The late Stan Winston, master of movie special effects and one of my idols, directed a film in 1988 that chilled me to the bone when I watched it for the very first time.  As a child that grew up in primarily a southern area it was especially frightening because you could just feel the story in your ancestry.  The movie had eerie effects and a tremendous monster.  As a classic film in the genre of supernatural horror films, it...

Silvery blue on the outside, vivid orange inside, Jarrahdale squashes are almost too pretty to eat. So decorate your doorstep for a day, then bake it in a pie (or something more interesting). . . . . A very old favorite from the old central market in Paris in the 1880s, and as pretty as it’s meat is sweet, the rouge vif d’etampes (red stamps) may be French, but it has a long history in America. Make a new tradition with a...

Ghoul          There is a lot that can be researched when looking into the true meaning of the word “Ghoul”.  It seems every culture and hundreds of writers have their own interpretation of what a Ghoul is.  It turns out that the actual term is derived from an ancient Arabic belief in a creature given life by evil Jinn.  It is said to lure unwary travelers into the desert wastes to slay and devour them.   More modern...

    From earliest times people wore masks when droughts or other disasters struck. They believed that the demons who had brought their misfortune upon them would become frightened off by the hideous masks. Even after the festival of Samhain had merged with Halloween, Europeans felt uneasy at this time of the year. Food was stored in preparation for the winter and the house was snug and warm. The cold, envious ghosts were outside, and...

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     Halloween is always fun for me.  I like nothing more than research bizzare and unique facts about the holiday and its origins.  Today let us take a peek at a plant that is very often synonymous with Werewolves and Halloween.     Wolfsbane has been ascribed with supernatural powers in the mythology relating to werewolves and other lycanthropes, either to repel them, relating to aconite’s use in poisoning wolves and other...