Hello, boos and ghouls and welcome to the how to guide for all your spooky needs! If you're throwing a party, planning a hayride, dressing up the kiddies for a little Trick or Treat candy begging or just wanting to creep out the family crypt for the Autumn season, then you've come to the right place. I hope you find what you're looking for here, but if not, write me at howtohalloween@ymail.com or just contact me and I'll try to get my spooky little hands on it for you.
New Horror Releases
THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (Opens 10/30)
| THE FOURTH KIND (Opens 11/06)
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College student Samantha Hughes takes a babysitting job in a remote mansion with her good friend Megan. She's desperate for money and the pay is good, but something feels wrong, and Samantha quickly realizes that the girls are trapped. As a lunar eclipse darkens the sky, she realizes that her employers have something truly terrifying in store for them. (Rated R)
In Nome, Alaska, where unexplained disappearances plague the population, a psychologist interviews town residents and uncovers shocking evidence of alien abduction. (Rated PG-13)
Haunted Pet Adoptions
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 I came across this cute little "Adopt A Ghost" site and of course, I had to have one! If you'd like one too, just click on the purple box above. I've named mine Aunt Bea. =)
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Post-Mortem Photos - Family History or Morbid?
When people look at my post mortem photographs, they see a dead corpse, perhaps rotting, and evoking thoughts of ghouls and haunts. Post mortem photographs are actually nothing of the sort.
Long ago, photographs were very expensive. People could rarely afford one, let alone snap endless numbers of pictures all day long the way we can today. Often, a person was not given a chance to be photographed during their lifetime. If that person died, it was the last chance for the family to have a picture taken of them.
These families would tend to their lost loved one with the utmost care, bathing them and dressing them in their finest clothes. They bought expensive caskets and tenderly adorned them with only the most beautiful flowers. The photographer would then be called in to capture a last image of the one they held so dear. This photo might even cost them most of their savings.
Post mortem photographs are beautiful and cherished images of a family's undying love. They are a tender, loving product born of a desire to see that beautiful soul safely to heaven. These people were loved and cherished beyond all measure, just as their photographs continue to be.
I've collected an album of old post-mortem photographs. Some images may be unsuitable for some viewers. If you have a problem with death or seeing human bodies that are deceased, please, do NOT click this link! Post-Mortem Photos
Who Or What Is Samhain?
Samhain was known in Ireland as the "Lord of Darkness". The Druid religion was practiced by ancient Celtic tribes that populated Ireland and parts of Europe and they worshipped Samhain. The Druid New Year began on November 1st. It is also known as the "Feast of Samhain". The Celts only recognized summer and winter seasons. Literally translated, Samhain means "Summer's End". At this time, the hours of nighttime were growing significantly over the hours of sunlight. Hence, Lord Samhain reigned over the long winter months as the influence of the Sun god and the summer season (Beltaine or Beltane) preceded. It was thought that Samhain's influence grows as the hours grow darker, yet, that was the only time that he could travel about on Earth.
The Druids believed that on their New Year's Eve, all of the people who died in the past year would rise up and search for the passageway to the netherworld. On this night the passageway or "veil" between both worlds was it's thinnest. Lord Samhain would roam the earth in search of these souls to capture them and take them to his world of darkness. To this day, some people put lights in their windows to help the dead find their way, and keep Lord Samhain away from taking them. Sound familiar to our tradition of the Jack o' Lantern?
The Druid religion, dating back to about 200BC, had priests and priestesses. These magicians (or soothsayers, wizards) filled the most important roles in Celtic culture. At the time the Celtic tribes were close to nature. As a result, they worshipped many things in nature as their gods, yet, no Druid god was more powerful or more feared than Lord Samhain.
Some of the roots of Halloween are traced back to the Druid religion. Certainly, Halloween took aspects of darkness , black color, evil spirits, and people rising from the dead and roaming the earth on this night. These themes of Halloween are all common with this religion today.
Pope Gregory II moved the Christian holiday of "All Hollow's Eve" from May 13 to November 1st to coincide with the Feast of Samhain. This was an effort by the catholic church to downplay the pagan festival. Hopefully, they reasoned, it would replace Samhain and the pagan celebration would fade away. The pagan festival continued to be celebrated, and Halloween evolved largely from it. Today, the Catholic church tolerates Halloween, recognizing it is a fun holiday and not intended to hold religious or other supernatural beliefs.
