Halloween in the Vineyard

[Albert the Absentminded]

Slow night at work last night, and I got really, really, bored.

Since I'm jazzing on DitV right now, my subconcious started coming up with stuff. Here's an idea for a Faithful Halloween celebration(and, no, this is not related to how the LDS Church does Halloween).


No one believes in the silly superstition that the dead walk on Halloween, few even remember that. But everyone still agrees that it's a spooky night, in part because of the ingenuity of the PaAotF.

The custom is that, on Halloween, after an early dinner is eaten, the children dress up in the costumes of magical creatures - spirits of nature, beasts of legend, Shakespearean elves, etc. Such "wayward spirits" go from house to house, demanding treats, until they wind up in the meetinghouse, where they are kept out of the _real_ fun.

You see, the teenagers(mostly boys, but a few adventurous girls as well) dress up as _demons_. And they aren't looking for treats, oh no. They are looking to prey upon the Faithful.

Some rules here: The 'demons' may not do violence. They may not commit more than petty vandalism, and any thefts are to be returned the next day. They have until midnight to work their mischief. All stolen goods are to be left at the meeting house for reclaimation in the morning.

Naturally, the grownups stay vigilant - laxity can allow theft of a favorite horse or even daughter! _They_ are allowed to beat the tar out of 'demons', which symbolizes the powerlessness of demons when one is vigilant.

Oh, and there are by now a _ton_ of urban legends about what's been done on Halloween.

Anyway, thoughts?

[lumpley]

Fun!

-Vincent

[Jason Morningstar]

I'd make this a local thing myself, because it would allow visiting Dogs to draw a lot of interesting conclusions.  Particularly if the grown-ups are embarrassed by the whole spectacle, and take steps to rein it in or conceal the innocent tomfoolery.

[Judd]

I'm running a Dogs came on the Friday before Halloween and I'm most definitely going to use this.

Nice.