Tag Archives: Halloween

Halloween is nigh

Posted on October 28, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Do Halloween like it’s 1920

Posted on October 14, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I recently stumbled upon this fantastic vintage Halloween book filled with crafts, decoration ideas, DIY costumes, and more. The book is called Dennison’s Bogie Book for Halloween. It was written in 1920, but the activities and decorations inside can make … Continue reading →

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Happy Halloween

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

A few years ago, I spent a very happy Halloween in Taupo, New Zealand. The charming lakeside town is sadly overlooked by many foreign visitors to the country. Along with stunning natural beauty, the community is surprisingly welcoming to tourists. … Continue reading →

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The true home of Halloween ?

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Did you know that Halloween began on the island of Ireland? 🎃 The spooky season began as an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”), celebrated over 2,000 years ago. Marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of … Continue reading →

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Spooky Times

Posted on October 24, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

It’s that spooky time of the year here in North America. Folks in the U.S. alone will be spending close to $13 billion on holiday decorations, costumes, candy, and parties. I recently spent an afternoon visiting a nearby town that … Continue reading →

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Halloween Greetings

Posted on October 31, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

These days folks in North America go overboard with Halloween decorations, costumes, parties, candy, and spending, but in the early 20th century they celebrated in a less ostentatious way.  As the autumn festival began to emerge in its modern form picture … Continue reading →

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Día de Muertos

Posted on October 28, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Here in the Americas we are in the midst of a two-fer holiday season. We can take a short break from the horrors of real life and celebrate the festive spookiness of Halloween and the Day of the Dead (Día … Continue reading →

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It’s Decorative Gourd Season

Posted on October 30, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Here in North America folks tend to go a bit overboard with seasonal decorations. An important mainstay is the carved pumpkin. In the video below, professional pumpkin carver, James Hall, runs through 13 different levels of pumpkin carving, from the … Continue reading →

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nostalgie de la bibliothèque

Posted on October 26, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

While checking out book blogs I stumbled on a reference to “Spooks and Spirits and Shadowy Shapes” , featuring wonderfully atmospheric, period illustrations by Robert L. Doremus. Certainly not the most interesting Halloween reading, but personally significant as I remember … Continue reading →

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The Haunted Castle

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

In honor of the Halloween season, here’s the first horror film, Georges Méliès’ The Haunted Castle. Originally released in 1896, the year before Dracula was published, it had been thought to be lost until 1988, when a copy was discovered in the … Continue reading →

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