Happy Halloween to all my Steemit Friends!!

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Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. I prefer to wear black, and this time of the year is the perfect time to dress in black because everything is so dark. The leaves fall from the trees and nature itself turns spooky. We think about bats and ghosts, and things that bump in the night. Folks pull out their brooms and witches hats, the spiders are suddenly cherished and anything can be turned Halloweeny by adding a pumpkin!

When I was young we used to dress up like cartoon characters and we had plastic masks covering our faces. The costumes were made of cheap plastic and would go over top of our clothes. I lived in the North so, every year I'd need to put a heavy coat over the costume to keep from freezing. this covered the costume. The masks made it hard to see and were held to our heads with a flimsy rubber band. Needless to say the costume would often get destroyed before we had the chance to go Trick-or-Treating.

Cute 'N' Cruddy Halloween Costumes from the 70s and 80s by Josh Clark

There was always a Halloween party at school in which we would bob for apples and at the end of the day all the students would gather outside on the playground for a costume parade. We walked in a circle and showed off our costumes, and got to see everyone else's costumes.

I used a pillowcase bag when trick-or-treating for my candy because I lived in a big neighborhood full of Halloween lovers and would get so much candy. I would go home to dump out the candy before running out the door to get more.

By the time I got back to the house again, my parents would have the candy inspected to be sure there were no needles or razor blades. I learned young that people would use treats to trick you! Most years I would have enough candy to last until Christmas time.

When I got older I found the thrill of going to haunted houses. Back then it was enough to have a person jump out from behind a wall to scare us. The mall in our town would host a spooky haunted house. They dressed up as different kinds of killers and we walked through a set from scene to scene not knowing what would be there to scare us. At the time this was very cool.

Halloween was a big deal where I lived, so going from one haunted house to the next was expected if not required. Every fire station around hosted a haunted house, and there were always new ones popping up. We could venture further into the country to find haunted hay rides, and there was always a pumpkin patch or two to visit before the end of the season.

The scariest haunted house I have ever gone to was actually at a church when I moved South about 18 years ago. It's called Hell House and is held every year. The premise is that you are part of a group of people who died. One of the people reject Jesus Christ and are sent to hell. They take you through the rooms leading to hell and you are shown the flames and you can feel the heat. There are screams in the background of the fallen and from what I can remember, it was terrifying.

But at the end of the story you follow another person who did accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and you are then taken to Heaven. You walk through the pearly gates after St. Peter checks your name from the list and then through a long, dark hallway. At the end of the hallway you walk into a white room. The floors, walls and ceiling are covered in white cloth, and the floor is covered in clouds.

The room is lit up with rays of light and you follow a long path through the clouds. In front of the room Jesus is dressed in a white robe, waiting for you with his arms stretched wide and a big smile on His face. You made it to Heaven, all your work is finished, and you earn your wings.

Going to hell is the scariest Halloween story I could think of for this Halloween post.

Halloween is always a great time to dress up and go to parties. Every year there are new You Tube videos for make-up and decorating. I always take time to watch the food and the craft videos even though I have no intention of doing any of it. It is still cool to watch.

I haven't decorated for Halloween in years. I can't even remember the last time I dressed up for Halloween, but I still love the season and the wonderful costume ideas that pop up on my social media during this time of the year! The candy is tempting me, but I've sworn off sugar this year and I am sticking to my guns.

If you would like to earn your Steemit Board Halloween Badge this year, be sure to check out, Trick or Treat - Publish your scariest Halloween story and win a new badge, hosted by @steemitboard.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween this year!!!!

Stay Spooky!