About the Creator

Ariel Joseph

I love to write pretty much everything and anything, except a profile page bio.

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