A toast to the ghosts

Wow, this girl really ate and left no crumbs. I never knew the spooky season could look this level of awesome. However, on her… it did.

“You look incredible, what the hell!,” I cannot contain my excitement over Thea’s costume as she rang on my door: a cute black top with long sleeves over a black skirt, fishnet stockings and her iconic doc martens. Her cleavage is covered in fake blood, and a bloody (fake) knife in her right hand suggests that it’s not hers. A cute silver necklace with a cross seems surreal in the otherwise haunting appearance, which is only completed by the iconic Ghostface mask from the horror movie series Scream. We share a common interest in spooky stuff, and especially the classics like Scream, Halloween, Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street.

“So, Emmy, what’s your favorite scary movie?,” Thea begins, which is an iconic line in the Scream Series, “do you like my costume?”

“Like is a complete understatement! It’s amazing!”

“You don’t look so bad yourself, hun!”

I always wanted to dress up for Halloween, like a really nice and scary cosplay, not the stereotypical costumes they make for women these days. We certainly share the dark clothes and mask part, but otherwise I’m completely covered, dressed as Michael Myers from Halloween, and doomed not to talk much if we interact with people, but that fits my personality.

“Are you ready for your surprise? It might be scary though. Are you in?” Thea is really excited to show me what she thought of for our first Halloween together. I nod and hand in hand with one knife in our free hands, we go through the streets and finally reach the cemetery Thea wanted to go to.

“We are almost there, come on!”

We reach a grave, which seems to be some noble family grave. A copper ornament of an archway with a wooden door decorates the grave, as if you just need to knock and the dead might answer or even cross the realms into our world again. Around this bigger family grave are some smaller ones, weathered over the years. Thea grabs her backpack and pulls out a blanket, some snacks and a bottle of wine. She takes off her mask and sits down. The makeup underneath is stunning, and the eyeliner is as sharp as the bloody knife the replica resembles.

“Sit down, babe. Before the streets are crowded, let’s have a glass of wine and a toast to the ghosts! To celebrate Halloween properly among those who cannot celebrate it any longer.”

“That is a sweet thought. It’s damn creepy out here, not gonna lie, but that is sweet of you. Thanks for organizing it!”

The dry but somewhat sweet bloody red wine rushes down my throat as we absorb this scary but welcoming atmosphere.

We only die once we are forgotten, and with more spooky stuff and commemoration like this, everybody lives.