Howlings over diverse Halloween
Offensive? Dogged defense is the only option. (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org
Bunnies and chicks have a lock on Easter.
Reindeer harness up and jingle the bells on Christmas.
Turkeys gobbled up Thanksgiving. (Ironic)
The envied Halloween slot is not uncontested.
Cat feel pretty smug as the traditional choice.
- Legends of feline “Familiar Spirits” associated with witches
- Independent, aloof attitude
- Nocturnal preference
- Ability to escape and cheat death with 9 lives.
- Uneasiness created by non-blinking penetrating stares or staring at something totally unseen by others (Cats chuckle to themselves over their little “made you look and worry” joke.)
Cats have an inflated sense of worth – especially when supported by their blowhard cronies.©
Of course, there’s big screen cat spooky:
Who could forget Catwoman or either version of Cat People: the eerie one of 1942 or Nastassja Kininski haunting New Orleans in 1982’s Cat People.
Yep, the cats’ meow for Halloween. It’s because they are easy to draw.
On the prowl for recognition since 1942.(USPD/ Commons.wikimedia.org)
Dogs, however, are rabid for Halloween paw parity.
Who howls at the moon?
It’s not Cerberus, the Cat of Hades and the Underworld.
They have their stars: as many supernatural canine tales as hairs on a dog.
“The Hound of the Baskervilles“(1939), Zoltan, Hound of Dracula (1978), or the original toothy Cujo (1983). Not to mention a whole pack of Wolf Man and Werewolf movies.(150 ancient and new mangy nightmares listed here)
Domesticated? Try to take that noisy favorite toy away in the middle of the night and see how fast the thin wrap of domestication comes off.(USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Cats may hiss to dismiss, but
Ever heard – on a cold, dreary, dark, foggy night – the chilling sound of a Malamute-Husky’s mournful wail because her mommy has gone to the store without her?
Shiver. Icy fingers down the spine.
Haunting enough to make even a cat’s hair stand up on her back.
Case closed.
And no, not this year. No expansion for additional spokespaws.
The bats/vampires and Bunnicula/vampire bunnies will have to get better agents to be considered in the next round. Just like SMU and UH who are mired in quicksand struggling for acceptance by the Big 12 football conference.
Fiercely determined not to be left on the shelf with wanna-bes and moldy has-been.©
Canines and felines claiming the rights to Halloween’s frights.
You may leave your vote in the comment section below.
Hair brain ideas deter zombies. (Not sure about hair balls doing the same, but the cats insist it’s another clump in their favor.)
Horrors’ honors: could be a catfight.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
Wanted: a forever home. Have mummy, need daddy.©
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31 Comments
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Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge 
I kind of like the idea of a haunted cat – cause I know that Hemi here is haunted BIG time for sure. Snorts with piggy laughter. XOXO – Bacon
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Those meows! Molly Malamute thinks RC Cat definitley has spooky cobwebs in her head. Thanks for snorting along, Bacon!
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I agree with Stephen King… he wrote about the feline &canine friends… The Cat From Hell or Cats Eye were as scary as Cujo and The Sun Dog :o)
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King is the king of scary! Those cats get far too much support in their bid for Halloween spokepaw dominance from writers..not to mention their branding for Black Cat firecrackers. Cats always trying to grab attention.
Find a nice quiet spot for Holler-Ring, Easy. It’s coming.
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We only have cats here and they prefer to sleep through Halloween unless it’s declared a catnip holiday. The doorbell ringing all the time with weird short humans can grate on any cat’s nerves.
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RC Cat has already reserved a quiet loft shelf in the back closet for the annual Holler-Ring festival. Molly wants to meet and greet and has been telling the neighborhood she plans to dress as Cujo. We keep telling her that’s not a great idea, but I secretly suspect some of staff put that idea into her head to thin the crowds which means left over Heathbars. We always hated it when trick or treat was on a school night and we had a time limit/bedtime. Wonder if any of these parents will be that tough. Thanks for tossing a treat of a comment
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When I was a kid it was always on the 31st which always seemed to be a school night!
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I’m convinced, the Hounds of the Baskervilles (three of them), live right next door to me. We live quite a drive off the street, back at the edge of the woods with no artificial lighting. We never get Halloween traffic back here. 🙂
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That story was so scary when read at night on the farm house porch when we were little (the older cousins never listened to adults who said not to read scary stories out loud as it might cause nightmares. Sound effects real and imagined!
With luck the owls and darkness will blanket your place keeping things peaceful.Thanks for pawsing to comment
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I’m just wondering if I’ll even get any trick-or-treaters in my new place. We didn’t at our old house, but we’re in a downtown location now so we might. I stocked up on a bunch of candy just in case. I’ll probably get stuck with all of it!
Hope you’re doing well. Just thought I’d pop by and say ‘hi.’ 🙂
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It’s gotten so difficult to predict. You’d think as kids get older, crowds would thin, but for a while they got bigger. Then the next batch of kids were too little to go out. They are bigger this year, but will they go to parties instead? Fingers crossed. I do not want a bunch of left over candy sitting around.Far too tempting.
Always glad to see you around the neighborhood! (Let me know if you need any casual readers for your next book)
Must be beautiful weather there – I think many of us are rediscovering non TV/screen activities to avoid politics/news…that can be habit forming and much healthier.
Thanks for stopping by this pumpkin patch
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Not a fan of Halloween myself, especially now that our girls are grown and gone. We’ll sit outside if it’s nice and hand out candy, although we never know how many will come by. One year we had close to a hundred, then next we had a lot of candy left over. Overall, Halloween seems to be a bigger holiday than any, other than Christmas.
janet
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I like Halloween mainly because of the season. This year it’s still warm with 80’s predicted for trick or treat.
Halloween and masquerades play a real role in society/sociology. A device used by artists and writers. A rather well known painter/art instructor once commented that the masks and costumes were necessary so people could play out their dreams or dark side once a year, then so the rest of the year would be sane and normal behavior. Costuming certainly has been a favorite activity in many places and times. Enjoy the shadows and winds! Thanks for dressing up a comment to leave.
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Cats! But I do love the sugar-skull toothy dog 🙂 We go crazy here, all the kids know to come to ours.
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Cats have the tradtional edge. Dogs can’t help being tail waggers…but canines are determined not to be always chasing the cats’ success.
It’s the first time I’ve seen that particular dog – very much in the line of Dia de los muertos. (Many stores already have the sugar skulls and items displayed. Guess some can work for both Halloween and Dia – Nov1-2) Another chance to party! (and more sugar…) Thanks for adding to the spooky comments
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The howling Malamute has it for me. But I have to admit Bunnicula sounds pretty scary!
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We love that Bunnicula series – atleast the first couple of the books he wrote with his wife. Attended a writers’ retreat with the author years ago. Nice guy- hey, he dreamed up a veggie vampire bunny – how could be not be cool? Thanks for howling along
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We (canine, feline, and I) keep it very quiet here. Few kids in the neighborhood, so we dim the lights and pretend no one is home. I’ve even given up buying “just in case” candy — always my favorite baby Snickers so I can enjoy the “leftovers.”
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This block is pretty quiet on Holler-Ring with most of the kids in college or too little to go out. We keep some candy for the littles who show up when barely dark, but after 20-30 min of no knocks on the door once dark, we usually turn off the porch lights. No going to just sit there making the dog stay on a leash as trick or treaters dribble by…usually from other neighborhoods with a car slowly going down the street.
One year a litle girl about 3rd grade came rather late after it had been quiet for a couple of hours and when we gave her a pretty hefty handful of candy, chirped up with “The guy across the street said I was the last one he was going to answer the door for and he dumped ALL his candy in my bag.” And she held out her bag for more. I just said, “Gee, how nice of him. Hope you said Thank you” and went inside after waving at the parents in the car cruising along with her slowly down the street.
Bet that one became a real horror story for them in a couple of years.
Thanks for leaving a sweet treat of a comment
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Tie? Meows have it here, though in the past we had to be careful not to “let the dogs out” 😉
Far simpler to harbor hiding kitties then woofing hounds as kiddies parade past!
Must say, top notch humor, Phil. We expect great things as readers and you never disappoint.
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Holler-Ring seems be carried on little cat paws. It’s the silent stalking, sudden unexpected appearances…and those unblinking stares. Dogs just can’t help breaking down and wagging a tale. Thanks for adding a treat to the comment basket
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Oh you are so right, slinking and staring remind me of a ventriloquist d
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Halloween is a big deal where I live. All houses are decorated, including ours. Kids and parties everywhere. Lots of adults dress up, too– often wandering the street with an adult beverage in hand. Our usual trick-or-treater count is around 200. And I enjoy it all. Of course without a cat or dog, answering the door is ezpz. Can’t wait!
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We’ve lived in neighborhoods that really went all out for Halloween, but this one is much more quiet. I rather miss all the planning and running out for dry ice to make fog for the haunting scene. The costumes now are so much more involved than they used to be – for all ages. Note: Those little ballerinas may look delicate, but they can have a Wonder Woman attitude when candy is involved.
You can put a stuffed animal black cat in the window for atmosphere – much less work than a real one. Thanks for cackling along
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My two cats have voted for cats, of course. They don’t care much for Halloween, though, or anything else that might bring strangers to the door. I had to chuckle at the “made you look and worry” joke. And here I thought they were hallucinating from something in the cat food. 😀
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Even if strangers bring tributes of canned food, RC Cat commands those be left by the door without her having to make an appearance in gratitude. To her, Holler-Ring is a noisy, silly human festival with no redeeming value,so she simplly retires to her secure loft in the closet to sleep until it’s over and staff returns to normal-ish. Thanks for raising paws to vote
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I’ve been watching horror movies all month to indulge my Halloweenness. I have to said horror dogs scare me more than horror cats. Though cats feel like the natural companion to Hallloween.
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Come to bring a meowl for a Spooky Weekend 🙂 Pawkisses 🙂 ❤
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Paw waves in gratitude.
We’ve been busy pet sitting, dog walking trying to make up (oh, ouchie.Mollyhad to have her flu shot) and being outside in the nice weather, but can’t wait to catch up on the fun at your place. Thanks for pouncing on a comment to place in this basket
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Oooo…Halloween has room for all…paws raised for parity!
(you had me at “Hound of the Baskervilles” – SOOOOO scary!!)
🎃 ⬅ That’s supposed to be a jack-o-lantern; I hope it displays OK.
🙂
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A very cute post 🙂
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