The Monster Ball

A Monstrous Treasure Hunt

Can Finding your Monsters be Fun?

I am responsible for pulling together a community treasure hunt to find the five Monsters of the Monster Band as a part of our town’s annual Halloween celebrations. Every day I wake up with intentions to make it so, and every day I go to bed with confusion about the path to achieving this goal.

My Monster Chorus of Fear, Angry, Shame, Jealous, and Procrastimonster sings me its usual bag of mixed messages:

I am no good, Shame Monster warbles quietly. (In fact, I have done many treasure hunts, so Shame Monster doesn’t have many teeth this time.)

It is too hard! croons Procrastimonster (a little more teeth there since Procrastimonster and I want it to be spectacular.)

This is stupid, growls Angry Monster. (Angry usually comes at me when I’m frustrated so this also has teeth. I am a grown woman putting a treasure hunt before more grownup things. So much so that in this moment of writing I can’t think of what those grown-up things are, but I know they are out there and I’m doing a treasure hunt instead.)

I don’t know how to do some of the pieces and thus I feel scared and unsure how to move forward, trills Fear Monster. Ah, Fear Monster does have a point. I think Fear Monster is my Monster in Chief (it usually is) and so it is time to have a cup of tea with Fear and find out what we need to move forward.

I brew up a Terror Tea of minty Monster Nip (for creative thinking) and basil Dragonsblood (for a dose of Courage to face our fears.) Creative Courage is what I need. I grab a notebook and spellcasting quill and start my planning session with Fear.

I write what I want across the top of the journal page: A story-clue- task-laden hunt with assorted media. Fear Monster huddles over its tea cup and takes a big slurp. I can feel Fear’s constriction right in the center of my heart. That’s where Fear is residing, rather than its usual stomach-fluttering butterflies, and I add a bit of rose petal Monster Tears to my Terror Tea brew to release the constriction.

I continue on with my note-taking paying careful attention to Fear’s reaction.

I want to hide Monsters and Monster Supplies for people to find, I scribble. Fear Monster wonders where I will get these Monsters and Supplies.

I want there to be clues to solve and tasks to complete, I record.

I’m not much of a clue master, Fear mutters.

I need it to last over multiple days and include running in the Monster Dash and attending the Monster Ball. I need stations where people can experience the essence of Halloween.

By the time I am done with my list Fear Monster has the teacup of Terror Tea pressed to its snout and is inhaling rapidly. And I get it. We’re both hyperventilating a little bit now.

When I awoke this morning the constellation of Orion the Hunter was arching past my window on his way to bed. It was a spectacular sight. Visual clues in the landscape must be part of this hunt, I scribble.

But what about sound? whispers Fear.

I stop, pen poised, transfixed by this monstrous suggestion. The sights of autumn always get the press. The red and gold of autumn leaves, the flickering candles in orange pumpkins. The luminous harvest moon. Trees laden with red apples and green pears.

Autumn really puts on a visual feast.

But the sounds of autumn are perhaps even more atmospheric. Those leaves rustling in the trees, solitary footsteps on the path. The hoot of an owl. The flutter of bat wings on the hunt for their nighttime meal.

What would make this treasure hunt most fun is to invoke all our Monsters in a soundscape that conjures each one. It would go something like this…

Enter the Frightful Forest. Listen to the footsteps crunch the leaves along the path. Follow the hoot of the owl & the rustle of the trees. Let them guide you to find Fear, the Fearsome Fiddler.

The sound of a fiddle scrapping leads you to Fear.

I am Fear. I scare you to keep you from trying unknown things. I am afraid of change. Will you help me to change?

Enter the Pumpkin Patch. Listen to the wheels of the hay wagon. Follow the caws of the crows. Let them guide you to find Angry, the Booming Washboard Bass player.

The scratching drumming thump of a washboard leads you to Angry Monster.

I am Angry. I enrage you when things don’t go the way I think they should. I am afraid of being taken advantage of. Will you help me to trust?

Enter the Haunted Hotel. Listen to the creak of the door. Follow the sound of the footsteps up the stair. Let them guide you to find Shame, the Spooky Jug Sax player.

The lilting thread of a jug melody leads you to Shame Monster.

I am Shame. I make you feel ashamed to be seen and heard.I am afraid I am unlovable. Will you love me?

Enter the Ghoulish Graveyard. Listen to the creak of the gate. Follow the flutter of the bats in flight. Let them guide you to find Jealous, the Spine-tingling Spoons player.

The skittering sound of clanking spoons leads you to Jealous Monster.

I am Jealous. I make you think that others have what I want. I am afraid that there is not enough for me. Will you help me know that I am enough?

Enter the Monster Armory. Listen to the monstrous music in the distance. Follow the cacophony of monstrous party-goers. Let them guide you to find Procrastination the Banshee Banjo player.

The infectious kinetics of the banjo leads you to Procrastination.

I am Procrastination. I am trying to make you avoid an unpleasant task. I am afraid of being uncomfortable. Will you help me face my fears?

And this leads to the real treasure. The turning of the Wheel of the Year to this time when the veil is at its thinnest so we can enter into the invisible world of our Monsters. Here we can dance to their tunes in a mindful and meaningful way that recognizes the value of our monstrous companions.

They show us where we feel scared, frustrated, unloved, lacking, and overwhelmed so we can heal and be healed.

Okay, I think I am getting it.