Max, when he was four years old, chose to be a skeleton for Halloween. Most of his pals dressed as superheroes or Disney characters for Halloween, but he wanted to be someone “spooky.” Max thoroughly enjoyed trick-or-treating in his costume, springing out from behind bushes and attempting to frighten his buddies. Max noticed a zombie mask in the costume section of Target the next year and urged me to buy it for him.
“Are you certain you desire to become a zombie?” Max responded affirmatively and held the mask to his chest with a determined expression. I was compelled to buy it for him.
My son has always loved to scare and be scared
Max, when he was four years old, chose to be a skeleton for Halloween. Most of his pals dressed as superheroes or Disney characters for Halloween, but he wanted to be someone “spooky.” Max thoroughly enjoyed trick-or-treating in his costume, springing out from behind bushes and attempting to frighten his buddies. Max noticed a zombie mask in the costume section of Target the next year and urged me to buy it for him.
“Are you certain you desire to become a zombie?” Max responded affirmatively and held the mask to his chest with a determined expression. I was compelled to buy it for him.
Letting Max choose scary costumes for Halloween means letting him be himself
As this year’s Halloween came, I mentally prepared for Max’s costume request. I was eager to hear what he would come up with next because, as he grew older, his fondness for frightening things only intensified. I was not need to wait very long. Max stated a few days ago that he will play Pennywise from the movie “It” for Halloween this year.
How could you possibly know who that is? I regret bringing him to a school with mixed-age classrooms, I said. As a child, I watched “It,” and I’m still terrified of clowns.
My husband and I were shocked to see photographs of a menacing clown when we Googled Pennywise. There he was, his yellow, razor-sharp fangs and red hair in full view. The outfit Max chose online, and was pointing to with joy, was horrifying. However, he was thrilled with how “scary and strange” the mask was.
Max is currently in the third grade, and I am aware that I can no longer dictate his Halloween costume choices. However, following a discussion with my husband, we decided to order Max the Pennywise costume. Although he is not permitted to wear the mask to school for fear of frightening younger — or older! — children, he is permitted to wear it trick-or-treating.
Certainly, I wish my son would choose a humorous or heroic costume for Halloween. However, this is acceptable because he is his own person. When Max was younger, I feared that his focus on spooky things was indicative of a more serious mental health issue, but he simply enjoys testing boundaries and being mischievous. He is aware that Halloween is intended to be frightening, and he desires to participate.
Plus, he enjoys provoking a response from others. He feels more in control when he dresses up as something terrifying. As a mother, a wife, and a cancer survivor, I can relate on a cellular level to Max’s conviction that his world is frequently out of his control.
Therefore, I will allow my child to dress up as a bizarre, spooky clown this year, and I will try my best to remain unaffected by the judgmental neighbors. I will honor my son’s playful nature by allowing him to revel in the adrenaline and sugary chaos that is Halloween, the one day of the year when we are permitted to be someone else. Max considers me to be a “cool mom” for Halloween this year; how frightening is that?