Halloween Memorial

I have been very blessed to know some amazing bloggers, but one who was very dear to my heart was my good friend, John Wolfe. He ran the blog Season of Shadows and embodied all things vintage and true Halloween. He would begin early in the year designing elaborate home haunts and sharing on video how he went about designing them. He did lots of volunteer work and was always available for anyone. He sought to understand the spiritual and the other side. In fact, as he was dying, he said he would contact me through EVPs. And, he asked me to write his memorial which I did and he read it and approved of it before his passing at much too early an age in his 30s. Each Halloween, I will post his memorial here. Halloween is his season, his paradise, and I miss him something awful every October. I'd like to share him with you now -

"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream"

(Edgar Allen Poe)

 (John Wolfe)

“Night of the Wolf” Nox Arcana (one of his favorites)

I am so very sorry to have to announce that one of the most beloved Halloween Bloggers of all time has passed from this earthly plane to his higher purpose. 

John Wolfe of Season of Shadows blog was not only adored by all who came to his blog, but felt they were visiting his home. He was a gracious host. His love of nostalgic Halloween, horror, and crafting haunting props was what drew people in, but it was charity and kindness to others that made him so loved. 

When I started blogging in 2008, he found my blog and we fast became friends. Through the years, we emailed regularly and shared our ups and downs in life and his wisdom and spiritually centered point of view helped me during my divorce when I was scared of the unknown. He reminded me of my potential and also of the fact that I love horror and so the unknown should not frighten me. He comforted me, believed in me, supported my blog, and was a voice of reason when I needed it most.

John was everything Halloween and horror. He had an artist's eyes and hands, a Buddhist's soul, and a child's excitement and enthusiasm. Here is John's favorite Halloween memory in his own words:

On the night of October 31st, we had a huge turnout of trick-or-treaters and parents. One masked face quickly blended into another amidst the backdrop of strobe lights, black lights, dark hallways and creepy music. By the time the fog machine had belched its last puff of smoke, the clock signified November was upon us. 
 
Quickly, we broke down the haunt’s interior, knowing our 5 AM wake-up call would soon be screeching louder than a group of scared, plastic jack-o-lantern toting, eight year old’s. My grandparents were to be vendors at a community arts and crafts sale that morning and several of us had volunteered to lend a hand.

Four hours of sleep and tons of caffeine later, the previously masked faces of trick-or-treaters were now replaced by the faces of paying customers blurrily passing by. Alone I sat, half coherent, manning my grandparents’ booth – exhausted from climbing out of a grave (about a thousand times) the night before.

“Excuse me,” “Excuse me,” a cheery voice called out, interrupting my detailed analysis of the inside of my eyelids. It was a woman, in her mid 30’s, inquiring about the price of an item on the table. She commented on how tired I looked, so, I lightly brushed on the fact I was exhausted from Halloween activities.

Without missing a beat, the woman began explaining how horrible her night had started out. She had the intentions of staying home, utterly depressed over many circumstances in her life, when her phone rang. Friends, aware of her mood, were inquiring about getting her out of the house to go trick-or-treating with their kids. 

After a lot of persuading, she finally accepted but was still unable to shake her depressed state throughout the night. Eventually, they came upon a home that contained haunted rooms and a hallway leading up to the house’s front porch. Inside the haunt, there was scary music, strobe lights, a graveyard, fog and “monsters” everywhere. 

Inspired by the fact someone had so much passion to create something so large, all for a single night; that haunt (our haunt), helped to pull her out of her mood and shift her attitude. In fact, she said she was still feeling the positive effects that next morning and was inspired to more consistently follow creative outlets in her own life. 

Though I’m appreciative of all visitor feedback, and I have a lot of fond Halloween memories, I’ve always been extremely proud of that moment. It’s not often that Halloween is thought of as an uplifting night. Many times, we see individuals (and groups) chastising Halloween because of its darkness and supposed negativity. It goes to show that even amidst the darkness, a ton of love, light and joy can be spread and people can be uplifted by the efforts of haunters and Halloween enthusiasts everywhere. 

So, that was one of my favorite Halloween memories.

 

(This is video above is one of his amazing Halloween haunts he put on for the neighborhood)

"For most men, time moves slowly, oh so slowly, they don't even realize it. But time has revealed itself to me in a very special way. Time is a rushing, howling wind that rages past me, withering me in a single, relentless blast, and then continues on. I've been sitting here passively, submissive to its rage, watching its work. Listen! Time, howling, withering!"

(quote from “Dark Shadows” show)

He shared his knowledge as a Halloween haunter. He had how-to instructions meticulously laid out and videos on YouTube. John also was a man who put 110% into everything he did from his work to his haunt designs, his blog to his spiritual growth. Here is his other site Winds of the Soul that shows what a very spiritual and tender soul he was.

Here is some commentary by other bloggers who loved him:

Damian the HalloweenNut (The Misadventures of HalloweeNut)

John Wolfe was an Artist, through and through. Not just a haunter, but an Artist, of the greatest kind; talented, humble, kind, friendly, and funny. I had discovered his site in late 2009, through Pumpkinrot's blog. I was astounded by the sheer detail, yet simplicity, of John's amazing creations; so much so, that I immediately emailed him to tell him I enjoyed his work. We started sending emails back and forth, and he would sometimes advise me on haunt ideas. I came to enjoy reading his almost daily blog posts, listening to his online radio, and chuckling and smiling at his tales of Halloweens past. He never failed to appreciate his loyal fans and readers; I remember at Thanksgiving 2010, he had sent me a free Nox Arcana CD and other cool Halloween goodies simply because to show his appreciation of his regular readers. I still have the CD, and I will always cherish it, because it was a mark of a great Artist, Haunter, and Friend. If there is an Afterlife just for Haunters and Halloween People, I know that John Wolfe will be there. John, if you can read this, know that you will never be forgotten, not by me, or anyone, for Artists Never Die. God Rest.

From Barry at Gnostalgia He was a man who enjoyed giving joy. From time to time, I will watch his Halloween videos. I can't help but laugh at the trick or treaters' reaction to his animated prop witch. Shock followed by laughter. The Halloween candy was finished in a few days, but the memories will endure. The ripples from his good deeds will last forever.

Please donate in his memory to John's favorite charity. Water was the focus of his charity work. It is the essence of life. I have also placed a Season of Shadows button my blog in his memory to make it easier to donate. Or you can donate here.

"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience."
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Safe passage, John, to the greatest haunt of all. Forever you will be the guardian of Halloween in our hearts and in the spirit of the Season of Shadows.

**See John's projects on video here**

 

Mummies Found!

In a suburb in the capital of Peru, two 1000-year-old mummies were found.  They were found in what was an ancient religious complex and the child was thought to be perhaps buried alive with the dead adult as an offering to the gods. There were also jars with guinea pigs inside and cat designs on the outside.

All the mummies found in this ancient complex were in squatting position, wrapped in rope. They were believed to be part of the Wari Culture that was around 100 to 600 AD and disappeared with no written language on record.

This woman was wearing a wooden mask and, as you can imagine, it startled the people who found it. Many ceramics and textiles were found.

Now, that suburb must seriously have some interesting vibes - 

Types of Cursed Locations

Can a location be cursed? 

Technically, a curse is a spell put upon a person (or place) to make bad things happen. If a location has a repeatedly dark history, one might make a case that it had been cursed. Cursed by the fates.

Case 1:  "Doll Island" Mexico 
(cursed to repeat a tragedy)

This location where a man moved his family to find some peace, found instead a tragic event. A girl drowned in the canal near his island and he was consumed thereafter with the belief her ghost was still there. To appease the little girl, he left out dolls. Then, added more. And, over decades, others added to the collection until there were hundreds and hundreds of them. In the ironic curse of this whole scenario, the man eventually drowned in the canal.

Here's the other question to ask--

Can cumulative bad energy affect the emotions/decisions of people who go there next?

Case 2: "Suicide Forest" Japan 
(cursed by cumulative bad energy)

If enough people commit suicide in a place, can it actually attract a certain kind of energy and once within the haunted forests, can a person act on an overwhelming sense of suicide that permeates the air and land, trees an soil? Is it possible that a person who was hiking the forest might even feel intense hopelessness and not know why? Might a person who is dancing on the edge, simply act on it by the hand of heavy depression seeped into the entire woodland?  Why do we feel overcome with heavy feelings on battlefields, memorials, and the like? Is it because we know what happened there, or is it because of the cumulative grief of everyone who attended there before us?

Upon occasion, a location is cursed by those who protected it in the afterlife- 

Case 3:  King Tut's Tomb 
(cursed for those who disturb)

The "Curse of the Pharaohs," as it has become known as, is the concept that anyone who disturbs a pharaoh's tomb is cursed with death.  Admittedly, bad luck, illness and death have followed many people who uncovered tombs, but then people uncovering tombs in the 1920s and 30s, live in a time with no antibiotics and foreign travel. It goes without saying they might also be risk takers. Their chances of bad luck and ill health were pretty high.  In regards to King Tut, The first of the "mysterious" deaths was that of Lord Carnarvon. He had been bitten by a mosquito, and later slashed the bite accidentally while shaving. It became infected and blood poisoning resulted. Two weeks before Carnarvon died. 


Sometimes, a land becomes cursed - fallow, lifeless, without hope - 

Case 4:  Easter Island
 (cursed land)

When you look at the Moai statues on this island in the middle of the Pacific, you have to wonder what happened to the Rapa Nui. What happened to the trees? The culture? At one point, the island had to be thriving with a population that could build and erect such amazing idols.  It's believed they simple deforested and stripped their land of resources, eventually dying off. But, the land remains a rather barren place so far away from any land body that it's isolated beyond belief.  It would appear that the only thing that witnessed the Rapa Nui's demise were their own creations - the Maoi.  Talk about a curse!

Not so much a surprise, a practitioner of magic arts might leave behind an alchemy that protects her resting place -

Grave of Marie Laveua, New Orleans 
(curse by magic)

Marie Laveau was a practitioner of  voodoo and when interred at St. Louis Cemetery in New Orleans, legends began; people saying they saw her walking around after her death, and others saying she was buried in the Glapion family crypt. Believers are said to draw 3 x's on the side of the crypt, hoping she will grant them wishes.  Many leave her gifts like food, money and flowers and people are said to need to this ritual; "Draw the X, place your hand over it, rub your foot three times against the bottom, throw some silver coins into the cup, and make your wish."  Not a terrible curse, hmm?  More like a blessing.  The curse comes in the form of many people reporting she either is a zombie, still alive, or taken the form of a graveyard crow. 

* * *

Some legends, like the fictionalized Amityville Horror play off the concept that because a place saw a bad event, it haunts the future homeowners and tries to recreate it.  Hence, we have the "cursed to repeat an tragedy" scenario like Doll Island.  Other locations, like Roanoke Island where the settles went missing, gives us an Easter Island "land is cursed" theme.  

Can locations be cursed? Best I can tell, coincidences can happen, but mostly locations that have seen a longer history, more crowded population over generations, are bound to have a series of bad things happen in that location. On the other hand, if a haunting can be stuck in a location, then perhaps whatever locked that haunting to that place can also leave bad feelings.

I talk a lot about my gift for psychometry (touching objects and reading them psychically), but I do believe souls do not haunt objects, but a person's negative or bad outcomes can imprint on objects and that can cause people to not feel good around them or touching them, and sometimes even cause disruptions in a location. So, it would have to go with places like Suicide Forest where people have felt the most overwhelming anguish that can exist - and we can feel it when we go there, we might even feel anguish ourselves. So, it is a self-perpetuating thing.

Tonight on Paranormal Geeks Radio - WOW!

Tonight, one of the women I put on my Women Role Models in the Para-Field blog post, is going to be a guest on the show and I'm a HUGE fan of hers, especially her book, "Ghost."  Katherine Ramsland is a forensics expert with a mind for the dark and unexplained, murder, and mayhem.

The second hour, Michael Kleen will be on. This expert folklorist is just the ticket before Halloween. He is the author of Haunting Illinois: A Tourist's Guide To the Weird and Wild Places of the Prairie State. Julie and I are planning a trip to Illinois and this book will help us plot our descent upon the weirdness.

I am so excited about tonight's show, I can barely stand in place.

9 pm EST/8 pm Central/6 pm Pacific Paranormal Geeks Radio

Leftover Halloween Candy Recipes

Brownie Kisses
1 package fudge brownie mix (13-inch x 9-inch pan size)
48 striped chocolate kisses
Prepare brownie mix according to package directions for fudge-like brownies. Fill paper-lined miniature muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 18-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Immediately top each with a chocolate kiss. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: 4 dozen.



Mounds Candy Bar Brownies
2 Mounds candy bars
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup plain flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Melt candy bars and shortening. Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients and blend well. Spread in greased 9-inch square pan. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes. While warm, cut into bars.


Candy Corn Bark
16 Halloween-colored chocolate sandwich cookies, chopped
1 1/2 cups broken small pretzels
1/3 cup raisins
1 1/2 pounds white chocolate, broken into squares
2 cups candy corn
orange and brown sprinkles
Spread the cookies, pretzels and raisins evenly onto a lightly greased small baking sheet. Melt chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave, stirring frequently until melted. Remove from the heat while there are still a few chunks, and stir until smooth. White chocolate burns easily. Drizzle chocolate with a spoon over the goodies in the pan, spreading the top flat to coat evenly. Top with candy corn and sprinkles. Let cool until firm. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

 

Reese's Brownies

Make package brownies per instructions and when you pull them out of the oven, press Reese's into them so one is in each square. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter 7-Layer Bars

1 box Devil’s food cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup coarsely crushed pretzels
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup Reese’s Pieces
1 cup honey roasted peanuts
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally grease a 13×9 inch baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, egg and butter. Stir in the crushed pretzels. Spread the mixture evenly along the bottom of the greased pan and bake for about 8 minutes.
3. Sprinkle the par-baked bars with the peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, Reese’s Pieces and peanuts. Drizzle the top of the bars with the milk. Return to the oven for an additional 15 minutes or until golden and bubbly, and center is set.
4. Cool completely before cutting into bars. Serve warm or at room temperature. Best served within 1-2 days.

LOTS MORE RECIPES HERE

Don't miss - 7-layer candy bar dip recipe here 

How Does Spiritual Magic Work?

When a Christian prays to God, he put his belief that his higher power (along with his own decisions and actions here on earth) will come together to fulfill a goal.

When a pagan lights a candle and calls on the desired deity for the task, he is putting his belief in the powers of that god/goddess (along with his own actions and intentions, energy, and focus here on earth) to make this goal happen.

There is nothing of Christianity that wasn't fashioned from the earlier religion, Paganism. In Paganism, there were no earthly representatives of a higher power, there were gods and goddesses for each facet of life, like Catholics have Saints.  There was ritual, incense, candles, chants, and magic - as there is in the more modern Christian faiths.  

That being said, how does this spiritual magic result from prayer and spellbinding?

Belief

Belief is the foundation of spiritual magic (prayer, spellbinding, meditation).

Belief is key because the only false god is the one you do not believe in.   

In pagan practices, the faithful choose gods and goddesses that represent abilities that are necessary for whatever the goal might be or perhaps they keep the same god and goddess as their representatives when asking for a will to be done. 

For Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Catholics, pagans, or any other belief system, the deity and the story of that deity's purpose and abilities has to click for them. The explanation found in historic written records, passed down through generations, or taught by their religious representative, has to be jive with their own personal feelings and thoughts about how the universe works. Without a true belief in that deity and its abilities, magic will not occur.

Why must we believe in the deity unwaveringly? 

Example: Judy is in a relationship with a man who says the right things, treats her nicely, but there is something about him that feels a bit off. She believes he wants her to think he's in love with her, but she's not sure he really is. That lack of belief in his love will make her act jealous, it will make her anxious and depressed, and unwilling to give all of her own heart to him unconditionally.  Her lack of belief caused her to be petty, suspicious, and drive him away.

If Judy were powered by belief in his love, being willing to unconditionally surrender herself to her mate, she would make decisions, move forward fortified by that knowledge, with a positive attitude and when bad things happen, she would find comfort, knowing that he too wants the best for her and will give her solace. The result in her belief would be a solid relationship and an untroubled mind and heart.

If, however, she put conditions on that belief (hoops that her mate must jump through, tests of his commitment), she is back in the weak place personally and spiritually of defense, insecurity, fear, and resentment. This results in many trials and bad outcomes.

Intention 

Intention is the next step in spiritual magic. The power is between you and the belief - so if you introduce another person in your prayer/meditation/spellbinding into the mix to manipulate them from their destiny or represent them, you are bringing in a third party. The exception is prayer, meditation or spellbinding for someone's health or security. In that situation, you are bringing yourself along with your deity to give the person added strength, so you are part of this triad. You are saying to the universe, "let this person borrow my good intentions and healing health and strength." In the majority of pagans' belief systems, they believe that what you send out comes back many times over, so harm, manipulation, control - would come back to visit you many times over. 

Example:  Josh wants his boss to choose the job in Seattle and leave town so he can slip into his position.  He performs a spell to make the man move on, pack up, quit the job, and shove off. He has belief in his deity and prepares the components to make this happen. He has just willed manipulation of another person utilizing his deity to empower it--corrupting his relationship with his deity and with his own soul. Josh has created a rift in the magical alchemy simply by coming from the ego: He wants this man's job, he covets it, and he is willing to disrupt another person's life in order to gain his will. He has corrupted the whole system and what will return to him will be more of the misery of his unwanted position and lack of recognition. Instead of improving his job performance and making himself invaluable, Josh is asking the universe to recognize him at the cost of another's fate.

If Josh had true belief in the will of the deity, he would have instead considered a spell to help his boss make the best decision for his career and well being. The fate would be accepted by the practitioner if the universe finds the boss remaining in the position. He would be handing it over to his boss and the deity, and willing to focus on the aspect he can control; his work performance which might actually end up giving him a new position and a new department at work. His boss would not have to move on and he would be satisfied.  Two people benefiting and making it by their own intentions.

Visualization 

Reading into the future, seeing in your mind's eye what it will be like when it comes to fruition - getting in the mindset of "destiny" and that this is a reality that has not yet unfolded in man's sluggish time line - that is the next key to making spiritual magic unfold.  It is as if this thing has manifested even though right now it is not physically in this realm.

Example:  Mattie is going to do a speech at a conference. She knows the subject matter well, has worked in the industry for many years, but she also has fear of public speaking. She's imagining all those strange faces staring at her, expecting her to fluidly speak about the subject with great confidence, but all she envisions is having huge silent pauses, stammering, losing her train of thought. Her palms are sweating and she is certain that she will look like an idiot.

The outcome of such visualization is, in fact, a self-fulfilling prophecy. Mattie gets up, her mind goes blank in fear, and she studies her notes as if they were written in a foreign language. She laughs nervously. She excuses her moments of utter confusion. And the entire event is a miserable flop.

Nothing becomes a reality without a rehearsal. One has to taste it, feel it, imagine it, and be very detailed in that imagery and sensation. A really good 3-point shooter sees the path the ball will take before letting go of it. 

Release

"Amen," "So mote it be," "ohm," whatever that parting expression is - releases the magic into the universe to become its destiny. You experience the union of the divine, the force of the universe, the power of the natural world and the spiritual world combined with your soul's intent; and then you let it be free and accept the fate. This might be the moment in spellbinding when the spell is sealed, the candle has burned, the circle is crossed.
Example:  Mark has addressed his maker, said his prayer or spell, imagined the outcome in great detail, and then took a breath, ended the communion and is ready to move on.  But, what Mark doesn't know is that he has just sealed a deal with the fates and if he continues belief, continues visualization and adds the last step, action - his fate will be focused, not chaotic. He leaves this encounter feeling renewed, more certain of what he wants, what will be. The confidence and the peace within him helps him to think clearly and act decisively to reach the reward. 

Action 

We can pray all we want for sobriety or good grades, or whatever else is our desire, but without action, everything is at cross purposes. Deities do not sweep in and do all the work for you. You are on the physical plane. When you performed your "release" above, you left the spiritual realm and you reentered the physical form to take the actions to make this thing happen. But, you are fortified now by the belief in your deity wishing it for you, guiding you toward it, and your visualizations of how it will unfold and your release of the destiny to the universe. With all this power behind you, you manifest that spiritual magic by making decisions that support this destiny.

Example:  Jennifer believes in a higher power, she placed her intention, performed her visualization, released it to the universe, and has come back to her day to day life renewed with the absolute peace that her fate is designed.  She tackles her days vigorously in an effort to bring her hopes to fruition and feels fated to a destiny. Her positive mood affects those around her and her task-oriented methodology pays off in rewards towards her goal. And in the magical way of the world, it feeds her opportunities that she is more alert to because she knows the higher power is rooting for her. She sees signs, she listens to her gut, and everything she does is imbued with a synchronicity of the soul, mind, body and heart that leads her to an intricate dance that is spiritual magic.

Faith

The unifying factor in the process of belief with its prayer or spellbinding and action that occurs after the wish sent out into the universe, is faith. 

Faith is a verb. Not a noun. 

Many people believe that if they have faith, that means they are depending on something happening, proving itself.

But, faith is a process performed by the faithful. 

It means living and breathing it, even knowing that you may never have what you wish for, but learning that you can stick with something you said you would do. When we do not stray from a relationship, we are called faithful. This is not about the outside factor of reward - faith is about the internal voyage of moving forward, with no guarantees. Relentlessly.

Spiritual magic could be called alchemy. Alchemy is truly taking two things and combining them into a new thing - a third thing.  Spiritual magic is not hocus pocus or slight of hand, it is truly the creation of something from an idea to an action, fueled by belief and visualization. 

If someone says their prayers were answered, we can look back at these steps and realize that this was someone who went from belief (spiritual) to action (physical) and created a third thing - alchemy.

 

 

My Psychomanteum Videos

I recently wrote about how to create a psychomanteum, theater for the dead. I decided this Halloween season to use one to try to communicate with a beloved Halloween Blogger, John Wolfe (Season of Shadows) to communicate from the other side. Here is the 6-video (brief videos) of the process -

Halloween Candy Tampering

October 31st is noted as All Hallow's Eve or Halloween.  It's believed Christians took this festival concept right from pagan origins of the Celtic Samhain celebration. There is much debate on how this holiday began, but it has become a most popular time for children to get candy and adults to put on costumes and watch scary movies. The basics are the same; scary decorations, costumes, parties, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, Jack O'Lanterns, apple bobbing, trick or treating, and horror themes. America has done Halloween up more than any other country, celebrating it full force with horror movie marathons to Haunted Attractions and huge parties.

There is, however, a much darker side to Halloween - like the tainted candy fears.



I don’t know about ya’all, but my Halloween’s as a kid were totally wild and free orgies in which the children ruled the streets. We carried pillowcases `cause we were cocky son-of-a-bitches and we figured it was going to carry our enormous amount of loot. In my area we knocked on doors until midnight and covered miles and miles of the suburbs. Whoever reached the apartment buildings knew they had done a huge haul because they were on the periphery of the subdivision.

Even though we were allowed to travel far and alone knocking at strangers’ doors and getting candy offerings from them and sometimes coins or apples (why even answer your door and waste both our time?) we still had to go home and have the candy examined. Then, the kids would begin with all the urban legends of razor blades in apples and ground glass in Bazooka bubble gum and poison injected into Tootsie Rolls. Ironically, it did not stop us from nibbling on the way home. Every candy the parents tossed out that had a loose wrapper caused a sigh of disappointment. Oh, why couldn’t it have been the candy corn, why the Snickers?

The most famous case of actual tampering came from the murder of an 8-year-old named Timothy in the mid 70s, who was actually killed by his father who laced his Pixie Stix with cyanide. And, just as people need to realize, we actually are at more threat by our own family more than strangers (which is why persons of interest are pretty much always a family member--comforting, huh?). This evil man also gave the candy to his daughter and some of her friends, but they hadn’t eaten the candy. This was apparently motivated by an insurance policy on the kid.

A woman named Helen Pfeil in 1964 was tired of older teenagers showing up for free candy so she handed out ant killer poison buttons to those kids. The packages contained steel wool, dog biscuits, and the ant buttons and were marked “poison” and with a skull and crossbones. She told the kids it was a joke and no one was hurt, still she was charged for potential harm.

A great deal of this legend comes from hysteria. Some years, fear of strychnine poisoning made companies and stores destroy packages, but once tested nothing unusual was found. Some children getting sick around Halloween sparked fear of poisoning. Children coming down with infections or dying on that particular day became linked to Halloween and more rumors began.

It’s not to say we shouldn’t continue to look for tampered candy and even better, do like I did and stand at the end of the sidewalk and wave to the person handing out the candy as a show of “I remember you giving my kid candy…”

Still, I have to admit that wicked scene in Halloween 2 where the kid and mom come into the hospital with the kid holding a cloth to her mouth with a razor blade sticking out of the tongue was pretty bad ass and gave me chills. I never did eat those apples on Halloween (but that’s probably because I had a pillowcase filled with candy)!

On a happier note - Halloween was official when this played on TV -

Hoia Baciu Forest: Toxic?

"Destination Truth" had a season 3 opener that got a lot of attention for showcasing something that isn't necessarily a haunting, but a combination of conditions that seem to be prevalent in "weird" places including ghost lights, feeling sick, plants not growing, even poltergeist-like effects.  In the Romania forest of Hoia Baciu, the DT crew got a real wake-up call about the forces on the earth that are yet to be explained.

I was able to find that gold and copper mining in this mountain range is extensive, loads of limestone and salt. When I think of gold, copper, and salt, I think of electrical conductivity. Hmm...

Going a bit further, I discovered that the copper mining had leached copper into the streams and there were huge issues with toxicity. On the show "Destination Truth" they probed for what sort of symptoms people exhibited in the haunted forest. They rattled off things like vomiting, anxiety, insomnia, headaches, skin rashes, and fatigue to name a few. Ironically, these are all copper toxicity symptoms. Had they done a 24-hour urine on the team member who was vomiting, it might have helped to rule in or rule out one possible issue with making people very uncomfortable there. They did check the soil for signs that things may not grow there, but those are very broad-parameters for imbalances. Checking copper levels in the soil might have helped, as well.

Could there be natural "earth lights" caused by high copper in the land? Could the electrically conductive ingredients of gold, copper, and salt make for some sort of spook lights? Could it be a potent enough mix to affect living things like the strangely gnarled trees and the feelings in human bodies? Interestingly, in Wisconsin there is a phenomenon of light called "The Paulding Light" near an old copper mining area. Could spook lights be a phenomenon found around other mining areas? If anyone finds a case of it, let me know.

Then again, if UFO's are truly tied to the area, could it have something to do with the earth concentration of such geological components? A sort of attraction or refueling station?

The more I learn about things, the more questions I have. Giving you all this that I've found, I'd love to get your input. You're quite a highly intelligent group of people and I think your observations will be very valid.

Huge Collection of Vintage Halloween Photos

I'm not sure I can explain why we find vintage Halloween photos so creepy. Perhaps it's the homemade costumes. Perhaps it's the bland and bleak settings back when folks just left at a pumpkin on the stoop. Whatever it is, these not-pre-fabricated costumes are freaky and send a shiver down our spines. And, how appropriate. After all, it is that time of year.