HALLOWEEN BLOG

[GEMINIGUY]

That's why I stickied it in preparation. Halloween Month is always my favorite time of year. :^)

[MissBarbara]

That's why I stickied it in preparation. Halloween Month is always my favorite time of year. :^)

And reading Geminiguy's annual Halloween blog posts is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the holiday!

[GEMINIGUY]

That's why I stickied it in preparation. Halloween Month is always my favorite time of year. :^)

And reading Geminiguy's annual Halloween blog posts is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the holiday!

Halloween Month just isn't complete without digging up some superstitions of the past - and for some the present...

[GEMINIGUY]

All right, I have my Halloween Blog schedule all set up for October. :^) I've always preferred planning it well in advance.

[KitKat]

Yea! 

[msslave]

Looking forward to it!

[GEMINIGUY]

Thanks!

[KitKat]

Come on GG... How about a little preview. Plz.

[GEMINIGUY]

Come on GG... How about a little preview. Plz.

What, all the back entries aren't enough for you! ;-)

[KitKat]

 

[GEMINIGUY]

                    *****October 1st*****

                    Actors And Actresses

"The theater has a larger body of time-honoured superstitions than any other branch of the arts, and actors and actresses are renowned for their own obsessive preoccupation with protecting their luck. Many leading performers insist on following the same routine before each appearance and carry charms of various kinds; They may also refuse to change any detail of their costume if they have had success while wearing it.
Zsa Zsa Gabor, for instance, was famous for her fabulous jewels and costumes, always wears a worthless child ring for good luck.
Whistling in the dressing room is regarded as particularly unwise and the offender may very well be asked to leave the room, turn around three times, and spit or swear before he or she can beg to be allowed back in. This taboo may well date from the days when changes in scenary were signaled by whistles, rather than by tannoy.
Similarly, wishing an actor good luck before going on stage is considered to invite disaster by tempting fate, hence the tradition of telling an actor to 'break a leg' (presumably because worse mishaps than this are unlikely)."

                  

[KitKat]

 

[GEMINIGUY]

                           *****October 2nd*****

                     Actors And Actresses (con't)

"Certain plays are said to be especially unlucky, usually because they incorporate supernatural scenes or references to witchcraft. Actors are almost universally reluctant to quote from or even name Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth, preferring to refer to it instead as the 'Scottish play'. With its ghosts and witches' invocation of supernatural spirits, the play is notorious for the long luat of serious (even fatal) accidents that have befallen productions over the years.
Incidents blamed on the tragedy have included the destruction by fire of the theater in Lisbon where it was staged in 1964 and a spate if accidents an illnesses that plagued a production presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1967. The plays unlucky reputation was hardly relieved by the once widespread practice of presenting it as a means of boosting receipts in otherwise  unsuccessful repertory seasons. Similar fears surrounded the pantomimes Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves, Babes In The Woods and Bluebeard."

[GEMINIGUY]

                           *****October 3rd*****

                     Actors And Actresses (con't)

"The colour green had particularly strong associations with I'll fortune in the theater and many performers refuse to wear it ( a particular problem in the case of works featuring Robin Hood in his Lincoln green). Casts have even been known to return scripts in this colour. This mistrust may date back to the days when by convention a green carpet was laud down when a tragedy was to be performed, or else to the use of limelight, which casts a greenish glow over the stage and tended to make actors dressed in green invisible to the audience."

[KitKat]

Good job GG. I'd give you more woos if I could. 

[GEMINIGUY]

                          *****October 4th*****

                     Actors And Actresses (con't)

"Other taboos connected with the theater include prohibitions on the use of real flowers, drink and jewellery on stage; never allowing peacock feathers to enter the theater (or, in the USA, a picture of a peacock or ostrich); never setting candles in groups of three either in the dressing room or on the which stage; never allowing performers to be presented with bouquets at the stage door before the play has begun; never wear blue or yellow (which has the power to make performers forget their lines); never dropping a comb or spilling a make-up box (which must never be tidied up); never looking into another performer's mirror while he or she is putting on their make-up; never putting one's shoes on a chair  in the dressing room; never hanging pictures in dressing rooms; never using yellow for stage curtains; never sitting a peephole to view the audience anywhere but in the middle of the curtain; never allowing knitting in the wings (a superstition associated with the magic of knots); never opening a new show on a Friday; and never speaking the final line of the script before the first night."

[KitKat]

So many superstitions. 

[GEMINIGUY]

                        *****October 5th*****

                      Actors And Actresses (con't)

"The presence if a cross-eyed person backstage is considered ominous, and a black cat crossing the acting area similarly warns of ill luck. A good dress rehearsal us also considered a bad omen (probably for the very good reason that it may promote a false sense of security.
Picking up a thread of cotton from the dressing room floor and finding that it will go all the way around one's finger without breaking is said to be good luck among performers and a sign that a contract is in the offering. Other welcome events include an actor's shoes squeaking on his first entrance, discarded shoes landing flat on their soles, finding that one has been given a part that calls for the wearing of a wig, and the first ticket for the production being bought by a relatively elderly man or woman.
Somewhat perversely, falling over during the course of a performance is said to bring a production good fortune (as long as it does not happen on the first entrance, in which case the performer is fated to forget his lines). One Continental superstition, incidentally, suggests that lines can be learned more easily if the actor or actress sleeps with the script under his or her pillow."

[END OF Actors And Actresses]
[RETURNING THE 10TH]

[GEMINIGUY]

                               *****October 10th*****

                                         Numbers

"Certain numbers, particularly single figures, have always been considered to have magical significance. In ancient times, the science of numerology allowed for divination of the future through the use of numbers. Ever since then people have put great faith in 'lucky' numbers, while avoiding contact with those that are thought ill-omened - particularly, of course, the number thirteen.
Countless spells dictate that certain actions or words must be repeated a given number of times, often three, seven or nine. Numbers have their own sexes, even numbers being 'male' and odd numbers being 'female' (odd numbers are luckier).
The number one is generally thought lucky, being associated with God and the sun. Children born on the first if the month are considered blessed with good luck, and one is among the most popular house numbers.
The number two is also lucky, representing the concept of balance and harmony - though it is less so for women.
The number four has no particular significance in the Western world, but is regarded as unlucky I'm the Far East where it represents death. It is otherwise interpreted as symbolizing the material foundation of the world, as well as the seasons and the four directions of the compass."

[RETURNING ON THE 15TH]

[MintJulie]

The number four has no particular significance in the Western world, but is regarded as unlucky I'm the Far East where it represents death. It is otherwise interpreted as symbolizing the material foundation of the world, as well as the seasons and the four directions of the compass."

I've always hated the number 4.   No known reason that I remember.   It just gives me the shivers.   Literally, goose bumps right now.

You're freaking me out JimmyGG.