“I imagine a child. That child is me. I can reconstruct and vividly remember portions of my own childhood. I can see, taste, smell, feel, and hear them. Then what I do is, not write about that kid or about his world, but start to think of a book that would have pleased him.”

-Daniel Pinkwater, author of “Lizard Music” and many, many other great books

Adults – and, for that matter, older kids – get a really lousy deal when it comes to Halloween parties.

I’m not saying that Halloween parties for older people can’t be fun, but they’re usually fun mostly for the same reasons other adult parties are fun.  It’s Office Christmas Party/Superbowl Sunday/Arbor Day/whatever, only with some costumes.  And in terms of the costumes – don’t get me wrong, the modern trend of “sexy elf / sexy witch / sexy ghost / sexy doughnut / sexy houseplant / sexy fire hydrant” is perfectly cool, but it doesn’t necessarily surprise or delight the way costumes did when we were younger.

I’m going to say that, in a lot of ways, the best Halloween parties belong to, say, eight-year-olds.  You’ve got enough comprehension of the world around you to have an idea of what’s going on, but you probably don’t quite realize there are consequences to eating sixteen pounds of candy in a half hour.  Clothing is new enough for you that costumes are extra-exciting, and at some point in the evening, the Great Pumpkin will probably be coming by to give you presents.

Well, folks, I propose that we mug the eight-year-olds and steal their candy.  …metaphorically, I mean.

The question we’ve asked our design team is: “If you were eight, and loved Halloween, but were putting on a Halloween party with, not just all the abilities and powers of an adult (you can drive!  you can buy things!  it’s like being a superhero, for a kid) - but with the full resources of a large and ingenious convention of weird people behind you.

Hold on to your hats, and wait impatiently for February.  Wondrous things are afoot.