Post. Halloween. Blues.

Today is All Saint's Day, which is of course the day after Halloween. I used to loathe November just because Halloween was over. This is no longer the case, however I still suffer from post-Halloween blues every first of November. It falls on a Saturday today, I'm not sure if it makes it better or worse. I have a whole weekend to enjoy, yet I also miss the anticipation, the eeriness, the spookiness, the everything. Don't worry: it used to take me a month or so to get through the dreary feeling, now it only lasts a day or two. I will blog more about what I love of November, so watch this space.

Halloween in Vienna

For today's countdown to Halloween post I come back to my very first post of the month, when I shared the picture of a display window in Vienna. Because the display was gorgeous, for one, also because I was so glad to see that Halloween is getting traction on the continent. Austria is a great place to celebrate Halloween, I thought, but I also always thought Austria and Vienna especially are great places for old fashioned horror stories. It has been in the past, of course, I know of at least one anyway. Because of the architecture, the history, the atmosphere (not to mention the music), the city deserves its own critters and iconic supernatural villains. When I was in Vienna, I could not help but imagine what I could do with the setting, imagining malevolent presences and hapless victims. What do you think? And do you know of any horror stories, old or new, set in Vienna?

Why read Gibbet Hill for Halloween

I have blogged last Saturday about horror stories of Bram Stoker, recomending that you read them this year for Halloween. I mentioned the recently rediscovered Gibbet Hill. This Halloween 2025 has been for me, so far, the year of Gibbet Hill. Because it is the perfect read for Halloween, for many, many, many reasons, which I have listed here:

• It's set in mid-October, so it's already both autumnal and of course fittingly in the Halloween season.
• The autumn atmosphere is brilliantly rendered by Stoker. 
• Gibbet Hill is a real place in Surrey, for added authenticity. Also, you can actually visit it, if you live in England, for a sort of scary pilgrimage.
• It has snakes in it. Seriously, snakes deserves a more prominent place among Halloween critters.
• It features a strange and mysterious cult, practiced by two Indian girls and a blond boy. It's not merely a ghost story witha single antagonist, Stoker gives us a glimpse of something larger scale, a threat to civilisation. He will develop this in Dracula, of course, see this post from 2024.
• In the end, nothing is fully explained or rationalised, which adds to the unease. 
• There's just something about an old ghost story set in late XIXth century. 

 So yes, if you have to read one horror story this Halloween, it has to be Gibbet Hill.

"Merci pour les raisins"

Au Qu.bec, c'est le lundi de l'Action de grâce. Tradition oblige, je partage cette chanson de de La fin du monde est à 7 heures. C'est de circonstances aujourd'hui:

The Season of the Witch

For today's countdown to Halloween post, a meme I saw a few days ago, which I thought looked so good I had to share it. Halloween and the month of October is truly the season of the witch. I also find this autumnal picture both beautiful and eerie. It looks like a perfect setting for a horror story. And witches make for great antagonists in horror stories, although maybe seldom used these days. Because we now find them sympathetic characters? I don't know, but I wouldn't want to cross path with one. I did write a scary story about a witch, if it gets published, I will tell you where you can buy it. Until then, watch this image and give yourself a good chill.

Une Hobgoblin d'antan pour PJ

C'est aujourd'hui la fête de mon frère PJ. Le chanceux a sa fête en octobre. Ce qui veut dire que sa fête a souvent une dimension un peu Halloweenesque. Pour souligner, je partage une photo de la Hobgoblin Gold de  Wychwood Brewery. Parce que sa fête arrive proche de l'Halloween, parce que les produits de Wychwood sont, ou en tout cas étaient, associés à l'Halloween et parce que c'est la bière qu'il a bue lors de son dernier séjour en Angleterre en 2017, quand il est venu célébrer la fête de son neveu.  dans le temps, les étiquettes avaient des couleurs spéciales pour l'Halloween. Plus maintenant. Le goût de la bière a aussi changé, mais c'est une autre histoire. Je ne boirai sans doute pas de Hobgoblin à sa santé aujourd'hui, mais je lui en envoie une virtuelle, dans l'étiquette d'antan.

October Screams (what to read this month)

For today's countdown to Halloween post, a reading suggestion, October Screams. A Halloween Anthology. Another one, I know, but a solid one all the same, with many big names and Bram Stoker award winners. It's one of the darkest anthologies I have read, giving me a few nightmares (no, seriously). There's ghosts, haunted/possessed creepy dolls, creepy neighbours, sympathetic monsters, less sympathetic ones, wannabe vampires, bogeymen, they really throw the kitchen sink with this one. There's also, maybe not so surprisingly, a lot of nostalgia, even amidst the terror. The writers here truly love Halloween and all its seasonal rituals and it shows.

Brume d'octobre

 L'été, il y a les orages. L'hiver, la neige. L'automne, surtout en octobre, il y a la brume, ou le brouillard, enfin il devrait idéalement y en avoir au moins une fois dans la saison, sinon dans le mois. C'est ce qu'il y a eu ce matin, lorsque nous avons amené petit loup à l'école: une belle brume d'octobre, vraiment jolie. Une journée comme celle-ci, c'est l'endroit idéal pour une histoire d'horreur. Parce que les jours de brouillard et de brume sont souvent d'une beauté sinistre, surtout en automne.

Aquila about Halloween

For today's countdown to Halloween post, something that came to the post for Wolfie. Because my son receives the best mail. He is very fond of Aquila Magazine. For October, they really outdo themselves with their issue. It's of course all about Halloween. It has a few spooky stories (although not so scary, as it is after all for children), a lot of fun and games, a lot of information about both the holiday and spooky folklore. I must confess, sometimes I get envious of his childhood. In any case, if you have children, please buy yourself a copy of this month's issue of Aquila.

Countdown to Halloween

 We are the first of October, which is, of course, the official starting date for the countdown to Halloween. I took this picture in Vienna. A proper display dating back from August., with elements of macabre and also looking very autumnal. This is the favourite window display I have seen in years. And it is proof that Halloween is getting popular everywhere. On a side note, Austria is a perfect setting for Halloween and horror stories. Speaking of horror stories, a lot of my countdown to Halloween posts will be about horror stories in some way. In any case, happy countdown!

Upcoming Bookshop Day

I have been wanting to mention this for a while, but got caught up in other things (read my last post), so anyway, little announcement for the people living in the UK: there will be a Bookshop Day on the 11th of October. Kind of perfect time in the year for a bookshop day, as it is my favourite time in the year. Anyway, even though I am not short on books, I will go to our nearest indie bookshop and buy a few. There are worse ways to spend Saturday.

Unemployed again

 Okay, as you guessed it from this post's title, I am suddenly unemployed again. My new job was short lived: I started early June and did not even make it through probation. No, I did not get fired for gross miconduct or insubordination. It was just a bad match from the start. After a few weeks, I could tell that things were not working, even though I got along well with my colleagues and was giving my all. To be honest, I had a nagging feeling this would be a bad match even at the second interview, but I thought this was due to stress. Anyway, they thought I would do good, I needed somehting then and there, so I accepted the offer. Last Friday, my employers and I mutually agreed that this was not working out. I am disappointed, but on the plus side, I should have a good deal of free time in October, when Halloween is coming, in the heart of autumn. I can spend more time outside, when I am not being interviewed or job hunting. There definitely could be worse moments, especially since we are okay financially.

Halloween Activity Books

Oh goodie, goodie, goodie! Halloween is not as big in this country as it is in mine, but at times, the English make an effort. So I was walking in one of the local shops yesterday when I saw these Halloween activity books. I didn't buy them, although I was very tempted. I think Wolfie might already be a tad old for it, but I might try to convince him all the same. I love doing activity books with him. And, I know you cannot judge a book by its cover, even a children book, but I'd buy them for the cover all the same. What do you think?

I'm a Cryptkeeper

 You might have noticed another badge on the sidebar of this blog, a badge I also add on this post. As the Countdown to Halloween is getting closer and closer, I have of course decided to become a Cryptkeeper again. I am a little bit nervous this year: as I registered to the countdown a bit late, Vraie Fiction is not on the blog roll yet. Not as I am typing it. But otherwise, check this space for a lot of Halloween stuff, most of the time related to scary stories.

Augtober

 I came across this neologism, Auctober, on various social media recently. From what I read, it means when temperatures in August feel more like October. It is the case now. It might not last, but it does feel cooler and very autumnal for August. In extension, it also means the state of mind and the way autumn and Halloween lovers deal with the month of August, like a big, long countdown to Halloween. I was embracing it before I knew the term existed, unconsciously. But now, I have decided that Augtober will be part of my vocabulary and my official state of mind this month. I am now reading horror stories. And Augtober is also, as you have guessed, the word of the day.

Post. Halloween. Blues.

 Today is the first of November, All Saint's Day, the one and only day in autumn that I don't really like. Because Halloween is over, of course. And that it is Friday does not make it any less painful. I have made my peace with November. I used to dislike the month, now I take it as another autumnal month and I enjoy it almost as much as the others. But its very first day is always, always, always painful. Nevertheless, I will not spend the rest of the month moaning. Watch this space, I will blog more and I will be more cheerful, promise.

Première neige

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

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.

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.