Does any city do Halloween better that Montreal? I think not. Last night’s celebration in the place Jacques Cartier was filled with genuinely scary reapers and dozens of the tortured, demented Undead. And that was just the crowd…

Most other places, Halloween is just an excuse to dress up. (The New York Times had an article last week about how, for “good girls,” it’s a chance to dress provocatively and behave wildly without guilt. Here in Montreal, we have that every day, of course.) What’s been lost amidst all the candy and fairy princess costumes is the idea that Halloween should be genuinely scary.

The folklore behind the holiday is that the undead would rise from their graves and try to steal the bodies of the living. People dressed up as ghouls to say, basically, “Hey, I’m one of you — leave me alone.” The street theater last night really kept to the original spirit of Halloween (though I was a bit unnerved by a Grim Reaper gloating over an elaborately staged car crash).

Can’t wait to see what happens on the actual holiday!

Related posts:

1. Waiting in Line
2. The Freaks Come Out At Night
3. Happy Halloween
4. Show Me The CANDY!!!!
5. Liberal youth wing want a CRACK down