Spy Thriller for Noirvember

We are in the heart of Noirvember, so I am checking for potential future reads. And I don't have to stick with crime fiction: once I am done with my current read, I have a few spy novels on my TBR list. One of them is Jack Beaumont's The Frenchman. I know nothing about it, except that the hero works for the DGSE, the French secret service. And I thought it would be a nice to have a thriller where the protagonist isn't from the CIA or MI6, or a mix thereof. And apparently, it's part of a series. If anyone among you read it, or indeed anything from Beaumont, please let me know.

Le brouillard la nuit

Photo prise il y a une semaine, plus ou moins. Je voulais la partager. La photo ne rend pas justice à la scène, mais ça vous donne une idée du brouillard qui était tombé, c'était magnifique. Nous avons eu beaucoup de brouillard ces derniers temps, comme si la nature voulait se donner une élégance sinistre. J'adore le brouillard, même si ce n'est pas toujours pratique quand on veut se rendre du point A au point B. Mais ça donne vraiment une atmosphère unique à l'environnement.

Third Friday the 13th

Are you superstitious? I hope not, because today is of course Friday the 13th. Not only that, but it's the third Friday the 13th in the year. It could be worse, I guess. Actually, no it can't. There's no way it could be the thirteenth Friday the 13th of the year, or even the twelfth Friday the 13th of the year. And there are no thirteen months in the year. But I'm rambling. If you are suffering  from triskaidekaphobia and/or paraskevidekatriaphobia, this Friday is the worst and 2026 a terrible year. If it is any consolation to you, this Friday the 13th is also the very last one of the year. As for myself, I am not superstitious, but I have ambivalent feelings about Fridays, for various reasons. For my take on Friday the 13th, you can read this Doomsday Memory. Anyway, how are you feeling about today?

Les colchiques

Je partage la troisième et dernière photo envoyée par mon père des colchiques. Des fleurs d'automne, parce que c'est encore l'automne.

Posh Strudel

I took this picture during last year's holiday in Vienna. You can recognise a strudel, one of their national desserts, which we developed a taste for during our stay. A very fancy, very posh, very indulgent (and a tad overpriced) apple strudel. We had it one evening in lieu of supper, one each. I regret nothing, even though it was pricey. Like I said, we had a few strudels in Austria, this one was by far the very best.

Passagère clandestine

Avant-hier, lorsque nous avons reconduit petit loup à l'école, nous avons remarqué qu'il y avait une bête sur la porte de la voiture: cette araignée. Ma femme a une peur phobique des araignées, alors elle m'a demandé de l'enlever prestement, ce que j'ai fait, en utilisant une feuille. J'ai quand même pris le temps de la prendre en photo. Quand même, je suis heureux d'une chose, il semble que Wolfie ne soit plus tant arachnophobe qu'il l'était il y a quelques années. Il était plus curieux qu'effrayé de  cette araignée, qui est quand même plus petite, plus jolie et donc moins effrayante que les grosse bête velues que l'on retrouve parfois (trop souvent au goût de ma femme) dans la maison. Mais enfin bref, nous avons donc eu une passagère clandestine pour la durée du trajet de quelques minutes pour aller à l'école.

Poppies on the Bench

Today is Remembrance Day. I try to commemorate it on the blog every year. This year, I wanted to share a picture of a bench covered with poppies taken in the picturesque town of Marlow. I don't know for you, but I find it absolutely lovely.

Le brouillard

S'il y a une chose que j'aime vraiment ces temps-ci, c'est la température. Je ne plaisante pas: je préfère le temps froid à ce qu'on a l'été. Et ces derniers jours, nous avons eu droit à plusieurs journées de brouillard. J'ai pris cette photo lundi dernier, juste après avoir déposé petit loup à l'école, mais le brouillard était déjà là le dimanche d'avant, puis avant le vendredi soir. Nous avons été gâtés.

Death in the Tunnel (Noirvember?)

Since it is Noirvember, I was looking for crime books that would fit the event. And I remembered that I read ten years ago a whodunit set during November, which would be fitting enough in some way, but that I cannot recommend. So ten years ago, as Wolfie was a few months old and I was struggling to keep him asleep at night and stay awake during the day, I tried to read something unchallenging to get me through November. I didn't know about Noirvember then. So I bought and read Death in the Tunnel, a classic whodunit written by Cecil Street under the pseudonym of Miles Burton. Because I love trains, I tend to look favourably on thrillers and crime stories set in trains, I thought it would be a fun read. Big mistake. Why is this a classic is beyond me: the murder plot is ridiculously convoluted and the characters are all bland. To this day, I barely remember anything about it. But yeah, I mean the story is set in the month of November, so it is fitting for Noirvember in that way, otherwise I'd avoid it.

La fin du Café Croissant

 Voici une triste nouvelle qu'une amie m'a annoncée fin octobre. Je voulais bloguer sur le sujet, mais avec l'Halloween, c'est pas arrivé, Enfin bref, le Café Croissant va fermer ses portes au dernier jour de décembre. Vous trouverez plus de détails sur le site de Rad Can. Ils disent que le café ferme ses portes après 40 ans, mais je crois que c'est un peu plus que ça. Je suis triste, mais pas particulièrement surpris: si vous regardez leurs menus sur leur page Facebook, il était figé dans le temps, les années 80 et 90, ses belles années. Ce qui plaisait à à l'époque à une clientèle un peu bobo, souvent estudiantine, ou intellectuelle, peut-être encore plus souvent artistique, ben ça paraît vraiment plus désuet. Le Cambio a sans doute tout raflé. En fait, ça m'étonne que la Café Croissant a survécu aussi longtemps, dans l'état où il était, avec le menu qu'il présentait. Enfant, je le trouvais presque raffiné, il avait quelque chose d'européen à mes yeux. C'est dire comment les temps ont changé.

Rome, City of Espionage

I thought I would blog another entry in my City of Espionage series which I started earlier this year. And I thought of a city that is ancient, central to many, many, many dramatic stories, real or fictitious, but seldom seen in spy thrillers, as far as I know. I'm speaking of course of Rome. Ironic, since it used to be the centre of the world, the capital of the world in fact, at least the Western world. Ancient Rome had its informal spy network(s). Modern Rome, capital city of Italy, its largest city too, where state, must be, I'd imagine, an important focal point of espionage. I only remember seeing the city featured in Spectre. Tell me if other spy films, TV series or books have Rome as their setting. I guess we associate Italy with organised crime nowadays, not secret agents. Nevertheless, I think Rome deserves to be recognised as a modern City of Espionage.

Les vêtements Ciné-Cadeau

Je suis peut-être un peu tôt pour parler de Noël, enfin selon mes propres standards, mais je voulais parler de cette nouvelle. Donc, j'ai appris via la page Facebook Souvenirs de Ciné-Cadeau que la compagnie de vêtements Ouate de Phoque vend maintenant une collection Ciné-Cadeau. En attendant l'horaire de la cuvée 2026 (pas encore sortie au moment où j'écris ces lignes), vous pouvez vous procurer les vêtements de la collection ici.

Free Poppy Wreath

It is Remembrance Sunday today, so as it is November we are wearing poppies in this household. My wife loves poppies: she has them on mugs, on ornaments, on clothes, on everything. We wear them all November really. Not the paper ones, which I can never keep on me, but the ones we can clip on clothes. And we recently saw on a front garden a few poppy wreaths, given for free to people passing by. We took one. It's lovely.

Jouer aux Bouquinistes

Voici une autre nouvelle apprise sur la page Facebook des Bouquinistes: ils vont organiser une soirée jeux de rôles intitulée "Mousquetaire de l'ombre" lundi le 16 novembre à partir de 17h30. Tout le monde est bienvenue, même les novices, selon ce que je sais, c'est pour 18 ans et plus et pour quatre à cinq joueurs. Vous trouverez les détails sur leur page Facebook. Jouer un JDR dans une librairie, c'est pas mal idyllique.

South African Noirvember

During one of my latest visits to the small town of  Wallingford, I was happily surprised to see that they were selling Deon Meyer's crime novel Leo in the local bookshop. Now, I already had (and read) the novel, so I did not buy it, but I recommend anyone who loves crime fiction to read it, or indeed any of Meyer's books. I read Leo during Noirvember 2024. South Africa may have far hotter November months than in the Northern hemisphere, it's nevertheless a perfect setting for a gritty crime thriller.

Fleurs d'automne

J'ai blogué lundi dernier sur la colchique, une fleur que je ne connaissais pas. Je partage à nouveau une des photos envoyées par mon père, parce que ce sont des fleurs d'automne.

Derek Strange's Wisdom

As you know, I have been reading The Blue Flame by George Pelecanos for Noirvember. So far, so great. I have been happy to renew with his protagonist, PI Derek Strange, who is now older and even wiser than he used to be. An old man, but he still has a sharp mind. One passage in particular struck me about his keen sense of character, and I wanted to share it here: So here it goes: "But Lennox had inadvertently told Strange something about himself. Anyone who read a newspaper, didn't have to be the New York Times, shoot, anyone who read anything these days, even a bad airport novel, was smarter than the average American." Nice observation, and nice subtle bit of meta too.

Bingo Bouquin

Petite nouvelle apprise sur la page Facebook des Bouquinistes: ils organisent un "Bingo Bouquin." Qu'est-ce que ça mange en hiver? C'est simple: vous demandez votre carte de bingo à la librairie, vous participez aux activités sur les cases, vous faites poinçonner la carte par un des libraires, puis vous la donnez à la fin de l'année pour un tirage final. Grosso modo. J'aimerais pouvoir y participer, juste parce que j'aime les activités ludiques et littéraires.

Bonfire Night

 "Remember, remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot."

So today (tonight, rather) is Bonfire Night. I always mention it on the blog. This year, to mark the date, I am sharing a picture from the Ladybird childhood classic Stories of Special Days and Customs. I found it a few weeks ago in a charity shop, and I regret nothing. It's a very dramatic image of the historical origins of the night, the (in)famous Gunpowder Plot. Otherwise, if you live in the UK, tell me if you celebrate.

Feu de foyer au sous-sol

Mon père m'a envoyé une photo d'un feu de foyer, qu'il a fait dans le foyer du sous-sol. Ce qui est rare. Je me demande ce qu'il y a de mieux qu'un feu de foyer en automne. À part, peut-être, un feu de foyer en hiver. Mais je crois qu'en automne, c'est encore mieux.

The Night Agent Will Return

A bit of news for those who love spy thrillers. In recent years, I have increased my consumption of this particular genre, as you can witness if you have been reading this blog. Anyway, as you may know, I really enjoyed the Netflix series The Night Agent, based on a novel by Matthew Quirk, which I haven't read yet (but I have promised to get my hands on it). Anyway, while the TV series is far from perfect, it's still solid entertainment and it is quite suspenseful. And I'm a sucker for a good spy thriller, even when it gets a bit cliché at times. So I learned that the fourth and last season is in preparation, filming has started and will be released at some point in 2027. Something to look forward to next year.

Le s'quatre novembre au soir!

Bon, on n'est pas le soir, mais nous sommes le quatre novembre, donc, il faut se rappeler, que... Vous connaissez le reste. Petite page d'humour et classique instantané.

What to Love in November

If you read old posts from this blog, I mean really old ones, like dating back to 2008 or 2010, you might be surprised to see that I did not like November one bit back then. Or at least I stated that I did not like the month. Too close after Halloween, to far away still from Christmas. Maybe it's maturity kicking in, maybe it's because I worked a lot on it, but I now love the month. Sure, I still have the blues early on, but even I learned to appreciate it. Anyway, here's a list of what to love in November:

• It's still autumn, and it might be the most autumnal month.
• November tends to be quieter than any other month of the year. It's time to slow down, to appreciate things more. It's the month of comfort.
• The smell of bonfire here. I'm not too keen on fireworks, but there's just something about bonfire in autumn, and the smell is everywhere this time of year.
• It's also Noirvember. Time to watch and read a lot of crime fiction. 
•  Even boredom and melancholy has its use. I tend to be melancholic all year round, but in November, it's a comfortable feeling.

Anyway, that's my list. Do you enjoy November? If so, why? 

Attendre la "première" première neige

Photo prise par mon père en... octobre. Parce que, bien entendu, il a déjà neigé au Saguenay. Mais je crois comprendre que la neige n'a pas duré. Alors j'attends avec impatience, ici comme de l'autre côté de l'Atlantique, lordque tombera notre "première" première neige, celle qui restera pour indiquer le passage de l'automne à l'hiver. Ici, ça ne risque pas d'arriver tout de suite, peut-être même que l'on n'en aura aucune. Mais au Québec, j'espère qu'elle arrivera plus tôt que tard.

The Blue Flame (#Noirvember)

One of the reasons why I manage to finally love November, a month I used to dread, is thanks to #Noirvember. It has its own Wikipedia entry now. If October is the month of horror, November is for me the month of crime fiction, whether it is in movies, TV series or books. And I am starting this literary November with The Blue Flame by George Pelecanos. It marks the return of his PI Derek Strange. About time. I think it should deliver: Pelecanos can be quite dark at times, although his characters have a warmth and humanity that you don't always see in crime fiction. Anyway, I encourage you to embrace #Noirvember. If you have any reading or viewing suggestions, let me know in the comments. I will of course blog more about it.

Colchique/Colchicine

Il y a quelques semaines, mon père m'a envoyé des photos de fleurs, avec pour sujet de courriel "colchicine". Je crois qu'il voulait dire colchique. C'est une fleur automnale et notre mot du jour.

Post. Halloween. Blues.

So we are the first of November, All Saints' Day, also known as the day after Halloween.The one day in autumn that always makes me sad. I used to dislike the month of November just because of this. Now I changed my tune, I made peace with it and you will see how and why in the coming days, if you are not familiar with my blog. Nevertheless, while I should get better, today is a day of melancholy, it is my post-Halloween blues. And it also falls on a Sunday. The good thing is that it's still the weekend, so I have plenty of free time to grieve the end of my favourite holiday. But it doesn't help my usual Sunday feeling. Anyway, stay tuned, watch this space, when I will get over my post-Halloween blues, I promise you will discover ways to appreciate November too.

"Tarowean" (la Toussaint)

 

"Je suis l'océan Pacifique et je suis le plus grand. On m'appelle ainsi depuis très longtemps, mais ce n'est pas vrai que je suis toujours pacifique. Je me fâche parfois, et alors je donne une raclée à tous et à tout. Aujourd'hui par exemple, je viens de me calmer mais hier, je dois avoir tout raflé sur trois ou quatre îles et autant de coquilles de noix que les hommes appellent bateaux... Celle-ci... Oui, celle que vous voyez ici, je ne sais pas comment elle a pu s'en sortir. C'est peut-être parce que le capitaine Raspoutine connaît son métier et que ses marins viennent des îles Fidji. Ou bien parce qu'ils ont fait un pacte avec le Diable. Mais cela n'a pas d'importance, aujourd'hui c'est "Tarowean", le jour des surprises, le jour de tous les Saints, le 1er novemvre 1913."

 C'est une tradition chaque Toussaint, je cite l'incipit de La ballade de la mer salée d'Hugo Pratt. Avec la première illustration, absolument magnifique. C'est aussi la première apparition de Corto Maltese. Si vous cherchez de la grande lecture pour aujourd'hui, vous ne pouvez pas vous tromper avec Hugo Pratt.

THE Jack O'Lantern

I didn't want Halloween to go without sharing the last Jack O'Lantern we carved, Wolfie and I. A very traditional design, with a grinning mouth which teeth look like flames. I love it. Happy Halloween again. I hope you are having a spooky one.

Tarte à la citrouille

 C'est le temps de la tarte à la citrouille: mon frère PJ en a fait une. Ma femme a fait de même récemment, mais je n'en ai pas eu le temps de la prendre en photo (la tarte, pas ma femme) avant qu'elle soit mangée (encore une fois, je parle de la tarte).

Happy Halloween 2026!

This is the witching hour, so happy Halloween 2026 everyone! I took this picture on Halloween 2024, when evening was falling, so these are not the Jack O'Lanterns for this year. I will try to blog more today, but I might be too busy preparing the big night and trick or treat. So let me say a few things now. To my fellow Cryptkeepers, I will try to visit your blog and webpages today and comment. To all, I hope you enjoy this Halloween. It comes way too quickly, but there is still one day, and one night, to go. Wolfie is very excited about it and we had lots of fun designing the Jack O'Lanterns and carving them. It has been for me one of the most exciting, horror and macabre filled, atmospheric countdown to Halloween I have lived. And I am so blessed to I have a son who fully embraced the spooky holiday.

Des fantômes et des citrouilles

Bon, nous sommes officiellement l'Halloween. Joyeuse Halloween à tous. Cette photo a été prise par mon père il y a quelques années. Je ne suis pas un fan des décorations gonflables en général, cela dit celle-ci avec les fantômes sortant en hurlant des citrouilles, c'est plutôt bien. En espérant que l'on va passer l'Halloween chez vous aujourd'hui, comme il se doit. Certains pensent que l'Halloween, on pouvait la faire hier. Non mais...

Goofy Jack

Wolfie and I have started carving the Jack O'Lanterns. He chooses most of the designs and he insisted that we made this one. To be honest, I prefer creepier pumpkins, proper ones with a spectral face and sinister smile. But Wolfie is the leading designer now, or rather the manager of the pumpkin carving business. And he is taking more and more initiatives: not only does he chooses the designs, but he does more and more carving, and actually insists on doing it. Anyway, so we have this Jack O'Lantern. What do you think?

"J'ai pris une citrouille..."

J'ai pris une citrouille,

J'en ai fait un lampion

Lampion couleur de rouille,

Le nez en tire-bouchon 

C'est le début d'un poème datant de ma troisième année, appris durant le temps de l'Halloween. Le reste, je ne m'en rappelle plus, sauf pour les derniers vers: "De gros yeux immobiles/et le sourire fade." J'ai quand même une bonne mémoire. Enfin bref, petit loup et moi avons commencé à creuser les citrouilles hier soir. Trois de terminées, il va nous en rester trois pour aujourd'hui, peut-être quatre. La quatrième est une citrouille si petite que l'on va peut-être seulement lui dessiner un visage. Enfin bref, on se débrouille pas mal.

Reese's for Halloween

It wouldn't be Halloween without Reese's. I love their peanut butter chocolates, but I always think they taste better this time of year. And every year, I get more and more desperate: I have a hard time finding their classic Jack O'Lantern edition. They used to be everywhere, in many supermarkets and in the local sweet shop as well. Now it's like they disappeared. Thankfully, like last year, I found a pack at the nearest Aldi. Which has some great range of Halloween food, by the way. Anyway, it also has bats and ghosts as well as the more classic Jack O`Lanterns. I have to share them with Wolfie of course, but not my wife, as she doesn't like peanut butter. And we don't give them away for trick or treat of course, because, you know, allergies.

La citrouille des grand-parents

Mon père a creusé sa citrouille il y a quelques jours et m'a envoyé une photo. Un superbe design, très classique. Il n'y a personne qui creuse des citrouilles comme mon père. À part moi, peut-être.

Sinister Servant

I took this picture in a small village pub, where they hold the Scarecrow Festival. It's a really bland looking place inside, but apparently they make a great Sunday roast and they are known to make great parties for Halloween and other holidays. I never managed to convince my wife and child to stop there for a drink. Last time, we bought snacks and went our merry way (on the Scarecrow Trail, but I digress). Well, I took a picture of this sinister man, who looks like he got right off a Gothic novel or a Hammer film. I was blogging recently about human servants of supernatural forces in horror stories, although in this case I don't think he is quite human. He could be a ghoul or a ghost. I saw him, or maybe one of his relatives, in a garden centre back in 2018. Both figures bear an uncanny resemblance. I strongly suspect he/it is a ghoul. When Wolfie was a toddler, he was terrified of this servant. I think he is still scared of him, hence his refusal to stay in the pub any longer than necessary, even though it's children friendly. I want to write a story about this sinister figure one day.

Où est passée la St-Ambroise à la citrouille?

Je me le demande: vous savez que McAuslan fait chaque année une bière à la citrouille. Au QUébec, c'est ma bière de l'automne et de l'Halloween, même si c'est loin d'être leur meilleure. Il y a quelques semaines, sur une de leurs stories de leur page Facebook, ils ont dit qu'elle était disponible. Mon frère PJ n'en trouve nulle part jusqu'ici. Pour tout vous dire, cette image date de 2019. Je m'inquiète un peu.

Horrifically Good Books

Time is running, Halloween is almost here and I haven't had the time to mention some really important news for amateurs of horror fiction like myself. Now I have always loved the city of  York, allegedly the most haunted city in England. Now I have another reason to love it and another reason to want to go back to it: I learned through social media that the bookshop Criminally Good Books now has a sister bookshop exclusively selling horror books, called... Horrifically Good Books. It also has a Facebook page. As far as I am aware, it's the first bookshop of its kind, at least in the UK. Now I must go back to York and visit the bookshop. For my English readers, if you ever visit it before me, please let me know about your experience. Whenever I go there, I promise I will behave... like a vampire in a blood bank.

L'Halloween le 30???

 Petite nouvelle dans la catégorie "décision de cabochon prise par des gens qui n'ont pas l'esprit à la fête": des villes au Québec devancent les célébrations de l'Halloween le 30 octobre. Le prétexte: heu...? Non, sérieusement, parce que le 30 c'est vendredi, on peut passer l'Halloween avec les tout-petits juste après l'école et donc pas besoin de les re-costumer le lendemain, c'est encore l'heure d'été donc fait plus clair le soir, bla, bla, bla. Vraiment, je suis tombé en bas de ma chaise en lisant la nouvelle. Parfois mes compatriotes me découragent. (Parenthèse anecdotique qui n'a peut être pas rapport: ils semblent me décourager plus souvent le 30 octobre. Honnêtement, on devrait faire du 30 octobre le Jour du Québec Décourageant.) Non mais sérieusement, les raisons avancées puent la frilosité et la petitesse. Comme si on voulait dans certains coins du Québec se débarrasser de l'Halloween le plus tôt possible, en faire le moins possible et puis pouvoir passer à autre chose au plus crisse. J'espère que Jack punira les gâcheurs de fête.

Pr. Henry Armitage (Hero Against the Forces of Darkness)

For today's countdown to Halloween post, I am blogging again about H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. Lovecraft peopled his universe of many, many evil entities and nasty critters, as well as barking madmen, but he also sometimes gave us a few heroes who actually fought the forces of darkness. One of them is Professor Henry Armitage, from Miskatonic University, Arkham. Both university and city are fictitious of course. The portrait you see here is from the fifth edition of the role-playing game Call of Cthulhu. Pr. Armitage is featured in The Dunwich Horror and he is a Van Helsing figure, an academic who figures out the presence of the supernatural and knows how to fight it. He is far more bland than Van Helsing (Lovecraft wasn't the best giving much character to his good guys), but he deserves a mention in this blog. Horror has plenty of villains, we must remember that the genre also has heroes.

Les Bouquinistes: concours de l'Halloween

Petite annonce concernant l'Halloween prise sur la page Facebook des Bouquinistes: la librairie organise un concours de déguisements. Il y a quelques détails sur l'image ici. Jolie image par ailleurs. Mais il y a plus de détails sur la page Facebook. Quoique tout ne soit pas très clair, je crois comprendre que les adultes comme les enfants peuvent participer. Les résultats seront connus le 31 octobre, alors si vous avez le temps de passer à la librairie le 30 et/ou le 31, n'hésitez pas.

Ghostly Pig-Headed Bride

 For today's countdown to Halloween post, a little known ghostly legend. As you may know, I have been reading on and off Halloween Folklore and Ghost Stories. The book tells a few long forgotten pieces of English folklore, that deserves to be rediscovered and maybe developed into bona fide horror stories. Among them, the sighting of the Pig-Headed Bride from the village of Pipe and Lyde. I tried to find more about her (it?) online, but found zilch so far. That's how obscure it is. And that is tragic. I don't know for you, but I find pigs featured in horror stories to be particularly scary. Not sure why. But there is just something about their face. Especially on top of a human body, like here. A pig-headed woman is scary enough, a pig-headed bride even more, but a pig-headed ghost? It's the stuff of nightmare, pure Unheimliche. So yes, I don't know if I can find out more about this abomination, but Pipe and Lyde is now on my list of eerie pilgrimage destinations.

Outardes sur La Baie

Ce n'est pas seulement mon père qui a pris des photos à La Baie récemment. Amy, ma cousine artiste-photographe aussi et a réussi, encore une fois, à prendre des outardes en vol. Les oies sont des oiseaux que j'associe beaucoup à l'automne, c'est encore plus le cas ici, avec les collines en arrière-plan.

Dracula's Hot Wheels

For today's countdown to Halloween post, I thought I would blog about Dracula again. By the way, it struck me recently that I never formally recommended the novel, even though it's by far my favourite horror novel. Î will need to sort it out one day. Anyway, I have seen on other blogs, from other Cryptkeepers, that Hot Wheels has a special range of vehicles for Halloween. And I was happily surprised to find the Dracula "Kool Kompi" in the local toy shop. At £9.99, it's a bit pricey for a small toy car, but I could not resist. I did not take it off the packaging, because I think the image of Count Dracula is way cooler than the car. It's kind of funny, to think that Bram Stoker wrote a horror novel, one of the scariest ever written, and its antagonist now sells toys.

Un bateau à La Baie

Autre photo prise par mon père d'un bateau de croisière à La Baie, en automne bien entendu, parce que quand je ne blogue pas sur l'Halloween, je blogue sur ma saison préférée. On voit beaucoup moins les couleurs mais quand même, c'est l'automne.

Ghosts In the Pub

For today's countdown to Halloween post, a British classic, inspired by the sight of a Halloween decoration. So I was walking down town a few days ago and I saw this ghost at a pub's entrance. Okay, so it's not a real ghost and the pub is most likely not haunted, but it was cool to see all the same. Maybe it was just a regular punter who had one drink too many ("Kids, that's what alcohol does to you!"). No, but more seriously, I always thought pubs were great settings for ghost stories. Obviously, they were the starting point of many of them, especially after a few pints. But ethylic hallucinations aside, the pub being the place of gathering of locals, as well as a place of discovery for visitors, full of dark corners and centuries old dramas, it's no wonder haunted pubs are still nowadays a source of attraction. I even been in a few. I hope one day to write a scary story set in a pub.

L'Halloween chez Première Moisson

Bon, je désespérais un peu, mais je suis enfin rassuré: l'Halloween est arrivé chez Première Moisson.C'est à dire qu'ils ont montré sur leur page Facebook cette photo de leurs créations de la saison. Il était à peu près temps. Je savais déjà qu'ils avaient leur propre version du latté à la citrouille épicée, mais quand même, c'est bien qu'ils aient des sucreries qui font dans le macabre et dans l'épouvante. Je crois que ma préférée, de sucreries, c'est le fantôme. Il est même trop beau pour être mangé. Et vous?

Care for a Danse Macabre?

 When Halloween season comes, it's time to enjoy a special kind of music and a special kind of party. So anyway, this time of year, I always share a rendition of the Danse macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns. I found this truncated animated version, found online. It is suitably sinister, but not devoir of humour, albeit of the darker kind.

Gâteau chocolat et menthe

 Inspiré par notre initiative le jour de son anniversaire, mon frère PJ a fait son propre gâteau au chocolat avec glaçage à la menthe. Il a ajouté des pépites de chocolat, pour faire plus décadent.

A Coven

For today's countdown to Halloween post, I wanted to blog about witches again. I love them both as Halloween characters/critters and as antagonists in horror stories. I think our horror stories need more witches. And what is scarier than a witch? A gathering of witches, aka a coven. During on eof his walks in the neighbourhood, my father took a picture of one of them. At least I think it was meant to represent a coven, albeit a small one. Maybe they are the Weird Sisters, but I think three is a crowd. I have written a few horror stories, most of them involving a witch, one day I want to write about a whole coven. In any case, I find this display both terrifying and inspiring. And you, what do you think of it?

Un arbre en automne

 Photo prise par mon frère PJ au Parc Lafontaine, lors d'une de ses promenades. Je la publie rien que pour le plaisir, parce que les couleurs sont plus vives qu'ici. Je suis un grand amateur de promenades automnales, beau temps mauvais temps. La dernière fois que j'ai marché dans le Parc Lafontaine en automne, c'était en 2015, c'est vous dire que ça me manque. Surtout que c'était plus tôt dans la saison et qu'il y avait donc moins de couleurs.

New Ghost In The House

For today's countdown to Halloween post, I wanted to show my readers a new decoration, which I bought last weekend at an artisan market. Cute isn't it? My wife thinks we have a lot of Halloween stuff already, but I regret nothing. I even think I will let this little ghost live permanently on the bookshelves, unlike most of the Halloween decorations I own. It's made of pottery and I wouldn't want it to break you know. No but seriously, I am always on the lookout to get our home haunted, so I gladly get my hands on more ghosts.

"Blast-À-Citrouille"

Mon frère PJ m'a envoyé cette photo d'une bière de saison du Prospecteur, une microbrasserie de l'Abitibi. Elle a pour nom Blast-À-Citrouille et c'est une bière de type belge (pas mes favorites) forte en alcool (pas certain non plus) et, ben, à saveur de citrouille et d'épices. Je trouve dans tous les cas que la bière a une belle couleur et qu'elle a vraiment une belle image sur sa cannette. Non mais on va se le dire: c'est beau en tab avec les citrouilles dessus. Dans les bonnes circonstances, bien automnales, disons une soirée froide d'octobre, ça doit assez bien se prendre. Et tu garde la cannette pour décorer.

Mummy (Terror at the British Museum)

For today's countdown to Halloween, an old horror classic. It's not Halloween without at least one mummy. This one comes from the gamebook Terrors Out of Time, one of my go-to book for interactive horror stories. But truly, the creature comes from the British Museum and has been animated by Baron Ausbach to cover his escape from the hero (hero played of course by the reader). The mummy here is little more than a glorified zombie, an undead doing its master's bidding. Nevertheless, it's always cool to have a mummy in a horror story, especially in a cool setting like the British Museum. Tactical advice if you ever play the book: use the knobkerrie against it, not the sword-stick. Otherwise, the blade might get stuck in it and you end up weaponless.

Sloshe (mot du jour)

 Il a neigé au Saguenay et à Chicoutimi, comme vous le savez si vous suivez ce blogue. En automne, c'est maintenant relativement rare, une première neige, mais ça arrive encore. Mon père m'a envoyé des photos, dont celle-ci. De la sloshe. Au Québec, on a deux mots pour la neige: neige et sloshe. Ou sloche. Ou slush. Enfin bref, sloshe est donc notre mot du jour.

"Ghosts And How to See Them"

Oh the treasures one can find in charity shops sometimes. For today's countdown to Halloween, I wanted to share one of these discoveries I made last weekend. Now a disclaimer: I am not a believer in the paranormal and I do not think ghosts exists. I wouldn't buy this kind of book new, because I have no intention of becoming a ghost hunter, a pointless activity for a skeptic if you'd ask me. That said, I love horror and ghost stories and I even try to write in the genre. As such, books like Ghosts And How to See Them can be an invaluable source of inspiration. This is why I bought it last Saturday, at £3.49, a bargain. Also, because I love the cover, worth the purchase in itself. It's eerie, it's atmospheric, it's absolutely perfect for Halloween.

L'Halloween macabre sur le Plateau

Mon frère PJ a pris cette photo sur le Plateau Mont-Royal. C'est l'Halloween tôt là-bas et ils ne font pas les choses à moitié. J'adore ces deux figures spectrales, avec la tête de citrouille sur l'une d'elle qui sourit de manière maiveillante. Et puis le haut de forme et l'habit noir, classique. Deux morts vivants démoniaques et macabres. Même de nos jours, laors que l'Halloween est de plus en plus populaire et fêtée en grand en Angleterre, on trouve rarement de pareilles décorations.

Trick or Treat Preparartion

I took this picture last year, after we had put out the Jack O'Lanterns late in the afternoon, for trick or treat. I love this time of the day on the 31st, when there are still daylights and everything is all about anticipation. I had "only" six pumpkins, not counting the electric lanterns in the window. You can see salt around them: I poured it to protect them from slugs and snails. I bought some more this year. I hope I will have more pumpkins this year, I really love carving them. But we have a bot of a logistics challenge: one parent must stay here for the children who will come, and the other must go with Wolfie. This year, we might switch: WOlfie will go with his mum for the nearby houses, then we will do another round with me. Halloween is on a Saturday this year, so we should have more time. I want to make the most of it: one day my son will have outgrown trick or treat.

Neiges en automne

Il a neigé sur Chicoutimi et ailleurs au Saguenay et au Québec. Mon père m'a envoyé des photos. C'est un peu tôt, même pour le Saguenay, mais à tout prendre je préfère un octobre froid qu'un octobre trop chaud. Je ne crois pas qu'on aura un Halloween blanc au Québec pour autant: la neige devrait avoir fondu d'ici là.