Harry Potter and Halloween

This Halloween, Friday, October 31st, 2008, something magical will weigh in the air. No, I'm not talking about the presence of black magic or sorcery. Rather, the magical substance will be merriment, the laughter of children, and doubt in the cynical reason that traditionally holds us hostage. (Ever notice that magic tricks have lost their luster, since we can see through the thinly veiled guise?) Anyway, I want children to believe, or at the very least not be able to explain what they just say.


Perhaps I should explain myself.. Instead of being lame and passing out candy at my house on Halloween, I decided to be a bit more proactive. Rebecca Atkins helped me to brainstorm, and the Harry Potter themed attraction was born. This Halloween, we'll be passing out candy, dressed from head to toe in Harry Potter garb, and preforming "magic." What kind of magic, you ask? Simple, really- A functioning Marauder's Map that only shows steps when you utter the enchantment " I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Aragog the giant spider (en forme of a very large spider with glowing red eyes on a RC truck), Buffy (bat on zip line), and some other more chemistry related ideas. Here's a picture of the two critters!




So back to making children want to believe- When I dressed up completely for the Harry Potter costume contest for the last book at Borders, something unexpected and wonderful happened. The children there completely and undoubtedly believed I was Harry Potter. I was assaulted with personal questions, questions asking me what happens to be in the 7th book (which had a few hours to go before it was released), questions asking why I was still alive because, surely, I died in this book. I was also asked questions about Ginny, J.K. Rowling (one adorable girl thought she was my mom and that Lord Voldemort killed her), and the other cast of characters. What really got to me were the kids dying to have their pictures with Harry Potter. I am in probably more photo albums than I even would care to know, which is sort of cool and creepy at the same time. The older kids tended to doubt my authenticity and pressed me with Harry Potter trivial (which, by the way, I know by heart) couldn't pin me down into a proverbial corner, much to their dismay. It was that, I guess, that I got a real high off of- stumping those older kids. I realized that I held the potential to fool these kids into forgetting Harry Potter wasn't real, suspending reality just for those few hours. I bet, years from now, the kids will figure out my tricks and ruses, but until then I hope that my Harry Potter-ian effort had a similar effect to falling back into believing in Santa Claus again. I hope I inspired a half dozen kids to passionately seek out the real Harry Potter, even if it wasn't me, and to believe. So anything I can do this Halloween to even get half the result would mean a success well beyond my wildest dreams. I really hope we convince people!


So you probably won't hear too much more about this until Halloween draws nearer, but I thought I should at least bring it up, since I'm going crazy planning it! By the way, if you're interested, please contact me and I'll give you some more information!

- Jonathan