 Horror/Scary: October 09, 2024 Issue [#12780] |
This week: Trick or treat Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week:
"Black cats and goblins and broomsticks and ghosts
Covens of witches with all of their hosts
You may think they scare me. You're probably right.
Black cats and goblins on Halloween night.
TRICK OR TREAT!"
~From the movie "Halloween" |
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The spooky time of year is here again, which means many people are thinking about reading or writing scary stories. Since Halloween is already associated with ghosts, monsters, and other frightening things it is a perfect setting for horror stories.
Halloween is based on a Gaelic festival called Samhain (pronounced sow-in or sow-een) which occurred on November 1. Samhain was the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It is also the Irish language name for November. Since the Celtic day began at sunset, Samhain celebrations began the evening of October 31. It was a time of remembering the dead and preparing for winter. It was also a time when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld was thought to be thinner than usual, allowing fae creatures and spirits of the dead to walk the earth. People set out offerings of food and drink for the spirits and set places at the table for deceased family members who were thought to visit the home at this time. People would go from door to door in disguise or costume, singing songs and reciting verses in exchange for food. The disguises may have began as a way of fooling the spirits or pretending to be them. Playing pranks at Samhain is recorded in Scotland and Ireland as far back as the 1700s. Samhain became known as Mischief Night in some areas for that reason. Many Neopagans still celebrate Samhain or a similar celebration as a religious holiday today.
Later, the Christian church appropriated November 1 as All Saints Day, also called the Feast of All Hallows, which was a day for celebrating the known and unknown saints of the church. October 31 became known as All Hallows Eve, which was eventually shortened to Halloween.
The customs of dressing up in exchange for food and treats and playing pranks on Halloween were brought to North America along with Irish, Scottish, and English immigrants. Halloween revelers in the British Isles carved lanterns with scary faces, or Jack O'Lanterns out of turnips or other vegetables to carry with them. In America, their descendants found that pumpkins were much more suited to this type of carving, which resulted in the Jack O'Lantern as we know it today.
Whether a Halloween horror story is based on supernatural creatures or humans engaged in nefarious activities, it is a great setting for horror stories because people wear costumes and masks. Are those trick or treaters at the door your neighbor's children, or are they...something else?
Something to try: Write a horror story set at Halloween. |
| | Inside Voice (18+)
A checkout girl, Tina, hear a man's voice in her head. Things escalate quickly from there.
#2163681 by Than Pence  |
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| Question for next time: What subjects would you like to see discussed in future horror newsletters? |
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