Happy Halloween, Day 2

[eldritchhobbit]

Happy birthday to fenice_fu. May you have a wonderful day today and many, many more!


Next, a few Halloween-related announcements and recommendations:

* Mirror Box has a new Halloween-themed contest and will be giving away a remarkable Day of the Dead wall mirror. No purchase is necessary to enter the drawing. All entries are due on Saturday, October 20, 2007 at noon (PST). See more details here.

* The Apex Halloween Raffle is in full swing. Tickets are $1, and a percentage of all proceeds made will go to the National Center for Family Literacy. Goodies include autographed books, story critiques, subscriptions, and rare collectors' items in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. (Note: Among the items to be raffled are autographed copies of my edited works from Valancourt Books, The Magic Goblet and The Magic Ring.) Winners will be announced on Halloween. See more details here.

* For the month of October, vivien529 is making daily posts about the history of Halloween and the derivation of spooky words, sneezythesquid is making daily posts about Halloween films, and magicwondershow is making daily posts of reading/viewing recommendations and other Halloween fun. Check them out!



And now, on with the show:

Link of the Day: VictorianHalloween.com (Where Gothic tales, obscure Victorian poetry, and spooky images abound. Be sure to follow the link to The Gravestone Girls!)


Literature of the Day: I have two short and haunting poems for you today.

"The Grey Thing"
by Stephen Crane (1871-1900)

There is a grey thing that lives in the tree-tops
None knows the horror of its sight
Save those who meet death in the wilderness
But one is enabled to see
To see branches move at its passing
To hear at times the wail of black laughter
And to come often upon mystic places
Places where the thing has just been.


"The Warning"
by Adelaide Crapsey (1878-1914)

Just now,
Out of the strange
Still dusk... as strange, as still...
A white moth flew... Why am I grown
So cold?

Comments

[vaklam.livejournal.com]

Yay! The Halloween posts are back!

The best I've been able to do so far was a link to a Sweeney Todd movie. And that's coming out for Christmas. Oh, well. =)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Ah, but Sweeney Todd always has that Halloween vibe, doesn't it? So it definitely counts!

[mamomo.livejournal.com]

Ooooooh. Those poems were haunting. *shivers*

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

That's what I thought! Very spooky. *shivers with you* I'm glad they worked for you, too.

[vivien]

Oooh, I liked the Crane poem very much. I've been so looking to experiencing your Halloween countdown.

*clicks all the links*

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you liked it, too! Thanks for your lovely comments. :)

[fenice-fu.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the happy birthday, sorry I didn't respond sooner but I'm behind on my FList.

Do you have anything about Baba Yaga and her little house on chicken feet and the glowing skulls set up on her fence? That's pretty spooky! Thank-you for the Halloween posts!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I hope you had a fabulous birthday! I don't have anything lined up about Baba Yaga, but I can do some nosing around - it sounds like perfect Halloween fare! Thanks so much! I hope you're having a great day.