Halloween explained to children

Halloween is here and before it is over, I wanted to share with you two pages from Charlie Brown's Fourth Super Book of Questions and Answers. A friend of mine had it and thought little of the book (or Halloween). I was fascinated by the book and had been wanting it since then. As it is out of print, I am sharing it here today.

Les provisions pour les Halloweeneux

 Les provisions pour ce soir, faites par mes parents, pour les enfants qui passent l'Halloween dans le quartier. Ils ne font pas les choses à moitié... Et j'espère pouvoir être aussi extravagant un jour.

Happy Halloween!

 Well, it's finally here: Happy Halloween everyone! It is finally here, yet it arrives too soon: I don't feel like I have done enough. I haven't read enough, or watched horror movies. But I carved seven Jack O'Lanterns! Which is quite a feat in itself. With Wolfie's help, of course. He designed a lot of them. But this one is designed by me, as you probably guessed, I try to make them scary. I will try to blog more and visit yours, but will be busy with trick or treat. So much to enjoy, so very little time.

La pizza de l'Halloween

 Ma femme a fait une pizza pour petit loup,tirée d'une recette d'Hello Fresh. C'est une pizza de l'Halloween, avec des olives pour faire des araignées. Elles ont l'air vraies en plus. Petit détour nostalgique: la pizza était ce qu'on mangeait, mes frères et moi, avant de passer l'Halloween. Et c'est sans doute de la pizza que l'on mangera ce soir.

First Jack O'Lantern

We started carving pumpkins yesterday, Wolfie and I. We have seven pumpkins all in all. Maybe I should have started earlier, but I know if you carve them too early pumpkins can start rotting and we don't want that before the big night. So anyway, Wolfie chose the pumpkin and the design. I did most of the scooping after he got bored taking off the squeeshy bits and the seed, then the carving. What do you think? I hope it looks good tomorrow for trick or treat.

Les chauves-souris

Mon père a décoré le portico avec des chauves-souris, pour quand les enfants du quartier viendront passer l'Halloween. Ce n'est pas l'Halloween sans quelques chauves-souris.

The Werewolf and the Train

For today's countdow to Halloween, a post about our visit to the a "Scarecrow Festival",which is held in a nearby village. It is now a family tradition come Halloween. I don't know who had the idea, but one of the scarecrows on display had a spooky train and a werewolf next to it. With pumpkins in the surroundings. In the train, a dino(!) and the Grim Reaper. There's a horror story to be written about it, I`m sure. Either way, this looks so darn cool.

Première neige

 Il a neigé au Saguenay avant-hier. Mon père m'a envoyé cette photo.

A druid for scarecrow?

 We went to the annual Scarecrow Festival held in a nearby village recently. You know that I love scarecrows, especially round Halloween: they represent autumn, harvest and they do have a sinister side too. Read this post from 2009 to see what I mean. So they are fitting for Halloween and for horror stories. I was happily surprised that some of the scarecrows we saw were thus properly scary. This one in paritcular. I might get it wrong, but I believe it is supposed to be a druid, with the bottom of his white robe bloodied. It might be a direct allusion to a horror movie, but having not seen them all, I cannot be sure. Tell me in the comments. In any case, Halloween being at its origins a Pagan and Celtic holiday, it is all the more fitting.

L'Ankou

Cette image a été prise dans la Bible pour l'Halloween, enfin un bouquin qui est pour moi comme un livre sacré lorsque vient ce temps de l'année. J'ai nommé Halloween: Sorcières, lutins, fantômes et autres croquemitaines.. L'image est bien entendu celle de l'Ankou, le psychopompe breton qui mérite de faire partie des personnages de l'Halloween. J'aimerais bien le retrouver dans une histoire d'horreur ou deux également.

Rowan Trees (against the Forces of Darkness)

For today's countdown to Halloween post, I thought I would mention a weapon against supernatural forces that is seldom seen or used nowadays in horror stories. If at all. I am talking of course of the rowan tree. This one on the picture (dating back from 2009) is of the family's rowan tree. I mentioned it before, here and here. Because in mythology and folklore, rowan trees are meant to provide protection against malevolent beings, particularly against witches. So I could easily see rowan trees used to protect homes against witches, devils and ghosts and its branches, leaves and fruits be essential elements of protective magic. Maybe also turn the branches into blunt weapons. To top it off, with its fiery colours in autumn, rowan trees add great seasonal atmosphere for Halloween stories. So they should be featured in horror fiction. I guess I might have to be the one reintroducing them.

Feu de foyer

 Mon père a allumé un feu de foyer le jour de sa fête. Ah, les joies de l'automne qui me manquent ici!

A thought on Dracula

 For today's countdown to Halloween post, a thought about J.H. Brennan's gamebook Dracula's Castle, the original novel Dracula, and of course the Dracula Game. I think one of the appeals of the novel and what makes it stand apart to this day from other horror stories and make its title character such a terrifying antagonist is that he is not merely a monster in the shadow, but a bona fide conqueror. Because Count Dracula's scheme is to actually invade the British Empire and then the world. He has ambitions. That's what makes him such a great villain and such great antagonist for a make belief or role-playing games. This is what so many adaptations miss, because of limited budgets or because they simply don't get the character. Dracula wants to invade, subdue, conquer, dominate human civilisation. When he is in a story, the stakes should be high.

Danse macabre à l'orgue

C'est une tradition sur ce blogue: je partage une vidéo de la Danse Macabre de Camille Saint-Saëns quand l'Halloween approche. Assez récente et jouée à l'orgue. L'orgue étant peut-être l'instrument de musique officieux de l'Halloween, plus que le violon.

Monstrum on slasher movies

Quick countdown to Halloween post as I really wanted to blog about it: Monstrum made a video recently about slashers. It is very good and I had to share it. To be honest, I only ever truly love one slasher movie. While I love horror, I prefer old Gothic stories with ghosts and vampires, but I digress. All the same, as always, it's fascinating.

Les loups-garous de Thiercelieux en film

Petite nouvelle ciné française et d'horreur: j'ai appris il y a quelques semaines que le jeu de société Les loups-garous de Thiercelieux a été adapté en film et qu'il est disponible sur Netflix. Je compte le regarder d'ici à l'Halloween. Mais il faudrait vraiment que je m'achète le jeu et que j'y joue un peu. Il est disponible ici, alors je n'ai aucune excuse.

The old man fighting the Forces of Darkness

For today's countdown to Halloween post, I wanted to talk not about the monsters and devils of horror stories, but about the heroes fighting them. I took this picture from Where the Shadows Stalk of the Forbidden Gateway  gamebook series. This is Professor Charles Petrie-Smith, one of these heroes. In the gamebooks, he is the one asking your character for help when the story starts and he is a provider of vital information regarding the mysteries and dangers you must face. He is, in essence, the Van Helsing character of the series. He has many equivalent in other stories: Baron Vordenburg, Dr Samuel Loomis, the Persian, etc. Sadly, you don't see them much anymore in modern horror stories, in films or in literature. And I think it's a loss. Our fictitious world needs more Petrie-Smiths, especially when there is someone or something hiding in the shadows.

L'Halloween à Chicoutimi

Autre photo prise par mon père lors d'une de ses promenades. Les cours deviennent vite des cimetières quand vient l'Halloween.

Reese's Pumpkins

 It's a staple of the season: Reese's chocolates. Especially the ones shaped like pumpkins. I see them from time to time in the local sweet shop, but come October, they are everywhere. They are among the earliest sign of the season. I don't see Reese's given for trick or treat anymore, probably because of peanut allergies. As a child, I don't think I ever ate them except during Halloween, after trick or treat. Now, as an adult, I always buy some when I see them. I share them with Wolfie of course. Hey, it's not so bad: the peanut butteris full of proteins.

La citrouille de (grand-)papa

Mon père a creusé sa citrouille. Il m'a envoyé des photos. J'en partage une ce soir. À un peu moins d'une semaine de l'Halloween, j'espère que ce n'est pas torp tôt. Mais mon talent pour les citrouilles, je le dois à mon père.

October Pumpkin Patch

 As you probably remember, I am currently reading October Screams. So far it's a great read. And something struck me recently: the back cover of the book is just as good, maybe even better, than the front cover. You can see a field of pumpkins, or rather of fully lit Jack O'Lanterns, and a spooky looking scarecrow in the background. Scarecrows truly are a staple of Halloween, especially if they have a Jack O'Lantern as a head. Which I am sure is the case there. And I had to share it here.

Les fantômes et les araignées

 Autre photo prise par mon père lors de ses promenades. Avec l'éclairage orange, c'est sans doute plus effrayant encore.

The Weird Sisters

I am sharing another picture taken by my father during one of his walks. This time, it is three witches, who of course reminded me of the Weird Sisters in the Scottish Play. By the way, it's a great play to watch come Halloween.

L'Halloween à Chicoutimi

 Photo prise par mon père lors d'une de ses promenades. C'est tout pour le moment.

Beware the Witch

My father went on a walk recently and he took a few pictures of some lawns decorated for Halloween. This photo is maybe my favourite. I just love that witch! She is so deliciously scary.

L'automne au Saguenay

 Des fois mon père m'envoie des photos de l'automne à Chicoutimi...

Werewolf Mask

For today's countdown to Halloween post, another post about werewolves. I did some rambling about them in 2018, so I might repeat myself here, sorry if that is the case. Anyway, I saw this werewolf maks (for half the face) in the local toy shop and it kind of inspired me. As an amateur of traditional, classic horror stories and trope, I am surprised that I read fairly little werewolf fiction. Most of the time, I stumbled upon werewolf stories. I will try to find more, partially because I love wolves in general, but also because I might try my hands on a horror story or two featuring lycanthropes. I would like to use elements that we don't see anymore, like people becoming a werewolf through something else than infection after being attacked by one. Although I don't know how to proceed from there. But hey, I think we need more werewolves in spooky stories. Don't you? Let me know in the comments.

Champ de citrouilles

 Nous sommes allés dans une ferme pour enfants locale en fin de semaine. Comme à chaque année, ils ont un "pumpkin patch", ou un (faux) champ de citrouilles où on peut se servir. C'est une activité que l'on fait quand vient le temps de l'Halloween. Elles ne sont pas toutes belles, certaines citrouilles sont ou bien abîmées ou bien un tantinet mangées par les limaces, mais on peut en trouver quelques potables. Et puis c'est pour le plaisir de participer, un peu, aux récoltes. Petit loup adore. On en donne une gratuite par enfants et si on a des abonnements on a un rabais en plus. Alors ça demeure pas trop cher comme activité.

Scarecow Jack

I saw this Jack O'Lantern on the window of a local business. It was fairly small and well hidden, but I have an eye for it. I love it, it is all shadowy and it is also a scarecrow. The mix of Jack O'Lantern and scarecrow always work, IMO. A perfect image of the season and the Season. It is autumnal, it is Halloweeny and it also represents harvest. Oh and by the way, the Scarecrow Festival will start soon, so you will see more of these critters.

Soupe à la citrouille

J'ai acheté de la soupe à la citrouille à Laurent il y a quelques jours. Parce que c'est l'Halloween et donc le temps de la citrouille, parce que c'est l'automne et donc le temps de la soupe. Je ne l'ai pas encore mangée, si elle est bonne j'en achèterai d'autres. Je ne mange pas de soupe assez souvent, ce qui est étrange parce que j'en suis assez friand, surtout quand arrive l'automne, surtout pour la soupe à la citrouille. Je n'en fais pas, au lieu de ça j'en achète quand j'en trouve dans les commerces qui ont l'air d'avoir de l'allure. J'avais une coloc, dans mon année à Liverpool, qui avait fait une grosse batch de soupe à la citrouille juste après l'Halloween, ça m'avait sustenté pendant des semaines.

Gibbet Hill (a "new" ghost story by Bram Stoker)

For today's countdown to Halloween, some great news for the amateurs of gothic horror, like myself. Especially those, again, like myself, who are fans of of Dracula. My wife pointed me to this article: they found a long lost ghost story by Bram Stoker, after 134 years. It is titled Gibbet Hill and I hope to find a full copy online soon. Until then, I don't want to read too much about it. Stoker had written just when he had started working on his most famous novel, so that ought to be interesting not only as a bona fide horror story, but on a genetic perspective: there might be some tropes or themes common to both short story and novel. Or not. Either way, what a timely discovery, just before Halloween.

Tourtière

 Mes parents ont fait une tourtière la semaine dernière, pour mon frère, sa femme et ses deux garçons. Il faut bien leur fairedécouvrir leurs racines saguenéennes. Je n'avais pas la photo, mais mon père me l'a envoyée pour que je la partage. Parce que chaque repas de tourtière, bien entendu, est une excuse pour partager la photo, puisque je ne peux pas la savourer. En plus, c'est pas mal le temps idéal pour manger de la tourtière.

Dracula's Daughter

For today's countdown to Halloween I come back again to J.H. Brennan's gamebook Dracula's Castle. The book that was the basis for the Dracula Game of my childhood. I was obsessed about Count Dracula before I got my hands on the gamebook, but it certainly helped me develop my fascination for classic horror and it allowed me to explore it while I was still not allowed to read the original text. I am sharing two images from it. The first one is of a beautiful maiden whom you meet in the castle when you play Jonathan Harker. She is afraid of you and you think she might be an innocent victim lost in that dreadful place...

...until she turns out to be a vampire. Well of course. And not just any vampire, as you have guessed reading this post's title. When you explain to her that you came here to slay Dracula, she answers: "You want to kill Daddy?" I could have guessed right away, but apparently Harker could not. It makes for a nice bit of dramatic ironu. Anyway, I half expexted to see this unnamed daughter of Dracula when I read the novel about a year later. But she was nowhere to be found. Nevertheless, I was not disappointed. The source material is better in every way and the female vampires invented by Stoker are far more terrifying. be that as it may, this was my very first lady nosferatu, depicted both as lovable and fiendish, which is pretty much how they are traditionally depicted. And since I love the pictures, I thought I would share them here.

Les Nuits de l'Épouvante et Lovecraft

 Lors de mon retour au Québec, j'ai eu le plaisir de me retaper Les Nuits de l'Épouvante pour la première fois depuis au moins trente ans. Mon frère PJ me l'avait laissé à l'appart. J'ai été heureusement surpris de découvrir des éléments lovecraftiens explicites. Ici, Sir Leo, le héros (britannique, bien entendu) de certaines des histoires consulte le Necronomicon. Ah oui, et jolie ambiance, avec le bras reptilien que l'on voit à droite, juste parce que. Je regrette ne pas avoir pris plus de photos pour le blogue. Durant l'Halloween, c'est la bédé parfaite.

Spiced Pumpkin Pie Tea

 My Halloween would not be compelte without tea, which is my go-to non-alcoholic drink for the season. Of course, it has to be pumpkin flavoured tea. I drink the Spiced Pumpkin Pie Tea from Bird & Blend. There are others, but this is my favourite so far, at least on this side of the Atlantic. It's smooth, tasty, just spicy enough. I buy the 300g pouch, which should be enough to last the whole month of October and, if I am lucky, a little bit after. I think next time I will buy more, so I won't have to ration.

Chocolats de l'Halloween chez Première Moisson

 Nouvelle bouffe trouvée sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson: ils font aussi des chocolats de l'Halloween. Ils sont trop beaux pour être mangés.

Halloween Choco-Lollies

I bought these recently at Lidl. They have a great section of sweets and food for Halloween. Not so much because of the taste of the food, but because of the wrapping and packaging. They have scarecrow Jack O'Lanterns as their sort of mascots and I love it. It's just spooky enough, it's atmospheric and not gory at all. I bought some stuff for trick or treat, but these I might keep for the faily. I would keep the wrapping if I could.

L'Halloween en vitrine

 Photo prise avant-hier dans la vitrine d'un restaurant vietnamien local. J'aime quand les commerces sont de la fête.

In a Glass Darkly

For today's countdown to Halloween's reading suggestion: In A Glass Darkly by Sheridan Le Fanu. It contains a few short stories and novella, all but one are horror stories. It also has its most famous work, Carmilla. Aka that story with a lesbian vampire, which I blogged about recently. A story now in the shadow of a far more famous vampire. While I prefer Dracula as a novel and a vampire story, Le Fanu's creation stands on her own and so does his writing, which has never been surpassed or erased by Bram Stoker, who in the end was a one hit wonder. Carmilla is a deliciously creepy tale of infatuation in an exotic setting, with just enough blood and violence, but the other stories should not be neglected. Green Tea is maybe my favourite, where a clergyman is haunted by a demonic monkey, which may be an hallucination caused by an excessive drinking of green tea. I'm not making it up. It's classic Gothic horror at its best.

Gâteau Faumage à la citrouille

 J'ai pris cette photo sur la page Facebook d'Aux Vivres e resto vegan que ma femme adore(et moi aussi), et qu'on n'a pas visité lors de notre dernier séjour. Mais je digresse. Je disais donc, ils font un gâteau au fromage sans fromage, donc au faumage, et à la citrouille. C'est très Halloween et j'aimerais essayer, parce que de tout leur menu, je préfère leur dessert.

Spooky Jack

 My wife bought me this door sign on the cheap a few days ago. She knows me so well: I love this. We might use it on the door during trick or treat, but until then it is on my desk. I love, love, love this Jack O'Lantern. Everything about him is so perfect: the wicked smile, the bats in the background, the witches (warlock?) hat, the mix of ochre and black. I might use it as a model for one of the pumpkins wewill carv, as I think it is perfectly scary. We are now in the middle of October. Time goes way too fast.

Citrouille gonflée

 Photo prise par mon père. Vous avez déjà vu la citrouille ici. C'est une photo que je partage aujourd'hui pour maquer le milieu d'octobre, qui est idyllique ici.

A Warning to the Curious

Okay, here is another post for the countdown to Halloween, just because something struck me: I don't blog about and read enough of M.R. James these days. A few years ago, he was synonymous with Halloween: I had to read at least one of his ghost stories in the weeks leading to Halloween. Sometimes months: I discovered him during a dark and stormy night of May in Liverpool. But I digress. Anyway, if I may suggest some classic terror for you tonight, try A Warning to the Curious. There is no gore, no monster jumping out of the shadow, but a solid, subtle, "corner of the eye" type of ghost story, where tension and fear are slowly and meticulously built. It's absolutely terrifying. There is a BBC adaptation available on YouTube, but the original is still the best. You can read it here, among other places online. I don't want to give anything away, but in a nutshell this is an archeologist's worst nightmare, especially if he happens to be a medievalist.

Chanson hommage à l'Action de grâce

Je sais que je l'ai déjà bloguée par le passé, mais cette chanson est un classique instantané et il faut bien souligner l'Action de grâce. Je me rappelle l'avoir vue et entendue et grande première, dans ma vingtaine, ça ne rajeunit personne.

October Screams

 Okay, first a disclaimer for today's countdown to Halloween post: this is not really a reading suggestions. Because October Screams is the Halloween book I am reading at the moment. More and more, for my seasonal spooky reads, I forego "traditional" or classic horror stories for the month of October to focus on Halloween themed books, either novels or anthologies. The classics, old and new, I read them in September, August, July even. Sometimes as early as April, to be honest. But yeah, I have now a pretty nice collection of Halloween books, enough so I have started recognising names contributing to these anthologies. So many books to read, so little time left. I hope I can finish it before the 31st, so I can revisit my other Halloween books. The more you read, the more you find yet to discover. So yeah, I am binge reading horror stories.

Une tourtière pour l'Action de grâce

 J'ai déjà partagé cette photo en 2020. Parce que c'est l'Action de Grâce au Canada aujourd'hui. Comme c'était le cas en 2020, et pas mal à chaque année, mes parents ont fait une tourtière. Je n'ai pas encore la photo au moment où j'écris ces lignes, alors j'ai décidé de repartager la même photo, surtout que ça fait un bail que je n'ai pas blogué sur notre met régional.

The Howling II

 For today's countdown to Halloween reading suggestion, The Howling II. By Gary Grandner. Not the novelization to the sequel to the first film, but the sequel to the original novel that inspired the rather uneven and lacklustre film franchise. The Howling II might have well been titled Karyn Can't Get a Break. Because the heroine/damsel in distress of the first novel, after surviving the horrors of Draco, a village full of werewolves, after being through the trauma of witnessing her then husband turn into a werewolf AND cheat on her has, well, to survive more ordeals. She's now remarried to a widower, she's a stepmother and she's undergoing therapy. Because, you know, the events of the previous book. But it turns out some lycanthropes survived the fire that destroyed Draco. Her (ex)husband Roy, for one, and his new partner, Marcia, who has been wounded by a silver bullet in the head, but not killed, for some reason (Brandner tend to retcon things). Marcia, now turning into a she-wolf/human hybrid every night, is pretty unhappy about it, and she's planning revenge on Karyn. So yeah, it's not very good. The Howling was a flawed, but enjoyable horror story, with plenty of atmosphere and a great setting. Its sequel is more flawed and less enjoyable. Gone is the claustrophobia, the remote environment, all the little details that made the first book work in spite of its flaws. But this one nevertheless has its moments, and remains better than the sequels of the movie franchise. In any case, this is a reading suggestion, not a reading reocmmendation. And we always need some werewoves for Halloween, right?

Vitrine automnale

 Hier, nous sommes allés acheter des souliers à petit loup. La vitrine du magasin de chaussures était vraiment jolie et automnale, alors je l'ai prise en photo.

About Carmilla

 This is, I think, the version of Carmilla I borrowed from the local library, back in 1990. I said "I think", because the cover was completely repaired and its image covered. All I had in my hands was a red book with the title on. And it had other stories by Le Fanu: Green Tea and The Familiar, maybe more. I read Carmilla first, then Green Tea, but gave back the book before I could read the other(s). Anyway, I blogged before about my first experience of reading Carmilla, but I wanted to mention something that I have been reminiscing about recently concerning the world's second most famous vampire.The horror in it is very restrained, slow and gradual, as the antagonist is first depicted as a beautiful, sweet and pleasant woman, even an innocent one. A bit of an ingenue, in fact. This cover shows it perfectly: the title character is walking in broad daylight, in charming woodlands. Yet there is something unsettling about this image. Terror comes from a place of beauty. Anyway, tell me what you think in the comments. I should come back to the work of Sheridan Le Fanu in future posts.

La citrouille et le vaisseau fantôme

J'ai blogué sur le sujet lundi dernier, je partage une photo à nouveau: un vausseau pirate fantôme et une gigantesque citrouille. Rien que parce que.

Demonic Hand

 For today's countdown to Halloween post, I thought I would write about an horror trope. I found this picture from used  J.H. Brennan's gamebook Dracula's Castle . It shows an Evil Hand. When you play Dracula, it attacks you and, if you win, it submits to you and becomes your ally, or rather a kind of macabre, supernatural, sentient gadget. I always loved the image. This hand made such impression on me that it made its way into the Dracula Game. It tried to strangle and claws many of our vampire hunters. there is just something about a limb with a mind of its own, bend down on committing murder and create terror. But this post is mostly an excuse to share this striking image.

Le solarium

Mes parents ont fait refaire l'extérieur du solarium. Je le trouve un peu austère, sans les plantes grimpantes autour. J'ai toujours aimé notre solarium, lire ce billet de 2013 pour un peu plus de détails.

Horror on the Orient Express

Decades ago, I used to be a game master for  Call of Cthulhu,the role playing game based on the work of H.P. Lovecraft. Sadly never round Halloween time. It's a shame: it would have been perfect for the season, one more way to enjoy its spooky aspects. I always try to put a bit of Lovecraft flavouring on my Halloween. Anyway, there is one module I have always wanted to try: Horror on the Orient Express. I love trains any time of year and it's no different round Halloween. I blogged very often (and recently) how much they suit the horror genre, having modernity and technology clash with the supernatural. A classic train like the Orient Express is just the perfect horror setting, with the comfort and the cosy atmosphere disturbed by paranormal dangers. Apparently, it's an excellent game, although a highly risky one for the characters. But then again, I would expect no less. Anyway, I hope I can get my hands on it one day and find a few players. For those who enjoyed it, please leave a comment.