It’s October, so that means it’s spooky season. That phrase has become more and more popular over the years and I’m here for it. It’s a nice summary of my favorite month. But as the years have gone by I’ve found myself a changed man for the season of spookiness.
When I was a younger man I was all about horror movies, gory slashers, and truly frightening stories. I liked a good scare, especially this time of year. When my son was born I had to take care of what I watched, lest I scared him. Now that he’s almost ten years old he has a firmer grasp of what he likes and what he doesn’t, and my son definitely doesn’t like being scared. Truth be told, neither do I any more.
Fatherhood has made me very sensitive to depictions of children in peril and horror in general. Worrying about what could happen to my son on any given day in the real world is scary enough for me, and I don’t need to be adding supernatural frights to my list of worries. Now my October offerings trend towards the more wholesome side of spooky season.
I read the term “sweets and smiles” recently and it applies to my headspace these past few years. I’ve been leaning more into the joy of costumes, the thrill of free candy, and the community aspect of trick-or-treating. I remember Halloween being all about those things when I was a kid, and less about being scared out of my mind. Passing those traditions and those feelings of “sweets and smiles” to my son, who hates being scared, is a good enough experience for me.
If we’re watching Halloween-inspired movies the monsters are going to be friendly and/or misunderstood, not things to give my sensitive boy nightmares for a week. If there are clowns they won’t be the scary murderer kind (though that seems to be the default in media these days). If there are ghosts they’re going to be helpful, not haunting or possessing innocent people. It’s a much more mellow October, but now that I’m a middle-aged father I’m okay with it.
Although… I do sneak the occasional horror movie in when I’m certain the boy’s fast asleep. There’s a part of me that’s forever young, and that inner youth still enjoys the occasional scare.