Favorite Halloween Stories: "Danny's Luck"

One day years and years ago, I was visiting an old book fair to see if I could find any childhood books that I grew up with. This was back before ebay and online bidding, so it was purely by chance that you would come upon something you wanted at the used bookstores or swap meets. The Book fairs were a good (and cheap) way to find some Lost childhood stories!

 Sifting through the bins, I was immediately taken by an old childrens’ Halloween Book  called “Danny’s Luck” by Lavinia R. Davis and illustrated by Hildegard Woodward. The cover had an very antique looking feel to it, and I quickly stepped out of the crowded  shelves and stood aside to peruse this new find! 

I was completely blown away by how much the illustrations perfectly captured the innocent Halloweens of childhood, or rather, the classic autumn Halloweens promised to all kids dremaingof their first ventures out: crisp, autumn oranges and yellows, rustic  tress with bare branches and the smell of Pumpkin Pie waiting for you upon your return home! 

 Ironically enough, Danny’s luck has actually very little to do with Halloween itself as the story concerns Danny and his upcoming birthday, which just happens to fall in October. If it had fallen in December, Danny’s Luck could very well have been a Christmas story! 

No matter, October it was, and thus was born an amazing Halloween story, and it is lucky too, for there are too few of them out there. To me and the kids of my generation, naturally the best Halloween stories are the ones that were read to us growing up- these would be the ones published between 1950 to 1970, and to have found a book that time that I’d heretofore never heard of from was a treasure indeed!