A warm Autumn greeting to all of you. Some of you have written in with a sigh that Ravenwick was taken off the blogging map. Originally it was to be a place for Jessie and I to share our enjoyment of somewhat spookier things. Jess is growing into a fine young lady, but her interests lie in her social world right now. Ravenwick will wait, but perhaps then, it is time to share with you, another part of me. The part that loves Halloween and all things considered spooky. This is a beginning and I'm unsure just where this blog will go, but for tonight I will share a little bit of how we have enjoyed this time of year. Fix yourself a cup of mulled cider or perhaps a bit of peppermint tea, put a log in the woodstove and enjoy yourself.
I have loved watching my girls grow. I have also loved sharing with them my passion, which along with the art, was Halloween. When the girls were quite young and we lived up on the hill, I dressed as Rosie the Witch for a community charity. I would entertain people young and old as they waited to see a Haunted House fundraiser.
What started out simply as a lark , (I had to work quite late to do anything very elaborate) soon became the talk of the town. I tried to fashion myself a bit like Bette Midler in Hocus Pocus. A museum catalogue gave me the perfect bar wench type dress and a fine start, but I had to go from there. Being in a small town, it is difficult to find less needful things, but I did manage to pull something together. No one knew who I was. I wore a reddish wig and a a Madonna type bustier (cone boobs) that sat nicely on top of my wench dress. Sally Jessie Raphael red glasses, Austin Powers teeth and high top basketball sneakers made me quite the vision of witchy delight!
Over the years my props grew. I had a broomstick with a license plate and a bicycle horn on it, a dead cat collection (stuffed and NOT real), not to mention a few tricks stuffed in my bustier. I could get a half of a PBJ in one cup (perhaps cone is a better description)and a HUGE pair of ladies panties with a strategic brown stripe painted in the other. I had a little hand bag with squishy spiders on one wrist and a sometimes carried a shovel , to which was wired a dead looking cat from a Halloween catalogue.
I would sit on a very shy young man's lap and sing, "oh mystery of life, at last I've found you..." or take couples and mix them up with other partners. I'd bring out my shovel with the cat on it and,ask, " who ran over my cat?". If someone looked a little frightened before starting into the Haunted House, I would pull out my trusty underoos, hold them up and tell the person that the last group that went through had left them. If someone came back the next night, I'd tell them that they had left them the night before and I wanted to give them back.
It was so much fun and people would come from as far away as Conneticut and Maine to see me and have a picture taken. The rest of the Haunted House was different every year and many people put a great long hours into it every year. With all of us, it was a success for the community. A lot of money was raised for a good cause and I was very proud to be a part of it.
I'm no longer Rosie and the Haunted House is no longer there. I still get asked to do her for other Haunted Houses and perhaps someday I just may, or even better yet, show up unannounced somewhere. I have no pictures of myself, but that is fine by me, as I would rather be behind the camera. To all of you, I say, give of yourself to someone or a worthy cause. A bit of your time can make a difference to one or many. You may touch lives in a way that you never dreamed of. You just may make a difference bigger than you ever intended. I did.. for a few moments in time, this once painfully shy girl, hidden behind a wig, glasses and teeth, helped to make a difference to her community and embrace her love of halloween.
