Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Have a safe and fun Halloween!

We dressed up in our home made costumes, nothing store-bought (we had to be creative and use our imaginations) and knocked on doors in our own neighborhoods. A few rowdies knocked over privies, but that was the extinct of the vandalism.  In the main, we were peaceful and respectful, said our thanks to the neighbors and took our treats home and glutted.
There was no fear of the treats being tampered with razor blades or anything dangerous to look out for. This was the age before insanity set in.
We had a neighbor woman who was adept at telling “hant tales.” She had the ability to scare the daylights out of us with her stories that we assumed to be true, which made them all the more scary. We would sit with our eyes as big a saucers, awaiting the “gotcha” ending we knew was coming. And, as if it were scripted, we jumped and moved closer together, looking around us for ghosts and things of another world to whisk us away. Her stories left us with goose bumps on top of goose bumps and we loved them.
I am not a fan of vampire stories except for one exception, Stephen King’s “Salem’s Lot,” that was made into a movie and starred James Mason. It begins with Mason coming to the small village and slowly infiltrating it with people who are actually vampires that lull the people with a sense of security until they sink their teeth into their neck and they all become vampires.   
I found myself warning the intended and vulnerable victims to “lock their doors, don’t trust anybody” all through the book. Even after I had finished reading, it haunted me for days, still does. I still make sure all my blinds are drawn at night so they can’t see in my windows. My daughter-in-law says it effects her the same way, even though we read the book back in the 1970s. Maybe we ought to make a stake to drive through their heart.
If you want to get into a Halloween mood, read or watch anything by Stephen King.  He is the master of the genre…. Carrie, Cujo, Christine, The Firestarter, The Shining, Misery, Delores Claiborne… I can’t name them all. The list is too long. But if horror is your thing, you will be in horror Heaven.
Jack Nicholson’s “Here’s Johnnnny” in “The Shining,” is scary enough to make you hide beneath the covers of your bed.  And Kathy Bates in “Misery” will definitely speed up your adrenalin. Good watching, and…
Have a safe and fun Halloween.

These are delicious served warm with ice cream.

Caramel-Apple Bars

1 3/4 C. granulated sugar
1 C. oatmeal
1/2 C. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. margarine
20 caramels
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can apple pie filling
1 C. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients. Cut in margarine until crumbly. Press three-quarters of this mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Set aside. In heavy saucepan over low heat, melt caramels with sweetened condensed milk, stirring until smooth. Spoon apple filling over prepared crust. Top with caramel mixture. Sprinkle other quarter of crumb mixture over top, then nuts. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve warm with ice cream.