The Trick or Treating Zombie Horse of Christmas, Mari Lwyd

One Christmas tradition that has always intrigued me is the Welsh wassailing folk custom centered around Mari Lwyd. This Welsh tradition is reportedly over 3,000 years old and is focused on Mari Lwyd ("gray mare" or "Blessed Mary" in other translations), a macabre figure of a skeletal horse head mounted on a stick, decorated with ribbons and jingling bells, and draped in a flowing white sheet (to hide the handler/puppeteer of Mari Lwyd). The eerie equine represents Death, and the only way to defeat the specter is to beat it in a battle of rhymes.

Have a Haunting Half-o-Ween and a Witchy Walpurgisnacht!

Today, April 30th, marks halfway to Halloween and Walpurgisnacht (aka Witches' Night aka Hexennacht). Walpurgisnacht is known as the "other Halloween", where the veil between the worlds separating known and unknown is thinnest, allowing all manner of spirits, witches, otherworldly creatures, demons, devils, and so forth to push through into our world.

Ancient tales of witches, devils, and spirits gathering high in the mountains on this night seems to have its roots in Germany. Brocken Peak in Germany's Harz Mountains has two rock formations called Devil's Pulpit (Teufelskanzel) and the Witches' Altar (Hexenaltar), where these legends originate from. Nearby the Brocken Peak is the Hexentanzplatz, which literally means Witches' Dance Floor, where many pre-Christian rituals were performed, including the rites of old Saxon cults honoring the forest and mountain gods and goddesses.

Film Review: The Witch (2016)

Note: I haven't done a full film review in quite some time, though I might do them on a more regular basis if I start to enjoy doing them again. I thought this film was worth writing about, and had to get my thoughts on it down somewhere. Anyways, I give you my thoughts on The Witch!

Why aren't there more horror films set during Colonial America? It was a time of upheaval and religious reformation, not to mention a period when colonists faced living on an entirely different continent, which sparked fears of the unknown and fueled superstitions, all the while early settlers endured unimaginable hardships in their fierce fight for survival. All these frightening experiences that colonists went through seem so ripe for horror movies, since many are about facing basic fears. It's really a pity we don't have more period piece horror films, because The Witch is an example of how well horror works in a historical context.

In 1630's New England a family is banished from a settlement and determinedly set out for the wilderness to start anew, alone. The family consists of father William (Ralph Ineson), mother Katherine (Kate Dickie), eldest daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), son Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw), twins Mercy (Ellie Grainger) and Jonas (Lucas Dawson), and baby Samuel. Together they establish a small farm on the edge of a dense forest, but when baby Samuel is snatched by a supernatural evil lurking in the woods, despair and panic envelope the family. Soon, crops begin to fail, the other children are threatened, goat's milk turns to blood, and suspicions of witchcraft began to mount.

It is best to go into this film knowing as little as possible. I saw The Witch Thursday night, and besides seeing the trailers I tried to avoid seeing/reading much about it at all. I wanted my own experience, and didn't want to hold any expectations for the film going into it. So please, if you have yet to see this film consider stopping here and reading no further. I don't give any spoilers away below, but it really is best to have no preconceived notions before seeing The Witch. If you do want to read what I thought, continue reading...

My Sweet 666th Post: Death Artwork, Death Zines and the Upcoming Death Salon

This is my six-hundred sixty-sixth post, which I wanted to recognize it by, what else, talking about death! I've got some cool things to share, like rad death-inspired artwork, an awesome cemetery zine, and the epic Death Salon coming up! Check 'em all out below!

"Bad Vibes" pin set and "Hang in There" print by

Matt Darling

If you don't know the name Matt Darling, you should! He is one of my favorite new artists and I've been drooling over his work over on Instagram. Who can resist anxiety ghosts, scaredy cats, and old hags? Not me! I finally made my first purchases of his work - I bought his delightfully downbeat "Bad Vibes" pin set (spooks, black cats, skeletons skulk around gravestones etched with phrases like "Naw Man", "Can't Win, Don't Try", "Here Lies Who Cares", and my personal favorite "Whatevs 4-evs") as well as a "Hang in There" print. So pleased with everything! You can check out his artwork for sale on badvibes4lyfe.bigcartel.com!

Heritage Square's Annual Victorian Mourning Tours Return this October to Los Angeles

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Written by Sarah E. Jahier

I have always wanted to attend Heritage Square's Victorian-inspired event, and I'm hoping I'll actually be able to attend this year!

During a weekend in October, Heritage Square, located in Los Angeles, offers Halloween and Mourning Tours, where guests can learn about Victorian death and mourning rituals and etiquette, plus the movement of Spiritualism and how other cultures and time periods celebrate the deceased. They have actors in period costume recreate Victorian scenes involving death, mourning, funerary customs and spiritualism rituals. Heritage Square itself houses authentic Victorian Era buildings, so it is the perfect setting for the event.

31 Days of Halloween: Halloween Superstitions, Omens and Charms

All Hallow's Eve is rife with superstitions, omens and charms against evil. I found a neat list of these collected here (warning: source site looks like it is stuck in the '90s) and couldn't resist re-posting! Check out a few superstitions, omens and charms about Halloween below.

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• If you hear foot steps behind you on this night, don’t look back. It may be the dead following you. Turning back could mean that you will soon join the dead.
• Tying a knot into a handkerchief wards off evil.
• Carry a lump of bread in your pocket when walking in the dark. It will serve as an offering to ghosts.
• If you do not want to be haunting a graveyard any time soon, be sure you do not look at your shadow in the moonlight. Doing so on All Hallows Eve will guarantee your death within a short span of time.
• Girls who carry a lamp to a spring of water on this night can see their future husband in the reflection.

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• If you see a ghost, walk around it nine times, and it will disappear.
• If a candle lighted as part of a ceremony blows out, it is a sign that evil spirits are nearby.
• If you hear 3 knocks and no one is there, it usually means someone close to you has died. The superstitious call this the 3 knocks of death.
• When a good life was lived, flowers will grow on the deceased’s grave. But if the deceased was evil, weeds will grow.
• Never slam a door. You might hurt a ghost, who’ll haunt you for the rest of your life.
• Kill a black cat on Halloween and you’ll have seven years of bad luck.
• Thunder following a funeral means that the dead person’s soul has reached heaven.
• You will have bad luck if you do not stop the clock in the room where someone dies.
• If you hold your breath while you drive by a cemetery, evil spirits can’t enter your body.

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• If a black cat meows on your porch or near a window, a death will soon occur in the family.
• Peel an apple from top to bottom. The person with the longest unbroken peel would be assured the longest life. If you threw the apple peel over your shoulder, the initial it forms upon landing is the initial of your future mate.
• Don’t point at a grave or your finger will rot off.
• When bobbing for apples, it is believed that the first person to bite an apple would be the first to marry.
• If you go to a crossroads at Halloween and listen to the wind, you will learn all the most important things that will befall you during the next twelve months.
• A person born on Halloween can see and talk to spirits.