The Halloween Tree – Ray Bradbury
Expectation: A nostalgia-fueled story of what Halloween was like for kids in the 1970s and 1980s.
Reality: A little convoluted, but ultimately an entertaining and family friendly spooky story.
My Take:
In hindsight, 1993 was a banner year for kids entertainment. “The Sandlot,” “Free Willy” and “Jurassic Park” all debuted, but for ghost-obsessed children, like me, we were swimming in quality content.
R.L. Stine was in his prime, cranking out Fear Street books galore, “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” was airing on Nickelodeon and “Hocus Pocus” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas” premiered in theaters.
But, there’s another film from 1993 that only existed in fragments of my memory until last year when Bookstagrammers were posting spooky season reads and Ray Bradbury’s “The Halloween Tree” made appearances.
It was then I made the connection between an obscure Hanna Barbera cartoon, which originally aired on The Cartoon Network, and its story of life and death and history on Halloween was, in fact, real and had source material.
While the book may pop up on TBR lists seasonally, the movie appears largely forgotten (it isn’t streaming anywhere). YouTube has a hodgepodge of scenes — mainly from other fans — to feed your nostalgia, but the source material can do the same.
Bradbury’s young adult story, published in 1972, centers on a group of eight boys who must save the soul of their friend, Pip, from the sly and sinister Mr. Moundshroud by traveling through time to learn the origin of their Halloween costumes.
I don’t know how historically accurate it is, but readers visit ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, The Druids in Britain, witches throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, the gargoyles of Notre Dame and, finally, Día de Muertos in Mexico, where each person gives a piece of themselves to save Pip.
It is mystical and magical and charming, but definitely something that doesn’t quite hold up as well as I remembered as a child watching the film. For one, there is little to no character development, the plot really doesn’t make much sense and Bradbury infuses a lot of flourishes that would resonate more with adults than the intended audiences.
A few years ago I read Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” after being a fan of both film adaptations. It also left me wanting more, but both stories are spooky yarns the entire family can enjoy for a few hours. "Tree" is also a good showcase of Bradbury’s writing as the story is a helluva lot more fun than the too close to current reality of “Fahrenheit 451.”
While the audiobook, narrated with gusto by Kirby Heyborne, was quite entertaining, I believe the book is illustrated, which may be a better way to experience the story. And, the plot might make more sense too!
Rating (story): 3/5 stars
Rating (narration): 4/5 stars
Formats: Audiobook (library loan)
Dates read: September 26 – September 27, 2022
Multi-tasking: Good to go. There’s nothing particularly challenging about the content, even when Bradbury throws in a few flourishes. I mostly cleaned and drove while listening.
