Hallowe'en: The Holiday When You Can Be Anything You Want

Editor's Note: This first-person tale of the fun "horrors" of Hallowe'ens past and present as created by her mother, Kandi Lamb, is offered as a seasonal post by Lake Wales resident Kelli Durkin

"As I was growing up my mother absolutely loved Halloween. Every Holiday was memorable in our home. Birthdays, Christmas, and the 4th of July were always fun, but Halloween was different. My mother thought of our costumes well in advance and insisted we create our costumes from scratch. She wanted us to live and love Halloween as much as she did.

Kelli Durkin

Kandi Lamb has always made a special event of Hallowe'en, and enjoys creating frightening scene that give the children of who flock to her home each year an appropriate level of shivers.

I remember my friends dressing up as cheerleaders or princesses, but not me. I was encouraged to be more on the dark side. All in good fun, but there were not any incentives for tame costumes in the Lamb household. My mom lived for this day and her children were going to be a reflection of her dedication to Halloween.

In the 90's Trick-or-Treating door to door around Lake Wailes was a scene. I have vivid memories of walking to Mrs. Crew's home where she would have terrifying music leading up to her front door.

On any other day Mrs. Crews was the kindest woman in town, full of smiles and hugs, but on this day, she understood the assignment. She had her teenage kids at the time hide in the bushes and jump out as you walked up her long sidewalk and scare the absolute sh*t out of you. As a child if you could make it to her throne where she sat as a witch you had a story to tell.

On this day Mrs. Crews was a decrypted witch and offering you "monkey brains" as she dropped a few Snickers Bars into your pail. It was a sight to see, and kids lined up every year.

My mother, Kandi, is creating memories for children in Lake Wales. I look forward to the calls and texts I receive on Halloween. "Kelli your mom is a hoot" - "Kelli your mom just scared the sn*t out of my kids" - "Kelli, have you seen your Mom today?"

Kandi goes all out.

She has skeletons, ghosts, rubber rats, and other decorations for both inside and outside of the home. The decor is a clear indication informing Lake Wales that Kandi is celebrating. She has been scaring the children of Lake Wales over a decade now and every year her appearance improves.

This day is especially fun since we have three granddaughters who tell their friends what GoGo (her grandma nickname) does on Halloween. I often Facetime with the girls in the afternoon when they are with GoGo afterschool. The girls are organizing skulls, showing me the pretend arsenic bottle, and laughing at the frames that make spooky music. The girls LOVE it.

I was worried when they were younger, but my mom has managed to reel them in. I asked her to be a nice witch one year or maybe try a softer look. Give the green face paint a break, but she held true. She knew they would come around and like good little Lambs they did. Now they name the skeletons and tell their friends to visit GoGo on Halloween.

My sweet Dad just shakes his head and goes along with the program. Ed isn't hiding in bushes, but he is making multiple extra trips for candy and Kandi when they have more Trick- or-Treaters than expected. She's estimating 500 again this year. These kids will have a fun story to tell the next day. She's making memories and living her best life on Halloween. Visit my mom - she will scare the sn*t out of your kids, too!"