HALLOWEEN BLOG

[GEMINIGUY]

It's now 11 minutes after the Witching Hour [at least east coast time here in the states] so it's now October 1st. I don't really consider this a blog per say, but i just want to share daily tidbits related to Halloween and superstitions. If KB decides to make this a really blog, all are welcome to add separate threads on any subjects related to Halloween, horror, superstitions, etc.

[GEMINIGUY]

**October 1st** On Halloween, "If a person is walking down a road and hears someone close behind it is important that they do out look round [it is likely to be Death himself, looking into his face will hasten the living person's own demise]. It is also risky to look at one's own shadow  in the moonlight and most inadvisable to go on a hunting expedition on Hallowe'en, as one may accidently wound a wandering spirit."

[Grm]

Found out on Chat yesterday that Halloween is a US thing. Really sad to here. I love halloween. We have all the little monsters coming over to carve pumpkins this year. We carve the really crazy/cool designs. I'll try and get some pictures up this year if they turn out good

Not true coach, England has been infected by America's dressing up and trick or treat on 31st of October for  a number of years now. Before that it was only witches that celebrated this night, by coupling with the Devil.  In England we had our own night of bonfires, fireworks and the eating of hot potatoes and soup, Guy Fawkes night. I do remember a certain amount of harmless mischief did go on with the reckless use of small explosive fireworks know as bangers, but not these days since the introduction of health and safety legislation these extremely dangerous gunpowder filled tubes have been banned.

[Gina Marie]

Really sad to here.

*hear.

[ethanph1337]

Found out on Chat yesterday that Halloween is a US thing. Really sad to here. I love halloween. We have all the little monsters coming over to carve pumpkins this year. We carve the really crazy/cool designs. I'll try and get some pictures up this year if they turn out good

Not true coach, England has been infected by America's dressing up and trick or treat on 31st of October for  a number of years now. Before that it was only witches that celebrated this night, by coupling with the Devil.  In England we had our own night of bonfires, fireworks and the eating of hot potatoes and soup, Guy Fawkes night. I do remember a certain amount of harmless mischief did go on with the reckless use of small explosive fireworks know as bangers, but not these days since the introduction of health and safety legislation these extremely dangerous gunpowder filled tubes have been banned.

Nope, witches never celebrated Halloween, or Samhain, by coupling with the devil.  That just makes for fun/bad horror movies.  Its an ancient Celtic holiday, the beginning of winter, and harvest time, and one of 2 times a year when the "veil" or whathaveyou between our world and the next is at its thinnest, celebration of ancestors.  Pagans/witches never had anything to do with the devil, they don't even believe in the devil, that's purely a christian thing. 

[Gina Marie]

In England we had our own night of bonfires, fireworks and the eating of hot potatoes and soup, Guy Fawkes night.

For those of you who don't know who Guy Fawkes was... It is covered in this film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XKa8VE7ILI

[buddyChrist]

Guy fawkes what? Or who? Was this in the news? Did anyone video tape it? 

Loved the movie, btw.

[GEMINIGUY]

**October 2nd***  Garlic "...It has long been considered to give protection against a much wider range of evil spirits [than just vampires]. The plant was considered a gift from the goes by ancient Egyptians, although Christians mythology has it that the first garlic sprang up where Satan's left foot stepped when he left the Garden of Eden. In medieval times roasted garlic cloves were shared among French families at Midsummer's Eve parties in the belief that they would preserve all the members of the household from harm. The plant is also regarded as a counter to Witchcraft and evil in many Oriental countries. For repelling vampires, garlic gathered in May is thought to be the most effective and should be used to guard windows and worn in the form of a necklace. Garlic may also be fixed to a child's cradle to protect the infant from malevolent spirits, and Sicilians may slip garlic into the beds of women in labour to ease the pain of childbirth."

[Bexy]

 

[GEMINIGUY]

**October 3rd*** Walpurgis Night "The evening of [the] 30[th of] April, traditionally supposed to one of the two nights in the year given over to the forces of evil. Among practitioners of Witchcraft, this is thought to be one of the most auspicious times of the year for casting spells and holding sabbaths. Perhaps the most famous of these gatherings is the traditional meeting of German  witches that is supposed to take place on the Brocken peak of the Harz Mountains every year.

[GEMINIGUY]

**October 4th*** Hand Of Glory "Was particulary prized by witches throughout Europe as part of the paraphernalia of black magic and also by thieves who valued its alleged ability to make the occupants of the house fall into a deep entranced sleep while they went about their nefarious business. The Hand Of Glory was prepared by severing the hand of a hanged felon while the body was still on the Gallows, pickling it for 15 days, drying it til it was hard and then fixing between the fingers a candle made from virgin wax mixed with fat of a hanged man and sesame. When the candle thus mounted was lit in the vacinity, with the exception of the owner of the gruesome object, would fall into a profound slumber from which the could not be roused, however much noise was made. In some cases no candle was fixed in the hand, but one of the fingers was lit instead; if the finger would not light this was a warning that someone in the house was still awake."

[Gina Marie]

Oct. 31st also happens to be the date of birth for my twin, the author from Leslita known as Jeneee! Oh yah - her being my twin makes it my birthday as well! Weeeeeeeeeee!

[GEMINIGUY]

**October 5th*** Crickets "In the home are generally regarded as a good omen and it is consequently bad luck to kill one or if one leaves - though some people read their appearance in the home as a portent of evil. White crickets in particular are much feared if they appear on the hearth, as they foretell a death in the household. The sound produced when crickets rub their hind legs together is regarded as a warning of death or else of severe weather, although the sound in welcomed if heard on Christmas Eve as this promises great good fortune. Should a cricket be killed, the perpetrator of the act is likely to find that other crickets have chewed holes in his socks. Yorkshire folklore insists that a cricket thrown on to a fire will not burn."   

[GEMINIGUY]

**October 6th*** Lizard "In medieval England many people feared lizards, thinking they were venomous (though another belief had it that lizards would warn people of the approach of poisonous snakes). Accordingly they became linked with with the mythology of Witches, as ingredients, Familiars and even as the progeny produced by the coupling between Witches and the Devil. A lasting relic of this mistrust is to be found in 2 surviving pan-European traditions: it is an ill omen if a lizard crosses the road in front of any traveler, and it is most unlucky for a bride to see a lizard on her way to church, for her marriage will not be happy. In contrast, a woman who allows a lizard to run over her hand will enjoy increased skill with her needle."   

[GEMINIGUY]

**October 7th*** Coffin "European tradition warns that it is reckless in the extreme for anyone to lie i a coffin, even fora joke, before their time has come. In addition, no corpse should be laid in a coffin wearing clothing belonging to a living person; as the clothing rots, so the owner of the clothes will queer a decline in health. It is customary for coffin lids to be nailed shut, but some people prefer to leave them loose, so that their occupants may be able to escape more easily on the day of resurrection. Any chair or table upon which a coffin rests should be tipped over when the coffin is removed, to guard against another death occurring in the household in the near future. Amulets and rings made from the metal fixings of old coffins are said to prevent cramp, while coffin nails banged into the bedroom door will ward off nightmares." 

[GEMINIGUY]

**October 8th*** Axe "Made of iron, itself a magical metal, the axe came to play a prominent role in the rituals of pagan religion and its image is to be found at such sacred sites as Stonehenge. Witches were alleged to 'milk' axes and thereby steal the milk from all the cows in the area, while others used a piece of Agate balanced on a red-hot axe blade to search for buried treasure: if the Agate stuck to the axe there was nothing to be found, but if it fell off and rolled 3 times in the grasps then treasure lay hidden in the direction that the Agate had taken. An upturned axe was also formerly used in detection of thieves. The suspects were obliged to dance in a circle around it until the axe fell over; whoever the haft was pointing towards was regarded as the culprit.                      In some European   countries it is said the battle persuaded to step over an axe on their way to the fields in the spring will be impervious to evil influences. In the USA, it is considered unlucky to carry an axe into

[GEMINIGUY]

the home, as this will bring about death of a member of the family, and bad luck is also to be expected in the wake of any dream in which an axe appears."

[GEMINIGUY]

**October 9th*** Beetle "Most superstitions linked to beetles concern bad luck and prophecies of death. Perhaps the most widely observed tradition is the fear that death is in offing if a beetle walks over a person's shoe [it is also a sign of misfortune on the way if a beetle crawls out of a discarded shoe by the door]. In Scotland, the appearance of a beetle in a room where the family are all seated is likewise an omen of terrible bad luck, which will be intensified if the creature is killed elsewhere in Europe beetles similiarly signify death, storms and other kinds of ill fortune."

[GEMINIGUY]

**October 10th** Beetle [con't] "The stag beetle, with its ominous looking horns, has been linked with the Devil, while the burying beetle, said to have betrayed the Christ to his persuers in Egypt, used to be routinely killed by children in Scotland. The dung-beetle, which misled Christ's persuers by telling vienn their quarry had passed by a year previous, is allowed to live but is turned on its back for telling a lie. Irish superstition has it that when a devil's coach-horse beetle arches its tail it is delivering a curse, while in England the tapping of a death-watch beetle in the timbers of an old house is a warning of imminent death."

[GEMINIGUY]

                   ******October 11th******
                                    Mirror

      "With the invention of the mirror came the new practice of 'scrying', the art of looking into a mirror & divining information about matters. 'Scryers' were much sought in Elizabethan & Jacobean times, & a relic of the practice survives in the crystal call gazers of fairgrounds & holiday resorts. Dr. John Dee, whose interests spanned science, mathematics, astrology & magic, was perhaps the most famous of these diviners & it was claimed that he uncovered the existence of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 by scrying. One of the most common applications of such mirror divinings was the seeking out of Witches. Those fearful of Witchcraft also purchased small 'witch-balls' of reflective glass, which was reputed to ward off sorcerers, & mirrors were credited with the power to deflect the Evil Eye, a notion that led to the fad for wearing hats decorated with small mirrors. Witches themselves are said to favor mirrors framed on just 3 sides, as these enable them to see over immense distances."