This Halloween feels very different because it’s the first one where Hailey isn’t here to dress up so in true empty-nest fashion I decided that Hunter S. Thomcat would be a fair substitute, especially since he actually enjoys wearing hats and costumes. And it was awesome.
Except that Hunter is a pleasingly plump cat and every time he moved his dress would pop open. (Relatable.)
He was not pleased. Although it really helped him nail the angry Wednesday Addams look.
So we pivoted.
And I was quite pleased until I realized that I also was popping out of my dress and the wig was uncomfortable so instead I’m switching to an obscure literary costume that probably no one will understand but if you do we need to be friends immediately because we had the same weird-ass childhood.
Yes, I immediately worried about your head falling off.
If you remove the ribbon your head will fall off?
The Green Ribbon!
I mean this is why I follow you in the first place because we are very much of the same vibe.
In a dark, dark room?
The green ribbon! I loved that story!! (I come by being a weird kid honest)
Scary Stories to Tell in Dark!!!!
Whatever you do, do NOT remove that ribbon!
Ma’am, no self-beheadings, please.
The velvet ribbon! Also why did somebody read this to me when I was 7???
I’m an artist from NYC. I always go to halloween events dressed entirely in black, as a NYC artist. Instantly understood
Thanks to Carmen Maria Machado, a lot more people get that reference now! Regardless, that story is what turned me into a Horror Junkie at a very young age.
Leave the ribbon where it is please… there’s a very good reason for it.
Have you read the retelling of The Green Ribbon called The Husband Stitch in Carmen Marie Machado’s Her Body and Other Stories?
(Yes! ~ Jenny)
To add to this theme, Victor should be Nearly Headless Nick.
Between the dog and the cat, the dog wore it better.
Okay the cat looks too darn cute!
Well, your name is Jenny! ❤️
(It’s like it was made for me. ~ Jenny)
Isn’t a key part of Morticia popping out of her dress???
I don’t remember how old I was when I learned that story, but I knew immediately when I saw you with the ribbon that if it’s removed that your head will fall off!
Could you please post a picture of the front window of The Nowhere Bookshop?
Please, please, please?
(Of course! Here’s one window: https://www.instagram.com/p/CxMOMpXpfww/ And here’s the other: https://www.instagram.com/p/CxMQGQNJ7Br/ ~ Jenny)
100% still terrified of that story and your head falling off!
You and Dorothy Barker were a very fine looking Morticia and Wednesday! I’m glad you found something more comfortable that also keeps your head on. How handy!
Happy Halloween!!!
Wednesday Cattams?
(So good. ~ Jenny)
OMG, I loved The Green Ribbon!
Will your head fall off without the ribbon? Our school librarian got fired for telling us that tale too young.
The Green Ribbon! Loved it as a kid!! I don’t know that I would read it to a kid now though, not sure why. Happy Halloween Jenny!!
Whatever you do leave the ribbon on. Otherwise, you might lose something important to you.
The Velvet Ribbon!I knew it at once. “I told you not to take off my ribbon………”
Don’t let your husband near that ribbon!
I actually prefer your Morticia costume but why not be comfortable?
“some analysts have noted the French Revolution-era tradition for the widows and widowers of those killed by the guillotine to wear red ribbons and scarves around their necks.”
The history of choker necklaces is also fascinating. The StartUp Fashion website provides an interesting overview of the role choker necklaces have played in Native American, East African, and European traditions. In Europe as time went along, a black ribbon tied around the neck was often a signal that the woman wearing the ribbon was a prostitute.
The Green Ribbon! I love it!!!
My fourth grate teacher had a recording of the wife who wore the choker, talk about inappropriate for children.
I guess we can’t be pals.
(We can. Just gotta get you a copy of the creepy-ass kids book. ~ Jenny)
I lost the guessing game… for some reason the ribbon worn at the neck made me think of Princess Mombi and her severed heads collection from Return to Oz. I looked it up and there was no ribbon at the neck, but rather a distinct ribbon tied to the key that unlocked the severed head’s cases. The heads had golden collars that would attach to Princess Mombi’s body.
Ah, my misremembering brain and memories of my still cherished (and nightmarish) childhood movies! 😂Happy Halloween!!!!
Ah, yes, the ribbon that covers up the Meatball Men.
Except that Hunter is a pleasingly plump cat and every time he moved his dress would pop open. (Relatable.)
Hahahahahaha.
Perhaps you should put Hunter in some buffet pants (a.k.a. sweats).
(“Buffet pants”. Love it. ~ Jenny)
Don’t Remove the Ribbon!
I may be misremembering, but I think I first got told that story when we went on a 5th grade overnight field trip to Savannah (what were they thinking, we were completely unattended 90% of the time!). The guide told another ghost story that was sing songy about “why would you cry over three green pears, look in the chimney and you will find…” but I can’t remember the rest or find it anywhere. It scared us all though!
Happy Halloween to one and all!
I always feel sorry for pets wearing costumes because they usually look so miserable, but your dog looks quite happy.
I love the Morticia outfit, but the green ribbon is awesome!
Nothing like a nice ribbon to keep to our heads where they belong on top
of our necks.
Here is the thing. When I saw your pic, I had no conscious memory of the story, but knew instantly – just instantly – that if you took off that ribbon, your head would roll off. Got to love a memory so old that it’s not accessible, yet at the very same time, encoded into your DNA.
Absolutely and still haunted to this day
Leave the ribbon there!! Don’t remove the ribbon!
Ah, a friend of mine and I were JUST discussing this story a couple of days ago! May I recommend the 1824 short story by Washington Irving, “The Adventure of the German Student”? 😀
Hm! I would have loved this as a kid – but I think it was after my time? Born in ’75. I went and found it of course, and here is a vid of someone reading it in full on YouTube 😀 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH_qxW7wQFU
Hold onto your head Jenny.
Best to keep the ribbon on, or Victor is going to have one heck of a mess to clean up.
Angelic from dark shadows, hiding her fang hickey….oh that’s tv, not literary
In my memory it’s a yellow ribbon but regardless of the color do not take it off!!!
OMG I knew we were friends, don’t go losing your head tonight!
I loved that story!
I would read that story over and over again!
Thanks for posting the meatball men. Cheered me up immensely. Sorry I missed out on the reference to the green ribbon since it was after my childhood. My inappropriate movies were Tales of the Crypt and Willard when I was 6, double feature. I did read my share of ghost stories if that counts.
Same weird ass childhood here. 🤣🤣🤣
Wow! I haven’t thought about that story in many, many years, but I immediately had a fear response when I saw that photo. Yikes! And well done!
I used to have a vinyl record of someone reading that story.
I 100% know what you are!!! Let’s be best friends!!!
Wait, how is that obscure?!?!?
Also, you looked great in both costumes!
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Add another The Green Ribbon aficionado to your list of fans, Jenny. 😹💚 👻🎃
“Is it even Halloween if your cat isn’t wearing a wig”
The unequivocal answer is no.
Perfection. But don’t let Victor remove the ribbon. 💜
The ribbon must not be removed. But I think the Morticia Addams outfit is great.
Wow! Y’all are so much younger than me! I immediately went to Shirley Jackson or Edgar Allan Poe! Happy Halloween!!❤️ 💀
I LOVE that book. I read it to my girls and now they are old enough to read it to me. Such great stories. I even had the book on tape : )
Why was that a story for children and how do I not still have nightmares about heads falling off?
Is it just me or is Dorothy Barker giving some side-eye in the Family pic?
(Totally. ~ Jenny)
That is the BEST and simplest costume ever. I am totally stealing the velvet choker thing for next year so I can see who gets it…Except that I will probably forget because that’s what my brain does these days. Still, thank you for pulling out that gem of a childhood horror story!
I have a very distinct memory or my elementary school librarian reading us that story. So maybe all of us had a weird childhood? Or our librarian was working through some issues…
I absolutely heard this as a ghost story – I just knew it as a ribbon, not necessarily a green one, but I immediately know. (Because that story legit scared me as a child).
Such cool pictures!! When it comes to Halloween you top it all♥️♥️😘
My mom taught middle school, and she had a reading of that story on a vinyl record that she’d get out every year for Halloween and play it for her students. She’d get it right to the climax of the story and make her kids write their own endings before finishing the story. I think the fact that she kept a record player around just for this story added to the spookiness.
You are the second person to post about this story in the last two days and I have never felt less alone in my life. Weird-ass childhood for the win.
Hell yes, fellow weird-ass childhood haver here! Slay
I told you…you’ll be sorry! That messed me up for awhile. 😂🤣
SOMEBODY TURNED IT INTO A SHORT FILM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YnrH9OKohg
The girl with the Green Ribbon!!
I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t get your costume change
Many years ago, my costume was Mrs. Whatsit from a Wrinkle in Time, and no one had a clue.
Obscure book character costumes for the win. Don’t let it go to your head… you might lose it.