View from the North 40: The universe's pre-Halloween scary vibe

The universe is getting a jump start on Halloween this year, and it’s doing a pretty good job of setting up a good creepy vibe.

Let’s just jump right in with the spiders, the biting spiders.

Huntsville, Alabama’s Fire and Rescue Station 17 firefighters had to abandon their post last week after two firefighters were bit by spiders, brown recluse spiders, the spiders who have the flesh-eating bacteria equivalent of spider bites, the bite like the bad apple in the bunch that spoils everything else.

The Washington Post reported that pest control fumigators came in behind the departing firefighters.

Everyone was supposed to be moved back to the station Tuesday with operations set at normal. But don’t be disappointed, I’m sure the universe is up to the challenge of bringing in a bigger, badder, killy-er spider. I’ve seen the movie “Arachnophobia.” This doesn’t end well for everyone.

The Huffington Post reported Thursday of last week that a hazmat incident in a Baltimore high school landed five people in a hospital for nausea symptoms.

Students and staff of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School were evacuated to the streets and emergency medical teams, as in multiple groups of skilled responders, rushed to aid students and staff. Five people were taken to the hospital while hazmat teams scoured the school for chemicals, only to find that — and I feel like we need a drum roll here because — the reason for the hazard was one of those scented plug-in aerosol air fresheners. Pumpkin Spice scented candle to be exact.

I knew those scent makers were trouble.

Actual pumpkin pie never did that to anyone. Just saying. I’m also saying that you are welcome to test this theory by bringing pie to my house any time. In the interest of generating sound scientific data, of course. It’s legit.

Folks in Vienna, Austria, are going to be challenged to find a legal Halloween costume this year. The Press Harold reported Monday that Austria’s new law forbidding any kind of full-face covering — called the ‘burqa ban’ law because it was initiated to outlaw wearing of Islamic veils in public — is being enforced on all types of full-face coverings, as per the legal description.

The most recent victim to get bitten in the hinter-region by the law was some poor street-barker in a shark costume trying to draw people into a McShark computer store. To his credit, the guy insisted on staying in character despite multiple requests from police to remove the toothy shark head from his costume. He was ticketed, but no information has been released on whether or not the same punishment will be doled out to trick or treaters on Halloween.

If masks are still banned for Halloween, then I predict the most popular costume will be to paint your skin orange, cover your hair with swirl yellow cotton candy, put on a blue suit and an over-sized red tie and go as the President of the United States of America Mr. Donald “Puerto Rico Who?” Trump, aka commander-in-chief of “I wasn’t talking about your cat, lady” as a commentary on this being the saddest Halloween ever. Just sad.

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I have plans to buy loads of candy despite the fact that I’ve never gotten a trick-or-treater at http://www.facebook.com/viewfromthenorth40.