When Erin and I moved into our new house at the end of February, our next door neighbor may have mentioned in passing that Halloween on Portsmouth Avenue is kind of a big deal. She may have, but I wasn’t really paying attention, staring as I was at her house, which looks like something straight out of a horror film. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a beautiful house- three floors, something like 4500 square feet…and purple, but it seems custom-made for Halloween. And it’s not just her house. Looking up and down Portsmouth, and houses are lit up in a manner that would seem right at home during Christmas…except that it’s down in the evil and mayhem theme of Halloween.
WTF???
There’s a beautiful English garden that separates our house from our neighbor, and for the past week or so it’s been undergoing something of a transformation…as has her house. Evidently, she wasn’t kidding- Halloween does appear to be kind of a big deal on Portsmouth Avenue. The picture is of a balcony outside the third floor of her house…and yes, it’s an inflatable back-lit pumpkin. When I came home from work Tuesday evening, there was a sign in her garden saying that they’re accepting donations for the Oregon Food Bank.
Then Erin tells me others in the neighborhood have told her they normally get a couple THOUSAND trick-or-treaters. Combine that with the festivities three blocks away at the University of Portland…and, well, it sounds as if it could very well be this introvert’s nightmare.
If you need me tomorrow night, I’ll be down in my man cave with my guitar….
