Even though our
church did not allow outsiders to join our ranks, there was one event each
year, when we always suspected there
were strangers among us: the annual Halloween party.
There was always
an odd feeling – almost that evil was in the air at the Halloween party, which
was held every year on the Friday evening nearest Halloween. This event wasn’t
just for teenagers. Adults and children also jumped into the action. It was great
fun to dress up as something secret and have people stumped as to who was
inside the costume.
One year, my
friends and I dressed as VHS movie boxes (yes, showing my age with that
detail). We went to a video rental store and got movie posters to glue to our
oversized boxes. I was so into the whole disguise thing that I swiped my older
brothers Air Jordans (which were the most coveted pair of shoes in those days),
and used mascara to darken my arm hairs so people would guess it was a guy in
my costume. I felt victorious when a group of boys surrounded us and tried to
guess who we were by listing off the guys who owned a pair of Air Jordans.
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| 1990 Halloween Party (not so undercover) |
Near the end of
the party was the unmasking, where all the costumed people would line up and
wait for their turn to step up on the stage by the band and remove their
disguise. But there were always some people who just never stayed at the party
long enough to reveal their true identities. Strangers? Worldly people?
Ex-followers? I worried that they were evil spirits and demons; so I stayed
away from the parking lot during those parties.
