Costume parties are fun. Halloween Costume Parties are especially enjoyable. The big night had arrived…it was Halloween once again. Billy B. and his mom had spent all day Saturday decorating for the Sunday event. They had the expert assistance of Billy’s friend, Cyndy, who was a master at decorating for Halloween. The Bump house had never looked more festive. Neva Jane had decided to do something innovative and different for 1964…she was combining the children’s Costume Party with a Halloween Costume Party for her adult friends. Now, Neva Jane had many adult friends who were into a party… The adult attendees would enjoy adult beverages like Highballs and Bloody Mary’s…while the children would partake of faux adult drinks as well as Coca-Cola and Chocola and Kool-Aid. Billy B.’s mom was a Beatnik or new age thinker. She was going to have the joint Parties…together.

Jane was coming as Glenda The Good Witch from the movie, The Wizard of Oz. Buddy was attending as Barney Rubble and had talked his friend, Tommy, to come as Fred Flintstone. Jeff C. would be Linus from the Peanuts Characters. Jeff C. loved Peanuts. He once told Billy B. that he reminded him of Charlie Brown and that he thought that their class was torn from a page of the Peanuts comic strip. Billy’s dad, Willam, was going to film the festivities with his new 8 millimeter camera. Billy, of course would be the Creature From The Black Lagoon…and Chet would be the Lost In Space Robot.

Clang went the Bump doorbell and at the door was Frankenstein…or someone who looked remarkably like the original Boris Karloff character. There he was with a massive Cohiba Cigar and mumbling…’Smoke…Good.’ Coming up the driveway was Dracula. When Billy B. greeted him and invited him in for a glass of wine…he said…’I never drink…wine…’ Billy had just completed the last minute preparations for the Party by stuffing each gift bag for both the children and the adults with 10 monster comics…they were only 12 cents each. Susie brought Billy B. a faux Bloody Mary and he took great joy in imbibing the adult brew…much as he did enjoy…candy cigarettes. Billy B. had a bit of a crush on Susie…although she was several years older than he. As he drank the Bloody Mary…suddenly he had the revelation that Susie would like to dance… The Wolf Man was already twisting the night away with Billy’s mom…and he looked remarkably like Lon Chaney Jr.’s movie character of the nocturnal beast. Billy B. closed his eyes as he twisted with his paramour
Susie…when he opened them he saw that he was dancing with…The Bride of Frankenstein. Along came Frank…and he was no longer smoking a Cohiba…he was drinking a Highball and wanting to cut in…

Chet poured cold water on Billy’s fevered brow. ‘Billy…what happened,’…Chet asked? You were Twisting with Susie and all of the sudden you began to yell to Frankenstein that you meant no harm…it was just Chubby Checker’s….wonderful and compelling lyrics. Neva Jane asked Billy if he had taken a drink from the adult table…and he replied that Linus had given the drink to Susie and that she had brought it to him. Linus spun his blanket into a whip and knocked the drink out of Billy’s hand…and turned on his heel with a self satisfied smile…and walked out of the Bump home.