We kicked off our Halloween by watching Gremlins during the day, but it was too scary for Emma and Ian so just Aidan and I watched it. The kids got all ready in their costumes early in the day. Collin made up Aidan's face like a skeleton, but he decided he didn't want to wear the make up because it kept getting on his clothes. Emma had me put a little black on her eyes like the ones I did for my cat costume. I managed to throw together a decent Aristocat costume with black pants and a shirt, socks wrapped around tow braided buns with pink paper triangles glued on with a glue stick, a black bow tie, two leg warms sewn together for a tail and a little black on my face for whiskers. Emma told me to put my black earrings through my cat ears.
Collin decided not to dress up.
We didn't even end up leaving the house until 6:30 pm because Flor had her first discussion with the lady missionaries at our house. Collin took the boys to the book fair and Emma stayed in my room reading Dog Days and playing. I think the discussion went fairly well and I like how warm and loving the lady missionaries are.
We set off for Gojar and got completely lost. Collin's cell phone wasn't working for some reason and we didn't have directions to the Ferrer's house, we only had directions to Gojar itself. I think we both hoped that we would remember the way once we got there. We were so lost that the kids were praying and Collin stopped at a restaurant to ask directions. We finally did find our way, miraculously.
The Ferrers had a bunch of decorations on their patio. Loli was dressed up as a witch and gave tour of the patio. She said that we were on the grounds of a haunted castle on land that used to be a graveyard. There was Jack the Pirate in a cage and a coven of witches. Loli had us put on rings before we entered the haunted castle so that we could come out again. I could tell that Emma and Ian were really scared. Emma was standing really still, but then would hug me suddenly very tightly. Loli told the kids that if they lost their rings, they would be trapped in the castle. We entered the front hall and she closed the door behind us. There was was looked like a witch's face trying to get through the wall and a holographic picture of a man holding a woman in his arms, but when you changed your point of view, it turned into a vampire about to suck a terrified woman's blood. Loli was telling us the story of the castle when, all of the sudden, Miguel Angel screamed and jumped out from behind the coatrack and then ran past us through the hall into the house. At that point, Ian started crying and wanted to leave so I went back out and sat with him while Collin went through with the other kids.
When they came out, Collin told me I had to go in and to get him a licorice wheel from the candy bowl inside. I knew something was up with that, but said I would get him one anyway. Emma went back in with me. We went in with Loli's mom and sisters and their kids. I knew what would happen in the hallway, so that didn't scare me.
After the hallway, we went into the lower living room. Leonor had her back to us and was playing with a baby doll. Loli said that Leonor was the ghost of a poor dead girl who was very strange. Then Leonor turned around and she was wearing a skeleton mask which she pushed in our faces as she asked us if we wanted to play. Loli said the castle was also inhabited by lots of animals. There was a snake, a vulture, and a vampire bat. She also said there were a couple tarantulas but she didn't know where they were. A huge black tarantula dropped down from overhead on a string and the ladies who were with us screamed. Loli said there was also a rat, but she didn't know where he was hiding. A toy rat with red eyes came out from under the desk and started scurrying around on the floor. Loli said she wanted to find the other spider so she looked in a cabinet and there was a pair of glowing, flashing eyes. She pretended that someone was in the cabinet holding her while she screamed. We were about to go up the stairs when Miguel Angel popped out of the closet and screamed and of course we screamed and then he ran up the stairs.
None of us wanted to be the first person to go up the stairs. We went into the upper living room where Loli said her grandfather was sleeping. She told us not to disturb him. It was a body with a mask on and a white wig. There was a bowl of candy on the table in the center of the room and Loli told us to help ourselves. Her mother went to get a piece of candy and a hand shot out from under the table and grabbed her leg. We all screamed. Then we all got a piece of candy.
Loli then led us to the kitchen where Leonor was "cooking." Leonor offered us various bloody body parts: fried fingers, an ear, and eyeball. Then she said she was going to make some fresh fingers and started chopping away at a hand attached to an arm on the table. It started wiggling and moving around the table. Loli told us there was one more ghost that she wanted us to meet and he was in the pantry. It was a sheet with eyes that was being blown around by a fan. While we were looking at it, Miguel Angel popped out from the pantry and screamed and we all screamed too.
Ian wasn't the only one who didn't want to enter the haunted castle. There was a girl about Emma's age who refused to go past the front hall. They had cake and hot chocolate and I brought some ghost Peeps that April sent me. We headed over to the village festival which as far as I could see, was just a bunch of people milling around in costumes drinking. I think there was free food and drink earlier in the evening, but by the time we got there it was gone. There was music on and I enjoyed seeing the different costumes. The kids got to go up on stage to show off their costumes and received a little bag of treats for their trouble. When I went to take Ian up, Collin stood in the crowd to take his picture. Aidan and Emma were busy sliding down a banister and a lady from church said she would watch them for me. I yelled to them to stay there and that I would come back and Emma nodded at me. When Ian was on stage, Aidan and Emma came running up to me very upset. They noticed that we weren't around and panicked and ran around trying to find us. I walked back to where they had been and Collin and the lady from church were looking around frantically for them. Everyone was upset and we decided to go home. Aidan was the most upset and wouldn't let it go until he woke up the next day.
Aside from ending on a sour note, it was a pretty fun evening. But I did miss the trick or treating. Aidan and Emma did beg candy from one house along the way to the festival, but other than that they didn't get any candy. Also, all the costumes here are scary and bloody. I think they get their idea of how Halloween is supposed to be from American movies that have been dubbed. A lot of people told us that they have only been celebrating Halloween in Granada for about 5 years.
The Catholic church here came out and opposed Halloween saying it was a pagan celebration that is not far removed from communing with the Devil. Father Joan Maria Canals condemned parents for permitting their kids to go to un-Christian parties when they should be focusing on All Saints Day on the 31st and All Souls Day on November 1st. The Vatican newspaper quoted him as saying, "Halloween has an undercurrent of occultism and is absolutely anti-Christian. Parents should be aware of this and try to direct the meaning of the feast towards wholesomeness and beauty rather than terror, fear and death." My opinion is that Halloween is an opportunity to laugh at our fears, enjoy getting a little scared, dress up in costumes and eat tons of candy. It may have occult undercurrents for other people, but not for me. It is just fun and I think most people feel that way. I think the Catholic church is fighting a losing battle against Halloween because it is gaining more popularity in Europe every year. We celebrated it in England for three years when we lived there from 2003-2006 by trick or treating on the American Air Force base, trick or treating in Coton village and having our own Halloween party.
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