Have you ever wanted to…”ghost” someone?

As weird as this may sound, “ghosting” is like ding-dong-ditch, but with a little Halloween flare. You fill a bucket with some festive treats, leave the bucket on the door, ring the doorbell, and run as fast as you can.

This year, I decided to ghost my new neighbors. I have always wanted to try this Halloween tradition and decided this year was the perfect opportunity.

Ghosting begins by filling a bucket with an assortment of Halloween goodies. This year I picked up lots of candy, a pumpkin shaped pillow, orange Halloween glasses, a coloring booklet for kids, and other Halloween knick-knacks.

There are a few rules to ghosting. Make sure it’s dark outside and, whatever you do, don’t get caught. Inside the bucket you must place a piece of paper explaining what has happened. This paper should have a Halloween poem on it that explains to the victim that they have just been “ghosted.” The ghosting poem is a little Halloween rhyme that can be found online.

As I approached my neighbor’s house, I tiptoed to their front door and, of course, stepped on the loudest branches in the yard. Once I got close enough, I dropped the bucket on the front door, rang the doorbell, and sprinted as fast as I could. I ran behind the closest tree and made sure I was completely out of sight.

My neighbors opened the door and looked stunned before they even noticed the basket on the step. They picked it up cautiously and muttered a few words I could not hear. Once I saw them read the poem,  I heard the laugh out loud.

After ensuring that my ghosting mission had been accomplished and the coast was clear, I headed back home with a big smile on my face.

Ghosting is a great way to have a little harmless Halloween fun. As long as you don’t get caught, your neighbor will never know who the culprit was. Filling the bucket is lots of fun, but seeing the reaction when the neighbors open their door is priceless.

An additional ghosting rule is that it does not have to be exclusively your neighbor whom you ghost. You can ghost anyone who lives near you. This could be your friends or maybe even your teacher. All you have to do is pick a house, grab a bucket, and run as fast as you can.

Hanna LeBuhn is a Lifestyles Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.