Showing posts with label 31 Days of Halloween. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 31 Days of Halloween. Show all posts

Monday, October 15, 2012

It's Halloween Quiz Time!


First of all, I have to apologize for being tardy with this post. My day job and real life kicked my ass for the past five days, and all I've had time to do is eat, sleep, and work...with an occasional potty break and shower. Ew, right? Anyway, my poor blog got neglected...and during my beloved 31 Days of Halloween, no less. So, I'm way behind. Forgive me.

Now...onward to our Halloween Quiz. Last week, I posted lots of trivia and fun facts. Now it's quiz time to see how closely you paid attention. I've got a $10 Amazon gift card up for grabs. All you have to do is answer eight questions based on last week's posts.

You can leave your answers in a post (make sure to leave your email addy), or you can email them to me at donya@donyalynne.com using the subject line: HALLOWEEN QUIZ.

Deadline to submit your answers: October 24th at midnight.

I will announce the winner on Halloween, selecting from those who got the most questions right.


Here goes! Good luck! :)

The first six questions are True or False:

  1. Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, was the first vampire movie. 
  2. Anemia was a condition attributed to vampires.
  3. Female vampires were often blamed for spreading the bubonic plague throughout Europe.
  4. The corpse of Edgar Allen Poe's wife was the source of a portrait of her that can still be viewed in the Poe House today.
  5. The first Jack O'Lanterns were carved from turnips.
  6. Halloween has been called Nutcrack Night in the past because of all the deaths that occur on Halloween.
  7. Which of the following is NOT a term used to describe a group of vampires?
    A.      Coven
    B.     Clutch
    C.      Pod
    D.     Brood

    8. According to legend, a vampire can turn into all of the following except?
    A.     Owl
    B.    Moth
    C.      Cat
    D.     Bat






Sunday, October 14, 2012

Need a #Laugh? The Urban Dictionary Chimes in on Halloween



For kicks and giggles, I visited the Urban Dictionary ( The Urban Dictionary Website )to dig up some fun definitions related to Halloween. If you've never visited the Urban Dictionary, you should. I often find some hilarious definitions for everyday words there. It's definitely a place where you can get a good laugh (might I suggest you look up crack head/crackhead for one or two clever definitions submitted by readers).

Disclaimer: The following do not necessarily reflect my opinions or beliefs, and some of what follows includes language of an adult nature. I pulled these definition straight from the Urban Dictionary website, so they could contain misspelled words and bad punctuation. although I tried to fix where possible to improve readability.


Halloween  Definitions According to the Urban Dictionary

Vampire:
  1. High-school or college-age girl who is high-achieving, clean cut, athletic and good looking by day, and a disturbed, recreational drug or alcohol user by night. Just like the horror-movie monster, a modern vampire looks like a human, but they're blood sucking demons. You don't know about their deadly habits until it's too late. Just like the bite of count Dracula, a vampire will try to suck you into her world of darkness with a kiss or blowjob.
  2. Blond, blue eyes, tall, beautiful, gorgeous, handsome, & someone you want to have babies with so you can produce some vampire babies.
  3. For the love of God, vampires are FICTIONAL! If I see one more fucking "goth" retard on the internet claim to be a REAL VAMPYRE OMG OMG OMG I might explode.
Witch:
  1. Anyone whom we burn that weighs the same as a duck. (Also made of wood).
  2. A moody white girl.
  3. Your 3rd grade teacher.
  4. A woman who is dressed up in a pointed hat, has a long nose, has a wart, and who is made of wood. They are often burned, and can turn people into newts (but they might get better).
  5. Someone who rips their dick off and uses it as a wand. [Donya - Say what?]

Zombies: 
  1. A "safe" and offbeat excuse for guys to horde guns, ammunition, tactical gear and other survival supplies without being tagged as being a member of a militia or other extremist group (although your wife and neighbors may think you are a little crazy).
  2. Humans that at one point were turned to zombies by being bit by another zombie and eventually dying. Extreme stupidity surrounds these creatures as they mindlessly bash on the barracades of surviving humans. They can be said to not be able to "climb stairs," as my friend says...but others may say otherwise while their face is being ripped off completely after the zombie leapt up the stairs. Shotguns are most affective at close range with these beings, the only way to stop the damn thing from moving would be to shoot its brain or completely sever the head...this does not mean cut its head off because it will in fact still be "alive." So the best way I would have to say to survive a zombie attack would be to kill yourself because...you're screwed anyway...you think you can survive? No you can't. You're fucked.  

Halloween: 
  1. Celebration where little kids dress up and get candy; teens dress up, get drunk, and go get candy; and adults dress up, get drunk, and give out candy. Funny how things all work out.
  2. The day that makes the other 364 worth living.
  3. The one day of the year you can beg strangers for food and not get told to fuck off. As long as you're dressed up like a ghost/the devil/transvestite.
  4. It's when you dress up in either cheap, store-bought costumes or elaborate, self-made ones, watch Rocky Horror Picture Show, get your friends to do the Time Warp, and go on a severe candy binge. Until someone spoils your fun by reminding you that it's April.
  5. An annual excuse for girls to dress like sluts and get away with it.
  6. The only day of the year when it's acceptable for guys to dress up as girls in school.
  7. John Carpenter's best movie.
And THAT is Halloween according to the Urban Dictionary. LOL.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

On Halloween, It's "Nutcrack," Not Nutcracker



Have you ever wondered where some holiday traditions came from? Why is bobbing for apples and dressing up in costumes associated with Halloween and no other holiday? What about the colors orange and black being the accepted colors of Halloween? Halloween celebrations date back to 4000 B.C., which gives us over 6,000 years of traditions which have led up to how we celebrate Halloween today. Here are just a few facts about where some of our current traditions came from:


The colors black and orange are typically associated with Halloween. Orange symbolizes strength and endurance and, along with brown and gold, stands for the harvest and autumn. Black symbolizes death and darkness and reminds us that Halloween was once a festival that marked the boundaries between life and death.

Halloween was influenced by the ancient Roman festival Pomona, which celebrated the harvest goddess of the same name. Many Halloween customs and games that feature apples (such as bobbing for apples) and nuts date from this time. In fact, in the past, Halloween has been called San-Apple Night and Nutcrack Night.

During the pre-Halloween celebration of Samhain, bonfires were lit to ensure the sun would return after the long, hard winter. Druid priests often threw the bones of cattle into the flames, thus "bone fire" became "bonfire."

Dressing up as ghouls and other spirits on Halloween originated from the Celtic tradition of townspeople disguising themselves as demons and spirits so that they would escape the notice of the real spirits wandering the streets during Samhain.

Halloween celebrations in Hong Kong are known as Yue Lan (Festival of Hungry Ghosts). Fires are lit, and food and gifts are offered to placate potentially angry ghosts who might be looking for revenge.


Tuesday, October 9, 2012

What do #Zombies and #Snickers Have in Common on #Halloween?

I love Halloween. I love everything about it: the costumes, the treats, the decorations, and trick-or-treaters. But most of all, I love the scariness that goes along with Halloween, which evokes images of fog-laden cemeteries or a full moon with eery, wispy clouds drifting over it to cast a ghostly light over the land. I instantly hear the telltale piano notes of the theme to the movie, Halloween, and I become all giddy like a little girl.

Halloween, even more-so than Christmas, makes me feel like a kid again. I just love it. And here's some interesting facts and trivia about Halloween that you may not have known:

  • The first Jack O'Lanterns were carved from turnips.
  • Zombies were the #1 choice of costume in 2011.
  • Do you have an intense fear of Halloween? Well then, you have Samhainophobia. BOO!
  • Half of kids prefer to receive chocolate candy for Halloween, with Snickers being the #1 favorite chocolate treat. So invest in some chocolate for your trick-or-treaters.
  • Trick-or-treating evolved from an ancient Celtic tradition of putting out treats to placate spirits who roamed the streets at Samhain, a sacred festival that marked the end of the Celtic calendar year.
  • An old tradition says that if you want to see a witch on Halloween, put your clothes on inside out and walk backward.
  • The word "witch" comes from the Old English wicce, meaning "wise woman." In fact, wiccan were highly respected people at one time. According to popular belief, witches held one of their two main meetings, or sabbats, on Halloween night.
  • Speaking of witches, in Medieval Europe, owls were thought to be witches, and to hear an owl's call meant someone was about to die.
  • Ever wonder how the Jack O'Lantern got its name? Legend says that a stingy man named jack tricked the devil so many times that he was forbidden to enter both heaven and hell. Jack was condemned to wander the Earth, waving his lantern to lead people away from their paths.

Monday, October 8, 2012

More! More #Vampires!

As an author of paranormal worlds, especially vampires, I have a soft spot for these creatures of the night. And as you saw in my last post, my AKM vampires are all pretty damaged characters.

Something else I like to create in my vampiric world is diversity. Think about it. Humans don't come in one shape, size, or color, and they all don't follow a cookie cutter personality or style. We have Caucasian, African-American, Asian, Indian, and everything in between. Furthermore, within each race, we have even more subsets of people. Plus, we have good humans and bad ones; louds ones and quiet ones; some with addictive personalites and some with incredible self-control. We have athletes, musicians, artists, lawyers. Some humans are psychic, while others are merely intuitive. The point is, we have an unlimited, diverse set of human appearance and behavior.

Why not have the same with vampires? Do all vampires have to be big and muscular? Or with just one set of fangs? Why can't the vampire race have just as many variances of appearance and behavior as the human race does?

This variety is what I strive for in my All the King's Men series, and in my next book, I'll be introducing a new character who is an Ancient who comes from the Old World. He's described as Slavic, and not many of his kind remain alive today, but his appearance has one stark characteristic not found in most of the other vampire races: upper and lower fangs. I think fans will fall in love with this character when they meet him, because he's got severe issues and just jumps off the page. One of my beta readers already told me she is crazy about him — and he was only in the story for maybe all of two pages, if that. Only the right kind of female will be able to save this severely tragic male who has lost his touch on reality (and yes, I have one in mind - hee hee).

At any rate, here is some more vampire trivia to whet your fangs with:


Vampire Trivia - Part II

According to Romanian legend, a child could be born a vampire if a vampire stared at a pregnant woman. If a pregnant woman was stared at by a vampire, she could have a vampire child. It was once commonly believed that children could be “marked” in their mother’s womb by something the mother saw or experienced while she was pregnant.

The Bruxsa, a beautiful female Portuguese vampire that transforms into a bird, leads a human life by day and transforms through witchcraft into a vampire by night. She is capable of bearing children (though she often feeds upon them). If you meet one, bad news: There is no way to kill this vampire.

The Danag, which originated in the Philippines, is an ancient South East Asian vampire that is initially believed to have been a good friend to humans before it got a taste of their blood and decided to feast upon them.

According to Romanian folklore, vampires are most active on St. George’s Day (May 4th on the Gregorian calendar). Witches are most active on this day, as well.

Bavarian vampires sleep with one eye open.

It is generally accepted that vampires cannot enter a dwelling without the owner’s permission or invitation.

So, I Like To Write About #Vampires - 31 Days of #Halloween Continue

Since I was uber busy moving into my new home office this weekend, I got behind on my blog posts, so I'll try to make up for that in the next couple of days. So, onward we go with the 31 Days of Halloween. And remember, I'll post a quiz at the end of this week based on the week's posts, and one lucky person will win a prize.

Drake Mefestta - Proclaimed Real Life Vampire
Chicago, IL
As my 31 Days of Halloween continue, I thought I would talk about vampires today. Fitting since the series I'm working on is about vampires. A few years ago, the buzz was that vampires in fiction were out. "Oh, vampire stories are phasing out. No one wants to read about vampires anymore." I haven't noticed this trend. Fans seem to love my vampires, and the vampire buzz is as strong, if not stronger, than ever. For instance, love it or hate it, Twilight is still popular, and J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series doesn't show signs of letting up, especially with the much-anticipated story of Blaylock and Qhuinn coming out. And then of course, there's True Blood. Countless authors continue to write fabulous stories related to vampires and their realm. And who's that fellow in the pic? Drake Mefestta, who lives in Chicago, claims to be a real life vampire. So, no, I don't think the vampire rage is dying just yet. I think readers want different takes on the vampire concept, but vampire stories are still popular.

My All the King's Men series focuses on a team of vampire warriors-turned-enforcers, but my vampire world isn't the run-of-the-mill world as depicted in tradition or in other books. My vampires can be born as mixed-bloods who inherit special powers as their genetic makeup misfires. Some gifts are more benevolent than others, and while some of my vampires, such as Traceon, have to remain on constant vigil to ensure their powers don't consume and alter them into mutants, others live in relative harmony with their extra special powers.

Some of my vampires can endure daylight, but others can't, based on whether they are full-bloods or mixed, and each comes with his or her own inner demons and quirks. In Rise of the Fallen (book one of the series), Micah's demons revolved around the loss of his first mate. He externalized that loss and became a reclusive yet powerful vigilante...a danger to himself and others until he found Samantha (well, she found him).

As for some of the other characters:
  • Malek, who has known Micah the longest and could pass as his brother for all their physical similarities, also suffers from the loss of his first mate, who was human. Unlike Micah, though, Malek internalized his loss, becoming a sterile, whitewashed version of himself rather than face the reality of his mate's death. I'm writing his story now, and as he finally faces Carmen's death, he explodes into near-psychosis from the emotional upheaval and inner struggle not to defile Carmen's memory as he fights his desire to mate another who has unwittingly stolen his soul.
  • Severin's inner demons involve hiding his genetic ties to the vampires' natural enemy, the drecks, as well as the tragic way he was conceived.
  • Arion? Well, Arion has lived a lie his entire life so he could maintain peace within his family. But when he meets Severin, all bets are off as his true self demands to be heard.
  • Traceon or Trace...well, I can't begin to detail all his demons. That male has stolen the series and has become THE character EVERYONE wants to know more about. He has a good heart, but he is damaged, damaged, and damaged some more. So much has happened to Trace throughout his life, and I allow his story to unfold a little in each book as the series progresses...because if I try to reveal all of his issues just in his book, it will be too much and won't work.
At any rate, here is some vampire trivia for you to chew over, and if you're a paranormal author like me, you might garner a few plot/story ideas from the list:


Vampire Trivia - Part 1

Vampire Trivia

A group of vampires has variously been called a clutch, brood, coven, pack, or a clan.

One way to supposedly deter a vampire is to throw seeds (usually mustard) outside a door or place a fishing net outside a window. Vampires are compelled to count the seeds or the holes in the net, delaying them until the sun comes up.

Anemia (“bloodlessness”) was often mistaken for a symptom of vampire attack.

The Egyptian goddess Sekhmet was known to drink blood, and the ancient fanged goddess Kaliof India also had a powerful desire for blood.

A vampire supposedly has control over the animal world and can turn into a bat, rat, owl, moth, fox, or wolf.

Female vampires were often blamed for spreading the bubonic plague throughout Europe.

According to several legends, if someone was bitten by a suspected vampire, he or she should drink the ashes of a burned vampire. To prevent an attack, a person should make bread with the blood of a vampire and eat it.

Some historians argue that Prince Charles is a direct descendant of Vlad the Impaler, the son of Vlad Dracula.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

31 Days of Halloween - Edgar Allan Poe


Pay attention this week. There might be a quiz and a prize next Friday. Just sayin'.

Fiction and the literary world have some great storytellers when it comes to horror and the bizarre: Dean Koontz and Stephen King come to mind. But the granddaddy of them all would have to be Edgar Allan Poe. With just the mention of his name, we know what he stood for in his writing. He's like the Dracula of authors.

Two days ago, I recounted my own true ghost story of the haunted house I grew up in, but did you know that the Poe house is also haunted? With a little help from the website, http://theshadowlands.net/famous/ , I found some fitting tidbits about the home where Poe lived. And, really, it would have been pretty anticlimactic had the home where he wrote in the attic hadn't turned out to be haunted, wouldn't it?



The Edgar Allen Poe House
  
People often take it for granted that Edgar Allan Poe's former houses could be haunted. Though his ghost has been spotted other places, his old home on 203 N. Amity Street in Baltimore is haunted by someone else. The building is a two and a half story brick row house. It is very small and narrow. The attic room that Poe lived in is so tiny that adults often have trouble standing up in it. The house was built in 1830, and Poe's aunt, Maria Clemm, rented it in 1832. Poe himself lived there from that year until 1835, along with her, his grandmother, and two cousins (one of these cousins was Virginia Clemm, whom he later married).

In 1939 the house was almost demolished during a "slum clearance" program. It was taken over by the Edgar Allan Poe society of Baltimore in 1941. The house is open to the public and operated by Jeff Jerome, who has been the curator since 1977. One of the interesting things that can be seen there is a portrait of Poe's wife painted from her corpse. Doors and windows in the Poe house often open and close by themselves. In 1968 a local resident called the police after seeing a light moving around the closed building late at night. When the police arrived they saw a candle-like light move from the first floor, through the second, and up to the attic. When they went into the house, no one was there.

Curator Jeff Jerome has stated to several sources that the identity of the spirits has not been determined. Most of the activity has taken place in the bedroom that was once Poe's grandmother's (Jerome has also cautioned that many people have lived there besides Poe. After all, it was a rental house in a slum area). Elizabeth Poe did die in the house in 1835. In her room many people have been tapped on the shoulder. In 1980, people gathered for a radio station publicity stunt heard voices and other noises.  Several psychics have reported seeing visions of an old woman dressed in clothing of the 1830s. She has grey hair and is heavy set. Psychics have also reported sensations in Virginia's room and Poe's attic.

During the 1940s, the building became surrounded by Poe homes, the city's first housing project. Since then, the neighborhood residents have had their own stories about the Poe museum. Tales about his spirit are used to frighten children. A November 1985 New York Times article reported that street gangs were afraid of the house and therefore left it alone. Several residents have admitted to being scared of the place. A recent article that appeared in the Baltimore Sun (September 18, 1999) reported on how the local residents felt about the Poe house. Some people believe that Poe's ghost terrorizes the neighborhood, running across rooftops and grabbing children to torture. A local man reported that in August 1999 he looked up at the window to see a shadowy spirit sitting at a writing desk (others have reported this, though Poe actually did his writing in the attic).

The Poe house is open to the public, though the hours vary wildly from season to season. For more detailed information about the house, pictures of it, and visiting hours the Edgar Allen Poe Society 's web site is an excellent resource.



http.//raven.ubalt.edw/features/poe/POEHSE.HTM

Come back tomorrow for another lesson to prepare for Friday's quiz.

Friday, October 5, 2012

My Own True Ghost Story


In my last blog post, I brought up Ouija Boards, which have the ability to open portals for spirits to use to walk between realms. While I've never seriously gotten down with a Ouija board, I have had experiences with ghosts. The following is a true story.

When I was a little girl, I shared a bedroom with my brother until I got old enough for my own room. We had bunk beds, and I got the bottom bunk. So, one night, I woke up and had to go to the bathroom. I can't remember exactly how old I was, but I was pretty young. Maybe eight or nine. I know I was in elementary school. At any rate, I opened the bedroom door and stepped into the hallway. When I looked up, I froze. A little girl was standing there looking at me. She was in vivid color, and I described the dress she wore as floral print because it was so colorful. She just stood there and looked at me, and I stood there and stared at her, terrified to the point that I was frozen in place and couldn't move. And then I think her hand moved or something. That's what snapped me back out of it. I turned and bolted back into the bedroom, diving head-first into my bed.

After several minutes, I woke my brother up and told him what had happened and that he had to go with me so I could go to the bathroom. No way was I going back out into that hallway alone. But when he took me out there, the little girl was gone.

A few years later, when I had finally calmed down about this mysterious little girl ghost, and when I had my own room, I was ready to talk to her if I ever saw her again. I had even grown so bold as to leave my bedroom door open as a means to invite her in if she wanted to talk to me.

One night, I was sound asleep and suddenly woke up out of nowhere. I wasn't thirsty, sick, and didn't have to pee. Nothing. I was just suddenly wide awake, as if someone had flipped a switch and I had gone from being dead asleep to wide awake in an instant. Not knowing what had awakened me, I remember sort of sighing and rolled my head over the pillow. My bed was positioned so that if I was lying down, I could look to the right and see out my bedroom door to the bathroom down the hall.

So, I had rolled my head to the right, and I was looking down the hall to the bathroom, and there was this faint glow. The bathroom door was opened halfway, and out from behind the door, this huge—and I mean extremely tall — hooded figure appeared. It moved around the door and began floating down the hall toward me. I say floating, because it hovered about 6 inches or so off the ground, maybe more. The robe was a greenish color, and the inside of the hood was black. I couldn't see a face or anything in there, but the robe billowed out and around as if feet were swishing it forward. I mean, the robe flowed as it would have if you or I were wearing it and walking around in it. And perhaps it could be described as more of a floor-length, hooded, cloak.

At any rate, this extremely tall figure came toward me, the top of its head passing through the door frame of the bathroom. I freaked. Again. This was no little girl, and I wanted nothing to do with it. But like before, I was frozen in place with fear. I mean, the little girl had just stood there, but this thing was walking, and it was walking toward me. I had to do something to make it go away, and I had to do it now. I threw off my covers and jumped out of my bed and "hid" behind my bedroom's door frame. I distinctly remember thinking, "If I can't see it, it will go away." Uh-huh. Yeah, sure. Shows how naive I was. The big and tall hooded creepy thing came into my room. It was seriously only a foot away from me, and even as I write this, I can feel the panic I felt then. I was petrified with fear.

The greenish, hooded, scary ghost entered my room, then began to turn toward me. I did the only thing I could think of. I sort of half-swatted, half-punched it. I don't remember feeling anything, but then again, I was beyond terrified. As I hit this whatever-it-was, it instantly disappeared, and I remember that it didn't disappear all at once. It sort of blew apart into what I can only describe as fabric-like swatches that quickly faded away.

Needless to say, I pretty much went into shock. I jumped back into bed, shivering, frozen scared, unable to move, barely able to breath. It was only by force of will that about a half-hour later I was able to dart to my brother's room and curl up in a fetal position at the foot of his bed and finally fall back to sleep.

That house always scared me after that. I dreaded being inside it alone, always feeling like someone was watching me, but never seeing any more ghosts. My brother saw someone sitting in the chair in the living room one night, but he wrote it off as our stepdad. But the next morning, our stepdad was like, "No, I went to bed. I wasn't in the living room."

At any rate, there's my brush with the paranormal. Have you had experiences with ghosts?

Thursday, October 4, 2012

More 31 Days of Halloween - Get Your Creep On



Don't like spiders? You might want to read on before you kill one on Halloween.

Creepy Tidbits

  1. If you see a spider on Halloween, it is the spirit of a loved one watching over you.
  2. Worldwide, bats are vital natural enemies of night-flying insects.
  3. The common little brown bat of North America has the longest life span for a mammal its size, with a life span averaging 32 years.
  4. In about 1 in 4 autopsies, a major disease is discovered that was previously undetected.
  5. The Ouija Board ended up outselling the game of Monopoly in its first full year at Salem. Over two million copies of the Ouija Board were shipped.
Do you own a Ouija Board? Do you believe in its power? When I was a kid, we had a Ouija board, and while I was fascinated with it, I never got it to work. However, now that I'm an adult, I know this is one toy you should never play with. It can invite bad, bad spirits into your life, and I don't need any bad spirits hanging around.

Has anyone ever had a baffling or scary experience with a Ouija Board?

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Scary Movies - Setting the Stage for #Halloween



I love a good, scary movie, don't you? Especially at Halloween. Obviously, Michael Myers and the movie, Halloween, are the #1 choice. I mean, everyone knows that mask, and it's perfect for the holiday it's named after. You can't go wrong with a classic like Michael Myers and Halloween on the spookiest holiday of the year. But the original Nightmare on Elm Street and even the cheesy slasher flick, Friday the 13th, are excellent scary movie choices, too. There's just something about putting on a scary movie and dressing up as a witch, ghost, or zombie to pass out Halloween candy to trick-or-treaters that just puts the fright in the night. So, what's your favorite scary move to watch on Halloween?

Halloween Movie Trivia

  1. "Halloween" was made in only 21 days in 1978 on a very limited budget.
  2. The movie was shot in the Spring and used fake autumn leaves.
  3. The mask used by Michael Meyers in the movie "Halloween" was actually William Shatner's mask painted white.
  4. The character Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis was named after John Carpenter's first girlfriend.
  5. While the setting for the story is in Illinois, the vehicles have California license plates.
  6. Halloween is on October 31st, the last day of the Celtic calendar. It was originally a pagan holiday, honoring the dead. Halloween was referred to as All Hallows Eve and dates back to over 2000 years ago.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Monsters - Werewolves, Vampires, and Gargoyles



As my 31 Days of Halloween continue, here is a short post about monsters. I found at least two story ideas as I read through the list. How many can you find?

Monster Trivia & Folklore

  1. Signs of a werewolf are a unibrow, hairy palms, tattoos, and a long middle finger.
  2. Vampires are mythical beings who defy death by sucking the blood of humans.
  3. In 1962, The Count Dracula Society was founded by Dr. Donald A. Reed.
  4. To this day, there are vampire clubs and societies with people claiming to be real vampires.
  5. There really are so-called vampire bats, but they're not from Transylvania. They live in Central and South America and feed on the blood of cattle, horses and birds.
  6. Many people still believe that gargoyles were created by medieval architects and stone carvers to ward off evil spirits.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

31 Days of #Halloween - Holiday Trivia



The month of October is my favorite month, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. And since I write paranormal tales of romance, I thought it would be fun to have a month of Halloween-related posts. Stick around and have some fun. There might be a prize or two in the offing, as well as some fun quizzes, trivia, and perhaps even a true story or two about ghosts. As always, feel free to share your own stories.

Halloween Holiday Trivia

  1. Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the Fall harvest and black is associated with darkness and death.
  2. Jack o’ Lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday.
  3. Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green. Great for unique monster carvings!
  4. Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes.
  5. Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America.
  6. The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night. They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.
  7. Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States.
  8. Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters with Snickers #1.
  9. Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday, with Christmas being the first.
  10. Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the Roman harvest festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.
  11. Black cats were once believed to be witch's familiars who protected their powers.
Come back every day in October for something else related to October and Halloween!