Halloween Candy

This is the time of the year that we usually have tons of leftover halloween candy, which my husband and I eventually eat. For this reason we tend to buy our favorites. This year we didn’t, the exception being the fun-size Snickers which were eaten long before Halloween.

This year, besides the long-gone Snickers, we have KitKats, plain M&Ms, and Skittles. Don’t get me wrong, we’ll still eat the leftovers, but it isn’t the same as when we have our favorites like, PayDay, Peanut M&Ms, Baby Ruth, Mr. Goodbar and Heath Bars. Notice a pattern? Except for the PayDay, they all contain chocolate and except for the Heath Bar they all contain nuts.

When we were both working, I used to take most of the leftover candy to work. I worked with undergrads at a university and they seemed to be perpetually hungry. Now, we live in a rural community, that while not quite a retirement community is pretty darn close. We have a handful of families with children living here, but they seem to be so few and definitely far between. I’m not sure how many, if any, children will actually trick or treat here.

I took a brake...

Well okay, enough time has passed for me to tell you that we’ve not a single child ring our bell. In our former city home, where we lived for over 30 years, the doorbell rang all evening long on Halloween. When you answered, there could be anywhere from one child to 20 children. Ours was a neighborhood of single-family homes, so many families from apartment-laden neighborhoods would drive over, park and trick-or-treat in this “safer” area.

We realized that it was likely not one child would come tonight, but like a Boy Scout, we were prepared!

Wait a minute!!! I see a Snicker bar. That sucker is mine!

Halloween. It's kind of a funny day to begin a blog, don’t you think? It's not the date so much as I finally had some spare time. Sandy’s remnants reached the NorthWest Illinois area and it’s too windy to golf, walk in the woods or do yard work. Plus, we’re kind of stuck in the house waiting for the Deere guy to pick up our ride-on mower for inspection, maintenance and blade sharpening.

Anyway, back to halloween, there is an actual haunted farmhouse within walking distance of our home. That is if you consider 3+ miles walkable. I don’t want to post the link here, but their website is easily found with a google search of “haunted Willow Creek Farm” in Illinois. I web-stumbled upon it while looking for farm blogs in the area. Fred & I checked it out and not only found the farmhouse, but found a neat, less-traveled route to get to town, as well as a cute little timbered area with 3-4 houses adjacent to the haunted farm. 

If you don’t want to read their whole site, here is my pared down version:

Paranormal activity “experts” claim the area to be “one of the most haunted private residences in the state” of Illinois.

The history: William and Mary Boardman sailed from England, somehow made it to New Orleans and then up the Mississippi River and out to a trading post in Rockford, Illinois. William worked as a blacksmith in the area until land opened up for settlement in Carroll County. There he acquired oxen and worked the land for two years as required by the government. He built a cabin, got his wife and two children, Margaret and younger Mary, who were waiting in Rockford and then filed his claim.

Two brothers, David and younger Thomas Holmes, eventually emigrated from England and settled in the area. Thomas married Margaret Boardman and David married her sister Mary J. Boardman in late 1855. (I wonder why the older brother married the younger sister?) David and Mary lived in the house that now stands at the "haunted" Willow Creek Farm site.

Other "gossip": Mary conceived a child out of wedlock at the age of 16. The child, William Barnes, lived with his grandparents according to the 1860 census.

Martha and Thomas lost four infants and a 12 year old daughter. Mary and David lost eight babies in infancy. Am I the only person who thinks this seems to be a lot of infant deaths, even given the time period?

A popular, unsubstantiated story tells of a claim jumper arriving on horseback prior to  Mr. Boardman's claim and taking part of Boardman's land claim.

Another story tells of a renegade Indian who was ransacked the Boardman home and as punishment was dragged through the prairie behind a horse, the punitive action supposedly chosen by tribal elders.

I imagine these stories are offered as possible reasons for the hauntings?.?.

The following has been experienced by visitors: Hearing loud bangs, footsteps, knocking, Indian drumming, children crying/singing, people talking, dogs barking, smelling of cat urine, floral and tobacco scents, feeling extreme hot and cold spots, being touched, punched, hugged, choked, shoved (can you imagine?!), finding objects moved, experiencing radio turning on and off, and changing frequency - seemingly without human intervention, and seeing full-bodied apparitions and shadowy figures.

Free visits to the farm are allowed by appointment and your request requires 3 references. References!? If I ever summon the courage to make a visit I will report about the visit here. However, I’m thinking it will take a bit of coaxing from visiting friends/family for me to make the effort. References?!

Happy Halloween!