Ahh… End of October, which means, that All Hollows Eve is upon us, yet again… This popular fall holiday has much deeper roots, in folklore, in naturalistic and primal beliefs, that we give it the credit for. We will but let us focus on the American way of celebrating it, and all the small details, that makes it so special. Of course, no one can take the fun away of buying a costumes and dressing up, to join the town parade, or just to go “Trick or Treating” with friends or kids. Halloween, is commonly recognized as a holiday, when all the scarry things are coming to life… You have ghosts, ghouls, monsters, demons. There is always Count Dracula, Frankenstein, and some zombies. Witches, bat’s and one or more werewolves. Every house is decorated in orange tones, hanging skeletons and pumpkins everywhere.
So, that is my idea for today. A post about Halloween A to Z… With most known, or familiar, scarry components.
So, are you ready for a scare…?
A.
Afterlife – also referred to as life after death or the world to come or reincarnation) is an existence some believe that the essential part of an individual’s identity or their stream of consciousness continues to have after the death of their physical body. According to various ideas about the afterlife, the essential aspect of the individual that lives on after death may be some partial element, or the entire soul or spirit, of an individual, which carries with it and may confer personal identity or, on the contrary nirvana. Belief in an afterlife contrasts with the belief in oblivion after death.
B.
Bat’s – The connection between bats and Halloween may seem natural. … When these bats were first observed lapping up the blood of cattle in Central and South America, they were quickly given the label of “vampires.” This idea was made concrete when Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) depicted vampires shapeshifting into bats.
C.
Candy corn – Candy corn is fall’s sweetest harvest, and a tradition most of us look forward to each year around Halloween. Sugary sweet, Mellow flavor, and so characteristic orange, yellow and white look, become associated with Halloween in 1950. Because its manufacturing was labor intensive, it was made only from August to October, so naturally evolved to be available around trick or treating time.
D.
Dracula – it is a main character from the novel written by Bram Stoker, in 1892. Dracula, the first bloodthirsty Vampire, quickly become extremely popular persona in all horror movies, and what is comes with that, an inseparable part of the mortal world meeting the afterlife.
E.
Eyeballs – one if the gory aspects of this holiday. A bloody, body parts, sold as gummies or candies, are unquestionably a big part of Halloween.
F.
Frankenstein – The English novelist Mary Shelley’s creature and scientific experiment gone wrong, Frankenstein, is another popular Halloween icon.
G.
Ghosts – basically the soul of a dead person, who cannot leave the earth realm to the afterlife, mainly because have some unfinished busines. There are lots of different types of ghosts. From god ones, Like Casper, to the evil ones, who want to harm mortals and destroy things, like poltergeist.
H.
Hunted house – house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property.
I.
Incantation – A charm or spell, think witchcraft … double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble!
J.
Jak O’lantern – Originally turnips were carved to make lanterns, but later the pumpkin became the preferred canvas for carving scary faces lit within by a candle.
K.
Freddie Krueger – is a fictional character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He first appeared in Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) as the spirit of a serial killer who uses a gloved hand with razors to kill his victims in their dreams, causing their deaths in the real world as well. In the dream world, he is a powerful force and almost completely invulnerable. However, whenever Freddy is pulled into the real world, he has normal human vulnerabilities and can be destroyed.
L.
Labyrinth – Labyrinths and corn field mazes are a popular event during the Halloween season. build up from stacks of hay, or made of green lucious bushes, shapped especially for the ocasion, just to create a secret passages, and walkways.
M.
Moonlight – identified with all the horrors and nightmares. Especially full moon, with werewolves and vampires. Moon believed to have magical properties, and quite often associated with afterlife and dead.
N.
Nightmares – nightmare, also called a bad dream, is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety, or great sadness. But also, the works has a different meaning. Nightmares, are all the scarry, creepy monsters, you may be afraid of… Like Boogy Man, or poltergeist, or demon’s, or Trolls… Etc…
O.
Orbs – spherical, light bubbles that often appears on the photographs, but are mostly no visible to a mortal. It is believed that orbs are a ghosts, or the souls of passing by deceased people. That can vary in size and a color, from white, through color ones to black.
P.
Pitchfork – inseparable part of devil persona. Believed to be used by him, to push tormented souls to the hellish fire. Nowadays, part of the devil costume together with red horns and pointy tail.
Q.
Queen of the dammed. The most know queen of the underworld. Akasha, the queen of vampires, from Anne Rice ” Vampire chronicles”.
R.
RIP – Another symbol of Halloween is the tombstone, which of course cannot be missing the letters R.I.P. for “rest in peace.”
S.
SAMHAIN – Samhain was a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the “darker half” of the year. Traditionally it is attached to Wicca and pagan beliefs, celebrated as one of the witch holidays display on the wheel of year.
T.
TRICK OR TREAT – it is a traditional Halloween custom, of children dressed up in costumes, and walking from a house to house, asking for candies or other sweets. If not given, they will trick the house over or the house exterior, into some mischief. Today more as a catch phrase, used only for Halloween.
U.
Underworld – Originally All Hallows’ Evening was a time to celebrate the dead and ward off the evil spirits that come out at nightfall from the underworld.
V.
Vampire – Vampires are evil mythological beings who roam the world at night searching for people whose blood they feed upon. They may be the best-known classic monsters of all. Most people associate vampires with Count Dracula, the legendary, blood-sucking subject of Bram Stoker’s epic novel, Dracula. The main characteristic of vampires (or vampyres) is they drink human blood. They typically drain their victim’s blood using their sharp fangs, killing them, and turning them into vampires.
W.
WITCH – a person, mostly a woman, (man witch will be called a warlock!) who is practicing a witchcraft. She knows how to make potions, how to cart the spells. Usually have a large old book, full of spells. According to most popular iconography, which is: rather ugly, with pointy nose and pointy hat, she has a black cat, and fly on the broomstick! Always celebrate the Sabbath (magic, witch holiday, on top of the mountain, with other witches from a coven.
Z.
Zombie – The undead, flesh eater. zombie is a fictional undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in which a zombie is a dead body reanimated through various methods, most commonly magic.
