‘My youngest daughter was born on Halloween. I think my mother and my grandmother were looking down, and they wanted her to be born on that day, because my mother passed away on that day.’

Rose Greenman, Bellmore

“Out of all the holidays, ever since I was a little girl, I had a passion for Halloween. I’m very good at makeup and hair, and I love to be creative in any way I can. I used to make all the costumes for my little girls when they were growing up. My parents were immigrants and weren’t big on Halloween. They didn’t even know what it was. So, I didn’t really go trick-or-treating or have costumes. But I always had this fascination.

“I love horror movies, but I love the black-and-white horror movies. I think I am nostalgic at heart. But on a deeper aspect, my youngest daughter was born on Halloween. I think my mother and my grandmother were looking down, and they wanted her to be born on that day, because my mother passed away on that day. And her mother was born on that day! That’s why I wanted to share this. I’m getting chills just talking about it. I believe in fate and that things happen for a reason.

For those people who are creative and never had an outlet or anybody to tell you, go ahead and do it, don’t wait.

“Every Halloween, I go to the cemetery, and I visit my mother. I actually dedicate Halloween to my family. It runs deep in my blood. So, I’ve always made the day special for my youngest daughter since she was born on Halloween. I didn’t want her to be afraid, you know, because it’s a scary holiday as well for some people. But it was always fun. I always made cakes. I made her a graveyard cake. One year I made a huge pumpkin cake. The teachers at the schools were fascinated. So I put a lot of passion into this holiday. I love transforming myself and somebody else into something they don’t look like, you know? It’s like a rush.

“One year, my husband and I went to a restaurant in Manhattan dressed like royalty, and they had a Halloween costume contest after dinner. They went around the audience during dinner, and if you were given a coin, you could come up onstage because you were chosen to be in the contest. So right away they came up to us and gave us a coin. We won second prize. Everybody was clapping!

“For those people who are creative and never had an outlet or anybody to tell you, go ahead and do it, don’t wait. Find your creative side and run with it. Because it feels so good. You only have one life, so why not enjoy!”

Interviewed by Jay Max