It was the start of the year in our old Celtic lands, and we’d be waiting… in our houses of wattles and clay. The barriers would be down, you see, between the real and the unreal, and the dead might be looking in… to sit by our fires of turf. This eerie quote from Halloween 3: Season of the witch made me wonder what wattles and clay and turf might be.  It’s always good to learn new things.  Keep reading to be...

Carving a pumpkin, wearing a costume, and collecting tasty candy are really the only things a child dreams about during the month of October. One of my absolute fondest memories of Halloween growing up was picking out my costume. I was lucky enough to have been of trick or treating age in the late seventies through the eighties. Costumes at this time, at least for budget conscious parents like mine, were usually found in cardboard boxes...

What would Halloween be without Horror movies? I wouldn’t be very fun for adults. Now let’s think a bit about what makes a Horror movie so damned scary. The story is most definitely a key element. A spooky soundtrack and good Foley adds to the experience. These aren’t the reason we go to a Horror flick. It’s the special effects for most of us. In honor of Halloween I have for you my list of the best FX artists in Horror.   Lon...

On all hallows eve the creatures of the night roam the earth in search of candy and fun. Little do they know that they are acting out stories that have permeated our society since the middle ages. Anyone watching TV or movies knows all about Zombies. I, however, find revenants much, much scarier. What’s that you ask? What is a revenant? Well, let me enlighten you. The term revenant usually means a sentient creature whose desire to...

Folklore permeates the fabric of our lives.  Stories handed down through the ages that become part of our culture make us who we are.  We don’t think about it much in our day to day activities.  It is usually during special occasions that ritual and traditions are observed in an obvious fashion. We observe some of the oldest and most fantastic of these at this fall time of the year. One of my favorite Halloween traditions is to...