Chapter Text
My own holiday king, Eros of Valentinetown, suggested it. “You want something new to write, don’t you? Drop her a line and ask! I don’t think she’d say no.” He would know. He was friendly with all of the other holiday leaders to varying degrees, and indeed he was correct. She agreed. The Queen of Halloween was happy to entertain anything I’d like to ask - but reserved the right to answer as only much as she wanted. “That sounds like her.” Eros said with a laugh.
Being invited to the Skellington manor in Halloweentown is both a delightful surprise, and a most daunting prospect. On the one hand, I've never been partial to haunted houses. Any home in Halloweentown is most assuredly haunted in spades, as well as being owned and occupied by Halloweentown citizens. Thisnaturally confers upon each address a double serving of everything the darkest holiday town is well known for. On the other hand, when The Pumpkin Queen not only agrees to personally answer your questions, but invites you to her home - there is no saying no.
Standing on the doorstep, the leaning house above my head seems ready to topple forward at any second. I'm glad when the door opens. Sally Skellington smiles kindly, welcoming me into a dim, narrow, entry foyer. I nod politely, take a breath, and step inside. She's taller than I imagined. A stray thought reminds me that in any fleeting glimpses I've had of The Pumpkin Queen, she's been at her husband's side. That’s a circumstance likely to cloud one's perception. She’s wearing a dark plum skirt of pieced together muslin and lace that falls just below her knees, a charcoal gray wrap sweater, and black and white striped stockings. Her shoes are black thick heels, with double straps held by silver buttons. Her multitudes of stitches are viewed as quite attractive in ghoulish circles and oddly enough, I can't say I disagree. She carries them across and around her form like garlands. More universally admired is her hip-length crimson hair. If you've heard it's stunning in person, I can attest that it is.
We proceed up a periously cramped, nearly vertical stair to the main floor. "These were hard to get used to." Sally says over her shoulder. Her voice is whisper soft, but cheerful. "They were built for Jack, of course. The children are fine with them; a little harder for me, obviously. I’ve adjusted a lot of this house over the years, but I’ve had to make my peace with these stairs.”
We step out into a wider main hallway on the second floor, only to ascend a second flight of stairs. These are blessedly wider and less prone to inducing claustrophobia than the first set.
She leads me again down a hallway, this one lined on either side by asymmetrical doors of slightly varied sizes. I find myself smiling at crayon scrawled paper signs tacked to a few of them, clearly the work of the Skellington offspring. My smile fades with uncertainty as a whisp of something like white smoke slips along a crown molding over our heads before dissipating. The hardwood floor planks ahead suddenly ripple like piano keys. Without a pause in her steps, Sally pats her hand in the air, breathing a quiet: "Shhh...shhhh..." as one would do to calm a small child. The floor stills. "The house doesn't get many visitors past the downstairs." She says by way of explanation. "...but it's quieter up here than sitting down in the parlor with my family coming and in out." I can only nod.
We continue to a seating area tucked against a half-wall, overlooking the first floor. The overstuffed love seat and cushioned chairs are upholstered in patchwork, t heir accompanying throw pillows embroidered with typical Halloween motifs of cats, bats, pumpkins, and skulls, linked by borders of delicate flowers and ribbons.
This juxtaposition may sum up The Queen of Halloween as well as anything could.
"My son made us tea." Sally says, indicating a tray beside one of the chairs. "It's Christmas tea." she adds quickly, perhaps to cut off any hesitancy on my part. I thank her. We sit facing one another, ready to begin.
This house is very unusual. You said you have adjusted some of it? Did the house mind?
"I don’t believe so! I have an excellent relationship with everything in it. This was Jack’s house for ages before we met, but he only used the tower study. Most of the rest was empty and silent. I can imagine it must have been a surprise when I moved in, but I never had any trouble, not even in the beginning. I’ve made quilts for nearly every room, and curtains, some cross-stitch, embroidery samplers for the walls... Once the children arrived and grew, they found ways to get into every corner of this place. That’s good for a house like this. Visitors are good too, but we don’t tend to socialize in one another’s homes here in Halloweentown as often as is done in other places.
Really? Why is that?
"It's hard to say exactly. Maybe it's just that dark creatures tend to be more protective of whatever space they call their own. People meet together in the town hall, the square, or the tavern. The children bring friends up to their rooms, but that’s mostly the extent of it. That’s likely why the energy here is a little uneasy today. That's no fault of yours, not at all. And even so, I'm good at soothing it."
She nods, brushing her fingertips along the balcony railing beside us as she concludes her answer. I swear I feel the atmosphere around us warm and settle.
What does Halloween mean to you?
It's almost everything, isn't it? Like Valentines Day in your town, it's our holiday. Halloween is who we are. It's inside us. It’s home. Life isn't always as easy as I might like, but I can’t imagine feeling any other way. It’s a big job, or more precisely, hundreds of smaller jobs put together. A lot of work! Still, the yearly cycle of it is rather beautiful. I think so, anyway.
Do you go out on Halloween with your husband and the others?
I’m home on the day itself. I happily send my best ideas out into the world.
How did you decide what role you would take on as the Queen of Halloween?
I could ultimately do whatever I felt like. It’s up to me, but I believe I excel at the work I’ve chosen. As I said, hundreds of jobs make up any holiday. Mine are here. I used to think I wasn’t scary, but I now realize I just didn’t know myself as well as I’ve come to. That takes ages for most people, don’t you think? I was so young, and still trying to learn my own mind, as well as everything else. I see my strengths more clearly these days. I have ideas as frightening as anyone. Deliciously scary. I also have the best instrument possible in my husband. He can make use of my ideas, and I do my best to inspire him. We work fantastically well together. It’s the best of all worlds.
I imagine that collaboration is not something most people know about you.
That may be true.
Anyone in any Holiday world knows how busy it gets at our time of the year. You not only have the responsibility of being the queen of your holiday,
but you have five children as well. Is it hard to balance those responsibilities?
Well, *we* have five children. I clarify only because naturally I couldn’t do everything by myself.
Ah. Point well taken.
Jack is a very good father. We both have our duties to Halloween, therefore we likewise both have to raise our family. Our eldest children are now able to assist on both fronts, and they’re expected to do so. Many people in our town gladly pitch in as well. Some days are easier than others, but Halloween gets more terrifying every year, and I’d say the children are coming up well by most anyone’s estimation. It’s hard, but worth every moment. I try to never take anything for granted.