Recently, I had the opportunity to go on a vacation with a group of friends. Five couples, and 2 of them had their daughters with them, ages 17 and 19, respectively. One day, while sitting on the beach, conversation turned to the topic of Halloween. I mentioned that “back in our day,” Halloween was very different. Sure, we went to parties, dressed in costumes, and as kids even got into our share of shenanigans on “Gate Night” or “Mischief Night.”

But even growing up in the 1970s and 1980s was a very different time than now. We had no fear …

As a writer with a strong leaning towards horror and dark fiction, it’s only natural that I’m a huge fan of Halloween. In fact, it’s my favorite holiday. The fact that you’re reading this means it’s probably one of yours as well. But I loved Halloween long before I ever thought about putting pen to paper. As a kid, it was the third-best night of the year (coming after Christmas and my birthday), and as I grew older, my love of all things spooky only grew.

However, time has a habit of changing how we look at things. While at …