I’m trying to ignore all the advent calendars and Christmas decorations that are filling the shops. We are constantly pushed forward to the next holiday, Easter Eggs on display on Boxing Day, Mother’s Day at Valentine’s. Please for the love of all things ghostly, let us enjoy Halloween first.
Halloween is my favourite day of the year. When I was young a small group of us would dress up to go trick or treating and collect as many sweets as we could cram in our duffle coat pockets. A turnip would have been carved, yes, a turnip, no pumpkins for the children of the 70’s / 80’s. We would roam Hathersage at dusk, knocking on doors of friendly neighbours and gather more sugar than we would have had access to for the entire year.
Today Halloween has grown into a much bigger event thanks to the influence of America, who in my opinion do Halloween better than anywhere else in the world (apart from the lack of turnips!). Scare parks have also risen in popularity. If you aren’t aware of them, these are places you go to be terrified in immersive horror environments. Sound like fun? Well, it is for me, but I’m weird like that…
The most recent one I have been to is at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. For most residents of Derbyshire, Blackpool has been a staple for fun over the years. Daytrips to see the illuminations and longer holidays for arcade and theme park fun. I love Blackpool and have many happy memories over the years of visits there.
As those of you who have visited in more recent years might have seen, it’s struggling, really struggling. It was always inevitable with the rise of foreign holidays that British seaside towns would suffer.
As I write this it has been announced that Blackpool is short-listed for the UK City of Culture 2029, something which may have you spluttering over your morning cuppa. ‘Culture? Blackpool?’ I hear you cry. We are currently very much in a nostalgia loop thanks to social media reels. Songs from the 70’s and 80’s are making a resurgence, even shell suits are ubiquitous in vintage shops (kids…they were never a good idea).
Blackpool is ingrained in that nostalgia. From the thrill of your horse / camel crossing the finish line first in the Donkey Derby to having your fortune told in a tiny booth as the smell of vinegary chips and donuts wafts through the air. It’s kitsch, it’s nostalgic and it’s uniquely British.
The £10 million this award will bring can help towards its longevity. Without a doubt there are issues beyond the seafront that need addressing, but let’s start somewhere.
Not having Blackpool to escape to for fun is one horror I hope I never experience. Maybe we need a new spangly pink cowboy hat available on the seafront, Kiss Me Quick – Or Lose Me Forever.
Sally-Anne Martyn’s new folk horror novel ‘The Witch Elm’ is on sale now: https://mybook.to/TheWitchElm
Her Halloween recommended reads:
‘Come Closer’ by Sara Gran: A horrifying tale of a woman’s decent into madness. A modern tale worthy of a space on any horror lover’s bookshelf.
‘The Magic Cottage’ by James Herbert: An oldy but goody. The master of horror takes us to a strange cottage, where it soon become apparent this isn’t going to be the idyll a young couple were hoping for.
