Halloween Articles
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 children will be watching the ...
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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 on their foreheads, a pumpkin ...
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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 a hazel nut in the ...
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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 Oppenheim, Germany.
The Sewers of Pari...
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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 cops aren't equipped to deal ...
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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 collected $17 and sent it ...
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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 that time was riding the ...
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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 artwork as I can; and ...
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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 generally have a Hallow-rific good ...
Posted in Halloween, Spooky Places | 4 Comments »
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, then the independent, short film ...
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13... what is Dr. Rochelle thinking??
Starting a new Halloween magazine on Friday the 13th...how unlucky! Have you ever stopped to wonder why people get so excited about the number 13? What exactly is the big deal?
And indeed, it is a big deal. Millions of people worldwide suffer from triskaidekaphobia - or, fear of #13. Hotels are built without a 13th floor. Cities avoid creating a 13th Avenue or Street. Hospitals refuse to have an Operation Room #13. Trips are ...
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A Little Town On It's Way Up
"Eternity in Hell" is a sentence of suffering for most. But not for John Colone. Eternity is just about the length of time it would reasonably take to put in place the thousands of ideas that spew from the mind of this former top Chrysler dealer who has made a commitment to transform Hell - Michigan, that is - into a year round Halloween destination.
"We'll be celebrating, and selling, Halloween 363 days a year," ...
Posted in Halloween, Spooky Places | 9 Comments »
Planet Earth on Halloween - October 31st
By David Lady
NOTE: There is nothing wrong with your Halloween website. Do not attempt to skip this article. The following transmission was originally discovered by surveillance satellite EAVESDROPPER (sponsored by Nike), built by NASA (a division of Disney) for the United States Government (a subsidiary of Microsoft). It was discovered in the form of an advanced signal being beamed from Earth to a distant planet and has been de-coded for your edification . . ...
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Madame Tussaud's Sculpter Creating the Wax Frankenstein
Universal Studios, an industry leader in creating horror films, celebrated the anniversary of several Universal classics horror classics in 2001. In a landmark relationship, Universal Studios Home Video (USHV) joined Tussaud's Group of London and Madame Tussaud's worldwide attractions to pay tribute to Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Development of the Dracula, Frankenstein and Mummy characters for Madame Tussaud's Wax Museums coincides with USHV's 2001 national campaign for a ...
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Located in London, Las Vegas, New York, Paris
Madame Tussaud's Wax - Portrait Facts
Frankenstein wax figure being scuplted at Madame Tussaud's
Each strand of hair is inserted individually, taking approximately five weeks to complete each head.
Two maintenance teams inspect and primp each figure daily before the attraction opens.
To add authenticity to the portraits at Madame Tussaud's New York, many artifacts have been donated from the celebrity or purchased from auctions.
All portraits have ...
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By Mistress Serrella (Sarah Briggs)
Hello Ghoulish readers! Well, I guess I have to spill the beans. Not magic beans mind you, but beans nevertheless, or rather some other kind of food groups! Ol' Mistress Serrella, oh, ah, that's me in case you didn't know, had a horrible experience this Halloween. I pulled out my favorite witch costume, hat and cape. You'll never guess what happened? Only the hat and cape fit. My favorite witchy-poo dress looked like I was trying ...
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Located in Mansfield, Ohio - One Spooky Place
Touring any empty prison is an eerie experience, to be sure. Now enhance that experience by doing it at night with only flashlights to light your way down deserted corridors that resonate of prior inhabitants. Intensify it further by placing that tour in a 149,000 square foot structure that looks more like a turn-of-the-century medieval chateau than a prison. The result is an Ultimate Halloween Destination - the Ohio State Reformatory (OSR) in ...
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A Scary Place Located in Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River (MA) Our tour guides will be informing you of the history and mystery of each room during your tour of the house where the most infamous crime of 19th century America took place. We are providing this guide to assist you and hope you will be able to decide for yourself who murdered Andrew and Abbey Borden on that fateful day.
On Thursday, August 4, 1892 the bodies of Andrew and Abbey ...
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By Mistress Serrella (Sarah Briggs)
Hello, there. How are we doing? Well, it seems that some of the comments I made in my last note to you in our beloved Happy Halloween Magazine stirred the breast of any and all ghouls that are feeling dating pains or dealing with the saps they chose to be their afterlife partners. With that said I feel that I must dive in headlong where other mere mortals fear to swim. Never fear, ghoulish readers, I, ...
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The name Houdini is inextricably linked with Halloween because of his death on October 31, 1926 at Grace Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. The Official Houdini Séance, held each year since his death, has its roots in Houdini's efforts to expose fraudulent mediums. He claimed if there was truly a way to contact the living after one's death, he would do so. He set up a code with his wife, Bess, who faithfully attended the annual seances awaiting his return for ...
Posted in Halloween, Hollywood Horrors | 1 Comment »
