Rrrroar. Or as the kids say it, rawr.
I went camping over the weekend with my grandkids and as we were roasting marshmallows over the fire, they started getting agitated. As it turned out, they had been teasing each other about bears all afternoon, so as soon as it got dark outside, the fun part about playing bear-related camping games turned into bear phobia. I suppose it didn’t help that we were staying at a camping spot well-known for bear activity, with “bear aware” warning signs posted all over the place. I had to really think on my toes to get those little ones calmed down enough to go to sleep.
My only regret is that is wasn’t Halloween and I couldn’t use the evening as an opportunity to scare their socks off. But you guys know me too well… of course I’m going to use the experience as fodder for my fall Halloween shindig. I wouldn’t be able to look myself in the mirror and call myself a Halloween expert if I didn’t relish the occasional chance to spook the grandbabies.
As I was thinking about it, bears have lost a bit of their cultural cache in terms of being frightful. Maybe they were surpassed in scariness when the “Jaws” films came out, but that’s a shame. Bears really are quite terrifically horrifying, especially the Grizzly kind. Not only do they still eat the occasional tourist for dinner, but they have such great claws, and teeth. It’s the stuff that Wes Craven only dreams about. I think its about time that the american bear resumed its rightful place among the scary beasts of Halloween lore. At the very least, you could tell a few campfire stories about bear attacks this summer. I know I’m going to be looking for a few bear costumes and rounding up some scary bear movies to prepare.
Consider yourselves warned, grandkids.
Emma Rae Curtis is a costume/dressing up/makeup & accessories expert. She mainly writes about Halloween but also about all things costume and dress-up related.
