Spooky Days Ahead

By Nancy McKeon

BREATHES THERE a man/woman/child with soul so dead that he/she/they cannot get into the spooky spirit of Halloween in its current non-religious form?*

I’m sure there are many, but even those of us who can comfortably straddle the two worlds draw a line somewhere. For instance, I’m thrilled to live in an apartment building and therefore not have to participate in the suburban competition for who has the latest skeletons and animated goblins in their front yard (though I do own a splendid 2-foot-tall skeleton I keep in the living room all year long).

So I tend to lean on holiday accouterments that can live beyond the day and not clog the closet the day after. Hear me out.

*If you need more information about the origin of the Hallowed Evening, text me and I’ll explain. Or just Google it.

An assemblage of frosted glass pumpkins for table or mantel will set you back, but what impact! From Anthropologie, the pumpkins range in size from 4¾ inches to 10 inches tall and in price from $24 to $58. The bottoms are hollow so you can add a string of battery-powered Stargazer Light Strands; a set of 6 strands is $30.

Appetizer and dessert plates call to me nonstop. These celebrate the eerier of God’s creatures, but that just makes them more interesting. A set of 4 glazed stoneware Spooky Soirée Appetizer Plates is $39.95. . . .

. . . and lo! and behold, Williams Sonoma also offers a set of 4 coordinated cotton cocktail napkins, $29.95.

Wee marshmallow pumpkins can top a cup of cocoa or just sit there looking seasonal and festive in a bowl. Each 6-ounce bagful is $10.95, but who could stop there? A set of three is $21.90.

Talk about adding a grownup touch to Halloween, here’s Voluspa’s Spiced Pumpkin Latte Candle & Reed Diffuser. The boxed set is $48 at Bloomingdale’s.

It requires some fishing line and a remote control “wand,” both included, but you really could have Harry Potter–style flickering candles floating around your dining hall or, more likely, your living room. There’s a trick (a technique, really) to getting all 20 candles lit, so you’ll have to practice your magic wand skills. The set is currently $31.72.

If candles can fly, why not witches’ hats? Just string these black Oxford-cloth toppers with fishing line and let the wind take them where it will. The set of 12, each a bit over 14 inches tall, is $16.99. (Of course, you can always wear one of them. Just a thought.)

If you don’t want to get too Halloweeny on the front porch, consider this Pumpkin Luminary Set by Desert Steel. Made, naturally enough, of 100% steel construction, Tall Pumpkin is 18 inches tall, his brother, Squatty Pumpkin, stopped growing at 15 inches. The pair is $86.99 at Costco.com (online only).

Etsy seller Monlix Candles offers these spooky (but vegan) tapers for less than $14 each. There’s the stack of skulls and, perhaps for the less-spooky-and-more-seasonal-minded, the candles dotted with bas-relief pumpkins. Both styles come in white, orange, or black.

Author-illustrator Ed Emberley is best known for his instructional drawing books for kids. His Glow-in-the-Dark Eyes Doormat, a collaboration with retail chain West Elm, draws inspiration from his book How to Draw Monsters and More Scary Stuff.  It’s made of indoor-outdoor coir and is $39.

The Poe Bowl features the always-foreboding but this time hand-engraved Raven of Poe’s classic poem. By Artel, the bowl is hand blown in the Czech Republic. It’s 9¾ inches in diameter and 6½ inches tall; $1,110, available in black, clear, and 30 colors.

By hook or by crow, this hand-hooked wool pillow can perch all year round but looks intentionally ominous at Halloween. It’s 8 by 12 inches, backed with off-white cotton velveteen, and is on sale for $29.70 at Grandin Road.

The polka-dot pumpkin may bring to mind the artwork of 95-year-old Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, but it fits right in with these other hand-painted squash. Made of resin, they’re all about 9 inches in diameter and range in price from $34.50 to $49.50 at Grandin Road.