#Hester's Halloween events | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rj-drive-in · 10 days ago

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Strange Brew Department:

Happy Halloween! Happy Tricks! Happy Treats!

For October Wine, one must gather the ingredients one year in advance, because that’s how long it must ferment.

Wet orange maple leaves collected from the forest floor no later than the ides; pine cones that have yet to drop, along with a bed of needles for their repose; a cupped handful of wild blueberries picked at dawn; a handful of chestnuts no bigger than your thumbnail; the longest continuous strip of birch bark possible; a baker’s dozen of Honeysuckle flowers collected while trespassing; a pumpkin; a patch of moss; and, most importantly, seven Hedgehog Mushrooms, collected in the nude under the full moon.

Halloween night, as the Witching Hour approached, I gathered the ingredients on my kitchen counter and pulled out my grandmother’s yellow, crumbling recipe, sealed in its clear plastic sleeve (no fear– I also scanned it and backed it up to the cloud).

Normally I would use that nice vintner kit that I got from Amazon a couple of years ago, but this was to be something special. I used Gramma’s old fermenting bottle. It was the size of a large baby and made of thick green glass, with a finger handle and an ancient cork clamp lid.

Following the recipe to the last handwritten letter, I poured the mix into the mason jar, sealed it tight, and stored it away in a cabinet in the back of my garage.

An eventful year passed, and most of the events were not welcome. Few of them, but all of them, affected me personally.

As October rolled around again, many felt that the gallows humor and graveyard mischief of Halloween were inappropriate after all that had happened, but my appreciation of the holiday ran deeper than that.

Keisha caught up with me at the mall on Friday. “Hey, Hester,” she said, hugging me. “I’m having a little get together at my place on Halloween. Just a quiet thing, no costumes or anything. I hope you can be there.”

“I think I’ll just stay home,” I lied.

“Just a half dozen people or so. Some single boys.”

I laughed. “That’s okay.”

“Chips and hard cider.”

“Nah.”

“Still missing your gramma, huh?”

“Yeah. Always.”

“She was a real sweethearted lady.”

“Best ever.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” I smiled for her.

She hugged me again. “Okay, but the invitation is open if you change your mind. We’d love to have you.”

“Thank you. I’ll think it over.”

She continued on her way and I continued on mine.

I met Violet coming out of the supermarket with an armload of Halloween candy, just as I was going in.

“Hi, hon,” she said with a one-armed hug and a cheek kiss. “I guess you’re all ready for All Hallow’s Eve.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sexy Hippie costume.”

“Just my regular clothes,” I laughed.

“Same thing,” she said. “What are your plans?”

“Just home,” I lied.

“No date?”

I shook my head and she shook hers back at me teasingly. “You’ve got to move on eventually,” she said.

“And I will. But it was nice. I’ll let it linger a little.”

“Mmm,” she said. “I know what you mean. That’s why I never brush my teeth right after eating ice cream.”

I laughed. She was always coming up with crazy, but accurate, metaphors like that. “What about you two?” I asked.

“We’re staying the weekend at his sister’s place in Nashua. We still don’t want to take too many chances with the pandemic.”

“Good idea.”

“Well, I gotta run. Stay safe.”

She continued on her way and I continued on mine.

Piyali got me on Skype me that night from her parents’ house in New Jersey. She was still recovering from the injury to her face that she got at the beach over the Summer, and I’m pretty sure she had some kind of post-traumatic stress thing going on.

“Sorry I haven’t kept in touch,” she said.

“That’s okay. How have you been doing?”

“All right. Mom and Dad want me to stay for the Winter, so I might not be back in town until Spring.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

She nodded. “I’m getting some therapy. Dad offered to pay for plastic surgery. It’s cosmetic, so the insurance won’t cover it.”

“They’re hardly noticeable.”

She shrugged. “I just want them gone.”

“I understand,” I told her. “What are you doing for Halloween.”

“Staying in. Dad likes those old black-and-white monster movies.”

“Same here,” I lied. “Movies and popcorn.”

“Sounds good,” she said. “I should go now. Let’s talk again before Thanksgiving.”

She continued on her way and I continued on mine.

Halloween night came. I turned off the porch light and most of the indoor lights. I didn’t expect any Trick or Treaters this year, but I didn’t want to deal with any that might show up.

When I brought out the mason jar of October wine and popped it open, it smelled sweet and wet and a bit smoky, just like October should. I took a deep breath of the aroma, but resisted the temptation to try some and closed it back up, leaving it on the kitchen table. Instead, I put on the Turner Classic scary movie marathon in the background, with the sound turned low, and meditated in the darkness as the hours went by.

About 11oclock, I stretched and got up and got ready to leave. In my bedroom, I undressed and put on the short cotton nightgown, blue as a daisy, that Gramma gave me last year when she found out she was going to die. She bought it especially for this occasion and this was the first time I took it out.

I wore my car starter fob on a chain around my neck. I would have to carry my phone and the jug of October wine.

My carport is through a door off the kitchen, so I didn’t have to go outside yet. I used the remote garage door opener and drove out into the quiet streets. There would be few cars and fewer people about at this hour, but I really hoped I wouldn’t get pulled over. The air was chilly enough to raise goosebumps, and the stars in the clear sky were bright and crystalline, despite the suburban streetlamps. I liked the feel of my bare feet on the gas and brake. It was a fifteen-minute drive to Houghton’s Pond.

Blue Hill River Road posed the biggest risk for getting pulled over, but the only other parking lots were on the other side of the pond, which would have meant an hour’s walk through the dark woods before I even got to the right trail. Fortunately, I had no trouble. The parking lot between the picnic grounds and the ballfield was deserted and I sat there in my parked car for a minute, listening to the quiet, before getting out.

The yellow swing gate that blocked the trail to car traffic was right beside the parking lot and easy to find. I didn’t bother using the flashlight app on my phone to light my way, because the Google home page threw enough of a glow to see by in that deep darkness. I went around the gate and, after carefully picking my way barefooted through the weeds and rocks of the disused trail, I came to the edge of a crumbling asphalt road. This was the abandoned ruin of the original Route 128, which has sat here ghostly and mostly forgotten since it was replaced by the new highway system back in the 50s. Here the going got a little easier and I continued down that road for several minutes.

Gramma had left me very specific instructions on what to do next, written on the back of the recipe for her October wine. I’ve scanned that too, but I’m not going to include any details of it here. Let it suffice to say that the passage to the hidden pathway that I needed to find would have been invisible in broad daylight, let alone the dead of night, but her step-by-step guide allowed me to slip unscratched through a wall of thorns, like an interpretive dancer maneuvering through a maze.

The trail on the the other side of the bushes was very narrow and I had to pick my way through carefully so as not to lose it. But it was only a matter of minutes before I broke through to the clearing that Gramma had described.

The clearing was circular, about to fit a Burger King and covered with an even bed of grass. Just as Gramma had said, it looked as well kept as a front lawn, even though nobody ever came this way. The trees that surrounded the clearing were Autumn bare, and I could see the cold white light of the rising Moon starting to peek through them to the East.

I pulled my nightgown off over my head, folded it up and lay it in the grass at the clearing’s edge. Switching my phone to airplane mode, I placed it on top of the nightgown. Then, holding the jug of October wine in my arms like a baby, I walked deeper into the clearing.

About a third of the way across, facing the hint of the rising Moon, I sat down cross legged with the jug in front of me. The grass was cool and moist with dew. It was just before midnight.

After several relaxing breaths, I unclamped the old cork and popped it out, raised the jug to my lips and took my first drink.

It was somewhat thicker than store wine and tasted like wet leaves and berries. It was also warm, and I could feel that warmth go down my throat and spread into my shoulders. I closed my eyes and sipped at it slowly.

When I opened my eyes again, the half disk of the last-quarter Moon had risen above the treetops and was casting shadows across the clearing almost to my knees. A soft breeze moved through the bare branches. It was cool on my skin but I still felt warm. I saw what looked like swarms of fireflies floating lazily in the dark woods, and they seemed to be flying in pairs. Perhaps they were the eyes of Halloween spirits.

Gramma had not told me what to expect, except for anything and everything. I smiled, feeling calm and warm, closed my eyes and took another sip.

When I opened my eyes again, the Moon was higher, lighting more of the clearing. Spread throughout the carpet of grass before me were a thousand mushrooms, some as tall as lilies, some as tall as corn, with slender stalks waving slowly back and forth. They were pale gray, almost white in the moonlight, except for red spots on their small umbrellas. The mushroom closest to me was being ridden by a small snail.

I sat watching the calm waves moving back and forth through the field of unusual growths until I fell in rhythm with them.

Then I closed my eyes and took another sip.

When I opened my eyes again, the Moon was higher and the shadows shorter. The mushrooms were gone, but their place was taken by scores of frogs. There were frogs of all types, from warted bullfrogs as big as footballs to small pebbled tree frogs that would fit in the palm of my hand. They were spread in front of me across the clearing in a great half circle, arranged in rows, like an amphibious parliament.

They sat still and staring at me, slowly blinking, their throats expanding and contracting. Occasionally a distinctive croak would arise from somewhere in the crowd to be answered elsewhere.

Nodding, I closed my eyes and took another sip.

When I opened my eyes again, the Moon was straight overhead and it was now full. This did not seem odd to me. I tilted my head back and looked up and realized that the Moon was also larger than it should be. Every time I blinked, it grew larger still and soon it nearly filled the sky, its edges obscured by the treetops around the clearing. It was so close that I could see the crisp details of mountains and valleys and craters as if I were looking straight down at them. There was the Sea of Tranquility. There was the Apollo lander and the American flag. There were Neil Armstrong’s footprints.

The surface of the Moon was now just inches above my head, almost as close as the cool grass under my bum. I had a brief moment of vertigo and suddenly I was kneeling in the lunar dust and the grassy field was above my head like a low ceiling. The astronauts’ footprints, in their stark clarity, were right in front of me and gray moondust clung to my knees and bare feet. I was afraid to exhale, not knowing if I’d be able to breathe in again.

I reached out to touch the footprint before me and stopped, not wanting to disturb its perfection. There was a moment of vertigo again and I was back in the clearing and the Moon was back in the sky, in its normal phase.

Closing my eyes, I took another sip.

When I opened my eyes again, the Moon was behind me, the shadows of the trees stretching out in front of me. A wide dirt path, almost a road, had opened up in the forest straight ahead on the other side of the clearing. Far off in the distance, at the end of that road, a thousand miles away, was a light, and silhouetted in that light was somebody walking away. He seemed familiar, but he never turned around and soon disappeared down that relentless road.

I blinked and the path was gone.

Closing my eyes, I took another sip.

When I opened my eyes again, the Moon had almost set, leaving only traces of moonbeams peeking through the woods in back of me. The clearing was very dark now, but I soon became aware that there were other people present, moving quietly at the treeline. They were all separate, spread apart, just shadows in the darkness.

There were three of them, all unaware of me and each other. Each time I blinked, they were in different positions in the field, but seemed to be gradually, randomly, coming nearer to the place where I was sitting.

After a while, I began to make out details. They were all girls, all as naked as I was. One was brown with black curls; one was pale, with red hair and freckles; one was olive with glossy hair to her waist. It was Keisha, Violet, and Piyali.

They continued to drift slowly closer, each in her own world, until they stood in a row in front of me, staring silently at their own feet.

It was hard to find my voice. I felt like I hadn’t spoken in a hundred years. Finally, I managed to say, “What’s the matter?”

I blinked again and the clearing was empty.

With a heavy heart, I took another sip.

When I opened my eyes again, the Moon was gone and the clearing was black, the only light coming from the starry sky above. It took a very long time for my vision to adjust. Eventually, I knew that there was another human figure standing under the trees on the other side of the field. Again, it was a woman, and, again, she was as naked as I was. But this was an old woman. An ancient woman.

This was my Gramma.

She started walking slowly toward me and with each step the years melted away and the stars grew brighter. By the time she reached me, she was young, as young as I was, and I could see her clearly. She sat down cross legged in front of me so that our knees were touching and the jug of October wine sat in the tangle of our ankles.

She tilted her head at me with an odd smile and then lifted up the jug and took a long drink. She seemed to savor it for a moment, and then handed it over to me. I took a sip, but she shook her head with a wry twist to her mouth, so I took a longer drink. I placed it back down between us, feeling a little dizzy.

“It’s very good,” she said.

“I followed your recipe to the letter.”

“Next time you won’t have to.”

She took my hands and placed them on top of the jug, then placed her hands on top of mine, and squeezed firmly. For a long time, she just smiled at me and stared into my eyes with a look of adoration that broke and healed my heart.

“Gramma,” I said.

“Yes, Hester.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“You do know what to do.”

“Tell me. What?”

“You don’t need me to tell you what to do,” she said. “You know what to do.”

My eyes suddenly filled with tears and when I wiped them clear, she was gone. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes and took a long last drink.

When I opened my eyes again, the Eastern sky was just barely turning blue. I got to my feet a bit stiffly and stretched out all the kinks with a groan. I replaced the cork in the mason jar of October wine, noting that there was still more than half left. Plenty left over for next year. Plenty for me to continue this old and new tradition.

Picking up my nightgown and phone, I slipped back into the narrow pathway in the forest, retracing my steps to the road and the parking lot and my car and my life. I was ready to continue on my way, knowing that all the other ways, of both the living and the dead, were mine as well.

#microfiction #micro fiction #short fiction #short story #fantasy #halloween #all hallows eve #happy halloween #trick or treat #rick hutchins #rjdiogenes

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oldsalempost-blog · 1 year ago

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The Old Salem Post

Our Local Tamassee-Salem SC Area News each Monday except holidays Contact: [email protected] Distributed to local businesses, town hall, library. Volume 7 Issue 41 Week of October 30, 2023 https://www.tumblr.com/settings/blog/oldsalempost-blog Lynne Martin Publishing

EDITOR: Continued from last week: Sharing the heart of Christine Burgess: Pat’s Cash and Carry 50th Anniversary: When Christine’s health began failing, son Chris and his wife Karen took over running the family business in about 1996. Chris and Karen’s daughters, Kayla and Christi spent their childhood days in the day to day operations of the business. Chris passed away several years ago from health complications. The daughters did not dream they would become the ones behind the day to day operations so soon when their mother Karen passed away quickly and unexpectedly in February this year. Both Kayla and Christi are young mothers with young children. Speaking with Kayla she said, “We could not see putting our girls in daycare, to go to work a job that all of our money will go to daycare.” The Burgess family plans to carry on the hopes and dreams that began in the heart of the matriarch that started Pat’s Cash & Carry 50 years ago. Christine’s daughter Teresa beams as she recalls, “Mom loved this community and wanted it to grow and flourish.” LRM

TOWN of SALEM: Collecting for Toys for Tots through Nov. Downtown Market every Sat 8am-12pm.

Haunted House October 30, 31 6pm-8pm at The Tamassee-Salem GYM. Admission $3 Adults 1 and up $2 Kids 17 and under . ENAC & the T-S Rec Department have something fun lined up for Halloween!

JOCASSEE VALLEY BREWING COMPANY,(JVBC) & COFFEE SHOP* 13412 N Hwy 11 Open Wed–Sat 8am-9pm and Sunday 12pm-7pm. Events: Wed: Food: El Charro for lunch and supper. Music: Blue Grass Jam 6:30pm. Fri: *Food: OPUSTrust Whole Hog Pickin, 5pm Music: Conservation Theory and Vilia Harrington 6:30pm Sat- Food: Blue Ridge Grill Music: West End String Band at 6:30pm Sun: 12pm-7pm.OYSTER ROAST 2pm-7pm as long as they last. Music: John Johnson Duo 2pm and Ageless Acoustic 4pm. More Information 864-873-0048. *Mt Appalachia Celebration

ASHTON RECALLS by Ashton Hester

SALEM WAS ON THE MOVE 70 YEARS AGO - (Editor's note: This is a continuation of a lengthy story in the June 17, 1953 Keowee Courier with the headline "Progress At Salem Going On And On." The first portion of the story was in this column last week). . .Big improvements and changes, of course, show first in any town's growth, but the less glaring moves of progress add up strongly in the sum total. . .Take for example the fact that Salem's post office receipts jumped during the past year by $250. Postmaster Homer Griffith takes great pride--and rightly so--in the modern post office structure built only several years ago. . .Noah McCoy, one of the town's most active young businessmen, told the Courier with a grin last week that Salem in all probability is Oconee's most air-conditioned municipality as of now, and on a per capita basis it's practically a sure bet he is right. Four Salem business firms have the cooling systems running full blast. . .In addition to the one Mr. McCoy has installed in his grocery and general merchandise store, there are others keeping customers comfortable at Hinkle's Diner, Raymond Bearden's Grocery, and Cleve Alexander's Dairy Bar. . .Two new businesses have opened during the past several weeks along Salem's Main street--another sure sign of a town's expansion. Mr. Alexander's Dairy Bar is one of them, and the other is Dewey Rochester's Service Station. . .TO BE CONTINUED NEXT ISSUE

Jottings from Miz Jeannie

Jeannie Barnwell

The Mystery of the Empty Waiting Room

The doctor's office was unusually packed. Among the oldsters sitting around grunting and groaning was Joel, the doctor's son, who feigned an illness because he didn't want to take the algebra test. Out of pure boredom Joel started tearing up the office magazines and fashioning the colorful pages into ORIGAMI birds. An elderly woman who had limped in with a sore knee asked, "Would you show me how you did that?" Joel taught the woman, and she showed two other patients paper folding techniques. "That's nothing!" I said." I can teach you how to make a fortune telling device that can also be used as a COOTIE CATCHER-- a skill mastered in the fifth grade." A young woman offered, "I can teach you to make adorable little Origami boxes, but we need sturdy paper." "Hey!" declared Joel. "Someone save a big table over at the Chinese Restaurant. I'll go to Hobby-Lobby and buy the paper!" Joel's use of creative connectivity offered unexpected relief to some of his dad's patients. Can you think of ways to utilize creativity and friendship for healing? Miz Jeannie wishes you happiness and health!

NEW CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: Tamassee-Salem Christian Academy has plans to open its doors for the 2024-2025 school year! Come hear all about the exciting plans in progress and see how you can be involved. Tuesday November 14th, 6pm in the auditorium of the Eagles Nest Art Center. We hope to see you there! UPCOMING EVENTS!

Treasure Store open this Saturday 9am-12noon November 4th Tunes of the Cowboy Trail Tickets $10 day of event or on our website. $20 show&supper Hear the tunes of Cowboy Copus, Gene Autry and more by Jef Wilson. If you want to ensure your dinner ticket it is best to reserve your evening by purchasing a ticket prior to this delightful event. We will serve dinner until show time or sell out, whichever comes first. 864-280–1258 November 18th 7pm Oconee Mountain Opry. Tickets $10 day of event or on our website. Enjoy the beautiful tunes and voice of Fayssoux McLean and Brandon Turner. Fayssoux sang vocals with Emmylou Harris for years, and they continue to collaborate as friends today. Brandon is a brilliant talent among musicians who stays booked continually playing with multiple well-known artists. The Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs are a duo from Raleigh, NC who you will delight in their Appalachian Americana tunes. Owen Grooms and Jennifer Linville are from Brevard, NC singing the tunes of Old Time and Mountain Bluegrass. Doors open at 6pm for treasure shopping and concessions. CHURCH NEWS Bethel Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 580 Bethel Church Rd Walhalla, 29691, worships at 10:30 a.m. November Schedule: November 5 George Harper, November 12, Mel Davis, November 19, George Harper, November 26, Mel Davis. Love to sing? Join us! Love to be in charge? Come lead us! All worshipers are welcome.

PROPOSED CLOSING OF TAMASSEE-SALEM ELEMENTARY: The Oconee County School Board will likely vote on the plans to close our T-S Elementary in 2027 on the long range plan. Call 864-886-4400 to speak or sign up on your early arrival at the next meeting on Monday, November 13th at the SDOC Board Room located 414 S Pine Street, Walhalla.

INVITATION: Invitation to anyone in the Columbia area November 4th. The South Carolina State Museum will celebrate its 35th anniversary, with a special day featuring free general admission live music and dance performances, behind the scenes tours of collections storage, a new exhibition and much more. A Martin

Upcoming Oconee County Agriculture Board meeting taking place November 13 at 6pm in the DAR school cafeteria. They are looking for local participation regarding conservation, education, and all things agricultural related.

Conservation Corner….I had the privilege as a conservationist and OPUStrust member to attend the 50 year celebration of the Naturaland Trust in Greenville, SC on October 26th. I wish you all could have witnessed the heart moving results and stories that continue the vision of Conservationist, Tommy Wyche, to prevent the mountains of the Carolinas from becoming victims of destruction through development. The founding efforts of Tommy Wyche protect some of the mountainous peaks and autumn views that lure us today. There is more to protect! Learn more at the Naturaland Trust site or see the Greenville news article on line. LM Oconee Community Theater in Seneca began the season with 110 in the Shade ,a delightful musical adaptation of “The Rainmaker” of hope, love, and redemption with a very talented cast. Call for tickets or visit their website. 864- 882-1910

Editor: I have much to share this week and love the challenge. Maybe this little paper will grow! LMartin

Sending love and blessings!

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rockislandadultreads · 2 years ago

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Ghost Stories on Halloween Night: Books to Check Out

They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe

If you can hear the call of the water, It's already far too late. They say Cape Disappointment is haunted. That's why tourists used to flock there in droves. They'd visit the rocky shoreline under the old lighthouse's watchful eye and fish shells from the water as they pretended to spot dark shapes in the surf. Now the tourists are long gone, and when Meredith Strand and her young daughter return to Meredith's childhood home after an acrimonious split from her wife, the Cape seems more haunted by regret than any malevolent force. But her mother, suffering from early stages of Alzheimer's, is convinced the ghost stories are real. Not only is there something in the water, but it's watching them. Waiting for them. Reaching out to Meredith's daughter the way it has to every woman in their line for generations-and if Meredith isn't careful, all three women, bound by blood and heartbreak, will be lost one by one to the ocean's mournful call.

The Widow of Pale Harbor by Hester Fox

Maine, 1846. Gabriel Stone is desperate to escape the ghosts that haunt him in Massachusetts after his wife's death, so he moves to Pale Harbor, Maine, where there is a vacancy for a new minister. Gideon and his late wife had always dreamed of building their own church, and Pale Harbor is the perfect opportunity. But not all is as it seems in the sleepy town of Pale Harbor. Strange, unsettling things have been happening, and the townspeople know that only one person can be responsible: Sophronia Carver, a widow who lives with a spinster maid in the decaying Castle Carver on the edge of town. Sophronia is a recluse, rumored to be a witch who killed her husband. When Gabriel meets her, he knows the charming, beautiful woman cannot be guilty of anything. Together, Gabriel and Sophronia realize that the mysterious events have one thing in common: they all contain an element from the wildly popular stories of Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. And when the events escalate to murder, Gabriel and Sophronia must find the real killer, before it's too late for them both.

The Winter Guest by W.C. Ryan

The drive leads past the gate house and through the trees towards the big house, visible through the winter-bared branches. Its windows stare down at Harkin and the sea beyond . . . January 1921. Though the Great War is over, in Ireland a new, civil war is raging. The once-grand Kilcolgan House, a crumbling bastion shrouded in sea-mist, lies half empty and filled with ghosts - both real and imagined - the Prendevilles, the noble family within, co-existing only as the balance of their secrets is kept. Then, when an IRA ambush goes terribly wrong, Maud Prendeville, eldest daughter of Lord Kilcolgan, is killed, leaving the family reeling. Yet the IRA column insist they left her alive, that someone else must have been responsible for her terrible fate. Captain Tom Harkin, an IRA intelligence officer and Maud's former fiancé, is sent to investigate, becoming an unwelcome guest in this strange, gloomy household. Working undercover, Harkin must delve into the house's secrets - and discover where, in this fractured, embattled town, each family member's allegiances truly lie. But Harkin too is haunted by the ghosts of the past and by his terrible experiences on the battlefields. Can he find out the truth about Maud's death before the past - and his strange, unnerving surroundings - overwhelm him?

Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap

“Am I dead?” Mebuyen sighs. She was hoping the girl would not ask. Spells and stories, urban legends and immigrant tales: the magic in Isabel Yap’s debut collection jumps right off the page, from the joy in her new novella, 'A Spell for Foolish Hearts' to the terrifying tension of the urban legend 'Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez'.

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hunthalloweeen · 2 years ago

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Halloween at Hester Street Fair #New York

Halloween at Hester Street Fair

from Halloween Events & Happenings in New York | #NewYork https://ift.tt/xtAPsNW

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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Django Unchained, Halloween III and Clerks II Are Streaming Free on Plex This Month

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This story is presented by Plex

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Plex releases brand new and beloved titles to its platform monthly and we’ll be here to help you identify the cream of the crop. View Plex TV now for the best free entertainment streaming and check back each month for Den of Geek Critics’ picks!

DEN OF GEEK CRITICS PICKS

Django Unchained

The second of Quentin Tarantino’s revisionist history lessons, Django Unchained is a provocative, post-modern Western film that mixes the widescreen sensibilities of Sergio Leone with Tarantino’s own gonzo impulses to create something hyper-violent, subversively funny, and more than a bit uncomfortable. Jamie Foxx stars as a slave freed by a German bounty hunter played by Christoph Waltz. Waltz won an Oscar for his performance as the kind German that takes in the stoic but savvy Django as his partner. Together, they travel the pre-Civil War South, killing slavers and savage men. Eventually, they embark on a more personal mission, as Django intends to free his beloved wife from a sadistic plantation owner played by a scenery-chewing Leonardo DiCaprio. With anachronistic needle-drops, hands-over-eyes horrors, and more blood than a donation bank, Django Unchained is an epic, entertaining revenge fantasy for the ages.

Silver Linings Playbook

From director David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook is a screwball romantic comedy for the modern age. Despite inviting, yet livewire lead performances from Jennifer Lawerence and Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook really shines as an ensemble: Robert DeNiro, Jackie Weaver, Chris Tucker and Anupam Kher bring fully-realized characters to life in just a handful of scenes. Based on Matthew Quick’s novel of the same name, Silver Linings Playbook finds Bradley Cooper as a man who has been released from a psychiatric hospital a bit too soon. He’s frantically trying to prove that he’s bettered himself in an effort to win back his wife, but when he meets the equally unstable and filterless character played by Jennifer Lawerence, unusual sparks fly. Combining the familiar tropes of a sports film with unorthodox romantic leads, Silver Linings Playbook is a crowd-pleasing watch that creates harmony out of dysfunction.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

It never mattered where Anthony Bourdain was going, we just wanted to be along for the ride. We lost the soulful, iconoclastic bad-boy of the culinary world far too soon, but he left behind a treasure trove of rewarding travelogues that tackled culture, social dynamics, and most importantly, food. Whether he was weighing in on a world-famous culinary hotspot or peeling back the curtain on a hole-in-wall gem, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations was always thoughtful, fearless, and never less than authentic. It’s the rare show that is as educational as it is entertaining, hosted by a candid host who knew how to travel, knew where to eat, but most crucially, knew how to connect with people. Reality TV doesn’t get realer than this.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch

Following the mind-boggling success of the original Halloween, director John Carpenter had a clever idea. Instead of churning out sequels starring Michael Meyers, Halloween would become an anthology series, with each new film telling a spooky tale centered on the October holiday. The concept was inevitably scrapped, but Halloween III: Season of the Witch suggests that maybe Carpenter and co. should have stuck to their guns. Taking inspiration from Invasion of the Body Snatchers and working off a concept that Carpenter described as “witchcraft meets the computer age,” Halloween III: Season of the Witch finds a doctor and the daughter of a toy maker trying to uncover the horrifying truth behind the town of Santa Mara, home to Silver Shamrock, the world’s largest manufacturer of Halloween masks. Intelligent, surprising, and disturbing, Halloween III: Season of the Witch is due for a critical reevaluation that heralds it as one of the most ambitious horror movies of the ‘80s

Clerks II

With the recent announcement that Clerks III has started production, it’s the perfect time to revisit Kevin Smith’s first-sequel to his independent film phenomenon, Clerks. Clerks II picks up with our titular clerks Dante and Randall 10 years after the events of the first film. The Quick Stop has gone up in flames and been replaced with a Mooby’s fast food restaurant. Dante and Randall toil the day away with their sheltered co-worker Elias and too-cool for minimum wage manager Becky. While the film tackles adult male friendships and middle age complacency, it’s main appeal is still sitting around, shooting the shit with your pals and listening to their expletive-filled rants about Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or whatever pop culture fascination that they’re hung up on. Come for the surprisingly poignant story about Dante deciding to leave his friend behind, stay for Jay, Silent Bob, and a donkey.

New on Plex in August – Full List of Titles

Army of One

Dark Tide

Deadfall

Django Unchained

Escape from Alcatraz

Feast

Ismael’s Ghost

Kickboxer

Lucky Number Sleven

The Naked Gun 2-1/2: The Smell of Fear

The Naked Gun 33-1/3: The Final Insult

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

Pulse

Redemption

Seabiscuit

Silver Linings Playbook

Skyfire

Wind River

Still streaming on Plex:

2:22

The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

22 Bullets

24 Hours to Live

3rd Rock from the Sun

6 Bullets

99 Homes

A Little Bit of Heaven

A Walk in the Woods

Aeon Flux

After.Life

Afternoon Delight

The Air I Breathe

Alan Partridge

ALF

Alone in the Dark

Amelie

Answer Man

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

Arthur and the Invisibles

Battle Royale

Bel Canto

Bernie

Better Watch Out

Black Books

Black Christmas

Black Death

Black Sheep (2006)

Blitz

Blood and Bone

Bobby

Bronson

The Brothers Bloom

The Burning Plain

Cagefighter

Cake

Candy

Cashback

Catch .44

Cell

Chain of Command

Child 44

The Choice

Clerks II

Coherence

The Collector

Congo

Cooties

Cops and Robbers

The Core

The Cotton Club

Critical Condition

Crossing Lines

Croupier

Cube

Cube 2

Cube Zero

Deadfall

The Death and Life of Bobby Z

Death and the Maiden

Death Proof

The Deep Blue Sea

Deep Red

Derailed

The Descent Part 2

Detachment

The Devils’ Rejects

Diary of the Dead

Distorted

District B13

DOA: Dead or Alive

Dragged Across Concrete

Eden Lake

Edison

Europa Resort

Falcon Rising

The Fall

Fido

The Fighting Temptations

Filth

Find Me Guilty

Fire in the Sky

Fire with Fire

Flirting with Disaster

Flowers of War

Flyboys

Force Majeure

Formula 51

Four Lions

Frailty

Frank

Freeway

The Frozen Ground

Getting to Know You

Ghost in the Shell

The Ghost Writer

Ginger Snaps

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

The Girl Who Played with Fire

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

God Bless America

Goon

Goya’s Ghosts

Grand Isle

Grave Encounters

A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints

Halloween II

Halloween III: Season of the Witch

Hannibal Rising

Happythankyoumoreplease

Hard Candy

Hell’s Kitchen

Hester

High Rise

Highlander

Hobo with a Shotgun

The Homesman

The Horseman

The Host

House of 1000 Corpses

House of the Rising Sun

How I Live Now

The Humanity Bureau

The Hunter

I Give it a Year

I Saw the Devil

I See You

I Spit on Your Grave

Ida

If Only

The Illusionist

In Hell

In the Blood

In Too Deep

The Infiltrator

Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

It’s a Boy Girl Thing

Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Jo Nesbo’s Headhunters

Joe

John Dies at the End

The Joneses

Juliet, Naked

Just Getting Started

Kevin Hart: Cold as Balls

King of New York

Kinky Boots

The Kite Runner

Knight of Cups

The Last Days on Mars

The Lazarus Project

Leaves of Grass

The Legend of Hercules

Lethal Eviction

The Limey

Lionheart

A Little Bit of Heaven

A Long Way Down

Love Story

Maggie

The Maiden Heist

A Man Called Ove

The Man from Earth

The Man from Nowhere

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

The Matador

Mesrine Killer: Instinct

The Messenger

Middle Men

Midsomer Murders

Misconduct

Miss Potter

Monster

Monsters

Mother

Mr. Church

Murdoch Mysteries

National Lampoon’s Van Wilder

Never Back Down: No Surrender

Noah

The Oxford Murders

The Paperboy

Paycheck

Personal Effects

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nocakesformissedith · 5 years ago

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For the ‘send me a tv show and I’ll tell you the top 5 things I’d change about it’ thing, could you do Scream Queens?

Ah I’m so sorry that I’m responding to this so late!! And thank you!!

1. have Grace interact more with Kappas that aren’t Zayday or Chanel. ESPECIALLY CHANEL NUMBER FIVE. You’re gonna sit there and tell me Grace, who a) stood up to Chanel and refused to let her “haze any of these girls”, b) expresses genuine compassion towards and reached out to Chanel AFTER Chanel had burned Bean’s face off and threatened to frame Grace for it and c) wants to take Chanel down and change Kappa would just.... never talk with Libby who Chanel treats the worst and who repeatedly threatens to walk out on Chanel and about how “Chanel doesn’t deserve to be president”?!

Especially with the final episode of season one ending with Grace thinking they’re sisters!! I did like that Chanel #5 was the only Chanel that Grace defended even a little during Hester’s accusations though lol.

2. don’t make Hester the Red Devil. I’m biased as hell because I wanted it to be Libby but I do have my reasons for not wanting it to be Hester!! The scene where Chanel “kills” Hester was great, and the show backtracking on it (so that Lea Michele can play the killer) and not following through fucking ruined it. It was really a moral event horizon for Chanel, and it implied that 3&5 were finally getting tired of or at least more afraid of Chanel- both of which could have led to really interesting plots (I’m still a little bitter the show never really had that 3&5 trying to take down Chanel plot the show teased at a few times) and her being alive and The Killer All Along just.... wasted that. Second, the reveal kind of ruins her whole comedy? Like. The joke with Hester was that she thinks of herself as this evil mastermind manipulator usurping Chanel— and in any other show she probably would be— but Chanel is actually smarter and more ruthless than her. The finale flipping that by saying “oh but wait Hester actually was an evil genius the whole time!!” was boring, and it wasn’t funny. It also ruined the whole “creepy nightmare fetishist” schtick because imo this girl just being obsessed with horror and death for no real plot reason (she’s just Like That) is funnier than it being because she’s a ~psycho killer~ it also kind of makes the reveal redundant- surprise! The person running around loudly talking like a serial killer is.... a serial killer.

3. related to the above— make Chanel #5 the killer!! Instead of a constant hammering in your face that she was ~psycho~ (as with Hester) you get that ONE scene where Chanel learns of and immediately dismisses the fact that #5 has been plotting to kill her, and having Chanel overlook that fact and then revealing that Libby is in fact the killer would have been genuinely funny. It also would have required the Red Devil origin story/flashbacks to be more complex than “Boone is the strong idiot and Hester is the smart one” that we got. The season clearly showed that the Red Devil twins didn’t get along, and RD!Boone killing her boyfriends and coming after her could have been part of that or why they don’t get along (maybe why she eventually kills him, in this version instead of Pete doing it). It would also have been funny to have Chanel’s constant, baseless accusations that Libby is crazy or evil actually turn out to be entirely true. There was also s theory I read way back after the Thanksgiving episode aired that her “eight meat stuffing” was actually made of characters that had been killed off, which would be so twisted and make her “pigs will eat anything” line in the first episode interesting.

4. have more Kappa Sisters. Mostly for a bigger kill count (I’m terrible haha). But it’s also always felt weird that KKT only had The Chanels (Five people) before the pledges came?? I suppose some sisters left after the Melanie incident but. The social power Chanel is implied to have as Kappa President just.... doesn’t mesh with her only have four people (her minions) in her sorority?

5. A few Season Two changes, mostly taking place with Season One being as is/without my changes : Make season two take place in a summer camp. AHS 1984 showed how much fun the team can have and make with a summer camp theme, and I think it would’ve worked really well with the Scream Queens characters. While S2 did have some great moments (and I firmly believe Halloween Blues is one of the best/funniest episodes of the series) I think the hospital setting- or at least what they did with it- was by and large a mistake. Don’t kill off Chad Radwell - at least/especially not so earlier in the season. It was definitely a bold move to kill of their best character so soon, but the season’s quality proved they weren’t ready lol. Make a Liz Daw character!! Show more of the Chanels in the asylum. More Gigi, some how. She was the best killer/villain— more Boone too, but mostly Gigi. Kill off Hester to bring them back idc.

6. BONUS— Make Grace and Pete not a romantic couple. They’re both gay. God bless.

#asks #anonymous #five things i would change meme #idk #ask meme #scream queens #gif warning #scopophobia tw #ableism cw #cannibalism mention

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worldnews2day · 2 years ago

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The Crazy Halloween events for 2022 in NYC

The Crazy Halloween events for 2022 in NYCThis fall-tacular Halloween celebration takes over the Bronx Zoo spot on weekends October 1-30 (plus the school holiday on Monday, Oct 10). Image & Story Credit: timeout.comBring your pup aboard Circle Line for a howling good time on October 30. The Pup Cruise, which invites all dogs and their humans aboard (preferably in costume), Image & Story Credit: timeout.comAfter closing in 2020, this musical adaptation of Tim Burton's 1988 returns to haunt Broadway, with Alex Brightman reprising his performance as the ooky title character Image & Story Credit: timeout.comIt's the last hurrah for the season, as outdoor beach-themed restaurant/bar Ellington in the Park is throwing a Halloween costume party before closing up for the winter.Image & Story Credit: timeout.comGet ready to shop til you drop at the Hester Street Fair's Halloween edition on Sunday, October 30. Image & Story Credit: timeout.comAdd this one to your fall bucket list: Get into the fall spirit by seeing if you can navigate this three-acre corn maze at a farm in Queens.Image & Story Credit: timeout.comFrom September 30 to October 31, Los Angeles’ beloved Haunt O’ Ween will finally pop up on the East Coast in Holmdel, New Jersey—an hour’s drive from NYC. Image & Story Credit: timeout.comEnter Manhattan’s oldest surviving house after dark this Halloween! The Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum is inviting visitors to take candlelight tours of the home and grounds, where they’ll learn all about its history and hauntings. Image & Story Credit: timeout.comCommune with the dead at Coctelería de los Muertos, the annual pop-up at The Garret Coctelería. Image & Story Credit: timeout.comThe trolley tour that's outfitted to look like a Victorian funeral parlor—think chandeliers and velvet curtains—and takes you on a trip through the shadows of historic Brooklyn is back. Image & Story Credit: timeout.comUlster Park's Headless Horseman Haunted Hayrides and Haunted Houses is replacing its hayrides with a haunted walk called "The Haunting of Pumpkin Jack" Image & Story Credit: timeout.comHead underground to Essex Crossing’s Market Line in the Lower East Side for two Halloween-themed events this weekend. Image & Story Credit: timeout.com10 FACT YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT JENNIFER GARNER10 FACTS ABOUT GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPORead More Visit... www.worldnews2day.com Read the full article

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longwoodstudents · 7 years ago

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Student Spotlight: Clare Presser, International Library & Archives Intern

I have travelled from distance lands, namely Melbourne, Australia. In October of 2016, I completed a Master in Information Studies via Distance Education with Charles Sturt University, but I do not have a professional background in Libraries. I have spent most of my time working in the arts sectors in broadcasting, events management and booking/curation (I am also on hiatus from my community radio show on specialist music station). Coming to Longwood may seem a little left of field, but I have a huge interest in sustainability and grew up in a family that has small organic farms, generally keeps bees and sometimes orchids.

What is your favorite plant?

There is usually one favourite plant in each of the houses I lived in. The first thing that springs to mind is the huge Daphne plant near the front door of the house I grew up in that smelt amazing. In each of my shared houses, respectively, there was an old fig tree, grape vines (homemade wine is a hilarious process) and a thick, gnarled passionfruit vine. In my current Melbourne home there are some Mexican love vines that were a house warming gift that have turned into something a little bit epic (and I barely do anything to them- the best sort of plant), but I also like the native grevillea I planted out the front (the local council were giving out free plants that would assist the native ecosystem of the area). I have tried to avoid buying plants in America as I cannot take them home to Australia....yet I have since fallen in love with a Dendrobium orchid, lovingly named Denny, that I bought at a Longwood Plant Sale.

My favorite orchid ‘Denny’ in all of his glory.

What is your favorite Garden? What is your favorite part of Longwood?

This is a pretty hard question- most gardens are pretty lovely. I am less of a fan of the formalized garden, unless it is useful. There is a Modern Art Museum in Melbourne called Heide, which was the property founded by John and Sunday Reed and home to artists, such as Sidney Nolan, Albert Tucker and Joy Hester. The grounds are sprawling, with sculptures nestled into paddocks and natural spaces, but the place that I love the most, is the house’s kitchen garden (which is just next door to the picnic area). It’s well maintained, companion planted and smells amazing.

For that reason I get a little extra pleasure from the Idea Garden in Longwood and, its own (limited) produce section- the fruit trees etc. It’s also a little less crowded than the Flower Garden Walk. The Meadow is also resplendent currently, so that’s a pretty tough pick.

What is the best part of being a student?

I like to learn new things- keeps the brain sharp. I am informed that this is a good thing, but the jury may still be out on this one. Thus far, it’s the only student experience that I have had which doesn’t have homework, which is vastly superior. One of the more excellent things about being a student at Longwood is the scavenging possibilities. I am currently snacking on roasted chestnuts, harvested from the trees out the front of the student housing. Free is always more delicious.

I bake often and made Eyeball Cake Pops for the staff Halloween Baking Contest. There were many free delicious treats and I won for “Best Halloween Presentation.”

What is your background in horticulture (or whatever field you are in)?

I have a background in neither horticulture, nor library work. I am here so that I can cease to be a hobbyist in either (although becoming a ‘full-blown’ librarian is more likely than a horticulturalist. Although killing fewer plants in the process of gardening is a personal goal).

Why did you want to come to Longwood and what do you think helped you get the position?

The adventure- it’s such a unique opportunity and experience. I get to practice my theoretical skills from my studies in an environment which is supportive. Specialist and unique collections, like the ones here, which spans the academic and archival, are pretty hard to come by, let alone work in. Also, experiencing a new country is not something I have done in a little while and Longwood, to put it simply, is quite stunning. Who wouldn’t want to come and live in this little slice of paradise for a little while (please note- views may change in the winter).

What do you do at work? Highlight your favorite project or what you do day-to-day.

I create order out of chaos. It’s a magical and mystical world of lists, which involved secret codes and strange rituals. There are old and musty tombs and mysterious objects that require dissemination. We answer questions-shine light into the unknown (and possibly haunted) places and provide you with things that you never knew you wanted (yet). We are magicians and truth warriors**.

**Which roughly translates into putting books on shelves and typing stuff into a computer. Occasionally I get to drive a golf cart.

What are your future plans or what is your intended career path?

It’s a career goal to work at the National Film and Sound Archive, as used to be an AV technician/editor for a national broadcaster. I really enjoy working in digital environments (information architecture is kind of fun), but I am hoping that these 9 months are going to be formative in regards to my future career path.

My first real snow experience...apparently I live in Narnia now.

My wreath that I created during our Christmas student activity.

Article by Clare Presser.

Photos by Morgan Horell, Clare Presser, and Gillian Hayward.

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jodybouchard9 · 6 years ago

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Halloween Decor Refresh: How to Take Your Tired Old Haunt to Tasteful New Heights

If you’ve been tricked into trotting out the same tired Halloween decor year after year, we have news for you: You can spruce up your home in ways that are spooky and elegant at the same time.

Yes, it’s time to put away the plastic pumpkins and sad skeletons and consider a few new spins on Halloween-themed decorations.

From white candles to painted pumpkins, these designer-approved tips will give you chills—in the best way possible.

Refine the front porch (and ditch the Halloween clichés)

Photo by Sarah Greenman Your front door and stoop are the beacon that makes passers-by give a second look during Halloween season—so make it count, says Gina Whalen, interior designer at Bella Home Decor in Philadelphia.

“Halloween is such a fun start to all the holiday festivities,” she says. “And your front door should be the showstopper for each holiday season—it’s what draws people in to want to see more.”

Try ditching the carved jack-o’-lanterns for a more stylish and sophisticated fall look, Whalen recommends. Create a refined pumpkin patch feel up your stairway with gourds and candles, or evoke an organic fall landscape.

She suggests “a neutral palette of white pumpkins, mums, cornstalks, gourds, and crates/ baskets for a grand, yet elegant entrance.”

You can add an unexpected flourish by painting your gourds, says Jenny Dean Hester, design consultant and blogger in Birmingham, AL.

“Avoid orange,” she says. “I always suggest choosing a color palette and limiting yourself to one or two main colors in various shades.”

Try black, gray and silver, purple, or green, she suggests. Or use white and robin’s-egg blue—fall’s hottest colors, she says—to give a fresh update on traditional fall décor.

Don’t have time to paint? Spray paint works in a pinch.

“Spray-painting pumpkins is always a unique and creative touch,” Whalen says. “Don’t forget about using a stencil for your last name or your initial for a more custom approach.”

What to buy:

Devine Color spray paint in silver, Valspar, $8

DecoArt Patio Paint in robin’s-egg blue, Amazon, $7

Headline sign stencil kit, Amazon, $7

Go ghostly white inside

Photo by Caroline Sharpnack If you’re hosting a Halloween soiree, an all-black aesthetic is always “a safe way to go,” says Edward Perotti, global event designer in San Francisco. But if you truly want to be unexpected, go with an all-white decor scheme, complete with lots of white candles, set off by black and deep-red accent pieces.

A few of Perotti’s pro tips:

Make black or white tablescapes pop with blood-red dahlias.

Use glass pumpkins, candles, and painted white or black pumpkins to complement the florals.

Set the table with a mirrored charger plate, solid-black dinner plates, and black and white salad plates. Then add deep-red wineglasses, and finish the look with white linen napkins.

What to buy:

Giant red dahlias, Amazon, $20

Handblown glass pumpkin table accent, Amazon, $36

12-set flameless candles, Amazon, $29

Mirrored charger plate, Amazon, $22

Black dinner plate, Target, $6

Black-and-white-striped salad plates, Wayfair, $28 for 4

Ruby-red wineglasses, Amazon, $44 for 4

White spillproof fabric napkins, Amazon, $10 for 4

Have fun, but don’t tip into tacky territory

Photo by FOCAL POINT STYLING Even though you’re trying to elevate your look, you shouldn’t forget that Halloween is supposed to be fun. It’s OK to add some decor pieces that are fit for the festivities. But these, too, can be spruced up with some elegant touches.

“Costume staples make excellent décor, so round up witch’s hats, vampire teeth, and skulls you paint black or gray,” Hester recommends. (You can pick up these items at the dollar store if you’re on a budget.)

“I also love mixing witch’s hats and black candelabras,” Whalen adds. “Incorporating your favorite spooky and creepy decor makes Halloween a bit more fun.”

What to buy:

Black Halloween candelabra, Target, $18

Black witch’s hat, Amazon, $15

The post Halloween Decor Refresh: How to Take Your Tired Old Haunt to Tasteful New Heights appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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griffinkid · 9 days ago

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Griffinkid's trick or treat game 🎃🍬👻

Happy Halloween! For the next while, if you go to my ask box and say 'trick or treat!', the Griffinkid plushies will be ready to answer the door to you!

Some little notes first:

I reserve the right to close this at any time, because I have a finite amount of prepared responses. Once they run out, the game is over!

Please be off anon, or sign anon asks with your username. Unidentifiable anons will be skipped. Inappropriate or blank blogs will be blocked

Caution: some of you WILL get tricked! If this is going to upset you, perhaps reconsider knocking the door

I may close asks temporarily when I'm not checking my phone for long periods, so I don't fall behind (check my blog for status)

There could potentially be a lot of responses. I will tag them all with 'Hester's Halloween event'. If you get tired of seeing them, you can use this tag to filter them!

One per user so everyone gets a turn

Remember your manners or Elsbeth might bite you. Would be nice if you were following me but not required. Have fun

#Hester's Halloween event #plushies #stuffies #plushcore #plushblr #agere #sfw agere #sfw agedre #sfw age dreamer

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rj-drive-in · 1 year ago

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Strange Brew Department:

Happy Halloween! It's the most wonderful tiiime of the year....

For October Wine, one must gather the ingredients one year in advance, because that’s how long it must ferment.

Following the recipe to the last handwritten letter, I poured the mix into the mason jar, sealed it tight, and stored it away in a cabinet in the back of my garage.

An eventful year passed, and most of the events were not welcome. Few of them, but all of them, affected me personally.

“I think I’ll just stay home,” I lied.

“Just a half dozen people or so. Some single boys.”

I laughed. “That’s okay.”

“Chips and hard cider.”

“Nah.”

“Still missing your gramma, huh?”

“Yeah. Always.”

“She was a real sweethearted lady.”

“Best ever.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” I smiled for her.

She hugged me again. “Okay, but the invitation is open if you change your mind. We’d love to have you.”

“Thank you. I’ll think it over.”

She continued on her way and I continued on mine.

I met Violet coming out of the supermarket with an armload of Halloween candy, just as I was going in.

“Hi, hon,” she said with a one-armed hug and a cheek kiss. “I guess you’re all ready for All Hallow’s Eve.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sexy Hippie costume.”

“Just my regular clothes,” I laughed.

“Same thing,” she said. “What are your plans?”

“Just home,” I lied.

“No date?”

I shook my head and she shook hers back at me teasingly. “You’ve got to move on eventually,” she said.

“And I will. But it was nice. I’ll let it linger a little.”

“Mmm,” she said. “I know what you mean. That’s why I never brush my teeth right after eating ice cream.”

I laughed. She was always coming up with crazy, but accurate, metaphors like that. “What about you two?” I asked.

“We’re staying the weekend at his sister’s place in Nashua. We still don’t want to take too many chances with the pandemic.”

“Good idea.”

“Well, I gotta run. Stay safe.”

She continued on her way and I continued on mine.

“Sorry I haven’t kept in touch,” she said.

“That’s okay. How have you been doing?”

“All right. Mom and Dad want me to stay for the Winter, so I might not be back in town until Spring.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

She nodded. “I’m getting some therapy. Dad offered to pay for plastic surgery. It’s cosmetic, so the insurance won’t cover it.”

“They’re hardly noticeable.”

She shrugged. “I just want them gone.”

“I understand,” I told her. “What are you doing for Halloween.”

“Staying in. Dad likes those old black-and-white monster movies.”

“Same here,” I lied. “Movies and popcorn.”

“Sounds good,” she said. “I should go now. Let’s talk again before Thanksgiving.”

She continued on her way and I continued on mine.

Halloween night came. I turned off the porch light and most of the indoor lights. I didn’t expect any Trick or Treaters this year, but I didn’t want to deal with any that might show up.

I wore my car starter fob on a chain around my neck. I would have to carry my phone and the jug of October wine.

About a third of the way across, facing the hint of the rising Moon, I sat down cross legged with the jug in front of me. The grass was cool and moist with dew. It was just before midnight.

After several relaxing breaths, I unclamped the old cork and popped it out, raised the jug to my lips and took my first drink.

Gramma had not told me what to expect, except for anything and everything. I smiled, feeling calm and warm, closed my eyes and took another sip.

I sat watching the calm waves moving back and forth through the field of unusual growths until I fell in rhythm with them.

Then I closed my eyes and took another sip.

They sat still and staring at me, slowly blinking, their throats expanding and contracting. Occasionally a distinctive croak would arise from somewhere in the crowd to be answered elsewhere.

Nodding, I closed my eyes and took another sip.

Closing my eyes, I took another sip.

I blinked and the path was gone.

Closing my eyes, I took another sip.

They continued to drift slowly closer, each in her own world, until they stood in a row in front of me, staring silently at their own feet.

It was hard to find my voice. I felt like I hadn’t spoken in a hundred years. Finally, I managed to say, “What’s the matter?”

I blinked again and the clearing was empty.

With a heavy heart, I took another sip.

This was my Gramma.

“It’s very good,” she said.

“I followed your recipe to the letter.”

“Next time you won’t have to.”

“Gramma,” I said.

“Yes, Hester.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“You do know what to do.”

“Tell me. What?”

“You don’t need me to tell you what to do,” she said. “You know what to do.”

My eyes suddenly filled with tears and when I wiped them clear, she was gone. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes and took a long last drink.

#micro fiction #microfiction #short story #short fiction #fantasy #halloween #all hallows eve #rick hutchins #rjdiogenes

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oldsalempost-blog · 1 year ago

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The Old Salem Post

Our Local Tamassee-Salem SC Area News each Monday except holidays

Contact: [email protected]

Distributed to local businesses, town hall, library. Volume 7 Issue 38 Week of October 9, 2023 https://www.tumblr.com/settings/blog/oldsalempost-blog Lynne Martin Publishing

EDITOR: Let us Celebrate! 50 years of Pat’s Cash &Carry this Saturday, October 14th starting at 11am until 4pm! There will be bouncy houses, corn hole and Live Music starting at 12! Special 50th anniversary hot dogs will be 50 cents each, limit 2 per customer. BBQ sandwiches $3. Sweet Tea $1. This is a true celebration of a small hometown, wonderful, family business. Lynne

Town of SALEM: Election: Mayor and 2 Council seats running unopposed Nov 7, 2023 at the Salem Town Hall. Collecting Toys for Tots through November. We are asking all local churches and businesses to participate to fill up our boxes. ****Downtown Market every Sat 8am-12pm.*** You may donate candy at the townfor the Tamassee-Salem Community Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat on the ballfield. October 27th 5:30pm-7:30pm Stay tuned: The Tamassee-Salem Rec Department has something fun lined up for Halloween!

Jottings from Jeannie: "It Can Happen to You" Actuaries report that every 32 years a person can expect to be involved in a driving accident. Does anyone keep statistics on how often an Oconee County resident is apt to lose eyeglasses in one of our lakes? Linda at the WALMART Vision Center declares, it's an everyday tragedy. One of her clients even hired a professional diver to retrieve his very costly specs from the deep. I have scoffed at Sister Jerri who deposits a pair of designer shades into Lake Cherokee every time she visits. No more scoffing from me, since MY $800 prescription glasses slipped off and sashayed in a zig zag pattern until being claimed by a moon-eyed fish. Pops used to say, "In this life, it's not the evil for which we are punished (that may come later)... in this life we are punished for galactical carelessness." I thought about his warning, as I spent the better part of a gorgeous day driving into Walmart Vision Center and writing the lovely Linda another $800 check. Count me among the ranks of the galactically careless! Miz Jeannie loves you and reminds you to quit rushing around. Take time to be careful with your possessions AND to be especially careful with the people God has given you to love. MIZ JEANNIE JOCASSEE VALLEY BREWING COMPANY,(JVBC) & COFFEE SHOP 13412 N Hwy 11 Open Wed–Sat-Sat 8am-9pm. Sun: 12pm-7pm. THURS: Old Time Jam at 6:30pm Food Truck: Fri– Food: JUST A SMILE at 5pm Music: CANNON & COHEN at 6:30pm. Sat–Food: LOBSTER DOG 3pm Music: ANDY FERRELL at 6:30pm. Sun: 12-7pm IRON PIG BBQ 12 until sell out Music GOERS & ALLEN John Prine Memorial Jam 4pm More information 864-873-0048.

ASHTON RECALLS by Ashton Hester SALEM TRACK MEMBERS IN 1953 DISTRICT MEET- Salem High school will send 12 members of its track team to the District 1 meet Thursday to compete for honors in the Class B and C group at Honea Path. . .Max Nicholson, who took first places in the mile and half-mile in the dual meet with Walhalla, and Jerry Wigington, who copped firsts against Walhalla and Pickens, will lead the squad. . .Team members and the events they will enter are as follows: Shot put, Jerry Wigington; discus, Jerry Wigington and Gerald Townes; javelin, Ralph McDonald, Gerald Townes, Howard Abercrombie and James Bryson; pole vault, Ralph McDonald; broad jump, Roddy Whitten and Gerald Townes; high jump, Jerry Wigington; 100-yard dash, Roddy Whitten, Don McCoy and Howard Abercrombie; mile run, Max Nicholson and Earl Childress; 220-yard dash, Don McCoy, Ralph McDonald and James Bryson; 440-yard dash, Don McCoy, Roddy Whitten and James Bryson; 880-yard run, Max Nicholson, Howard Abercrombie and Garland Rigdon; 180-yard low hurdles, William Rogers and Ralph McDonald; 120-yard high hurdles, Max Nicholson; relay team, William Rogers, Earl Childress, Aaron Crowe and Garland Rigdon. FRIENDS OF LAKE JOCASSEE The public is invited to our Annual Meeting and 50th Anniversary on Sunday, Oct 15, from 3-5PM at Devils Fork State Park on the lawn of Eclectic Sun. Our group works to "preserve, promote and protect the Jocassee Gorges area." Come out to enjoy the park, the Oconee Bell Trail, or swimming before the event. We will celebrate history and the park itself. Meet the executive FOJ board and members. This is a family friendly meeting open to all members and interested organizations. If your membership has lapsed or if you would like, make an online donation at friendsofjocassee.org.

UPCOMING EVENTS!

October 14th Elvis Tribute Jim Reiser Returns to ENAC. $25 Tickets at the Eaglesnestaercenter.org/ticketleap or at the Town Hall. $30 day of event. BBQ sandwiches, homemade brownies, and concessions will be available

November 4th Tunes of the Cowboy Trail Tickets $10 day of event or on our website. $20 show&supper

November 18th 7pm Oconee Mountain Opry. Tickets $10 day of event or on our website.

Christmas Talent Showcase: Dec 2 6pm-9pm. Showcase your Christmas talent. Don your Christmas attire and be a part of bringing Christmas Spirit to our community. Email [email protected] or call 864-280-1258

Christmas with the Johnson Edition: Dec 16 at 7pm Tickets $10

Visit our website at Eaglesnestartcenter.org for events and ticket information. We have a DHEC certified kitchen available for rent or food commissary. Rental space for kitchen, reunions, parties. ****NEW at the ENAC site is Juliet Bravo Pottery Classes: Call Jason and Jessica Buddin 864-539-2389****

CHURCH NEWS

Bethel Presbyterian Church(PCUSA), 580 Bethel Church Rd Walhalla, 29691, worships at 10:30 a.m. Sermon: October 8 and 15, Message by George Harper, October 22, Message by Mel Davis, October 29 Message by Mel Davis. Good news! Our choir has increased to four people! Love to sing? Join us! Love to be in charge? Come lead us! All worshipers are welcome.

Salem Methodist Church: Breakfast every Sunday 9am. Sunday School 9:30am. Worship at 10:30am Sunday Outreach Ministry with Adam Hopkins each Sunday at 4pm in the Salem Methodist Fellowship Hall.

Serenity Prayer: God help me accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Amen

Quote to ponder (heard on the radio): “Going to church does not make you a Christian anymore than going to McDonald’s makes you a hamburger.”

TAMASSEE-SALEM MOBILE FOOD PANTRY: OCT 14th located at Salem First Baptist Church 151, Crestwood Drive Salem SC 29676. The second Saturday each Month 10am until supplies last or until Noon. Bring photo ID, proof of county residence and income identification of each household member. Rosa Clark Medical Clinic will provide some healthy and blood pressure screening and Salem Lions Club free eye exams.

PROPOSED CLOSING OF TAMASSEE-SALEM ELEMENTARY: The Oconee County School Board has plans to close our T-S Elementary in 2027 on the long range plan. There is a survey on their website that now has OTHER Choose Other to make your comments. Question the validity of the previous survey that forced the choice of A or B. Call the administrative office at 864-886-4400 to be a speaker or sign up on your early arrival at the next meeting on Monday, Oct 16th at 6pm at the SDOC Board Room located 414 South Pine Street in Walhalla.

We can save T-S Elementary! LRM

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nicolas-tumblah-boy-blog · 7 years ago

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To Kill A Mockingbird: The Result Of Racist Influences on The Young

When studying American history, there's absolutely no way to prevent the subject of slavery. During Tom Robinson's rape trial, we hear both Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell's versions of their encounter Mayella insists that Tom raped her, while Tom maintains that nothing inappropriate happened together at all. During Tom Robinson's rape trial, we hear both Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell's versions of their encounter Mayella insists that Tom raped her, while Tom maintains that nothing inappropriate happened together at all. Despite its long standing as certainly one of the greatest American novels, To Kill a Mockingbird is often criticized for its two-dimensional portrayal of African Americans. But for real-life students, the storyplot is very different. At the time, Gatsby was enlisted in the army as an Army Lieutenant and were required to go away to battle in World War While away, Daisy meets a fresh man named Tom Buchannan who she marries. During the roaring twenties, American society enjoyed a higher amount of prosperity and life was good. Because, ultimately, history isn't about dates and facts, it's about people. TV and movies make high school seem being a never-ending parade of proms and parties. Ewell is now dead) there's some dispute regarding who actually killed Mr. At first, it seems like Kurosawa's message is the very fact that "perception is reality" and it's impossible to ever know the undisputed truth about any event, but through the end of the film, he acknowledges that even if nobody involved can remember an event correctly, there is still a truth that exists, even when it's only theoretical. The Scarlet Letter ends with Hester Prynne dying a fate that no moviegoer wants to see befall a pretty senior high school girl, so while Hester leads a humble life of charitable deeds, Olive achieves redemption by telling the reality about herself to her entire school on a live webcast. It is much more moving and powerful to see the ways where children transform (or don't transform, depending around the quality of their outside influences) as they progress through their formative years. (With all due respect to Harper Lee, it's extremely hard for even well-intentioned individuals to transcend the attitudes of their place and in time society. Traditional history studies can familiarize students with all the dates, names and facts associated with now period, however it can be argued that it's only works of literature like Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird that can really capture the true injustices, horrors, and hopefully, the triumphs of this period of American history. During the roaring twenties, American society enjoyed a top amount of prosperity and life was good. They are attacked coming from the Halloween pageant Scout is struggling to clearly see the events happening around her due to her pork chop costume, as well as when she and Jem are safely returned home and capable of agree upon some major events (Jem was attacked by Mr. " It's quotes like this that make Atticus Finch among probably the most beloved literary characters of time his name is nearly synonymous with character and integrity. Then again, those of us who really want to try out devil's advocate might explain the fact that To Kill a Mockingbird isn't actually narrated through the young Scout Finch it's narrated retrospectively by an adult Jean-Louise Finch who is very able to fleshing out her childhood recollections with all the wisdom of experience. During the roaring twenties, American society enjoyed a top amount of prosperity and life was good. The children could not have thought that up for themselves: had our classmates been left to their very own devices, Jem To Kill A Mockingbird summary and I could have had several swift, satisfying fist-fights apiece and ended the matter for good. Each of the events is attached to theme of perception vs. Though it seems that everybody in her own school (and town) is watching her webcast and that her reputation is restored, the truly wonderful thing about Olive is that, by that time, she no more cares whatever they think.

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sheer-reality-blog1 · 7 years ago

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Macbeth, AP Calculus And Soccer: The Stressful Life Of The Senior High School Senior

When studying American history, there's no way to prevent the subject of slavery. During Tom Robinson's rape trial, we hear both Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell's versions of their encounter Mayella insists that Tom raped her, while Tom maintains that nothing inappropriate happened together at all. It would be a key facet of the American economy in the 16th and 17th centuries, plus a major contributing factor for the Civil War. Despite its long standing as among the greatest American novels, To Kill a Mockingbird is often criticized for its two-dimensional portrayal of African Americans. "Atticus-" said Jem bleakly. The heroine of the novel, Hester Prynne, is located accountable for adultery (she even has a kid out of wedlock with her lover-scandalous!), and her punishment is always to wear a red letter A (for adulterer) on herself in any way times. This can be problematic, because so many colleges offer admission on a provisional basis, and make students sign a contract promising to take care of the amount of academic achievement that got them offered admission in the first place, and threaten to revoke their offer of admission if they don't. Then, of course, is that affliction referred to as "senioritis. Tom Robinson, who happily lends his services to a young white woman despite having his or her own family to feed, continues to be compared using the "contented slave" archetype. Slavery may happen to be abolished in the 1860s, nevertheless the Emancipation Proclamation didn't immediately result in a harmonious relationship between your races on this country, particularly within the South. Though lots of people inside the community respect Atticus for his integrity, you will find plenty of individuals that view his actions as treachery. The book is well-written and as a reader, you get a very realistic take a glance at what life was like during those prosperous years after World War The story is both exciting and sad, and although the novel failed to receive the commercial success of Fitzgerald's other novels it is simply by many thought to be his best work. TV and movies make high school seem being a never-ending parade of proms and parties. They are attacked coming from your Halloween pageant Scout is struggling to clearly start to see the events happening round her due to her pork chop costume, and even when she and Jem are safely returned home and capable of agree upon some major events (Jem was attacked To Kill A Mockingbird summary by Mr. And it's not difficult to understand why. Harper Lee's ability to timeless characters like Atticus and Boo, and write sentences that have become often-cited To Kill a Mockingbird quotes have cemented her as among the very best American writers of the 20th century, although she never wrote another book after To Kill a Mockingbird. "Atticus-" said Jem bleakly. In the end some live through it, while some don't. In the conclusion some live through it, while others don't. Each of the events is linked to theme of perception vs. So many of which are told from a young age that it's crucial that each goes to varsity and that all of the hard work they put in in high school is for that purpose to getting into college, so after they finally do get into college, who is able to blame them for wanting a break?. The adults in Maycomb never discussed the case with Jem and me it seemed which they discussed it using their children, in addition to their attitude must are already that neither of us could help having Atticus for a parent, so their children should be nice to us in spite of him. It only agreed to be about an instant classic, and it still certainly one of the few required reading novels that is almost universally beloved by middle and secondary school aged readers. During the roaring twenties, American society enjoyed a high amount of prosperity and life was good. Harper Lee's ability to generate timeless characters like Atticus and Boo, and write sentences that have become often-cited To Kill a Mockingbird quotes have cemented her as certainly one of the very best American writers of the 20th century, despite the very fact that she never wrote another book after To Kill a Mockingbird.

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