Jack O'Lanterns at M&S

As I said a few days ago, with all its flaws Marks and Spencer does sell nice Halloween products and has a nice Halloween display. it is one of the very first shops that does have a sort of Halloween display, albeit a discreet one: they have Jack O'Lanterns at the bottom fo their window. Cool ones too, looking just nasty enough.

Les serviettes de l'araignée

En Angleterre, l'Halloween n'est pas aussi célébrée qu'au Québec ou qu'en Amérique du Nord en général. Les décorations sont moins présentes dans les commerces, souvent celles de Noël sont déjà plus préponérantes, etc. Mais ils ont des trucs bien, il suffit de les trouver. Lors de ma dernière visite à Sainsbury's, j'ai trouvé ces serviettes de table, qui ont la forme de toiles d'araignée. Avec les araignées en plus. Elles ne sont pas très pratiques, mais ce n'est pas l'Halloween sans quelques araignées, alors j'ai acheté les serviettes. Petit loup est fasciné.

Spooky Round & About

 Like last year, I recently got my hand on the October edition of Round & About.I had to take a copy because of the cover. Don't judge a free local magazine by its cover, but what a great Halloween cover all the same, with its pathway full of Jack O'Lanterns. There is also an article about local ghost stories and hauntings, which is always something that I find fascinating. I would visit them just for fun, if I did not want to avoid getting Wolfie scared. That said, they can be used as inspiration for my own scary stories (if I can come round to it). So I'll keep it.

Les canards en automne

 Photo prise par ma cousine Amy l'artiste-photographe. Juste parce que c'est l'automne, même s'il fait trop chaud ces temps-ci et qu'il le fera encore pour quelques jours. Avouez que des canards, c'est toujours très automnal.

Pumpkinheads

For tonight's countdown to Halloween reading suggestion, not a horror book, for a change, but an actual romantic graphic novel.
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks. Not my usual genre, especially not round Halloween, but Amazon algorithms suggested it to me and I've read it in August anyway. It's actually quite sweet and unlike many romcoms this one feels genuine. And in any case, it features autumn and Halloween lovers as leads, so that was enough for me to enjoy. It's about Deja, an outdoing, greedy, bisexual teenage girl and Josiah, a rather aloof and introverted teenage boy. They're friends and colleagues, working at a pumpkin patch that is every Halloween/autumn freak's dream. As they're going to college, this will be their last Halloween at the pumpkin patch. Josiah has a crush on "the Fudge Girl" and Deja has decided to take the initiative and help him talk to her. Which is easier said than done on Halloween night, where everything is frantic and anything can happen. And does. Journeys end in lovers meeting, but as predictable as it sounds it remains a satisfying read and a satisfying conclusion. Maybe because the characters are so sweet and genuine, maybe because this graphic novel is in such a perfectly seasonal setting. I was actually surprised that Wolfie asked me to read it to him. AND he enjoyed it as much as I did. So yeah, that's worth a read, if you want something not spooky.

Chocolat en chapeau de sorcière

Photo envoyée par ma mère, prise lors de la visite de mes parents ts à Eddy Laurent. D'accord, va falloir le dire, c'est sur ma liste des visites d'Halloween que je ne ferai sans doute jamais, mais c'est vraiment mon genre de commerce pour l'Halloween. Je veux dire: tant la déco que les articles sont parfaits. 18,99$ a beau être cher pour une pièce de chocolat noir en forme de chapeau pointu, c'est quand même bien pensé. Et à tout le moins, ça fait de belles photos pour ce blogue.

Preparing for Trick or Treat

There is something that has been bothering me since the beginning of our countdown to Halloween: I haven't bought a single pumpkin yet. I love carving them, I love showing them to the children who come for trick or treat. As a child, this was part of the fun too, something I could keep come teenage. If wearing disguises and going for trick or treat were just for kids, at least I could carve a scary Jack O'Lantern. I learned from my dad, who has always been very gifted, then I develop my own skills as a carver. And I am now teaching Wolfie. Last year, we managed to carve no less six pumpkins. Don't ask me how, it just happened. And I have been wanting to share this picture since last year. So now, I must start getting ready. And I must buy some pumpkins.

La citrouille chez mes parents

Ma mère m'a envoyé une photo de la citrouille chez mes parents. Parce qu'ils ont déjà acheté la citrouille. Moi, j'en achète toute une horde, mais je n'en ai pas encore une, j'en ai un peu honte. Cela dit, la citrouille qu'ils ont acheté est superbe. Je n'en trouverais pas de comme ça ici.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

For today's countdown to Halloween's reading suggestion, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. I blogged about it in 2021, I wanted to revisit it properly this year. Every Halloween, I try to read one horror classic, so this year I reread that one. It was the first horror novel I ever read. What's to discover of the story, after the numerous adaptations and a plot twist everyone knows? Well, everything. Jekyll is a morally ambiguous character, for one, and a bit of an hypocrite. His alter ego Hyde is not physically deformed monster but a dwarfish evil man, whose appearance is uncanny and unsettling, but is mostly left to the imagination of the reader. The same goes with the bulk of Hyde's crimes, implied but never depicted, save for a savage murder. And finally, the plot unfolds like crime fiction. Even knowing that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person, the resolution remains shocking.

Les créatures de l'Halloween

Nouvelle photo de la visite de mes parents à Eddy Laurent.  L'Halloween et ses créatures, ici en version mignonne. Bon, on ne peut pas toujours être macabre.

The Halloween Boy

For today's very first proper countdown to Halloween reading suggestion: The Halloween Boy & Other October Horrors, by William P. Simmons. So far my best discovery this year. Because it is also genuinely the scariest book I read in years. October horrors indeed. In that sense, it certainly did not disappoint. Simmons channels parental nightmares and childhood ones, not shying away from tragedy, grief and guilt. Most (all?) stories are set in the town of Harper's Mill. You have ghostly/undead children visiting their loved ones on Halloween, a bona fide witch, a teenage girl who has a spiritual link with the season, an evil demonic clown (well of course), evil demonic children snatchers taking the guise of elderly people accidentally summoned by careless parents and a few other monstrosities. So great book, although I'm not sure if I will ever dare to read it again.

Corbeaux en chocolat

Mes parents sont allés à Québec et sont donc passé faire un tour à Eddy Laurent. Je ne sais pas s'ils ont acheté quoi que ce soit, mais ils ont pris quelques photos. Eddy Laurent semble se préparer à l'Halloween avec un enthousiasme que j'adore. Ils ont notamment fait des corbeaux en chocolat, ceux-ci. L'Halloween, ça se passe aussi avec les corbeaux.

Batcurrant Fizz

I have to give it to Marks and Spencer, even though they irritate me when they sell Christmas stuff way too early (or keep them in shops way too late), they do have a lot of nice Halloween products. Like for instance this "Batcurrant Fizz", basically a blackcurrant flavoured fizzy soft drink. I don't think how it could be more fitting for a Halloween drink. Maybe if it was pumpkin flavoured, but there are Jack O'Lanterns (as well as bats, obviously) on the label, which is orange, so that should count for something. Growing up, there was some special Halloween drink for kids I used to enjoy, a mix of orange or pineapple juice and cream soda and I think grenadine. This Batcurrant Fizz reminds me of that, not because of its taste (it is not sickeningly sweet, for one), but because it's my new special non-alcoholic cold drink.

Le temps des courges

 J'ai pris cette photo en fin de semaine. Malheureusement, je n'ai pas pris le temps d'en acheter une. Ca aurait été joli ici, même si la maison est plutôt bien décorée. L'automne et l'Halloween, c'est le temps des citrouilles et de ses cousines les courges. Enfant, en deuxième année, mon enseignante noius avait dit que dire "citrouille" était fautif, qu'il fallait dire courge. Qu'est-ce qu'elle en savait, je vous le demande? Dans tous les cas, j'aime bien avoir quelques courges qu'on ne peut pas creuser dans la maison, parce que c'est aussi ça l'automne et l'Halloween.

Ghost Reading

For today's (first?) countdown to Halloween post, I will talk about ghosts. Again. Because ghosts are central to Halloween. In fact, of all creatures that the season brings, it might be the most central. Vampires, werewolves, even witches, they are late additions. Halloween is originally all about spirits. So every year round Halloween, I read ghost stories. I also never miss to read  All About Ghosts, in full or in part. It was the very first spooky book I read when I was a child, the only thing resembling horror and supernatural my parents had allowed me to read. It was my first dabble into horror and supernatural. So anyway, this year it struck me that its last page has a "further reading" section, with a suggestion of books about the paranormal. They are all kind of old and in the "true haunting" category, but I am curious about them. Not because I believe in ghots: I don't. But because I could use it as inspiration to write my own ghost stories. I have been trying to dabble in the horror genre, so far I have been struggling. Ghost stories are tricky, so getting some inspiration would be useful. Oh yes, and this cloaked ghost is from that las section of the book. It looks si deliciously sinister, I had to share him.

Un champignon

Photo prise par ma cousine Amy, l'ariste-photographe. Photo parfaitement automnale. C'est la raison pour laquelle je la partage.

The Wolf Man

 Here's my second countdown to Halloween post of the day. Because I have a lot to cover this year and I have been preparing for months. I bought this decorationa couple of months ago. It is meant to represent the Wolf Man, the Universal one. But frankly, and I am happy about it, he looks far scarier than in the movie, with an longer face and leaner body, much more wolf-like. He looks like a true werewolf and not a cuddly teddy bear. I say this and nevertheless I love the film, it's one of my favourite black and white movies. I thought our home and our Halloween display needed a werewolf. This one is just perfect.

Le sentier en automne

Ma cousine Amy l'artiste-photographe m'a envoyé des photos, j'en partage une avec sa permission. Une photo d'un sentier en forêt, prise il y a quelques jours. Il n'y a pas de couleurs comme ça ici, pas avant des semaines, et encore. Dans le nord, c'est déjà mieux, mais ici c'est plus rare. Je m'ennuie de ces promenades dans les bois. Et bon, comme de raison je partage parce que nous arrivons au coeur de l'automne. Même s'il fait trop doux ici, ce n'est pas une raison pour ne pas célébrer. J'aimerais être aussi bon photographe que ma cousine.

Countdown to Halloween

It is the first of October now, which means this is finally, finally, finally, the official Countdown to Halloween. Although mine started in August. Okay, it truly started in July, maybe even June. On Vraie Fiction, the countdown will mainly but not exclusively be about the horror aspect of Halloween and thus scary stories of all sorts and the spooky and macabre aspect of Halloween. So watch this space.

Dernier jour, dernier appel

Dernier appel pour ceux qui peuvent y aller et pour ceux qui y sont allés: c'est le dernier jourde la 59e édition du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean. Alors allez-y si vous pouvez et ce n'est pas déjà fait, c'est vraiment un bel évènement pour els amateurs de littérature. Si vous êtes du Saguenay et y êtes allé, cette année ou une autre, parlez-moi de votre expérience dans les commentaires.