Halloween joy on Friday night!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: each Halloween night my wife Anne and I are among the few holiday observers still handing out candy to trick-or-treaters in our suburban neighborhood. However, this year marks the first time since 2006 that we shirked the tradition, but it was for a very special, one-time reason: we were invited to a Halloween wedding.

The happily married Mr. and Mrs. Monster of an alternate timeline where everything worked out in the end with minimal screaming and manslaughter.

Social gatherings are a rarity for us. We’re squares who don’t drink and don’t come to mind first in anyone’s guest-list brainstorming sessions. Most folks that we call “friend” don’t live near us or stay extremely busy (as far as we can tell, anyway). And the birthday-party circuit has more or less shut down now that all the kids in our family got old. Then along came Halloween 2025 and here we were, invitees to the nuptials of a pair of horror fans who chose this apropos date for their special occasion, to commemorate their love now and perennially.

The wedding stage before our feature presentation, prefaced with a collection of vintage horror trailers.

The festivities were joyous. The ceremony included poetry, singing, self-written vows, almost no puns, and a prelude of well-wishing Cameos from assorted horror-flick actors (two of whom I didn’t recognize) and, because horror isn’t their only shared interest, assorted Muppets. (I lost count of the latter.) The reception was held at the Rathskeller in downtown Indianapolis, which we hadn’t visited in years and were glad to find haven’t lost their flair for German cuisine in general and sinus-clearing spicy mustard in particular. I took a few pics for our own scrapbooks and memories, but didn’t approach this private event as pure public Insta-fodder. I suppose I could post the brief footage of Anne and me singing to each other as the bride and her brother danced to “The Rainbow Connection”, but I’m unconvinced there’s any demand for that and I’m uninterested in learning whether its rights-holders are the type to scour YouTube for the slightest benign provocation.

Not part of this event: an indulgent snack arrangement from another Halloween soiree earlier in the week.

We extend our apologies to any remaining neighborhood kids who were looking forward to the weird middle-aged couple setting up their yard-sale table and handing out Ziploc bags full of candies as usual. Lord willing, we’ll see you next year and reward you for keeping the tradition alive in our absence.

Yet another tradition: every MCC Halloween photo-dump includes the latest arrangement of yard spooks at Lowes…although I took this one back in August.