About the Blog

The title of this blog, “It’s Close to Midnight,” comes from the opening lyrics of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. It was the very first album I ever owned, and Thriller remains one of my all time favorite Halloween songs. So, naturally, it seemed like the perfect title for a blog devoted to Halloween, memories, photographs, decorations, and a little bit of spooky fun.

I created this blog as a place to showcase and preserve those memories, and especially as a dedication to my husband, Trevor. He absolutely loves going all out for Halloween. My sister has more or less claimed Christmas, since we all live together, so Halloween has become our holiday. It is the one time of year when we can really let our imaginations run wild with decorations and have some fun making the place our own.

Ironically, I am actually a Christmas person.

If I had a home of my own, it would look as though a whole troop of Christmas elves had exploded inside it. I tend to favor a tropical Christmas theme, but our tree traditionally makes its debut during football season. First, it becomes a Green Bay Packers tree, complete with green and gold ornaments and a football themed tree skirt. When December arrives, the green and gold ornaments stay, the football skirt gets packed away, and the Mele Kalikimaka decorations come out.

That is my kind of Christmas.

For now, however, our living arrangement is a little different from the picture I have in my head. We are rooming with my sister while also caring for my mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease. I say “unfortunately” not because I do not love my family, but because this is not the living situation I would have chosen for myself. I would much rather have a home of my own, somewhere outside Southern California, where Trevor and I could surround ourselves with all of our own things and decorate exactly the way we want without having to negotiate where everything goes.

And, of course, I wish my mother were still mentally healthy. I would gladly trade the circumstances that brought us here for having her back the way she used to be.

Until life takes me in that direction, I have photographs, old diaries, memories, and years of Halloween archives to revisit. I hope to use this blog to bring those memories back to life and keep adding new ones whenever I can.

So consider this my little corner of the internet where Halloween never really ends.

Happy Hauntings! 🎃🕷️🦇