From Ray Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree:
They rounded the far side of the house and stopped. For there was the Tree. And it was such a tree as they had never seen in all their lives.
It stood in the middle of the vast yard behind the terribly strange house. And this tree rose up some one hundred feet in the air, taller than the high roofs and full and round and well branched and covered all over with rich assortments of red and brown and yellow autumn leaves.
“But,” whispered Tom, “oh look. What’s up in that tree?” For the Tree was hung with a variety of pumpkins of every shape and size and a number of tints of hues of smoky yellow or bright orange.
“A pumpkin tree,” someone said. “No,” said Tom. The wind blew among the high branches and tossed their bright burdens, softly. “A Halloween Tree,” said Tom.
And he was right.
If there’s any place where something like this could come to life, it would be Disneyland. Every year since 2007—the 35th anniversary of Bradbury’s celebrated novel—an oak tree in Frontierland is transformed into a magical tribute to Halloween, festooned with orange and yellow lights and hand-painted jack o’lanterns. It’s a thing of beauty…but don’t take my word for it….
Blu Gilliand is the managing editor of Cemetery Dance Magazine and Cemetery Dance Online. And yes, he has a Halloween Tree.
