Halloween was a very busy time for me this year. After taking my sabbatical, it seems as though I was greatly missed, which makes very happy indeed.

As with year's past, my season began a bit early as I once again hosted the Mostly Ghostly session for the North Coast Storytellers annual Stories By The Seas Festival at Patrick's Point Park in Trinidad , CA in September. The Featured Tellers this year were Beth Horner ( www.storytelling.org/Horner) and Michael Parent (www.michaelparent.com) , and both participated in Mostly Ghostly, along with North Coast Storytellers Ross Mackinney and Charlene Storr.

I acted as host and introduced each performer, as well as bookending the event with two tales of my own, accompanied by some wonderfully eerie and evocative music by my companion Seabury Gould. The night chill added just the right touch to the session, and the ocean breaking in the distance gave a nice counterpoint to an eclectic collection of tales. Charlene told a Native American legend about a vampire-like creature, Ross spun a chilling fable of a murderer stalking a princess, Ms. Horner impressively told and sang her story song of a haunted horse-drawn carriage, accompanying herself on the autoharp, and Mr. Parent shared a low-key, naturalistic thriller of a woman's ghostly encounter in a rented house in Maine, Mr. Parent's home-state.

The amphitheatre was packed with people, and Seabury and I agreed that it was probably the biggest crowd within my memory and participation. I also spent much of the evening making friends with a lovely young person named Tallulah, who simply wanted to be around me as much as possible! She had a marvelous time, as did everyone else, and I believe it was the best Mostly Ghostly ever held. I can't wait until next year!

I began October with a visit to the Medieval Festival Of Courage, the local Humboldt County Renaissance Faire in Arcata , CA . I had been invited to join the jugglers, magicians, musicians, dancers and other performers to entertain the crowds stepping back briefly into another era. I was accompanied this year by my young friend Miss Darrah, who looked delightful dressed as a beautiful princess.

We made friends with the bagpiper (Miss D. had never heard one in person!), listened to our friends Good Company play their Celtic ballads and dances, and I regaled my audiences with tales of knights fighting witches, ghostly encounters, and woman wearing black velvet bands. One young lady was so enthralled by my presence that she raced up to the stage and tried to climb up to greet me; unfortunately her legs were a bit too short! Throw in some knights on horseback jousting, fine artisans with their wares, a dunking booth for sarcastic witches, and some delicious Arthurian cooking, and you had a most complete day indeed.

The only drawback was the enormously disruptive winds that swept the fairgrounds by Mad River Hospital ; many times I and my Faire companions were in severe danger of blowing away. Perhaps it will be calmer next year.

I shared my tales at two library performances again this year. First was the benefit for the Humboldt Literacy project at the Main Library branch in Eureka , CA. There was a huge crowd there a usual, and in addition to my own tales I read one of my favorite ghostly tomes, a children's book called “Hubknuckles” (which I have often used in my live Halloween shows in years past, expertly read by the lovely Ms. Tina). Then I traveled south to the Fortuna Library in Fortuna , CA , where I had not been originally scheduled to appear. However, thanks to the generosity of the Fortuna Lions and the efforts of Head Librarian Chris Cooper, I was invited to come and continue telling my tales as I have in years past. Thank you, all of you; it was a delightful time again, and I was happy I didn't have to miss my friends in the Friendly City .

I was able to perform two shows with my storytelling companions Seabury Gould and Paul Woodland. The first was at Old Town Coffee and Chocolates in Eureka, where a good crowd came to hear Seabury's Celtic and English tunes of murder, spirits, witches and curses, Paul's folktales of the earwig (a caterpillar with a gruesome habit), the Hook and the darkly humorous Church Without A Bell Ringer, as well as a story or two from Yours Truly. Both Paul and Seabury rose to the spirit of the occasion, with Seabury attired as a dark minstrel, and Paul dressed as Jack-The Ripper, complete with Gladstone bag! It was a terrific show, the audience was generous and kind, and we all walked away with free samples of their latest brews!

A week later we joined together again for a performance at the Wildcat Wine Shoppe (www.wildcatwines.com), a new wine bar in Ferndale , CA . Although Seabury again donned the dark troubadour disguise, Paul this time decided to pay a one-man tribute to Humboldt County 's dairy industry. Although the evening began a bit on the slow side (there is a period of time in Ferndale where apparently no one walks the streets or ventures out into the foggy evening air) by the end of the night there was a respectable audience, and a grand time was had by all. Because this was an adults-only crowd, we all got into the spirit of the place by sharing some of our…er…bawdier material with the room. Seabury's wicked ditties were the high point of the night, and our hosts Jaime and Lisa were gracious and enthusiastic; we thank you deeply. In addition, one of our audience members (translating much of the night for his lovely hearing-impaired companion) shared a rare find with me: a volume of Lovecraft's tales published in the United Kingdom that had some how found it's way to the Lost Coast !

I joined my friends Bucky Calhoun and Ms. Devilyn on their radio programs for quite a long night of storytelling. First I made my way to the studios of KHSU 90.5 FM (www.khsu.org) on the campus of Humboldt State University in Arcata at 10:00 pm for Mr. Calhoun's show. I spun some of my favorite tales in between his seasonal music selections. Then at midnight Ms. Devilyn skipped into the booth and up to the mike for her show EARLY MORNING ZOMBIE TIME , and I stayed for another hour or two telling a few more stories. The radio audience didn't seem to mind my usurping the radio frequencies for the evening (Mr. Calhoun and Ms. Devilyn didn't seem to either), and I had a marvelous time, even if the trip home to my crypt was a bit wearying.

My final performance for the season was in Bridgeville , CA for the school district's Halloween Dance and Party. I greeted my young friends and told some of their favorite tales (some of them were fans from the Stories By The Sea Festival – see how everything fits together?) and gave them some special Halloween gifts: the last of the Carpathian T-Shirts we had in our Patient Creature Store. They all seemed to love them, and many wore them in lieu of a costume! The party was in full swing with music, lights and treats, and I enjoyed their company very, very much. My thanks to all of the young people there, as well as the school district for inviting me and making my October Season so complete!

As I was leaving for the Halloween Dance, my friend Miss Darrah was dressing for her Girl Scout Halloween party. She decided this year that she wanted to be a Punk Rock Zombie, and her costume and makeup turned out splendidly! She even toted a dismembered arm that she had picked up in Michael's Crafts Store, proudly munching on it when the mood became her. I think the photo above of our “high-five” is my favorite of the year. My second favorite is her photo below, mimicking the classic image of Edvard Munch's THE SCREAM . I couldn't possibly be more impressed with her acumen.