Here we are at last All Hallows Eve, the day before All Hallows Day or Saint's Day, a day that honors the saints who made it to heaven or were hallowed. With that info in mind let's take a look at the most haunted states in the US including those in the top 10, along with the top 10 states that will give you the creeps, some of these are surprising.
Twenty witches carvings were recently discovered at an English Heritage site dating back to 1596. Most of the marks are protection marks though there are a few curse inscriptions with one of those being the owner's named carved upside down.
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| The Hickman curse |
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| One of the circles used to trap demons |
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| Overlapping Vs used to call on the Virgin Mary for protection |
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| A pentangle to protect against evil |
The Halloween rhyme, "Trick or Treat smell my feet, give me something good to eat." Has several endings like, if you don't I won't be sad. I'll just make you wish you had! and If you don't I don't care, I'll just pull down your underwear. Though a 28 year old man in Greece was embarrassed and had no explanation for why he was sneaking onto neighbor's property to smell their shoes. For his fetish he received a suspended one month prison sentence. Maybe they don't have that rhyme in Greece.
Yes, there is an actual Science of Scare and it's in the fourth year of studying 250 people at a whack while they watch scary movies attached to monitors to track the heart rate (BPM beats per minute) and heart rate variance (HRV the time in between each beat of your heart). Once they compile the data they publish the top twenty scariest movies. The list for this year is below in case you need something scary to watch for Halloween.
Most of us have heard of Fat Bear Week but what about Bat Beauty Contest? Apparently the beauty contest has been going on since 2019, it's hosted by the Bureau of Land Management to raise awareness of the flying mammal's ecological importance. The contest kicked off on Thursday and continues through Halloween and is known as Bat Week. The agency is hoping for one of the two Oregon bats to win to make it the third year in a row for Oregon to achieve the honor. Sir Flaps-A-Lot a Townsend's big eared bat from Utah and an Oregon hoary bat appropriately named Hoary Potter are a couple of the contestants.
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| Hoary Potter |
The spiritualist movement started in the late 19th century and pretty much continues to this day, oddly photography was often incorporated as proof of contact with spirits though most of the "proof" was debunked over time. So pretty much it remains the same today where much of what was thought to be ghosts caught on film turn out to be something else though with most everyone carrying cameras around with them all the time maybe proof is just around the corner. The following are some of the early examples.
Strange as it might sound fear is actually good for you and many people seek it out in scary books, movies, haunted houses and other fear inducing venues. There's reasons fright fans enjoy a good scare one is chemical, being scared releases adrenaline and once that subsides the body releases dopamine providing the body with a sense of pleasure and relief. Fear is also part of our basic survival instincts so dealing with fear on a regular basis keeps you tuned up to deal with unexpected dangers. Fear also helps form bonds with the people you get scared with, now you know why dates were often to horror movies!
For those of you looking for the best places to celebrate Halloween today's post presents a few. In Sleepy Hollow, NY they offer a tour of a historic cemetery by lantern light and the Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze featuring over 7000 pumpkins. Salem, MA has multiple tours and events. New Orleans, LA also has many activities including a Krewe of BOO celebration and a Zombie Run. Rehoboth Beach, DE offers a Sea Witch Festival. In New York, NY there's a live Rocky Horror Picture Show and a Village Halloween Parade. Last on the list is Los Angeles, CA where they present Universal Studios Hollywood Horror Nights, Dark Harbor at the Queen Mary, and Knott's Scary Farm.
Have you purchased Halloween candy yet? If so you may have noticed that like most everything else the size is smaller and the price is higher. Of course the candy companies blame inflation which is part of the deal along with cocoa being at a 44 year high but it makes a person wonder what the CEOs of the different candy companies make and how long they think they can sell less of the product for more money before people decide they just won't buy it any more. Then who will pay the CEOs their six digit or higher salaries?
In keeping with the Halloween theme today's post is about zombies, though not the brain eating, undead, human kind these are insect zombies. These bad boys are made from contact with fungi that penetrate the insect then turn into a yeast that takes over the insect functions causing it to lose contact with the other insects. It eventually summits meaning it will climb to the top of a plant where a stalk from the planted spores will sprout out of the insect's head and release more spores starting the whole process over. So far there is no danger to humans and according to researchers there is little to no chance of that happening...I guess we'll see!
Staying with the "spirit" of Halloween today's post offers a theory on Casper the Friendly Ghost actually being the same character as Richie Rich without hair and clothes. In the 1930s Casper was originally an idea for a children's book but the author ended up going into the armed forces during WWII and the illustrator for the book sold the rights to Casper to Paramount for $175. Casper's TV debut came in 1945 and he was an instant hit. As for Richie Rich he debuted in Little Dot Comics #1 in 1953 so it's possible Casper's body type was hijacked to form the poor little rich boy.
Without further ado here are the last few costumes for this year's festivities.
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| It's a Witch Hunt Costume |
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| Childless Cat Lady |
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| Beyonce Renaissance Queen |
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| Sexy Popcorn |
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| Frog |
Today's post features some more Halloween costumes for you consideration and enjoyment.
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| Croc Couple |
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| Bottle of Sriracha |
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| Stanley Drinking Cup |
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| Strawberry Pop Tart |
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| Tooth Fairy and Tooth |
Plenty of time to select the perfect Halloween costume and have it arrive before the 31st. This will take a few days or maybe less to show the top choices. They can be ordered at several different places, just put in a search for your choice and you will be pointed in the right direction, or at least you should be.
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| Ozempic Pen |
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| Seahorse |
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| Zombie Red Riding Hood |
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| Corona and Lime |
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| Electric Car and Charger |
