Do You Believe in Ghosts??

Hi to all you ghost hunters and sceptics. I will leave it up to you to decide on what YOU believe. But speaking for myself--- I believe! I have had more than my share of unexpected visits and encounters since I was a girl of ten..

Sparkling bed sheets!

Bee-witched

The History of Ghost and Spirits

Do you know that most of the earliest ghosts were not there to haunt or scare people? Actually, most early ghosts were said to ask the people they interacted with to properly bury the ghost’s body or to give information to help a loved one. Even some of the world’s oldest writings include interacting with the dead. One example of an old ghost story took place more than 2,000 years ago.
A man named Homer wrote The Iliad which included a scene where the soul of the warrior named Patroclos appeared to his friend Achilles. He told his friend to have his body properly buried and warned Achilles that he was going to be killed in the final battle of Troy.

Another takes place in Athens Greece more then 3,000 years ago. A man named Athendorus rented a house that many said was haunted. One night he heard a rattling noise. Then he saw the ghost of an old man in chains. The ghost pointed to the ground then disappeared.
The next day workers dug up the garden and found a skeleton. Athendorus then had the body properly buried in a graveyard and he never saw the old man in chains again.

The movement called Spiritualism started in 1848 in Hydesville, New York. Two sisters claimed they had managed to communicate with a spirit in the house through rapping sounds that meant yes, no or specific letters. Even though in old age the sisters admitted they made it up, it still started a gigantic movement. They toured the country for many years holding seances and speaking to spirits. The Spiritualism Church was founded in 1853 and in two years claimed over 2 million followers.

Nowadays most religions believe in life after death. After death a spirit or soul either goes to heaven or the underworld. Many believe that ghosts are souls that have been unable to leave earth for the afterlife.

Do I believe in ghosts? No--but I'm afraid of them"--Marquise du Deffand, 1697-1780
The popular image of a ghost is of an insubstantial, whitish form floating through an ancient castle accompanied by terrifying moans, groans, and the clanking of chains. It is, of course, the spirit of some long-dead individual, the whole thing is extremely frightening, and sometimes the ghost portends death or tragedy.
Yet every year Fate, a major magazine concerned with the unexplained, receives between 100 and 200 very happy reports of experiences in which it appears that loved ones--people and animals--have in some way returned after death.
What are these apparitions that arouse such varied emotions? Perhaps the clearest understanding can be gained by looking at a number of different, yet typical, sightings.
Most interesting is the ghost with a purpose, like Mr. F.G.'s fair-haired sister, who appeared briefly to him in 1876. A salesman, he was far from home, but this sighting sent him posthaste to tell his parents about the incident. As he described his sister, he mentioned a scratch on her face, upon which his mother burst into tears and explained that while attending to the body after her daughter's death she had accidentally made just such a scratch and then carefully hidden it with makeup so that no one else knew of its existence. Thus the ghost provided comforting evidence of survival after death, and succeeded in prompting F.G. to visit his parents. His mother died shortly afterward, and he might not otherwise have seen her alive again.
Another type of sighting is one in which a dying person seems to see dead relatives and friends waiting to welcome him. This may be mere hallucination (like many other ghost tales), but if he names someone who is believed to be living, but that person is later discovered to have died before the "sighting," then the case becomes more interesting. In one case, a dying woman, Mrs. Blank, said that she saw and heard a young girl who had spent "the happiest week of her life" singing with the Blank daughters some 6 years previously. Mrs. Blank said that this apparition was singing, with others, to welcome her to heaven. There was no reason for her or her family to believe the girl was dead, but it was later discovered that the girl had died 11 days before she was "seen and heard" by the dying Mrs. Blank.
Not all ghosts are so purposeful. Often referred to as "haunts" are cases where one figure is seen to do the same thing time after time. Haunts may be seen by many people, and they usually seem unaware of the living. Equally pointless are the cases in which the noises of past battles are heard, though nothing is seen. Investigation may show that the noises duplicate exactly the progress of the battle concerned, even though the people who hear them have no historical knowledge of what happened. A 1942 Allied Forces landing near Dieppe seems to have been "heard" on the same date in 1951 by 2 English ladies staying in a hotel near where the landing took place, and other similar cases have been reported.

Halloween Triva

Since 1995, trick or treating in the town of Sandusky, Ohio, has been against the law for anyone older then 14.
It is very rare for a full moon to occur at the same time as Halloween. It has only occurred in - 1925, 1944, 1955, and 1974. The next time it is said to occur is 31 October, 2020.
The word Halloween appeared in the Dictionary in the 1700s.
Dunking for apples arose from a practice of divining the future. It was believed that if you could hold an apple between your teeth you would have a fulfilling romance with whomever you choose.
According to ancient superstitions, if you stare into a mirror at midnight on Halloween, you'll see your future spouse.
The pumpkin is one of the best sources of Vitamin A.

Although the bounty of nature and the natural change of seasons were important aspects of Samhain, it was also a festival of the supernatural. Samhain was the turning point of the year for a people who believed that even minor "turning points" -- the change from one day to the next, the meeting of sea and shore -- were magical. The turning of the year was the most powerful and sacred of such junctures. The worlds of the living and of the dead were very close to one another at Samhain, the veil between the two at its thinnest. The living could communicate with those who had gone beyond; the dead could visit the living. In Celtic times, the dead were not considered evil or particularly dreaded so much as consulted and honored as ancestral spirits and guardians of the wisdom of the tribe. Celtic priests, the Druids, contacted the dead in order to divine the future and make predictions for the community. In Halloween lore of the last two centuries or so, references are made to "Samhain" as a deity or Celtic "Lord of the Dead." There is no evidence for such a god. The fallacy seems to have arisen in the 1770s before improved translation of Celtic literary work and modern archeology. It can be traced to the writings of a Col. Charles Vallency (who, for some reason, was trying to prove that the Irish originally came from Armenia) and then was later perpetuated by Lady Jane Francesca Wilde (Oscar's mum) in her mid-nineteenth century book Irish Cures, Mystic Charms and Superstitions. It has gone on to be unquestioningly and inaccurately repeated in many sources over the years.

Although possibly later developed as post-Christian mythology, the Celts may have believed in faeries or similar magical creatures. They did not believe in demons or devils, but they may well have had these not-so-nice entities to deal with. Resentful of humans taking over the world, the faerie-folk were often thought to be hostile and dangerous. During the magical time of Samhain the faeries were even more powerful than usual. Humans might be lured astray by faeries. These unfortunates would then be lost in the fairy mounds and trapped forever.
Faeries or their kind weren't the only ones causing mischief. The yearly turning point was also seen as a suspension of ordinary space and time. For order and structure to be maintained for the rest of the year, chaos would reign during Samhain. Humans indulged in cross-gender dressing, tricks, and high jinks. On the practical side, such behavior was an outlet for high spirits before the confining winter came. We know very little of Druidic religious rituals, but we do know Samhain was one of four "Fire Festivals" of the Celts. Hearth fires were extinguished to symbolize the coming "dark half" of the year, then re-lit from Druidic fires to signify the return and continuance of life. Bonfires were also part of this observance.

As with other pre-Christian practices, Samhain was eventually absorbed by the Church. In AD 609 or 610, May 13 was designated as a day to honor the Virgin Mary and the martyred saints. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III (731-741 then fixed November 1 as the anniversary for all saints (including the martyrs). October 31 became All Hallows' Eve [Hallowmas or Halloween], the evening before All Hallows Day [All Saints Day] on November 1. (The word "hallow" was used in the Middle ages as a synonym for "saint.") Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration of All Hallows Day to the entire Church.
The old beliefs did not die out so easily and just honoring saints was not enough to replace the notion of a time of year when the dead could travel the earth. A more abstract holiday commemorating all the faithful departed on November 2 began to be marked as early as the ninth century. although Odilo, abbot of Cluny (d. 1048) actually instituted the date. By the end of the thirteenth century, it was accepted by the entire Church.
Not only did the Church give the holiday its popular name, it also sanctified the custom of remembering the dead on the eve on November 1. Other pagan traditions and religious practices were adapted by the Church and re adapted by the people. "Soul cakes" were baked and given to the town's poor in exchange for their prayers for the dead. Eventually young men and boys went "souling" from house to house, singing and asking for food, ale and money rather than cakes. The church encouraged parishioners to dress as saints, angels and devils as part of All Saints Day. Spirits of the dead and the supernatural, now associated with evil and the devil, became something to fear. Gifts of food and drink once meant to welcome the dead were now offered to keep them away. Bonfires were now lit to frighten the devil.
On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther, intending to stir debate, posted his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. (An occasion still marked in Lutheran churches on Reformation Sunday.) The religious reformation he sparked eventually did away with the celebration of Halloween for many Europeans. Reformation Protestants did away with the observance of saints' days and without the "hallows" one can not have All Hallows' Eve.
The English, however, managed to preserve some of the secular traditions of the holiday with Guy Fawkes Day. (In 1605 a group English Roman Catholics conspired to blow up Parliament, King James I, and his heir on November 5. They evidently hoped that in the confusion following, the English Catholics could take over the country. What came to be known as the Gunpowder Plot was foiled and in January 1606 Parliament established November 5 as a day of public thanksgiving. The day became known as Guy Fawkes Day for a conspirator who was arrested and, under torture, revealed the names of the other plotters.) Guy Fawkes Day borrowed a great many of the traditions used to mark Halloween that had fallen just six days before. Bonfires, pranks, begging, and dressing in costume became part of the occasion. In some parts of England, the festivities were virulently anti-Catholic.

A Most Special Witch

Well Merry, Merry to all, The air is crisp this morning with a lovely light blue sky. The colors of Autumn surround me. What a lovely day to start the 12th moon of the Celtic Wheel of the Year. I am posting photos of a most precious card I received in the mail yesterday from a dear friend across the pond.

"Free-Spirit" She truly is. As you can tell by this lovely card she made. It expresses her freedom and her friendship.. To take the time to make such a lovely card for me.. "Witch" I will always treasure. The colors did not come out that great in the photos but the card stock in a beautiful turquoise . The images are in the lovely pastel lavenders and greens. She sits upon a ancient peer block surrounded by dragon fly's with her hair flowing in the sea breeze.. I truly love this card, it has made my Samhain celebration very special. I posted two photos so you can see the 3 dimensional look of the images on the card...

I am a Very happy Bee.. Now I need to get on MY creativity cap and make her something as well.

Happy Sunday

B.

Celtic Tree of the Month

REED LORE

· 12th Moon of the Celtic Year - (Oct 28 - Nov 24)
· Latin name: American Elm - ulmus americana; European Elm - ulmus procera; slippery Elm - ulmus fulva.
· Celtic name: Negetal (pronounced: nyettle).
· Folk or Common names: In Britain where the Reed tree is the dwarf elm, it is called the Water-Elder, Whitten, or rose Petal. Since I use the immature Elm tree in place of the Reed tree, the Elm is usually known as Elm, and sometimes Piss-Elm (due to the smell it makes while being burned as a green wood).
· Parts Used: Bark, leaves, wood.
· Herbal usage: The Elm has many medicinal uses. Slippery Elm bark can be powdered and made into a milk for babies that can't tolerate cow's milk. In fact slippery Elm bark is good for many purposes. In tea it can ease insomnia and sooth an upset tummy. It is also useful for enemas and makes good poultice material. This type of poultice can be used on wounds, infections, ulcers, burns, and poison ivy.
· Magical History & Associations: The birds associated with the month of Reed are the owl and goose, the color is grass green, and the gemstone is clear green jasper. Symbols of this Celtic month are The White Hound, The Stone, the Planet Pluto (Pwyll), The Fire Feast of Samhain Dis, Pwyll, and Arawn. Identified with the submerged or hidden dryad, The Month of Reed represents the mysteries of death. In fact the Fire Feast of Samhain celebrates the dead and on Samhain, the boundary between the Other world and this world dissolve. It is a night of great divination. Or in another fashion, it represents the hidden roots to all life. The Month of Reed is associated with being both a savior and custodian. Pwyll, the Celtic ruler of the Other world was given "The Stone" , one of four treasures given to him for safekeeping. The Stone represents the right of the kings and queen to have divine power. Thus the Reed is also the symbol of Royalty. The White Hounds represent the dogs that guard the lunar mysteries. The Elm tree is a tree of Saturn and is associated with the element of earth. It is sacred to Odin, Hoenin and Lodr. The elm is also associated with the day of Tuesday.
· Magic usage: The month of Elm / Reed is a good month for using music in magic, especially music made by bagpipes and flutes, and also for doing divination. Elm is sometimes said to symbolize the dark side of the psyche and so can be used in psychic workings. The Elm is commonly known as "the elf friend". If you desire to have contact with wood elves, pick a grove of Elm trees and sit under them and sing. Around about dawn, the elves will have gotten over their initial shyness and come out to join in the singing. Elm trees are also thought to provide a channel for the communication with divas. To get an Elm tree to help you in this quest, offerings can be brought to a favorite tree and left. The best offerings are wine, mead, tobacco, coins and sage. Tiny twigs of Elm can be worn in a bag around a child's neck as a charm to produce eloquent speech in later life. Elm wood may be bound with a yellow cord and burned to prevent gossip. The Elm represents primordial female powers and therefore the Elm is a tree with great protective qualities. The wood from the Elm can be made into talismans and charms that can be worn for protection. The Elm also has the qualities of regeneration, boldness and fidelity, and so added to its protective qualities, it is excellent when given as a good luck token to departing friends. Using Elm is spell work adds stability to the spell.

REED MOON TEA - Fertility, love, protection

1 part red clover,1 part hyssop,1 part boneset, pinch of slippery elm

**Note: Please be very, VERY careful when taking this teas! These are powerful herbs, meant to be used by more or less experienced herbalists and witches. Boneset is toxic in large doses or if taken over long period of time. To use, put in a tea ball and steep for 5 or 6 minutes.

Please listen to the Bee about this one..

Halloween Verse -N- Vixen's

Charm Against Witches

Bring the holy crust of bread,Lay it underneath the head:'tis a certain charme to keep Hags away, while children sleep.

By, Robert Herrick


Hey-How for Halloween

Hey-how for Hallowe'en!

A' the witches tae be seen,

Some are black, an' some green,

Hey-how for Hallwe'en.

Scottish Traditional

The Spunky

The Spunky he went like a sad little flame,All, all alone.All out on the zogs and a-down the lane,All, all alone.A tinker came by that was full of ale,And into the mud he went head-over-tail,All, all alone.
A crochety farmer came riding by,All, all alone.He cursed him low and he cursed him high,All, all alone.The Spunky he up and led him astray,The pony were floundered until it were day,All, all alone.
There came an old Granny - she see the small ghost,All, all alone."Yew poor liddle soul all a-cold, all a-lost,All, all alone.I've give 'ee criss-cross to save 'ee hide,Be off to the church and make merry inside. "All, all alone.
The Spunky he laughed, "Here, I'll galley no more! "All, all alone.And off he did wiver and in at the door,All, all alone.The souls they did sing for to end his pain,There's no little Spunky a-down the lane,All, all alone.

Traditional Scottish

Magic Spider Bolo Necklace

Hi to all, I had posted on KF forums about this Bolo style necklace I have. I got this necklace out of a KF grab bag in 2000 I think? It is a lovley Russian gold color with Amber topaz colored stones. It adjusts like any bolo, or lariat style necklace. It is my favorite Halloween necklace.
Sparkling spider webs
Bee

Famous Witch's

Joan of Navarre 1370-1437. Duchess of Brittany who was the wife of King Henry IV of England was accused of being a witch and wanting to bring down the king. Later she was pardoned and reinstated.

Tamsin Blight 1798-1856. Famous English witch healer and a person who is able to remove curses or spells from a person. She was also said to have put spells on those who did not please her. Also known as Tammy Blee and Tamson.

The North Berwick Witches a group of men and women who were accused of witchcraft in Scotland in the 16th century. On minimal evidence they were condemned and tortured and burnt. They were supposed to have created a storm to the drown the King James 1.

Mary Butters late 18th century-early 19th century. She is known as the Carmoney Witch and narrowly escaped trial for the killing of a cow and three people. She claimed at her inquest she saw a black man who killed the three people and that she was knocked unconscious causing the ingredients to become toxic. The incident was made into a humorous ballad.

Old Dorothy Clutterbuck 1880-1951. Clutterbuck was allegedly the high priestess of a coven of witches and was suppose to have initiated Gerald B. Gardner into witchcraft. It also said that Clutterbuck was actually not the high priestess but a protector of the high priestess that the real high priestess was a woman by the name of Dafo. She was a woman of high respect and wealth. When she died she left a hefty amount of money more than 60,000 pounds.

Mother Shipton a 15th Century Yorkshire witch. She was said to have powers of healing and spell-casting, and her prophecies about modern time such as those of airplanes and cars has come true. Also scientific inventions, new technology, wars and politics.

Isobel Goldie ?-1662. It is said that she had wild sexual escapades with the devil who had initiated her into the art of witchcraft. She confessed this several times but many thought that it was just a story she had made up and that it was just a game that had gotten out of hand. There are no records as to what had happened to her or other people she confessed to being witches as well. In all likelihood they were all hung as her confessions were so obscene for the time.

Joan of Arc 1412-1431. She was not charged as most people have said for practicing witchcraft but for being a relapsed heretic who denied the authority of the church.

Margaret Jones ?-1648. The first witch to be executed in Massachusetts Bay Colony, she was accused of being a witch after patients under her care as their physician had gotten sicker. The reason why many patients got worse was because they refused to take medicines prescribed for them.

Lady Alice Kyteler ?-1324. Lady Alice was a wealthy woman from Ireland who was accused of witchcraft as a result of the fact that her fourth husband and his family believed she had lured him into marrying her more money. These charges were dropped and

Florence Newton mid 17th Century. A trial most famous in Ireland was that of Florence Newton also known as "the Witch of Youghal". She was accused of bewitching people into fits and of killing them with these fits. Her trial unlike most trials involved no torture. One young lady who was bewitched by her went through fits of which many things were vomited up by her and many different things were thrown at her. If Florence Newton was left unhand cuffed the young lady would have fits and fall ill but if handcuffed would remain calm and have no fits.

Dolly Pentreath 1692-1777. Was born in Cornwall, England. Never married but had a son. She was accredited with the knowledge of astrology and possessed magical powers which people would come and use her for. She was able to use her powers for good and bad.

Elisabeth Sawyer ?-1621. Elisabeth Sawyer also Known as "Witch of Edmonton" was accused of bewitching her neighbors children and cattle because they refused to buy her brooms. When she was being harassed she finally confessed to being a witch. She was hanged for confessing to be a witch.

Marie Lavau 1794?-1881 and 1827-1897. The most renowned voodoo queen in North America was actually a mother and daughter. Their appeal was their magical powers, control of one’s lovers and enemies, and sex. Marie I was a most powerful women who was told all the secrets by women and was able to use these to increase her powers. Marie II was feared more and inspired subservience.

Joan Wytte 1775-1813. Cornish woman also known by the name of the Fighting Fairy Woman of Bodmin. She was said to be clairvoyant and that people would seek her services as a seer, diviner and healer. She was known to visit a holy well where she tied clouties (a charm that is a strip of cloth taken from a sick person. Which would decay and was suppose to heal the person in a magical way. Still done today.) On the branches of trees.
Later on as a result of a tooth abscess she became very ill-tempered and would shout at people. She became involved in a large fight with people where she used her remarkable strength and bashed people and threw them across a room. She was arrested and sent to jail where she died as a result of the poor conditions. When she died her body was dissected and the skeleton was placed in a coffin, later on it was recovered and used as a joke in a séance which went wrong as it was alleged the lid of the coffin in which the skeletal remains was placed, flew open and started going around and assaulting the people taking part in the séance. After this the bones were to pass onto an antique dealer, and later on a founder of a Museum of Witchcraft. It was later said that while on display in the museum they started to experience poltergeist at which a witch was bought in to consult them of what to do and it was said that Wytte's spirit said that she wished to be laid in a proper burial.
The empty coffin remains on display along with a plaque accounting her story.

Whats Halloween Without : WereWolfs?

The Wolf Stone
Alexander Schöppner
Germany

In a valley in the Fichtel Mountains a shepherd tended his flock in a green meadow. Several times it happened that after driving his herd home he discovered that one of the animals was missing. All searching was in vain. They were lost and they remained lost.
Watching more carefully, he saw a large wolf creep out of the forest thicket and seize a lamb. Angrily he chased after him, but the enemy was too fleet. Before he could do anything about it, the wolf had disappeared with the lamb. The next time he took an expert marksman with him. The wolf approached, but the marksman's bullets bounced off him. Then it occurred to the hunter to load his weapon with the dried pith from an elder bush. The next day he got off a shot, and the robber ran howling into the woods.
The next morning the shepherd met an old neighbor woman with whom he was not on the best of terms. Noticing that she was limping, he asked her: "Neighbor, what is wrong with your leg? It does not want to go along with you."
"What business is it of yours?" she answered, hurrying away.
The shepherd took note of this. This woman had long been suspected of practicing evil magic. People claimed to have seen her on the Heuberg in Swabia, the Köterberg, and also on the Hui near Halberstadt.
He reported her. She was arrested, interrogated, and flogged with rod of alder wood, with which others suspected of magic, but who had denied the charges, had been punished. She was then locked up in chains. But suddenly the woman disappeared from the prison, and no one knew where she had gone.
Some time later the poor, unsuspecting shepherd saw the hated wolf break out of the forest once again. However, this time it had not come to attack his herd, but the shepherd himself. There was a furious struggle. The shepherd gathered all of his strength together against the teeth and claws of the ferocious beast. It would have been his death if a hunter had not come by in the knick of time. In vain he fired a shot at the wolf, and then struck it down with his knife. The instant that blood began to flow from the wolf's side, the old woman from the village appeared in the field before them, writhing and twisting terribly. They finished killing her and buried her twenty feet beneath the earth.
At the place where they buried the woman they erected a large stone cross, which they named the "Wolf Stone" in memory of these events. It was never peaceful and orderly in the vicinity of the stone. The Malicious Messenger (der Tückebote) or the Burning Man (der brennende Mann), in the language of the people, still goes about his dangerous business here.

The Werewolf: Another Legend
Karl Lyncker
A married couple in Hessen lived in poverty. To the husband's amazement, the wife nevertheless was able to serve meat for every meal. For a long time she kept it a secret where she got the meat, but finally she promised to reveal it to him, under the condition that he not call out her name as it was happening. Together they went to a field where a herd of sheep was grazing. The woman walked toward the sheep, and as she approached them, she threw a ring over herself and instantly turned into a werewolf. She fell upon the sheep, seized one of them, and fled. The man stood there as though petrified. However, when he saw the shepherd and the dogs running after the werewolf, thus endangering his wife, he forgot his promise and called out: "Margaret!" With that the wolf disappeared, and the woman was left standing naked in the field.

The Werewolf in Hindenburg
J. D. H. Temme
One still believes in werewolves in the Altmark. Even today in the village of Hindenburg they tell about a man who could turn himself into a wolf, and there are people still alive who knew him during their childhood.
He had a strip of leather made from wolf skin which still had its hair. Whenever he tied it around his body, he turned into a wolf. Then he had such extraordinary strength that he could pull an entire load of hay by himself or grab a whole ox in his mouth and carry it away.
In this state he had the nature of a wolf. He strangled cattle and even ate humans. He once pursued one of his neighbors, who narrowly escaped from him. But however furious he became, he did spare his wife. She knew a magic charm that brought him under control, a charm that he himself had taught her. Then she would take off the leather strip, and he would become a reasonable human once again.

Bela Lugosi / Dracula

"I - am - Dracula...." was the phrase of evil in Hollywood. Bela Lugosi started it all with a heavy deliberate, imitateable accent. In 1927 he played Dracula on Broadway for a year or two on the road, but when he introduced himself to the film audiences of the silver screen, it was like seeing evil for the first time.
He was born Bela Blasko on October 20,1882 in Logos, Hungary. He had training at the Budapest Academy of Theatrical Arts. Sometimeshe used another name, Arisztid Olt during 1918. It was the collapse of the Hungarian Monarchy, and during that time, he organized an actors union.When the Leftists were defeated in 1919, he fled to Germany where he appeared in a number of films, but in 1921 he came to America.
With superior screen ability, he shared the stage with another great, Boris Karloff. Cinema had boomed, and people were flocking to the movies, so Lugosi had many roles to choose from,but Dracula made him famous. The vampire image became part of his real life. He even took interviews while in his coffin.
As is well-known, Bela Lugosi was buried in his cape, tuxedo, and wearing his Dracula crest ring after a career in movies, none of which came close to the fame brought to him as Dracula.
in Dracula and played the infamous count for 265 performances. In 1931, Lugosi starred in the film version of Dracula, replacing the late Lon Chaney, Jr., for whom the rights had been originally purchased.
Lugosi only made $500 a week for a seven week shoot, a ridiculously low figure even then. But Dracula both made him a star and typecast him forever at nearly 50 years of age. He made dozens of movies, many of them regrettably bad, but some of them quite good though they may not be well-remembered today.
Martin Landau gave an Academy Award-winning performance as Lugosi in Ed Wood, the Johnny Depp biopic about the director of the abysmal Plan 9 From Outer Space which notoriously included casual footage shot of Lugosi at his home before his death. Landau would observe that no matter how bad a movie might be, Lugosi's mere presence in the cast brought some stature to the production.
Following a lifetime of career ups and downs, five wives, and a lengthy morphine addiction stemming from a World War I injury he finally kicked, Lugosi died of a heart attack in his bed at his Los Angeles home on August 18, 1956.

There's the strange story connected with his burial. It isn't a very dramatic story, but it is a terrific story.
As the Lugosi funeral procession advanced towards Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, the driver found the horses drawing Lugosi's coffin suddenly fighting him. The driver wanted them to turn right, but the horses instead drew the hearse left, across Vine Street's oncoming traffic and down Hollywood Boulevard.
It turned out that it was down Hollywood Boulevard that Lugosi took daily on his way to buy cigars, cigarettes, and the daily newspapers.
The driver was unable to explain what had happened.

I love Bella In all his Movies!!!

BOOOOoooooooo BOOOOOOoooooooooo

BEEEeeeeeeeeeee

Vampire's: Vlad VS Dracula

Vampires have supposedly roamed the earth in the darkness of the night for centuries. Although there is no scientific proof of the existence of vampires. Some tend to believe that they were once out there or better yet...still are. Of course there is also the person who believes that vampires still exist ?

VAMPIRE TRIVA;

· The word vampire was first used in 1734: "The bodies of deceased persons animated by evil spirits, which come out of the graves at night time to suck the blood of many of the living and thereby destroy them."
· By 1862 Vampire meant a terrible BORE of a person
· And by 1911 vampire meant "a woman who intentionally attracts and exploits men" and by 1918 (July 9) the New York Times mentions a play called "The Vamp" starring Enid Bennett.
· Also the Verb to vamp means "to behave seductively and exploit" (ca 1920's)
· If vampires are not detected they climb into the belfry of the church and either a) call out names of villagers (who then instantly die) or b) ring the death knell and anyone who hears it dies on the spot
· If a vampire goes undetected for 7 years they can go to another country or place where a different language is spoken and become human again. They can never remarry but when they die the whole family becomes vampires (kids for first time & parent(s) again)
· There are 2 kinds of Vampire: the spirit of a dead person or a corpse reanimated by his own or another person (ie ethereal or physical)
· In some traditions, staking a vampire must be done IN ONE BLOW to do it right .

The Historical Dracula

Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476)

Bram Stoker's Dracula, published in 1897, continues to send shivers down the spine of anyone who reads it. It is dark Gothic at its best, a brilliant, imaginative and can't-put-down work of art. The atmosphere it creates is, in this writer's opinion, spookier than any Stephen King novel.
But...many people who have read the book are not aware that the character Dracula the vampire is based on was a highborn member of a Romanian court, prominent in European history – and much more terrifying than his fictional descendant. While not the black-cloaked, centuries-old, fanged bloodsucker of literary fame, the infamy of the historical figure outperforms that of Stoker's creation.
It was no idle choice that the red-bearded Irish novelist Bram Stoker in 1896 chose the factual Impaler as the model for his nosferatu, his "undead" vampire. Although admittedly never having set foot on Romanian soil, having done most of his research at the London Library, it is obvious that the infamous Count Dracula emulates his historical counterpart. Poring over texts such as An Extraordinary and Shocking History of a Great Berserker Called Prince Dracula, The Historie and Superstitions of Romantic Romania and Wilkinson's Account of Wallachia and Moldavia, Stoker chanced upon the tales of Dracula. (It has been suggested by scholars that such histories would be incomplete without generous space attributed to the man.) In the tomes he studied, Stoker assuredly read of the voivode Dracula, whose atrocities trembled the Christian Western World and whose audacity saved it from Allah.
Prince Vlad, or as he was called even in his own time, Dracula (which means "Son of the Dragon") tops the list of Romania's many, many Christian crusaders who, in the transition years between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, fought to keep the Muslim-faithed Ottoman Turks out of their country.
Odd that a name known for stirring nightmares actually belonged to a crusader of a religious cause!
Still, Dracula was not a saint. He ruled his military kingdom of Wallachia – southern Romania – with a heavy and blood-soaked fist. To not only the Turks but also to many of his own countrymen he was Vlad The Impaler, Vlad Die Tepes (pronounced Tee-pish). Determined not to be overtaken by the intrigue of an intriguing political underhandedness, in a world in which princes fell daily to smiling, hypocritical "allies," paranoia among the aristocracy was, and probably needed to be, utmost in a sovereign's disposition. Dracula built a defense around him that dared not open kindness nor trust to anyone. During his tenure, he killed by the droves, impaling on a forest of spikes around his castle thousands of subjects who he saw as either traitors, would-be traitors or enemies to the security of Romania and the Roman Catholic Church. Sometimes, he slew merely to show other possible insurgents and criminals just what their fate would be if they became troublesome.

Recipes for Halloween

Dracula Dip

2 cups sour cream

1 packet of dry tomato-vegetable soup mix

1. Put dry soup mix and sour cream into a bowl. Stir until soup mix is moist. Put mixture into refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Serve with chips or vegetables.

Halloween Cheeseballs

2 cups Shredded mozzerella cheese,1/4 cup Solid pack pumpkin,1/4 cup Pineapple preserves,1/4 teaspoon Ground allspice,1/4 teaspoon Ground nutmeg,1 large Pretzel rod -- broken in half,1/2 pkg cream cheese,Dark rye bread,Red pepper,Black olive slices,Parsley sprigs.
1. Beat cheeses, pumpkin, preserves and spices in a medium bowl until smooth.
2. Cover refrigerate 2-3 hours until cheese is firm enough to shape.
3. Shape mixture into round pumpkin, place on serving plate.
4. Using a knife, score vertical lines down pumpkin. Place pretzel rod in top for stem.
5. Cut bread into triangles for eyes, cut red pepper into triangle for nose, and cut olives in half to make the mouth.
6. Surround with parsley.

Halloween Cup Cakes

1 pk Yellow cake mix,1 1/2 teasoons Pumpkin pie spice,1 cup Buttermilk,1 cup Pumpkin,2 Eggs,
Frosting,3 tablespoons Margarine, or butter softened,3 tablespoons Pumpkin,2 cups sugar,1/2 teaspoon Milk,1/2 teaspoon Vanilla,Black licorice twists,Small green gumdrops.
1. Using 24 muffin cups with paper baking cups.
2. In a large bowl, combine all cupcake ingredients at until moistened
3. Beat 2 mintues scraping down sides of bowl.
4. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups.
5. Bake at 200 degrees celsius for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted is removed clean.
6. Cool completely.
7. In a small bowl, beat margarine or butter and 3 tablespoons of pumpkin until well blended. Gradually add 1 cup of the sugar, beat until smooth.
8. Add milk and vanilla. Gradually add remaining cup of sugar, beat for another 2 minutes.
9. Spread on tops of cupcakes.
10. Cut down 1 side to open licorice twist into triangular pieces for eyes and noses. Cut jagged curved pieces for mouths.
11. Arrange on top of cupcakes for faces. Slice gumdrops in half attach to head for stems.


Witches Brew Cider

4 Cups Apple Cider

2 Cans Frozen Lemonade Concentrate, Thawed

2 Cups Water

8 Cinnamon Sticks

Lemon Slices

1. Into a large saucepan, pour cider, lemonade concentrate, and water; stir.
2. Over medium heat, bring cider to a simmer.
3. Pour into cups.
4. Place a cinnamon stick and a lemon slice in each cup.

Halloween Cake - Barmbrack, Bairin breac
from Ireland

Traditionally baked with a gold ring inside; whoever gets the ring will be married within the year. The cake is made in two stages.

First stage

Mix together:1 cup of sultanas -->( dried seedless white grapes),

1 cup of raisins,3/4 cup brown sugar,1 cup cold tea,
Cover these ingredients and leave to soak overnight.
Stage Two
Prepare these ingredients:1 1/2 cups of flour,1 level teaspoon of baking powder,1 egg beaten,1 teaspoon mixed spice.
1. Add the four, baking powder, and spice to soaked fruit mixture.
2. Mix in the beaten egg.
3. Spoon into a well greased loaf tin and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 300 degrees

4. When cool brush the top with warmed honey for a glazed surface.

My New Witch Hat

Well as Halloween approaches, I too must try to get it all together.. I finally got a couple of pictures of the new witch hat I bought from Kirks Folly.. For those new to the "Folly" these were custom made in a limited number and were sold on the KF web site. This hat was called the "Enchanted Garden hat" note the sparkling golden spider pin riding upon it!! This hat is SO comfortable--> it fits like a glove too. I love, love, love it!!

Sparkling spider webs

Bee

Graveyard Art

Well yes, Tomb-stones, Head stones, Monuments. They are a fascination of mine for many, many years. I use to go set in the grave yard on sunny days & moon lite nights just to relax and write. I found a fascination for the unappreciated art that is found there. Sitting silently aging gracefully amongst acres of green grass and silent souls. Oh of course tomb-stones are a definite must in any Halloween decor as well!! But I find more to Tomb-Stones then a spot for a ghost to hide or a object that casts a frightful shadow amongst the dark quiet night. I find that this art work is some of the most beautiful I have seen anywhere. I love how they stand the test of time and silently tell of our history, human love, and compassion. So look beyond the eeriness of the surroundings as some would see it, and look for the talent and beauty of the form..

Sparkling flash lights

Bee

Jack -O - Lantern Lore

Hi To all, Well anyone for a little pumpkin carven!! Here are a few pic's of some lovely pumpkins and Jack-o-Lanterns.

Every Halloween season, the house at 748 Beech Street in Kenova, West Virginia is transformed into the Great Pumpkin House. The owner, Ric Griffith and hundreds of other volunteers carve thousands of pumpkins for display at his home every halloween. (above)

And what do you do with all the uncarved pumpkins after Halloween???

--> Make pie!!!!

There are many lore's and legends surrounding the origin of the Jack-O-Lantern.

The most popular tale is that of a ne'er-do-well Irishman name Jack.

Well known for his drunken meanness I should say, Jack got so intoxicated on a Halloween that his soul began to leave his body. The Devil saw an opportunity to claim a victim and promptly came to earth. Jack was desperate to avoid his fate so he begged the Devil to allow him one last drink. The Devil consented but stated that Jack would have to pay for his drink because the Devil carried no money. Jack claimed to only have a sixpence left and asked that the Devil assume the shape of a sixpence to pay for the drink. Then, tab paid, the Devil could change back to himself. The Devil considered the request reasonable and changed himself into a sixpence. Jack immediately grabbed the coin and put it in his wallet, which had a cross-shaped catch. The Devil was unable to get out and began ranting and cursing. They then made a deal that the Devil would be released if he agreed to let Jack alone for one year. The Devil agreed and Jack set forth to reform is behavior over the next year. It wasn't long before Jack slipped back into his mean, drunken ways and the next All Hallows Eve the Devil appeared to Jack and demanded his soul. Once again, Jack was desperate to save himself and did so by tricking the Devil. He suggested to the Devil that he may want one of the delicious apples hanging in a tree nearby. He offered to allow the Devil to climb on his shoulders to reach the apples. Once the Devil was in the tree, Jack pulled out a pocket knife and carved a cross in the tree trunk. The Devil could not get out of the tree. Furious and desperate, the Devil offered Jack ten years of peace in exchange for freeing him. Jack insisted that The Devil never bother him again and he would be freed. The Devil resentfully agreed. Jack then returned to his old ways but before the next Halloween, his body gave out and he passed. He was turned away at the gates of Heaven because of the meanness in his life. The Devil refused him at the gates of hell, stating that he would never bother him again and told him to return from whence he came. To help Jack see on his journey, the Devil threw him a burning lump of coal from hell. Jack put the ember inside of a turnip and it has been Jack's light on his eternal wanderings ever since. To protect oneself from Jack on All Hallows Eve, Jack-O-Lanterns were placed on porches and in windows, in hopes that Jack would take the light if needed instead of bothering anyone.

New Halloween Decoration

Hi to all, I took a picture of the new center piece for my Halloween table. I just bought it. My friend has a boutique in PL. Called:

" Once Upon a time" It is so cool. She gets all this stuff I just love..

Just had to share, I love this vintage looking stuff!!

Bee

The Witch Of Treva

The Witch of Treva
England

Once on a time, long ago, there lived at Treva, a hamlet in Zennor, a wonderful old lady deeply skilled in necromancy. Her charms, spells, and dark incantations made her the terror of the neighborhood. However, this old lady failed to impress her husband with any belief in her supernatural powers, nor did he fail to proclaim his unbelief aloud.
One day this skeptic came home to dinner, and found, being exceedingly hungry, to his bitter disappointment, that not only was there no dinner to eat, but that there was no meat in the house. His rage was great, but all he could get from his wife was, "I couldn't get meat out of the stones, could I?" It was in vain to give the reins to passion, the old woman told him, and he must know "that hard words buttered no parsnips."
Well, at length he resolved to put his wife's powers to the proof, and he quietly but determinedly told her that he would be the death of her if she did not get him some dinner; but if in half an hour she gave him some good cooked meat, he would believe all she had boasted of her power, and be submissive to her forever.
St. Ives, the nearest market town, was five miles off; but nothing doubting, the witch put on her bonnet and cloak, and started. Her husband watched her from their cottage door, down the hill; and at the bottom of the hill, he saw his wife quietly place herself on the ground and disappear. In her place a fine hare ran on at its full speed.
He was not a little startled, but he waited, and within the half hour in walked his wife with "good flesh and taties all ready for aiting." There was no longer any doubt, and the poor husband lived in fear of the witch of Treva to the day of her death.
This event took place after a few years, and it is said the room was full of evil spirits, and that the old woman's shrieks were awful to hear. Howbeit, peace in the shape of pale-faced death came to her at last, and then a black cloud rested over the house when all the heavens were clear and blue.
She was borne to the grave by six aged men, carried, as is the custom, underhand. When they were about half way between the house and the church, a hare started from the roadside and leaped over the coffin. The terrified bearers let the corpse fall to the ground, and ran away. Another lot of men took up the coffin and proceeded.
They had not gone far when puss was suddenly seen seated on the coffin, and again the coffin was abandoned. After long consultation, and being persuaded by the parson to carry the old woman very quickly into the churchyard, while he walked before, six others made the attempt, and as the parson never ceased to repeat the Lord's Prayer, all went on quietly.
Arrived at the church stile, they rested the corpse, the parson paused to commence the ordinary burial service, and there stood the hare, which, as soon as the clergyman began "I am the resurrection and the life," uttered a diabolical howl, changed into a black, unshapen creature, and disappeared.

Mary Shelley

Hi to all, It would not be Halloween with OUT our dear friend Frankie!! So here is a lil Frankenstein genealogy -->>> one might say???

Sparkles

Bee --> right back????

Mary, Shelley

WRITER (ENGLAND)

BORN 30 Aug 1797, London - DIED 1 Feb 1851, London: Chester Square

REAL NAME: Mary Godwin

GRAVE LOCATION: Bournemouth, Dorset: St. Peter's Churchyard

After nearly 200 years the world in general and the literary world in particular are still slightly surprised that a woman of only eighteen managed to write a rich and mature novel like Frankenstein. But Mary was no ordinary girl. Being the daughter of the radical and still famous Mary Wollstonecraft (who died soon after her birth) and the often-nearly-forgotten philosopher William Godwin (illustrious author of "Caleb Williams") she was always surrounded by people from literary circles and finally eloped with one of them, -->the strange but talented Percy Bysshe Shelley. In Italy she wrote her Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, finishing it on April 17, 1817. Her father read the book in November of that year and he was highly impressed, which was certainly against his habit when it came to books. Frankenstein was published on March 11, 1818 without revealing the name of it's author and soon became a success. After Shelley's death in 1822 Mary stayed for a while in Italy in the neighbourhood of Lord Byron, before returning to England in 1823. There she raised their only surviving son Percy Florence and wrote poems (like The Choice), books and essays. The Last Man (1826) is a frightening account of a new plague eating away mankind. Mary died in 1851 and was buried at St. Peter's Churchyard, Bournemouth, Dorset. The remains of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft were brought over from Old St. Pancras Churchyard, London and rest in the same grave.

Works: "Frankenstein; Or The Modern Prometheus" (1818); "Valperga" (1823); "The Last Man" (1826); "The Fortunes Of Perkin Warbeck" (1830); "Lodore" (1835); "Falkner" (1837).

Its The Month of Mystery and Magic

I am putting in the cobwebs (no dusting please) and I'm getting the fire going for my pot of potions.

" Witch" will include story's, jokes, lore, & history.
Lovely Halloween images, and much more.. Tis the Month of Halloween also know as; All Hallow's Eve, Day of the Dead, Samhain. So let us begin..

700,000 immigrants came to America in the 1800s during the Irish Potato Famine, bringing with them the traditions of Halloween and the use of Jack-O-Lanterns. Traditionally, the lantern was carved from a turnip, potato, or beet and lit with a burning lump of coal or a candle. These lanterns represented the souls of the departed loved ones and were placed in windows or set on porches to welcome the deceased. They also served as protection against malevolent sprits or goblins freed from the dead. Turnips and gourds were not as readily available in the Americas so the pumpkin was used and found to be quite an adequate replacement. The pumpkin jack-o-lantern has been an essential part of Halloween celebrations since the Victorian days and today is a universal symbol of Halloween.