Articles and Ideas August, 2007
Shy Mama’s Halloween
Book Review By Anne Broyles Halloween deserves it's reputation as the holiday that welcomes everyone as shown in this beautifully illustrated and touching book set in the 1930s. For Anya, Dasha, Irina, and Diminitrii, newly arrived to this country, Halloween seems a wonderfully strange and exciting holiday. They enlist an upstairs neighbor to help with their costumes, and Papa agrees to take them out trick-or-treating. But when Papa comes home sick that evening, it looks as though the ...Stop Trick or Treating
(To the tune of We Wish You A Merry Christmas) We wish you'd quit trick-or-treating, We wish you'd quit trick-or-treating, We wish you'd quit trick-or-treating And come back in here. You do this ev'ry October, You know trick-or-treat is over, The night's getting dark and colder, So please come inside. You run place to place, Still feeding your face, We wish you'd quick trick-or-treating Before you get sick. Halloween is fine and dandy, But you can't just pig out on candy, You embarrass your mom and daddy, So please come ...The Raven
By Edgar Allan Poe Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore-- While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. "'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-- Only this and nothing more." Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow; --vainly I had sought to ...Quick Halloween Costume Ideas
By Sarah Briggs "What am I going to be this year?" is a common refrain heard spoken by the young and old alike every Halloween. But especially by those of us who are no longer kids with favorite cartoon heroes. You know you need a costume and you are really enthusiastic about wearing one but you just can't get a good idea of what you want to be. I always tell myself that I'll decide ...The Raven - An Analysis
An Analysis of Poe's Work "Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!" Quote from the Raven, "Nevermore." The above quote from "The Raven" may well been seen as prophetic. With the publishing of this poem in 1845, Poe's life would be forever connected to these dark, clever birds. He was quickly himself dubbed "the Raven" by his contemporaries, and there's some evidence suggesting he may have even reveled in ...Halloween
By Dr. Jeanne Keyes Youngson Baxter looked out his bedroom window at the street below. No kids in sight. Probably still eating supper, he thought. Turning to admire his costume, which was carefully laid out on the bed, he smoothed the red satin lining of the cape with his fingertips. He grinned from ear to ear thinking of the treats he was going to have later. He leaned over, picked up a set of plastic fangs from ...Pumpkin Hall of Horrors
The Pumpkin Hall of Horrors is a collection of pumpkin vignettes, little scenes acted out by one or more pumpkins. They might be as simple as a white pumpkin carved with vampire teeth and a mouth full of pumpkin gore, next to a frightened pumpkin that has seeds spilling out of two puncture wounds. Or, the scene might be as complex as an entire Pumpkin Operating Room. Here you see concerned doctors, sweat beading up ...Mystic Fortune Telling
Halloween and Fortune Telling Today, we do not have as much emphasis placed on fortune telling with the celebration of Halloween as once was the case. In the beginnings of the holiday in this country, fortune telling was one of the most important events. There weren't Halloween parties and parades or costumes and trick or treating, but many a girl in the late 1800's and turn of the 1900's would be sitting in her parlor dropping ...Europe’s Spooky Places
By Roberta Beach Jacobson Europe feels a wee bit spooky now and then, you say? No, it's not your imagination. The continent is filled with creepy, crawly things of all manner. Here are some of the ghoulish highlights: Skulls and Skeletons Due to lack of burial space, these skulls and skeletons were removed from area cemeteries during the Plague years and the Palatinate War. They have been stored in the cellar of St. Michael's Church in ...Fangful Fantasy
A Halloween Book Review Fangful Fantasy: The Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series Are you a secret Van Helsing fan? Do you watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," cheering her on…but secretly miss the darker style of Faith? Meet Anita Blake, vampire hunter. She lives in a slightly twisted version of modern-day America. In Anita's world, vampires, zombies and werecreatures live side by side with regular humans. Laws protect the preternatural, giving them legal rights. But when they break the law, normal ...Trick or Treat for UNICEF
Children for Change During Halloween - Halloween Fundraiser For over 55 years, children have demonstrated their power to promote change through "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF," which commenced in 1950 when a group of young Philadelphia trick-or-treaters, along with their pastor, began the tradition of knocking on doors for UNICEF on Halloween. Their ultimate goal was not only to satisfy a sweet tooth, but also to help children in need overseas. By holding out empty milk cartons, they ...Halloween - Spiritualism
Mystics seeking answers. Women touching on empowerment. Charlatans lusting after easy money. Depending on your viewpoint, all of these people made up the spiritualist movement. Spiritualism is defined as "a system of religious beliefs centered on the assumption that communication with the dead, or spirits, is possible." The movement took the European world by storm in the mid-1800s. Following the thread of reason for spiritualism's wild popularity can make the researcher a little dizzy. The world at ...Halloween Folk Art
During the past two decades folk and fine artists have quietly been whiling away the hours in their workshops creating masterpieces for Halloween fans. As quickly as they produce their wonderful works, they sell them to eagerly waiting hands. Many of these artists have become household names thanks to decorating magazines and television specials. Others have pieces residing in various art and other museums. My mission in life is to collect as much of this wonderful ...Munster Mansion
Texas Fan Builds Replica Home of TV's The Munster's Some Halloween fans are content to celebrate their favorite holiday once a year. Die-hard fans, however, find ways to keep the pumpkin flame burning all year long to feed their Halloween addiction. Some keep a few select collectibles on display year-round. With each glance they feel a twinge of excitement&emdash;their Halloween fix. Others gather with their fellow fans during the year and swap stories, share ideas, and ...Movie Review: Pumpkin Man
A Halloween Family Classic Movie - Halloween Film My love for Halloween began as a child. The thrill of choosing a costume at the local dime store and then proudly parading around school in costume remains a favorite memory. When I was 11 my mother let me host a Halloween party in our basement, complete with spooky music, scary decorations, and eerie games. If any of these memories bring a sense of déjà vu to you, ...Quick Halloween Decorations
by Sarah Briggs Cheap Halloween Decorations I couldn't believe it! I had nearly worked myself into an early grave trying to make my Halloween party decorations, and yet the room looked so bare after I put all that stuff up! I'm talking costumed dummies, cob webs, skeletons, jack-o-lanterns, black lights and tons of jointed paper monsters of every ilk. I simply couldn't spend another dime on decorations, but I was so disappointed over how my party ...Pirates of the Caribbean
The Ride at Disneyland and Walt Disney World Pirates of the Caribbean was developed in the late 1950s originally as as a walk-through wax museum at Disneyland that would have featured depictions of real pirates in static scenes. Luckily for us, Disney Imagineers utilized the technological breakthroughs to transform the most popular attraction at Disneyland into a rollicking boat ride through pirate-fueled environments complete with fictional audioAanimatronic pirates ransacking a Caribbean seaport. The attraction's theme song, "Yo ...Arrrgh! The History of Pirates and Piracy
By Dusti Lewars-Poole Piracy may well be one of the oldest known professions. With roots wrapped around Roman past and Viking exploits, piracy has inspired terror and fantasy for centuries. Today, the word "pirate" brings to mind dashing rebellious male spirits with gold teeth, elaborate coats, and oversized plumed hats. Swords and pistols, handhooks and maps, eye patches and parrots - these are the tools of the trade. Treasure and freedom are the themes. The reality is, ...Halloween Myths & Monsters
By Lesley Bannatyne excerpted from A Halloween How-To "I hate Halloween," exclaims an elderly caller on an AM radio talk show in Maryland. "They should get rid of it. Kids today are just destructive." "Halloween glorifies Satan," warns a preacher on national cable television. "Kids shouldn't dress up as devils, period." "I would never let my children go out trick or treating alone," confides a D.C.-area mom of her six year-old and ten-year old. "I'd never forgive ...
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