Twas the night before Halloween that the challenge was issued. Doesn’t seem like a very good reason to name a mall, everything considered. They claim the mall, which was a plaza before being upgraded, was named as a memorial to the victims of the Earl’s imposter.
No one truly knows what happened to the Earl’s imposter, or to any of the missing youth, as no remains were ever found. His remains were never found, and not long after, the true Earl of Eglinton (ignorant of the malady to Toronto that he supposedly caused) sent word to the town council of his pleasure regarding the estate being named after him. In an affair reminiscent of the burning windmill version of the Frankenstein monster’s demise, a mob torched the manor with him atop of the roof, on Halloween night, no less. He threw lavish parties, and extravagant affairs, but over time they became associated with the disappearances of many local youths, some of whom were of wealthier stock. It was built, and named, in honor of the Earls of Eglinton, of Scotland (much like the street), but to the surprise of everyone involved, the Earl showed up to Toronto (then known as York), with every intent of staying there. Story has it that the former site of the mall was a large manor. According to the legend, the mall, named The Eglinton Center, was not named for quite the same reason as the busy midtown Toronto street it was adjacent to. It always came back to some half-truth legend about a gruesome Halloween. There were some stupid stories, mainly bullshit that every other kid in our highschool would make up, about the mall being haunted.
I happened to be the victim of the latter challenge. Sometimes as simple as who could sprint the farthest with a lung-full of bong smoke, or as intensive as spending the night in the mall by our highschool. Whether or not it was due to the drugs, or simple teenage bravado, we always challenged ourselves and each other to stupid contests. It seemed noble at the time, but reflecting back on it, it was naive and outright dangerous sometimes. There wasn’t a desperation for a fix, so much as a desire to expand our minds. We were pretty open minded in the use of any drug we could get our hands on, but none of us were really junkies. I’d fallen in with a group of, for lack of a better term, overachieving stoners. As I got older, of course, it became less about candy and more about girls, drugs, and booze. There was nothing quite like getting dressed up, playing the role of someone, or something else entirely, and gorging on candy.
Perhaps me being born in October gave me some sort of affinity for the weather, and the traditions. I hope recounting the events will shed some light. This isn’t a simple coming of age story, I changed in a way that transcends my own understanding. A moment that separated me from who I was, or potentially who I was supposed to be. The most pivotal point of my entire life occurred when I was 16.
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