M&S Halloween Train

We went to Marks & Spencer before October and I was pleasantly surprised to see their Halloween display already. Even more pleasantly surprised to see this box of chocolates. They outdid themselves this year.

No but seriously, sometimes you buy food just for the container. A Halloween train? How much cooler can you get?

La cheminée

 Je l'avais blogué le 3 octobre, je pensais faire une mise à jour aujourd'hui: mes parents ont fait réparer la cheminée de la maison. Ils vont enfin pouvoir faire des feux de foyer, un plaisir automnal qui me manque beaucoup. Je me rappelle les soirées, parfois les journées, à s'asseoir au coin du feu. Sans oublier les vins et fromages ou les moments de farniente... Cette cheminée a une histoire et elle a été l'agent de bien des souvenirs.

Haunted Pubs

 I noticed something about the countdown to Halloween this year (so far): I haven't blogged all that much about scary stories. I am not sure wh. Maybe I have read them rather slowly this year, instead of binging on them like I often do. But horror stories, spooky stories are generally the main focus of this blog come October. It also struck me that England is maybe the best place to find inspiration for scary stories, the local folklore being often filled with stories of the supernatural and hauntings. Now I don't believe in the supernatural, but I think locallegends can make up for great starting points to write horror. I stumbled tonight on this article about South Bucks most haunted pubs. I haven't been to any of them, as far as I can remember, however some of them are not too far and I would love to go there and get a feel of the places. Maybe I could come up with my own ghost stories. Traditional pubs and inns are great places for hauntings, as they are so atmospheric to begin with.

Les fêtes d'octobre

Les réseaux sociaux (plus précisément Facebook) me rappellent que c'est la fête de deux amis d'enfance aujourd'hui. Des jumeaux, c'est d'ailleurs comme ça qu'on les appelle depuis qu'on les connaît. En octobre, on célèbre beauccoup les anniversaires de naissance parmi ma famille et mes amis de longue date. Il y a bien entendu la fête de mon frère PJ, puis celle d'un de mes neveux. Il a aussi celle des jumeaux, donc, et ça m'a rapplé une anecdote de mon enfance. Parce que j'ai toujours envié ceux qui fêtent leur anniversaire en octobre, étant le mois de l'Halloween et celui où l'automne est à son plus flamboyant. L'un des jumeaux ne le voyait pas ainsi: il ne célébrait pas l'Halloween et n'aimait pas être considéré plus jeune que moi d'un an dans l'année sclaire, justement parce qu'il était né en octobre. Il m'avait dit un jour: "Maudit mois d'octobre, j'aimerais mieux qu'il n'existe pas." Ce qui m'avait vraiment choqué.

The Pumpkin and the Goose

 My parents already bought their pumpkin for Halloween. They will only carve one. But how nice it looks by the fireplace, with the wooden goose they have. It looks very Halloweeny and autumnal. I need to start buying pumpkins... Maybe today.

L'automne à Chicoutimi

 Autre photo prise par mon père lors d'une promenade. Et c'est tout.

Aquila on Witches

 My son Wolfie subscribed recently to the children's magazine Aquila. It's fun, it's educational, it's witty. An boy oh boy was I excited to see the front cover of their October 2024 issue: a whole issue on witches, witchcraft and wizards. Nothing too scary, but a lot of information about witches through the ages and what it meant at a certain time, as well as old superstitions and folklore. And enough material among it to inspire him (and me), should he want to write a few spooky stories. Anyway, if you have kids, go and buy it now.

Couleurs de l'automne

Photo prise par mon père lors de sa promenade. Je la partage encore une fois. Ma chronique automnale, c'est parfois seulement des photos, mais on n'a pas besoin de plus.

Changelings and Dopplegängers

 I took this picture from Where the Shadows Stalk of the sadly short lived Forbidden Gateway  gamebook series. This is a monstrous humanoid made of vegetals that is turning into a copy of your character. A sort of dopplegänger, although they call him a Changeling. It is the first adversary you fight in the book and it truly sets the tone for the kind of horrors you will face during the rest of the adventure. I find dopplegängers and changelings scary and unsettling (you can be replaced by an usurper, someone you love and trust may not be who they are, etc.), but is it me or are they seldom used nowadays in horror? They deserve a comeback. Anyway, if you know of any stories involving them, let me know in the comments section.

Refaire la cheminée

 Nouveau billet de chronique automnale (mettons): mes parents font réparer la cheminée de la maison. Qu'est-ce que ça a à voir avec l'automne? C'est en automne que l'on commence à faire des feux de foyer, d'abord. Et il n'y a pas beaucoup de choses plus plaisantes qu'une soirée froide d'automne au coin du feu.

The Haunted Castle

 For today's countdown to Halloween post, I wanted to share a game I bought for Wolfie during one of his schools' fayres last summer. It caught both our eyes. My son seems to have a spooky mind. We spent a rainy afternoon playing it. It's called The Haunted Castle, but it is truly a vampire castle: its owner is a vampire, aptly named Lord Darkwood. The name of the place is Dreadmoor Castle. The story is heavily influenced by Dracula, especially the first part: you even use the help of a journal left there by Abraham Van Helsing, who visited Dreadmoor shortly after the events of the novel. I don't want to give too much away, but it's a great way to introduce your kid to horror stories and classic vampire tropes. It's both clever and atmospheric.

L'automne au Saguenay

 Mon père a pris des photos des arbres lors de sa dernière promenade. Je n'ai même plus besoin de lui demander de m'envoyer quoi que ce soit: il le fait de son propre chef.

Countdown to Halloween!

 Today we are the first of October, so it is our official Countdown to Halloween, b! So happy countdown everyone. I took this picture in August, in the Dollarama on the Plateau Mont-Royal, in Montreal. I was so happy to see that they were already in a Halloween mood. It may the official countdown, but of course I had started preparing for it since last Halloween or so. My personal countdown to the spooky season starts in August, sometimes even in July. Be that as it may, watch this space, I should post daily, mostly but not exclusively about horror stories.

La Citrouille chez mes parents

Bon, ben mon père n,a pas perdu de temps: il a déjà acheté sa citrouille pour l'Halloween. Avant-hier, je crois. Il en a profité pour m'envoyer une photo. Elle est vraiment belle, avec une tige encore assez grosse pour pouvoir être empoignée proprement. J'ai très hâte de voir le design qu'elle aura dans un mois. Et je dois m'y mettre moi aussi et en acheter au moins une dans les prochains jours (la première, mais pas la dernière). Je me sens fébrile.

"El Jeepo"

 Last time we went to the yearly September fayre, we saw a number of army behicles on display. Mostly British, but some were American. Many of them had personal nicknames. Among them, a jeep aptly named "El Jeepo". With a strange critter meant to represent some animal, real or unreal. I thought it was funny anyway. Somebody has any idea what animal is this El Jeepo? I guess it's American, maybe Mexican? A wildcat, perhaps? A cryptid? An obscure cartoon character? For those who are into vintage army vehicles, army stuff, please let me know in the comments.

La Saint-Jérôme

Nous sommes aujourd'hui le 30 septembre, jour de la Saint-Jérôme. Je le sais, mais ce n'est pas à cause de mon passé catholique. Saint Jérôme ayant traduit la Bible à partir de l'hébreu, il est devenu le saint patron des traducteurs. Le 30 septembre est donc devenu la Journée internationale de la traduction. J'ai déja blogué sur le sujet en 2018. J'ai pensé le mentionner ici à nouveau, rien que parce que.

Craving a Sunday Roast

This picture dates back from... June 2021. It struck me recently that I haven't had a Sunday roast in ages. And by ages I mean: not since February 2023, according to my calculations, and even then, it was a "guerilla Sunday roast" (bought and eaten in a cafeteria). So we should eat one tonight. But I really am craving one in a pub, with an excessive amount of trimming on a plate. I love Sunday roasts all year round, but especially in autumn, so now is the perfect time to eat one. The season kind of enhances the gastronomical experience.

Dernier jour du Salon

 Ultime annonce pour ceux qui peuvent y aller: c'est le dernier jour du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean. Allez-y si vous pouvez. Pour les nostalgiques comme moi qui l'avez connu dans le passé, racontez vos souvenirs dans les commentaires.

I'm a Cryptkeeper

 It is not officially the countdown to Halloween, but I have been counting the days since last Halloween. And, more specifically since August, I have started the preparation. Because yes, the Halloween season starts as early as possible for me. So anyway, you may have noticed that I put up the Cryptkeeper badge for 2024 already. There was a wide choice, I went for the one with the scarecrow Jack O'Lantern. Scarecrows, especially with pumpkin heads, are a staple for Halloween and they are great in horror stories. This one is suitably spooky.

Le Salon du livre de loin

C'est encore le Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean, aujourd'hui. Quand j'y allais, c'était la plupart du temps un samedi, quand il battait son plein, en tout cas dans mon souvenir. C'était le gros évènement, la grosse célébration, de la fin de semaine, avant la fin de semaine de l'Action de grâce.  Maintenant je le suis de loin, enfin un peu, par le biais des réseaux sociaux. Mais sinon, si vous y êtes, c'est comment cette année? Faites-le moi savoir dans les commentaires.