Augtober (You Are Here)

 I found this meme online and I thought I would share it. Because mentally, I'm here. It is not August, it is Augtober. Yes, it's not time to pick up pumpkins yet, but all the same, Halloween is on my mind: I am reading horror stories already and I am this close to decorate the house with autumnal stuff. It's far too hot, the worst summer we had in decades, nevertheless I am looking for signs of autumn. Anyway, that's me. And for you, is it Augtober too?

Summerween is a thing

A few days ago, while she was doing a grocery shop online, my wife saw some Halloween articles on sale: Jack O'Lantern cushions or something. It must be a manifestation of Summerween. Yes I know the term, which is our word of the day. Do I think it's too early to think about Halloween? No. Do I do Summerween? Well, yes and no. I don't really put any Halloween decorations out, but some of my autumnal ornaments remain on display all year round. And I do long for Halloween all year, so I make a countdown to the countdown. I start reading horror stories in summertime (albeit maybe not that early) and watch horror related stuff. It helps me cope with the heat and the long days. Be that as it may, I'm glad I'm not the only one to be in a spooky mood already.

Time to grow a pumpkin patch?

 I found this meme a few days ago in one of the Halloween pages I follow. Now is the time to grow pumpkins, apparently. I am not so sure I should: last time I did was catastrophic, the slugs ate them all, no matter what I tried to keep them away. It broke my heart, it really did, and crushed my hopes of becoming a half-decent gardener. That said, I love this meme because it reminds me I am not so far away from spooky season. I just need to be patient.

"First" sign of Halloween?

There is something I forgot to blog about last month: during an afternoon trip to a nearby town, I stopped at the WHSmith near the station (and yes, I am well aware that it has been rebranded, but I don't care, it's WH Smith for me). And what did I see, by the till? This. These things. Halloween stuff. In freaking February. Granted, it was most likely stock from last week. All the same, it reminds me of the Halloween to come and, although I try to enjoy the present time, I do like to think of my favourite holiday way in advance. It put me in a good mood.

Trick or treat 2025 (a report)

 This is my report on trick or treat tonight and probably my last post for Halloween 2025. It goes way too fast. We didn't many rings on our door, but apparently there was one giant group that took a lot, or so my wife told me.They were about a dozen of them, which I have never seen since we moved here  I think trick or treaters tend to swarm: when they see one going somewhere, they follow. . Especially when they see a good Halloween display. I was pretty proud of mine. I suspect there will be more and more in years to come. I will decorate accordingly, making our own displau bigger. Wolfie got a fairly decent bounty, but our little town sure isn't where I grew up, although there are a few Halloween lovers out there. There's been a few genuinely spooky houses. Now trick or treat is over, but there's still a few hours of horror movies and horror stories to keep myself entertained until tomorrow.

Une observation sur l'Halloween cette année

L'une des citrouilles que j'ai creusées cette année. Design suggéré par Wolfie. Nous avons passé l'Halloween très brièvement, ça a duré une heure environ. Beaucoup d'Halloweeneux, mais pas autant de maisons que l'an passé, célébraient, ou alors nous ne sommes pas allés assez loin. Mais je compte couvrir plus de terrain l'an prochain.

Happy Halloween 2025!

 It is midnight where I am, the witching hour, it is the 31st of October, it is Halloween. So happy Halloween everyone. We made Jack O'Lanterns, this one is the best, or at least my favourite. Wolfie and I worked hard on it, it was team work: he designed most of the jacks, I did the carving. And later it will be trick or treat. I will try to blog again until the end of the day and evening. But until then, happy Halloween again.

L'Halloween sur le Plateau

 Mon frère PJ m'a envoyé des photos de l'Halloween sur le Plateau Mont-Royal. On n'y fait pas les choses à moitié, avec la Faucheuse et tout. Vraiment c'est magnifique...

Halloween, autumn and reading

These last few days, as it looks and feel very autumnal, I have been reading outside as much as I can. If a neighbour sees me, I guess I look like a monk with a rather sinister mind. So yeah, yesterday I took Halloween Folklore and Ghost Stories and I read it in the garden. I took a snapshot for the blog and the countdown. It was chilly, it had just enough sun, it was quiet, the leaves on the ground and the smell just enhanced the experience for me. So yes, it is my Halloween activity suggestion for today.

THE Scarecrow

So for today's countdown to Halloween post: scarecrows. So we went to the Scarecrow Festival two days ago.And there was a lot to love and blog about, but I wanted to share the best scarecrow we saw. This one. Many were cute and inventive, but I thought not enough of them were scary. Then, walking back to our car, cutting through the woods, we got slightly lost, then quickly found our way back to the village. And we saw this scarecrow. A Jack O'Lantern as the head, surrounded by actual crows, punpkins at its feet, the evening was falling down, a quintessential autumnal image... I could have watched it until night time. Then again, maybe he'd have started moving and chasing us. This scarecrow belongs to a horror story, which I hope to write one day.

Soir macabre

 Photo prise par mon père cette année, lors de sa promenade dans Chicoutimi. J'aime particulièrement le mort-vivant chauve. Un zombie? Je vais finir par me réconcilier avec lemonstre. Ici, on a changé d'heure, le soir tombe plus vite. Et il n'y a rien de plus délicieusement macabre qu'un soir qui tombe sur un cimetière hanté, même si ce n'est pas un vrai cimetière.

The Jack O'Lantern and the Goose

 I blogged before about my parents pumpkin for this year's Halloween. Well, my father carved it recently. It's a bit early for my taste, I hope the pumpkin doesn't go bad, however I do like the design, very simple with its many triangles. With the goose in the background, it looks suitably spooky and autumnal.

Jack O'Lantorch

 For today's countdown to Halloween, I wanted to blog about a very useful item for trick or treat: a torch. I bought this one at Sainsbury's. It has a friendly looking Jack O'Lantern on top, that lights up when you press on. It also gives a spooky howling sound. We had a similar one a few years ago, but it did not make any light anymore, so I bought this one. I affectionately call it Jack O'Lantorch. It will make us see (and seen) (and heard) (yes, I know, lots of brackets, it's intentional) when Wolfie and I walk in darker paths on Halloween night for trick or treat.

About the Great Pumpkin

I thought I would give my readers something heartwarming for today's countdown to Halloween. I found on YouTube this video giving quite a lot of information about It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.It tells you a few trivial facts, but also explains why it became such beloved Halloween classic for children and why it is so compelling, even today. I, of course, really love it.

 

"Le fantôme citrouille"

Autre photo prise par mon père de la figure gonflable de Jack O'Lantern, ou Jack à la lanterne, ou Jack la Lanterne, ou peu importe le nom qu'on lui donnait à l'époque. en fait oui, le nom qu'on lui donnait c'était "le fantôme citrouille". Il me fascinait et m'effrayait tout à la fois. Même adulte, j'ai écrit quelques histoires d'horreur ayant pour personnage Jack (vous les trouverez sur le blogue). Je compte en écrire d'aautres, parce qu'il n'y a pas grand-chose qui fait plus peur quede voir une figure à tête de citrouille quand le soir tombe.

The Grim Raker

For today's countdown to Halloween post, first, a bit of news: the annual Scarecrow Festival will start again soon, so get ready to see a lot of scarecrow pictures on Vraie Fiction. I took this picture last year at the very Scarecrow Festival. A Grim Reaper that truly is a Rake Reaper. I found it deliciously scary and perfectly autumnal, even if the rake gives it a comical touch. A lot of the scarecrows featured at the festival are funny, many are scary, some are both. I would love to write a story about this Reaper. Well, I'd probably change the rake for a scythe, but I would keep the white shroud and the pumpkin.

Jack au cimetière, au crépuscule

 Photo prise l'an dernier par mon père lors de sa promenade, un fantôme avec Jack O'Lantern. C'est tout.

Le clown sinistre

 Je partage une autre photo prise par mon père l'an dernier, celle d'un clown diabolique. Enfin, un clown normal. On voit son visage plus en détails et j'ai remarqué que ses boutons de chemise avaient l'apparence de citrouilles.

Reese's for Halloween

 At last! I was getting desperate since the start of the countdown: I could not find any Reese's chocolates for Halloween. I mean yes, I could find some, but not the one with pumpkins, just normal ones and (shudder) Xmas ones. The latter have no place on the shelves right now. However, a short trip to the nearest Aldi changed it: not only do they have bags of Halloween Reese's, but they have loads of different figures: the usual Jack O'Lanterns, bays and ghosts. I'm in high protein and sugar heaven. It's not Halloween without Reese's. It is a brand I rediscovered in adult age, but for some reason I really got hooked on it.

Fantôme et citrouilles

 Photo prise par mon père lors d'une promenade il y a quelques jours. L'Halloween à Chicoutimi.