The ghosts of who we were…

Victoria Hall, Close To Me. 2025, watercolour paint and pencils on fine art paper. 19 x 19 cm.

Every Halloween, the ghosts come out — not the sheet-wearing, chain-rattling kind, but the ones that live in our heads. The past versions of ourselves, still lingering in the attic of memory, humming bad 2000s indie songs and wearing eyeliner too thick to be ironic (actually, I’m still doing this—ha,ha!).

These ghosts pop up when we’re least expecting it… while scrolling through old photos, when we hear a certain song, or when we smell a particular perfume.

But here’s the truth: Haunting can be healing. Those old selves (the naive, overconfident, heartbreak-addled versions) built the scaffolding of who we are now. Without them, we’d be smooth and featureless, like one of those creepy porcelain dolls that definitely is possessed.

Transformation doesn’t mean exorcising every past mistake. It means learning to live with our ghosts… maybe even offering them a cup of tea.

So this Halloween, instead of dressing up as a vampire or witch, try revisiting your own ghosts. Write to your twenty-year-old self. Look at your old art. Revisit your teenage dreams, the embarrassing ones, especially.

Let them haunt you in the best possible way. Because the ghosts of who we were aren’t here to scare us. They’re here to remind us we’ve lived — gloriously, awkwardly, imperfectly.

So, this Halloween, llight a candle, put on The Cure, and raise a glass to every version of yourself you’ve ever been.

x Victoria

Close To Me: Sketch work in progress:

About Victoria Hall

Victoria Hall is an English-born, Australian-based writer and illustrator. She is the creator of three picture books for children, Penny Prickles at Coogee Beach, Eggy Peggy Has Lost Her Leggy and The Fairy Beasts. For more updates, follow Victoria on Instagram or check out her bio here

Victoria Hall.