I know I'm
a few days early, but Halloween is coming up.
And in case you're not aware of it, just check out stores and TV shows
and online sites to see what oddball costumes are out there!
When I most
recently dressed up for Halloween, I enjoyed becoming a witch. But these days, since we get no
trick-or-treaters on our street and are empty nesters except for our dogs, I
tend not to worry about a costume, and I have few treats available just in
case.
What is fun,
though, is talking about my Superstition Mysteries around Halloween. We all know superstitions about black cats,
and they seem to show up a lot in shows about the holiday. Did you know black cats are sometimes
considered bad luck because they used to be considered witches' familiars?
I've also
blogged about other superstitions relating to Halloween, such as the origin of
jack o'lanterns. They actually used to
be turnips, not pumpkins, derived from the legend of the soul of an evil man
named Jack who was kicked out of heaven and forced to roam the earth. He didn't want to be alone in the dark so he
made a pact with the devil, who gave him an ember with a glow that would never
go out.., which he inserted into a turnip.
There are
more related superstitions, too--and you can see from this how much fun I
derive researching superstitions for my Superstition Mysteries.
I'm not
spending as much time as I was before promoting the new one, KNOCK ON WOOD, but
I'm still up to other blogs and events.
In any
event, let me repeat it: Happy
Halloween!
1 comment:
I used to dress up to answer the door on Halloween. Everybody who doesn't go to your street comes to ours. Our neighbors who turn their front yard into fright maze as good as the ones people pay for helps bring in the crowd.
I liked the turnip story. It would be pretty hard to hallow one out, though and pumpkins are more colorful.
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