Terrifying Tuesday: The history of Halloween

The History of Halloween

The ancient origin of Halloween began as the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced Sow-in).

2000 years ago, the Celts (pronounced Kelts) inhabited the areas now known as Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France.

They celebrated their new year on November 1st, which ended the summer/harvest season and began the long cold winter season.

The Celts believed that on the night of Samhain the ghosts of the dead returned to earth to cause great mischief and destruction.

Celts also believed that their Druid priests were able to communicate with the dead on this particular night and with the help of the dead-predict the future.

The Druid priests were the educated class amongst the Celts and were deeply religious.

They wore many hats in their culture such as; lawmakers, judges, scientists, poets and scholars.

Read more in Holidays

« Sexiest Halloween Costumes to Wear This YearChristmas: All That Effort for One Day »The celebration of Samhain began with every home owner extinguishing their hearth fires, which symbolized the winter season/or dark half of the year. Later during the same night they were all relit from a community fire. This rekindling was symbolic of the spring season when life would return.

The Celts knew nothing of Christianity and held their own beliefs about death and the world beyond. They believed that when a person died they went to a place called Tir nan Og and became young again and happy. Some Celts believed that the dead lived with the fairies in Scotland and Ireland.

Contrary to a lot of Christian beliefs, the Celts didn’t believe in demons, nor did they sacrifice humans to any evil gods. They did however believe in gods, monsters, elves, witches, giants and spirits.

The Celts were the first to bob for apples but it wasn’t a game to them. They believed that the first one amongst them to bite into an apple would be the first to marry in the upcoming new year.

Peeling an apple also held meaning and beliefs. The longer the peel-the longer ones life was destined to be.

The Scottish placed nuts or stones in their hearths before going to bed and believed that if they somehow moved during the night that it was an omen of death.

Some believe that the Druid priests sacrificed virgins during the Samhain festivals but there is no proof of this anywhere. The Celts did execute criminals and prisoners of war but it wasn’t done as a celebration and not during their festivities of Samhain. Rather, it was done as punishment, much like today.

There is also no known proof that the Celts dressed in costumes and begged one another for food during the festivities.

During the American Depression, it is said that poor children in some areas went door to door begging “anything for the poor?” but that this was practiced on Thanksgiving day not Halloween.

During the 1800’s in the U.S. both Irish and Scottish immigrants played pranks on Halloween night and then laid the blame on the elves, fairies, goblins and witches.

The phrase “trick or treat” is an American one and became popular in the late 1930’s when the door to door begging was introduced nationwide in an attempt to stop the “tricking” practice of the holiday which had become quite violent. What had started as simply knocking over outhouses, soaping windows and removing gates from fences, soon became more destructive and dangerous to property as well as animals and humans.

Now let’s fast forward to modern day, what do you think? Is Halloween is all about costumes and candy or do you believe that the dead really walk the earth? Should we paint our faces in fear?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Saturday Saloon: Pumpkin-a-Palooza

Welcome to Pumpkin-a- Polooza for the next few days The Hellfire Herald will be sharing recipes that are all...you guessed it...pumpkin :) In honor of pumpkin season and all the beauty that is fall, The Hellfire Herald will be sharing pumpkin recipes for three days that will spill into The Saturday Saloon on Keira’s Corner for alcoholic pumpkin delights. Keeping in the spirit of the season, we are offering copies of, When it Leaves or Oh Deer on the Freebies page.

 

The Pumpkin Fever is an easy to make dessert cocktail that if filled with flavor and has a delightful, creamy mouthfeel. The two spirits add all of the flavor; Bols Pumpkin Smash has a sweet and spicy taste and Sailor Jerry's brings in a tingling spiced rum taste. Those two elements do taste like a very spicy pumpkin pie, but the milk and cream that are added in the Pumpkin Fever make the drink silky and smooth and to tame down that spiced punch nicely. It is a balanced drink and ideal for those autumn cravings and dinner parties, though I do not recommend pairing it with pumpkin pie. That is simply too much pumpkin.

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 3 minutes

Yield: 1 Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 2 parts Bols Pumpkin Smash
• 1 part Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
• 1/4 part cream
• 1/4 part milk
• Cinnamon for garnish
• Sugar for rimming

Preparation:

1. Shake with ice and strain into a sugar-rimmed, chilled martini glass.
2. Sprinkle with fresh ground cinnamon.

Compliments of http://cocktails.about.com/od/rumrecipes/r/Pumpkin-Fever.htm

Pumpkin Martini

• 1/2 oz Sylk Cream Liqueur
• 2 oz vanilla vodka
• 1/2 oz pumpkin liqueur or pumpkin spice syrup
• 1 tsp whipped cream
• cinnamon stick for garnish

Preparation:

1. Pour the Sylk Liqueur and vodka into a shaker filled with ice.
2. Shake well.
3. Add the pumpkin liqueur or syrup.
4. Shake again.
5. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
6. Top with a teaspoon of whipped cream.
7. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

 

Drunkin Punk'in Pie

(I am so using this recipe this season)

This is one of those pumpkin pie recipes that's probably best for adults only. Made with brandy (whiskey's great, too!) it has an unexpected rich flavor that grown ups will love. And while the booze cooks away a bit during baking, you don't want to feed this one to the kiddos unless you want them stumbling into the walls.
It's generally best to make this pie a day or so in advance. After it's allowed to sit for a day, the strong flavor of the whiskey mellows out and blends beautifully with the pumpkin. So good. So naughty.

 

Ingredients:
2 C. canned pumpkin
4 lg. eggs, whites and yolks separated
1/2 C. granulated sugar
1/2 C. brown sugar, packed
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter, melted
1/3 C. light cream
1 C. brandy or whiskey
1 unbaked (10 inch) deep dish pie shell
Instructions: 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugars, egg yolks, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. With an electric mixer, beat until well mixed.3. Beat in the cream, butter, and brandy. Mix well.4. In a seperate mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.5. Sprinkle cornstarch over egg whites. 6. Gently fold egg white mixture into pumpkin mixture.7. Pour mixture into prepared crust.8. Bake 60 minutes, or until center of pie is set.

Bloody Mary

Some people that I have talked to on the subject think that Resurrection Mary and Bloody Mary are the same person. They are not. I am here to tell you the story of Mary Worth, so that you can compare it to yesterday’s blog and see that there is a difference. But I don’t mind, both are very interesting stories. The first difference is that Bloody Mary...is a drink... :)

Bloody Mary Recipe

Nothing is better in the morning (as a brunch cocktail or hangover cure) or on a cold day than the spicy tomato flavor of a Bloody Mary. You can make it as spicy or mild as you want, using either more or less hot sauce, or (better yet) add the spice of tequila by making a Bloody Maria. Bloody Marys are often garnished with a celery stalk, but many will either use a pickle spear or both. For a non-alcoholic version try a Virgin Mary and you can also make a pitcher-sized batch by using a Bloody Mary mix like this one.

Ingredients:

•3 oz tomato juice or I prefer V8, especially a spicy one
•1 1/2 oz vodka
•1 dash of Worcestershire sauce or I prefer Louisiana Hot Sauce
•celery salt
•celery stalk for garnish
•lime wedge for garnish

Preparation:

1. Build the liquid ingredients in a highball glass over ice cubes.
2. Mix well.
3. Add the seasonings to taste.
4. Squeeze lime, drop in and Garnish with celery stalk.

Read below and then prepare the drink from above, rather quickly, to calm your nerves.

The other Bloody Mary~ The Scary One.

Historically, the ritual encouraged young women to walk up a flight of stairs backwards while holding a candle and a hand mirror, in a darkened house. As they gazed into the mirror, they were supposed to be able to catch a view of their future husband's face. There was, however, a chance that they would see a skull (or the face of the Grim Reaper) instead, indicating that they were destined to die before they married.

In the present day, the summoning ritual requires that the lead participant must not look directly for Bloody Mary, but at their own image in the mirror. Variations of the incantation ritual involves: the number of times Bloody Mary's name is called; spinning (or not) after every repetition of the name; and the adding of the phrase "I've got your baby." The modern ritual addition of taunting Bloody Mary regarding her baby indicates the legendary figure's tenuous connection to Queen Mary I, also known as "Bloody Mary", whose life was marked by a number of miscarriages or false pregnancies

Results

Bloody Mary allegedly appears as a corpse, a witch or a ghost; sometimes covered in blood. The lore surrounding the ritual (if she is summoned properly) states that participants may endure the apparition screaming at them, cursing them, strangling them, stealing their body or soul, or drinking their blood.

Troxler's fading and self hypnosis have been posited as explanations for the Bloody Mary phenomena.

In popular culture

The legend of Bloody Mary has served as inspiration for a number of movies and television shows dealing with the supernatural.

Description according to the TV Show Supernatural

In suburban Nebraska, a group of partying high school teens jokingly dare their friend Charlie (guest star Marnette Patterson) to look into the mirror and repeat 'Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary," not knowing this will unleash a series of mysterious murders. Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) realize that Bloody Mary has the power to travel through all reflective surfaces when she is hunting a victim. Worried that teens are accidentally summoning Bloody Mary, Sam and Dean race to destroy the violent spirit before she can kill again.  add in website.

Full Synopsis

Toledo, Ohio: House: Focusing in on a girl party, three young girls are having a slumber party and playing "Truth or Dare". One girls asks another girl, Lilly, an embarassing "would you want to make out with..." question. Lilly doesn't answer it and is forced to do a dare. The dare was to say "Bloody Mary" 3 times in the bathroom, which Lilly does and is scared when her 2 friends shake the door in order to scare her. Then Lilly's dad, Steven Shoemaker, asks them to quiet down, then he goes into the bathroom, looks in a mirror and his eyes start to bleed. An older sister walks in "past curfew" and goes upstairs and sees her father on the floor, dead. Read More

  

I was at a party once and we played the Bloody Mary game. I went into the bathroom, turned off the light and said bloody Mary, three times...suddenly there was this face behind my shoulder and I could see it in the pitch black. Everyone else that went in the bathroom ran out screaming, with the same claims. Was it real? Or were our minds playing tricks on us? They say that groups of people drinking can invoke group paranoia. Did the owners of the apartment have something rigged up in the bathroom?  I will never know, because I won’t be doing that again.

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for Six Sentence Sunday.

 Have an awesome Saturday!

Cheers and Hugs,
Keira

Resurrection Mary

Good Morning and welcome to the tie-in to today’s daily Facebook question.

 Daily GTKY question: What spooky legend have you grown up, hearing about, perhaps even believing?

My answer is Resurrection Mary. I grew up not too far away from Resurrection Cemetery and have gone down Archer road on many spooky nights and swearing to God, that I have seen her.

Do you think that, me and the thousands of other Chicagoans that believe, are crazy? Tell us what you think. And tell us about your spooky local legend.

Disbelievers say that this pictures like these are fake. Experiencing it first-hand myself, I say...it’s probably the real deal.

The following Information is provided by the Internet.

Resurrection Mary is a well-known Chicago area ghost story. Of the "vanishing hitchhiker" type, the story takes place outside Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Illinois, a few miles southwest of Chicago.

Since the 1930s, several men driving northeast along Archer Avenue between the Willowbrook Ballroom and Resurrection Cemetery have reported picking up a young female hitchhiker. This young woman is dressed somewhat formally in a white party dress and is said to have light blond hair and blue eyes. There are other reports that she wore a thin shawl, dancing shoes, that she carried a small clutch purse, and/or that she was very quiet. When the driver nears the Resurrection Cemetery, the young woman asked to be let out, whereupon she disappeared into the cemetery. According to the Chicago Tribune, "full-time ghost hunter" Richard Crowe has collected "three dozen . . . substantiated" reports of Mary from the 1930s to the present.

Mary’s Story

The story goes that Mary had spent the evening dancing with a boyfriend at the Oh Henry Ballroom. At some point, they got into an argument and Mary stormed out. Even though it was a cold winter’s night, she thought she would rather face a cold walk home than spend another minute with her boyfriend.

She left the ballroom and started walking up Archer Avenue. She had not gotten very far when she was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver, who fled the scene leaving Mary to die. Her parents found her and were grief-stricken at the sight of her dead body. They buried her in Resurrection Cemetery, wearing a beautiful white dancing dress and matching dancing shoes. The hit-and-run driver was never found.

 Reported sightings

Jerry Palus, a Chicago southsider, reported that in 1939 he met a person who he came to believe was Resurrection Mary at the Liberty Grove and Hall at 47th and Mozart (and not the Oh Henry/Willowbrook Ballroom). They danced and even kissed and she asked him to drive her home along Archer Avenue, exiting the car and disappearing in front of Resurrection Cemetery.

Burned section of the front gate bars.

In 1973, Resurrection Mary was said to have shown up at Harlow's nightclub, on Cicero Avenue on Chicago's southwest side. That same year, a cab driver came into Chet's Melody Lounge, across the street from Resurrection Cemetery, to inquire about a young lady who had left without paying her fare.

There were said to be sightings in 1976, 1978, 1980, and 1989, which involved cars striking, or nearly striking, Mary outside Resurrection Cemetery. Mary disappears, however, by the time the motorist exits the car.

She also reportedly burned her handprints into the wrought iron fence around the cemetery, in August 1976, although officials at the cemetery have stated that a truck had damaged the fence and that there is no evidence of a ghost.

In a January 31, 1979 article in the Suburban Trib, columnist Bill Geist detailed the story of a cab driver, Ralph, who picked up a young woman – "a looker. A blonde. . .she was young enough to be my daughter - 21 tops" – near a small shopping center on Archer Avenue.

 "A couple miles up Archer there, she jumped with a start like a horse and said 'Here! Here!' I hit the brakes. I looked around and didn't see no kind of house. 'Where?' I said. And then she sticks out her arm and points across the road to my left and says 'There!' And that's when it happened. I looked to my left, like this, at this little shack. And when I turned she was gone. Vanished! And the car door never opened. May the good Lord strike me dead, it never opened."

Geist described Ralph as "neither an idiot nor a maniac, but rather [in Ralph's own words] 'a typical 52-year-old working guy, a veteran, father, Little League baseball coach, churchgoer, the whole shot'. Geist goes on to say: "The simple explanation, Ralph, is that you picked up the Chicago area's preeminent ghost: Resurrection Mary."

There was a movie a few years ago based on the so-called “legend”.

For those of you that need more information, here is website dedicated to the subject of “Resurrection Mary.”

http://www.prairieghosts.com/resurcem.html

Our recent cool, Halloween like weather has inspired my spooky side. So I decided to add in another blog or too, feating the supernatural and other scary subjects. Many people think that Bloody Mary and Resurrection Mary are the same person, but in fact they are not. Come back tomorrow to see the difference.

To catch a great scary story in the meantime...check out Hellfire Publishing...where the “Scary and Supernatural” are always “in”.

http://www.hellfirepublishing.com/


Leave a comment for a chance to win the eBook version (now) and the print book version of Hellfire's "Hot Reads Horror Collection Volume One" when it comes out next month.