Chevreuil

Photo envoyée par mon père, tirée d'une des caméras installées sur le lot de mes oncles. J'aime beaucoup les chevreuils, surtout dans leur habitat naturel, alors je la partage ici.

All About Ghosts

For today's countdown to Halloween's reading suggestion: All About Ghosts, a book I often blogged about and which I revisited this year. Although Usborne's books series on paranormal was aimed at a young readership, its images remain pretty dark and sometimes even gruesome for its targeted readers. I don't know how we managed to convince my parents to buy us this one, given my mother's dislike of violence, horror and anything that was potentially nightmare inducing. Maybe she was not payign attention, maybe our pleas were very convincing. Be that as it may, All About Ghosts was THE spooky book of our childhood, telling us about folklore, legends, "real life" hauntings and... a great deal of questionable information. The book is not without its flaws: it is heavy in pseudo-science, it does not teach skepticism or critical thinking one bit. (although there is a section about hoaxes and debunked claims of hauntings) Reports of hauntings are presented as quasi proven and basically it blatantly encourages its readers to be believers in the supernatural. That said, I am easily forgiving because of how well done it is as entertainment: the atmospheric and absolutely gorgeous images and the pseudo-documentary approach should give any reader, young or old, a few pleasant shivers. I don't believe in ghosts, but when I open this book, I play along. Reedited recently with a foreword of Reece Shearsmith, because nostalgia sells. (NB/PS: This is a repasted/reposted version of the original post, which disappeared on the 14th of May 202, for reasons I still don't understand).

All About Ghosts

For today's countdown to Halloween's reading suggestion: All About Ghosts, a book I often blogged about and which I revisited this year. Although Usborne's books series on paranormal was aimed at a young readership, its images remain pretty dark and sometimes even gruesome for its targeted readers. I don't know how we managed to convince my parents to buy us this one, given my mother's dislike of violence, horror and anything that was potentially nightmare inducing. Maybe she was not payign attention, maybe our pleas were very convincing. Be that as it may, All About Ghosts was THE spooky book of our childhood, telling us about folklore, legends, "real life" hauntings and... a great deal of questionable information. The book is not without its flaws: it is heavy in pseudo-science, it does not teach skepticism or critical thinking one bit. (although there is a section about hoaxes and debunked claims of hauntings) Reports of hauntings are presented as quasi proven and basically it blatantly encourages its readers to be believers in the supernatural. That said, I am easily forgiving because of how well done it is as entertainment: the atmospheric and absolutely gorgeous images and the pseudo-documentary approach should give any reader, young or old, a few pleasant shivers. I don't believe in ghosts, but when I open this book, I play along. Reedited recently with a foreword of Reece Shearsmith, because nostalgia sells.

All About Ghosts

For today's countdown to Halloween's reading suggestion: All About Ghosts, a book I often blogged about and which I revisited this year. Although Usborne's books series on paranormal was aimed at a young readership, its images remain pretty dark and sometimes even gruesome for its targeted readers. I don't know how we managed to convince my parents to buy us this one, given my mother's dislike of violence, horror and anything that was potentially nightmare inducing. Maybe she was not payign attention, maybe our pleas were very convincing. Be that as it may, All About Ghosts was THE spooky book of our childhood, telling us about folklore, legends, "real life" hauntings and... a great deal of questionable information. The book is not without its flaws: it is heavy in pseudo-science, it does not teach skepticism or critical thinking one bit. (although there is a section about hoaxes and debunked claims of hauntings) Reports of hauntings are presented as quasi proven and basically it blatantly encourages its readers to be believers in the supernatural. That said, I am easily forgiving because of how well done it is as entertainment: the atmospheric and absolutely gorgeous images and the pseudo-documentary approach should give any reader, young or old, a few pleasant shivers. I don't believe in ghosts, but when I open this book, I play along. Reedited recently with a foreword of Reece Shearsmith, because nostalgia sells.

L'U de M en automne (encore)

Voici une autre photo prise de la page Facebook de l'Université de Montréal.Celle-ci date d'il y a un an. Elle est encore plus automnale que celle publiée le 13 septembre. Comme elle est magnifique, je la partage aussi.

"Scarecrow Festival"

For today's countdown to Halloween's post, a bit of local news and I got some really cool news from Wolfie's preschool recently: they are organizing a "Scarecrow Festival" at the end of the month for the children and their families. I don't know much about what this festival entails, but I know there will be a scarecrow trail with a scarecrow map and some competition. I love scarecrows, which I associate with harvest, autumn and, well, of course Halloween, especially when they are also Jack O'Lanterns like the one on their promotional leaflet. So we will participate as a family and this might be the friendlier Halloween activity which Wolfie will hopefully enjoy and embrace fully.

La tarte à la citrouille

J'ai retrouvé cette photo de la page Facebook d'Aux Vivres, le restaurant végane préféré de ma femme quand elle va à Montréal: c'était leur tarte à la citrouille d'il y a quelques années. Je ne sais pas s'ils en font encore une, mais j'aimerais essayer la leur. Parce qu'à part pour les creuser en jack o'lanterns, je trouve que je ne profite pas du potiron au maximum durant l'Halloween. On ne trouve pas de tarte à la citrouille ici, enfin je n'en ai pas encore trouvé.

Haunted: An Anthology of the Supernatural

For today's countdown to Halloween post, another reading suggestion: Haunted: An Anthology of the Supernatural, edited by Jessy Marie Roberts. 42 ghost stories about haunted place. I blogged about it briefly last year. Because it cost me 50p in a second-hand bookshop, a bargain. But money considerations notwithstanding, I was pleasantly surprised as there is a lot to love here. Most of the stories are flash fiction and they are thus perfect for a quick read to keep yourself in the spirit of the season even if you have a busy life. Of course, the stories are of varying quality, some are forgettable, some are predictable, nevertheless I did get a few pleasant chills. All things considered, it was a really good investment.

Mon alma mater en automne

 

La page Facebook de l'Université de Montréal a partagé cette photo récemment. L'U de M, l'Oratoire et tout le reste en automne. Je n'ai rien d'autre à dire que: magnifique. Et mon alma mater et tout ce coin de Montréal me manquent, surtout en automne.

Mr Skeleton

You can see here "Mr Skeleton", one of the many Halloween decorations currently on display in our house. Mr Skeleton was christened by Wolfie, who took a liking to him when we decorated the house. Or so I thought he had taken a liking to him, as he wanted to give him a name. But yesterday, Wolfie told us that he has been having nightmares, people with monsters and "méchants" (badguys). He also told us that he did not like Mr Skeleton all that much, come to think of it. So I am a bit concerned that my love for Halloween and all things spooky might not all be shared by my son. And if he does get too scared, I might have to keep the Halloween decorations, especially Mr Skeleton, in my office. I will of course try to educate Wolfie about the holiday, showing him that it is not really scary, that this is meant to overcome our fears, that in the end it is "just pretend" as we say to him. If you have any advice, please let me know in the comments section.

La tourtière de l'Action de Grâce

C'est aujourd'hui l'Action de Grâce au Canada. Je ne la fête pas/plus, mais j'essaie de le souligner à chaque année. Dans ma famille, ce qui arrivait souvent lors de la fin de semaine de l'Action de Grâce, c'est qu'on mangeait de la tourtière. La vraie, celle de la région. Ce n'était pas une tradition, juste une chose que l'on faisait: une longue fin de semaine de trois jours, ça donne le temps pour cuisiner un gros plat capable de nourrir une armée, en tout cas une famille étendue. Enfin bref, on en mangeait lors de l'Action de Grâce et c'est ce qu'on ferait encore si on pouvait la fêter en famille. Celle-ci date des Fêtes, le dernier temps où j'en ai mangée.

Horror Stories for Halloween

Second countdown to Halloween post today, just to quickly share what I am reading these days. I have been very lucky with my Halloween reads so far this year, minus one somewhat disappointing book. So much so in fact, and I have gathered so many books to read this year that I have been unable to revisit the books from the previous Halloween years. But anyway, right now I am reading Horror Stories for Halloween by Tony Walker. I don't know this author and this has been self-published, but so far to my surprise it has been very enjoyable. It is mostly classic ghost stories, mainly but not exclusively in contemporary settings, all during the Halloween season. And it should not be a selling point, but the cover is really cool and eerie as well.

Une chanson pour octobre

Il semblerait que les Cowboys Fringants n'aient pas qu'une chanson sur l'automne. Je ne suis pas très au fait des oeuvres musicales québécoises contemporaines j'imagine, l'excuse de l'expatrié. Et je ne suis pas le plus grand fan des Cowboys, même si j'aime bien certaines de leurs chansons. Mais enfin bref, la chanson Octobre, tiré de leur album... Octobre, est une chanson que j'ai découvert assez récemment et qui m'a beaucoup plu. Parce que ça parle de l'automne, mais aussi parce que c'est le genre de chanson juste assez mélancolique que les Cowboys Fringants savent parfaitement doser. Plus une chanson de fin de mois (ou même de début novembre?), mais je la partage ici.

Deas Leaves: 9 Tales from the Witching Season

For today's countdown to Halloween's post, another reading suggestion: Dead Leaves by Kealan Patrick Burke. Subtitled: "9 Tales from the Witching Season". My favourite horror discovery so far this year. I loved it. Burke is a Stoker Award-winning author and boy I can see why. While the stories are modern, there is something very classic about them. There is fairly little display of gore (although there is most definitely some) and evil here is an unsettling presence that rarely comes in full display. Halloween sometimes takes the center stage, but is often merely in the background, a setting more than anything else, which enhances the feeling of unease. In all of them, the narrative ends before the big reveal and the climax is never completed with the last line. Nothing is fully explained, nothing is fully resolved. You finish the book and it should haunt you for the rest of the month and beyond.

Sainte-Rose-du-Nord en automne

J'ai demandé à mon père de m'envoyer des photos automnales, il m'a envoyé celle-ci. Qui n'est pas de lui ironiquement: c'est du Quotidien. C'est bien entendu Sainte-Rose-du-Nord et je n'ai qu'une chose à ajouter: rien ne bat les automnes saguenéens.

First "Large" Pumpkin

For today's (first?) countdown to Halloween post, some trivial Jack O'Lantern news. We bought the first pumpkin this week, with an Asda order. It is meant to be a "large" pumpkin and when I saw the label, I thought they were joking. Surely this can't be a large pumpkin! It is an average one at best. Well, I should not complain: it is only £1.50 and it will most definitely not be the only pumpkin of Halloween. Oh how I miss the big ones from Montreal! But Wolfie likes it very much and is very eager to carve it soon. And by soon I mean now: since he saw the pumpkin he's been asking to make it into a Jack O'Lantern. I keep telling him that it is too early and that I don't want it to go mouldy before the 31st, he does not want to wait.

Une bière pour PJ

C'est aujourd'hui la fête de mon frère PJ. Il est chanceux, sa fête est en octobre, le mois de l'Halloween. Comme pour l'année dernière, je souligne en virtuel avec une photo d'une Hobgoblin (du temps qu'ils avaient des bouteilles avec de la gueule), parce que je crois comprendre que c'est une bière anglaise qu'il a bien aimée. Nous allons le fêter ici aussi, j'espère pouvoir lui parler sur Facetime et trinquer virtuellement. Il y a huit heures de différence entre lui et moi, alors ça fait un gros décalage à harmoniser, mais on fera ce qu'on pourra. Sinon, comme je l'ai souvent dit, j'ai souvent préféré fêter son anniversaire que le mien, parce qu'octobre c'est vraiment un mois parfait pour une fête, si comme moi vous aimez l'Halloween. L'idéal, ce serait peut-être de le fêter ici, avec de la Hobgoblin comme bière. On peut rêver.

Wolfie's pumpkin patch

Wolfie recently got as a birthday present from his auntie (my wife's sister) some wooden car model with paint. In a wooden box. Once he was done with the model car, I had the inspiration to turn the wooden box into a pumpkin patch. We went to a fayre last year and there was a real pumpkin patch which Wolfie and I liked very much. Pumpkin patches are both very autumnal and of course very Halloweenesque. So anyway, we sed plastic pumpkin Wolfie had from a toys set (some grocery trolley with plastic fruits and vegs) as well as some pumpkin shaped erasers I bought online. He coloured the box with the remaining paint this is the result. Not bad, don't you think? One day I hope to have a real pumpkin patch, where we will grow our own pumpkins to carve our Jack O'Lanterns.

Le portico hanté

Photo envoyée par mon père l'année dernière (je crois). Le portico tout endimanché pour l'Halloween (laquelle n'était pas dimanche, ironiquement). Je ne crois pas l'avoir partagée jusqu'à maintenant. Je l'aime bien, parce que ça donne vraiment l'air d'un endroit sinistre, d'un repaire de fantômes et d'araignées monstrueuses. Je me demande si les enfants en ont eu peur lorsqu'ils passaient.

Halloween Horror Stories

For today's countdown to Halloween post, I am blogging about a book I fnished recently, but it is not quite a reading suggestion, as I am not too sure about it, to be honest. So anyway, because Amazon knows me far too well, it suggested that I purchased Halloween Horror Stories by Christopher Ripley. As I am a sucker always on the lookout for a good scary seasonal read, I did just that. And I was underwhelmed by it. Firstly, because the vast majority of stories are mostly not Halloween related, but horror or not even horror classics that seem to have been gathered here arbitrarily. I am sure there is a rationale in this anthology, but the author does not explain it. It would be all right normally, but I feel vaguely cheated all the same. Most of the stories are classics which I could have purchased in different works, except two of them, which are from Mr Ripley himself. I somehow feel like he wrote two stories of his own (not bad ones themselves mind you, just not really outstanding either) and tried to sell them by cramming this book with things belonging to the public domain. On the plus side, I now have with this book a hard copy of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, the one story in the whole book that is associated with Halloween, at least implicitely. Then again, I could have bought this one by itself.