Hello everyone and happy October. This blog is brought to you by a lover of all things fall, pumpkins, horror movies and most of all, Halloween. This month’s blog is a little different than our usual; I am going to talk to you all about the greatest things about the greatest time of the year; spooky season.
PUMPKIN SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE
ABOUT SPOOKY SEASON
· The origin of “All Hallow’s Eve” dates back to over 2,000 years ago as an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain celebrated on October 31st. The Celts celebrated their new year on November 1st, a day that marked the end of the summer and harvest but also began the colder, darker time that was more associated with death. Legend says that on the night before this new year, the boundary between the world of the living and dead became blurred and the ghosts of the dead could return to earth.
· The tradition of wearing costumes began with the Samhain celebration, as people feared encountering ghosts if they left their home. To avoid being recognized, people dressed as angels, demons and witches so ghosts would assume they were a fellow spirit.
· Trick or Treating during Samhain is believed to have started with villagers preparing tables of food to placate unwelcome spirits. In later centuries, people dressed in costumes would perform antics in exchange for food or drink.
· By the 1920’s, pranks were the cool thing amongst those crazy teenagers and therefore people would hand out treats to avoid being the object of a trick.
· Today, Americans spend an estimated $2.6 billion on candy. Shout out to the dentists who put up with our cavities in November.
· Black cats are the cutest cats but not if you ask someone in Salem in the middle ages. Many people believed during that time that witches would turn themselves into black cats to avoid detection.
· Do you love or hate pumpkin spiced foods/drinks?? According to folklore, cinnamon, clove and ginger are said to repel the evil and foul. They are also the majority ingredients of pumpkin spice flavoring. So, if you hear people complaining about it… well…
TRICK OR TREAT: HORROR MOVIE MYTHS AND FACTS
· "Scream" was inspired by actual events that took place in Gainesville, FL in the early 90’s: TRUE—Danny Rollings is the serial killer who inspired the movie. Feel free to look up how if you want to be horrified…
· It took a year of technical work to get the blood pouring out of the elevator just right in this iconic scene from "The Shining".
· "The Blair Witch Project" was inspired by a true story of three film students who traveled into a Maryland forest to investigate the legend of the Blair Witch. They disappeared and only left behind their footage: FALSE—while this is the plot of the movie, it is not a true story.
· Sissy Spacek was so committed to her role in "Carrie", she slept in bloody clothes for 3 days in order to avoid breaking continuity.
· "Saw" was inspired by a news story: TRUE—when the director was young, he saw a news story about a man who claimed he was forced to break into people’s homes and tickle the feet of young children. This idea of people being forced to commit crimes horrified him and so the Saw series was born.
· Jack Nicholson was considered for the part of Dr. Lector in "The Silence of the Lambs". HEEERREEEE’S HANNIBAL!
· The doll from "The Conjuring" series, Annabelle, was the actual doll that inspired the films: FALSE—though the series was based on actual events, the actual doll is a plain Raggedy Anne doll. Might want to throw that one out that you still have in the basement.
· The blood used in "Night of the Living Dead" is actually chocolate syrup. Yummy.
· "The Exorcist" is Warner Brothers highest grossing film of all time: TRUE—and still the most terrifying movie ever in my opinion. No thank you.
· Andersen’s "Pea soup" had a starring role in said terrifying movie, used as Regan’s vomit. Campbell’s was originally tried but apparently didn’t have the look they were going for.
· The skeleton props in the movie "Poltergeist" are real human skeletons: TRUE—gross.
AND NOW...THE 10 REASONS YOU CAN'T SAY
"I'LL BE RIGHT BACK"...
I hope you enjoyed reading about Spooky Season with me! Until next time,
Kenzie Janner, DPT, CSMT, Spooky Season Extraordinair.