WOLVES NEVER LOOK UP
I’ve always considered myself as someone who loves winter — who wouldn’t? There’s Christmas, cozy pajamas, cheesy movies, so many family activities, my birthday and more, but this year, I think I am making a shift.
I think it started last year when my boyfriend spent the fall season picking out old horror movies that I’ve never seen and making an event out of it. I never knew which movie we would watch; I just found out when the opening segment began.
We cozied up on the couch every weekend, with coffee and snacks, and, to my surprise, I didn’t end each movie screaming.
My favorite was definitely “Trick ‘r Treat.” If you’ve not seen it — which I’m sure you have, I think I just happened to have lived under a rock for the past 17 years — it's a horror anthology film. I won’t spoil it, but my favorite storyline was the one following the group of girls trying to find a date for their Halloween party.
It just felt brilliant to me. I was shocked at the direction each plot took and the outcomes never failed to surprise me.
It was the same type of cheesy plots that I love in Hallmark Christmas movies, but … in horror? I spent the rest of the season trying to fill the spot that “Trick ‘r Treat” left in me, to no avail.
Truthfully, I think, in an attempt to fill the “Trick ‘r Treat” shaped hole in my heart, I began to embrace the aspects of autumn more. This was when I realized that I loved the movie so much, not only for the creativity, but because it had such a fall feel to it.
Instead of focusing on why I didn’t like the season (scary Halloween decorations, crickets, shorter days), I found aspects I loved: cool weather you can relax in rather than freeze in; “cozy fantasy” books; baking without sweating; fall-colored clothing; my dog chasing leaves; and the obligatory pumpkin spice lattes, which aren’t my favorite, but are growing on me.
I’ve been seeing many people on the internet talk about how because it’s August, they are simply going to pretend it’s fall. I’m not sure I’ve had the urge to do that with winter. I’ve never said, ‘Hey. It’s November; I’m going to put on my puffy jacket and buy a gingerbread latte to pretend it’s my favorite season.’
This year, though, I am proud to say that I will be choosing multiple seasonal-themed reads for my book club with my friends (consisting of “My Roommate Is a Vampire” by Jenna Levine, “The Last House on Needless Street” by Catriona Ward,” Such Sharp Teeth” by Rachel Harrison and “The Sundown Motel” by Simone St. James, if you were curious), buying sweaters and making my own pumpkin scones at home in August because maybe, just maybe, I am turning into someone who loves autumn.
Kelley is a reporter for the Hays Free Press and News-Dispatch. She can be reached via email at [email protected].
