I don&8217;t dislike Halloween &8212; how could anyone dislike a holiday involving large quantities of chocolate? &8212; but it&8217;s not my favorite holiday.

Many of my childhood fears figure into my early experiences with Halloween.

I&8217;m not talking about ghosts and goblins, either.

I vividly remember standing at the foot of each and every driveway, clutching my father&8217;s hand in my pink bunny costume, and asking my sister, &8220;Wendy, do dey have a dog?&8221;

If the answer was yes, you can rest assured that I went nowhere near that front door.

The rest of my family didn&8217;t fare well with the holiday, either.

On one of the first Halloweens that my older brother went trick-or-treating, he and his friend Jeff were eager to knock on the front doors throughout the neighborhood looking for something good to eat.

At the first house, they rang the bell, then waited patiently, huddled together on the top step in what I imagine were Superman or G.I. Joe costumes.

The owner of the house swung open the front door &8212; and swept Chris and Jeff right off the steps and into the bushes.

But it wasn&8217;t until a few weeks ago that I heard my own mother&8217;s traumatic Halloween adventure.

It was the custom in her small Long Island town for the children to parade down the main street in their costumes, then walk through the school and across the stage in the auditorium.

When my mom was in kindergarten, she had a werewolf costume &8212; one with a mask that allowed her to see from one eye.

As she was crossing the stage, however, the mask slipped, and she couldn&8217;t see from either eye.

Predictably, she stumbled right off the stage flat on her face &8212; or mask, I suppose.

Her uncle &8212; who happened to be the head janitor at the school &8212; picked her up, dusted her off and delivered her &8212; crying &8212; to her mother.

She refused to take part in Halloween activities until at least the fourth grade.

In subsequent years, we all enjoyed happier Halloween memories.

And this year in Natchez, families again have the opportunity to enjoy even better memories.

Natchez Regional Medical Center, along with several other local businesses including The Democrat, is sponsoring the Halloween Howl.

This year&8217;s event will take place again at Duncan Park. Activities begin at 5 p.m. and include not one but two moonwalk jumps, 50 booths instead of 30, a hayride, haunted house, more food and more games.

As if we weren&8217;t scary enough on our own, members of The Democrat staff will be helping out at the haunted house, so you can expect a ghoulish time there.

Many area businesses and organizations have donated money for booth space. That money will be used to help buy infant and car seats that the Natchez Police Department and Concordia Parish Sheriff&8217;s Office can distribute to parents who need them.

Kerry Whipple

is editor of The Democrat. She can be reached at (601) 445-3541 or by e-mail at

kerry.whipple@natchezdemocrat.com

.