Halloween 1961

(I wrote this journal entry when I was 23 years old and in the US Navy, stationed in Pensacola, Florida)

October 31, 1961 (Tuesday, Halloween) - I wonder how Halloween got started. It has certainly lost much of its appeal lately. Perhaps children aren’t so gullible and easily frightened as they used to be. I can remember going out Trick or Treating when I was at home and being scared to death at the slightest stir in the dark. I did get the full impact of Halloween though late tonight. I was walking across the bridge separating NAS Pensacola from Warrington. It was pretty close to midnight as I took my first steps on the bridge. Suddenly dense fog surrounded me. The street lamps seemed to dim, and their white globes cast a blurry light. Below me the water lapped at the pilings. My imagination began to exercise control over my mind and I saw rats running in and out of the metal water pipes along the base of the side rail. Then the fog lifted and my senses cleared. I had crossed the bridge and was once again safe.