Where Cute Meets Creepy

 

Not everyone loves Halloween as much as I do. I know, it boggles the mind, but it’s true. Some people just don’t get it.

Me? I love all things creepy. Books? Movies? Costumes? Decorations? Urban legends? That tree on the corner that, in just the right light, looks like an old man holding a severed head? Yes. Gimme, gimme, gimme.

But it’s not just the spooky aspects of October that I find endearing. I also love the softer side. Like fall leaves skittering across the sidewalk and a cup of hot tea in a mug with a black kitten on it and a harmless children’s story about murder and revenge.

Er, at least I thought that last one was harmless until I shared it with my 7th graders. They were horrified. (Kids these days… they take things like murder so seriously.)

Here are a few of the things that have ranked high on my cuteness meter this month:

Scaredy Cats

I like to display book recommendations from my classroom library, and in October, I tend to showcase the more terrifying titles. I have one student who turns the scary covers around so he doesn’t have to look at them when he’s in class. The book that creeps him out the most is Shutter by Courtney Alameda.

Scaredy Dogs

This weekend, Cosmic Coffee + Beer Garden hosted a Howloween Party. Uno elected not to participate in the costume contest, but he had a great time meeting all the other dogs and posing with the pumpkins.

This Guy

This October marks my twentieth Halloween with this handsome panther.

Seven years ago, I wrote this post about Gink on my former blog. At the time, he was almost 13, and I was feeling nostalgic and worrying about him getting old. I didn’t realize he was only just entering middle age.

When I adopted this crazy kitten in 1999, I had no idea we’d still be together today, but I’m so glad we are. Gink has lived in five homes with me, and has seen me through almost as many relationships. He definitely likes Hubby better than any of my previous boyfriends. (A cat always knows.) The feelings are only sometimes mutual. (Gink has middle-of-the-night habits that some light sleepers find a bit trying.) Hubby jokes that Gink made a deal with the devil and will never die. I ask you, would that really be such a bad thing?

Cute Things Come in Creepy Packages

I happen to believe that all babies are cute. All of them. So when I saw the tiniest scorpion I’d ever seen in my bathtub earlier this month, I squealed with glee instead of fear and took its picture before setting it free in the back yard.

Come on, how can you not find those tiny little pincers adorable?

The Story That Horrified My 7th Graders

Jon Klassen is a picture book author and illustrator. You may know him from his stories I Want My Hat Back and This is Not My Hat, or you may recognize his artwork from books such as Pax and The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place.

Well, he also has a story in the book Half-Minute Horrors. It’s called “The Legend of Alexandra and Rose,” and it is BRILLIANT. In one page, with one illustration and less than 25 words, he tells a macabre tale AND demonstrates the different meanings of the word “legend.” So clever. So creepy. So (apparently) disturbing to some twelve-year-olds. (Oops.) Here’s the terrifying little tale:

(One girl was so bothered by it that I told her an alternate version of the story where Alexandra planted roses all over the yard because she knew how much Rose loved them, and Rose was so happy she gave Alexandra the room with the big window. See? I’m not a completely horrible teacher…)

Three More Days…

There are only a few days left until Halloween. It’s time to starch your witch hat and feed the bats and finish digging those graves buying that candy for the trick-or-treaters. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for the cute and creepy creatures lurking in the corners. 👀