The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
It’s the middle of October, and I’m finally feeling some nicer temps, at least in the evening and the morning. October is my favorite time of the year in the Rio Grande Valley. The weather during the day is still warm, but mostly not the unbearable heat of Summer; the tourists are gone, and we have South Padre Island to ourselves. Growing up, I didn’t care much for winter. I’ve always been a warm-weather guy. But living in a tropical region will change your view of that. Now I look forward to what small change of seasons that we get. When the humidity eases off and the morning and evening temperatures drop into the high sixties, I breathe a sigh of relief. It doesn’t hurt that October also contains my favorite of all the holidays.
As someone raised on Ben Cooper Halloween costumes, and Creature Feature movie specials on Saturdays, it will come as no surprise that my absolute favorite holiday is Halloween. This year has been even better, as I’ve become involved in creating the online store for a local Halloween store. The project has been an absolute delight to work on. It’s also helped me get in the “Halloween Spirit.”
Another thing that has helped me get in the mood is the annual household tradition of watching scary movies. We’ve dubbed it “Horrorfest” in honor of Leif Jonker’s Wichita Horrorfest, a Halloween tradition in Wichita before Warren Theaters was sold to a larger company. Back then, Leif would rent a theater twice a week and show Horror Classics on the big screen. It was the best. So, when we got in the habit of watching as many horror films as possible in October, the name stuck. Since about 2016, we have made it a habit to watch as many horror movies as possible, and it’s always been a ton of fun.
It may also surprise anyone who has joined more recently, but I also got my start writing horror. My first published work was a horror short story called “Sketch.” It’s a ghost story involving a young woman who has been through a breakup and turned to her artwork for solace, only to find some things aren’t what they seem. It was published by Mandatory Midnight in late 2019 and picked up a lot of readers. The enthusiasm for that story pushed me to write a second ghost story, “A Good Night’s Sleep,” and finish my debut novel, “Tears of the Dragon.” Both “Sketch” and “Good Night’s Sleep” are free on my website if you feel like checking them out.
In any case, October is my favorite time of the year; whether it’s the sweet relief from the unrelenting Summer heat that we feel from March through September here in the valley or the nostalgic magic of Halloween, October has always been my jam. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have movies to watch and stories to write.
– Ryan
