BE VERY AFRAID!

Are you afraid of things that go bump in the night? No, of course. I am sure you are all rational people for whom Hallowe'en is just a bit of fun, and you don't feel the slightest bit of apprehension about what might happen on this most frightful night of the year. Well, I was like you once. But this year, I am shaking in my shoes: I am hosting a Hallowe'en party tonight - or rather g-hosting, as it said on the invitations. Ahem... - and I expect more than twenty children to come, not to mention the many trick-or-treaters who are going to ring my doorbell all through the evening. Believe me, Satan and all his minions are nothing to that!

I have put a lot of work into the whole thing. The house looks suitably creepy, with its creaking garden gate (okay, I didn't have to do much for that one), its hanging skeletons, its carved pumkins, and its cobwebs in every corner (believe it or not, I had to add those). And my guests will be able to feast on maggots (small brown shrimps; shelled, they really look the part), worms (gummi ones, and frankfurters split lengthways), brain cupcakes (the buttercream icing looks quite realistic), a very bloody-looking rasperry jelly (as a Frenchman, I am convinced you have to be an actual demon to ingest such a thing as jelly...), and a hellish punch complete with swarming (gummi) snakes and floating icy hands. Ironic that you have to make your house so uninviting to host a good party!

I am a bit disappointed about my costume, though. I had my eye on that lovely number in red above, but apparently I left it too late, and I couldn't get it in time. Granted, it is not what you would call a handsome devil, but he has some presence, don't you think? It looks like I'm going to dress as a werewolf instead. I'm afraid (again) it's bound to cause some friction with the few vampires among my guests...