I haven't been in the US for a long time during the lead-up to Halloween. Perhaps it's been eight or nine years. This year, I noticed quite a few scary things going up before October 1.
We are/were in the US in October. What a surprise. Everyone's front yard looks like a graveyard. Porches, lawns and trees in my neighborhood are filled with pirates, zombies, ghosts and pumpkins. I haven't seen many witches for some reason, but I've spotted Frankenstein, the Headless Horseman and many scary things that I don't have a name for.
All these authentic looking decorations put my silly flashing jack-o-lantern to shame.
When the wind blows at night, the ghosts on one street blow with their sheets flapping. It is pretty realistic. That is, if you believe in ghosts.
The nursery is alive with decorations. They have a pumpkin patch for children (of any age) to select their pumpkins. They also have a giant (maybe 15 foot high) inflatable Frankenstein, an icky witch display and many other large, scary things.
A Dad was there with his two small girls for a Dad-daughter Saturday afternoon activity to pick pumpkins. He happily got a cart to put the pumpkins on as they went through the patch. But, the little girls would have nothing to do with this. Tears and shrieks erupted when they saw all the scary stuff. He had to immediately distract them and tell them that it's all for fun. They weren't buying any of it.
I haven't seen one decoration in France so far. I've seen a couple of pumpkins in the local health food store, but I think they're meant to be food. I have a few things left over from previous years and have added the flameless LED candles. I'm doing my best to celebrate in my own small way.
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