Happy Monday! It wasn’t ‘A dark and stormy night …’, but yesterday was a chilly day perfect for chili and chilling ghost stories. I’m not a gory, slasher story kind of reader or movie watcher. I saw one of the first Nightmare on Elm Street movies and one was more than enough. I grew up on the Twilight Zone and Edgar Allen Poe and still like those stories that are just a bit left of normal, ghost stories, mysteries, and legends with a large enough shred of truth that it makes more sense to believe than to completely discount.

Last year’s anthology from Howling Hills Publishing, 24 Tales: More Appalachian Ghost Stories, Legends & Mysteries fits that description. The collection covers the full Appalachian range, so there are stories from Vermont and New York, as well as Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas. You’ll meet kindly ghosts like Mr. Mitchell who still roams the apple orchards he planted along a ridge in Vermont, in the early 1930s. And there’s Moses Wharton who still shuffles along the old mill he used to clean, or sometimes one will see him on a covered bridge just below the mill, making sure drivers maneuver around the sharp turns. But not all are so kindly.

There are stories of those, mostly women, who have ‘the gift’ of seeing spirits, especially those of deceased family members, or knowing … without being told… when a person has passed into death. One of the ghosts appears to be a hitchhiker ghost, one who attaches itself to a living person and follows them even if they move to a new house. It’s not the house they haunt, but after taking a liking to the person, they stay with them!

And there are the traditional bumps and bangs in the night stories of houses inhabited by residents others rarely if ever see. The stories of items being moved, doors shutting, and the cold spots that always accompany the not-quite-dead.

I know a few of the authors in the anthology and these are actual, real encounters they’ve experienced. Some of the authors know spirits exist, others are skeptics–but can’t logically explain what they’ve seen or heard.

At a short 174 pages, 24 Tales is the perfect little book for cozying up with on a chilly Halloween evening while you’re handing out candy to the cute little ghosts and super heroes that knock at your door. Issue 25 Tales is also available.

Saturday was a day of Halloween adventures. In the morning Hubby, one of our sons, and two of the Grands wandered up and down Main St. checking out this year’s scarecrow folks. For the past several years local businesses and groups have assembled scarecrows on the lampposts along Main St., and it’s become a tradition to take whichever Grands we can snag and go for a walk. They get to vote on the ones they like the best and we always stop for donuts at the coffee shop halfway through the tour. This year’s theme is Super Heroes and these were the favorites. Mine is the Bee Man, both boys chose this particular Batman (there were one or two others), and my son who grew up playing with K’Nex thought this one was the coolest.

Hubby and I finished the day with another silent film, this time a classic horror film shown at the Lancaster Cultural Arts Center. This is the third year they’ve hosted a Halloween film night, complete with popcorn, and the chamber ensemble Mallarme Music providing the suspenseful music for the film. It’s fascinating watching and listening to the musicians follow along with the movie, adding to the emotional experience of what’s happening on the screen.

This year’s film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. “This quintessential 1920 work of early German Expressionistic cinema tells the story of an insane hypnotist who uses a brainwashed somnambulist to commit murders. The film features a dark, twisted visual style, with sharp-pointed forms; oblique, curving lines; structures and landscapes that lean and twist in unusual angles; and shadows and streaks of light painted directly onto the sets.” (Taken from the promo for the film.)

And there was another twist at the end.

In past Halloween posts I’ve written about how trick-or-treating has changed since I was a kid, so many communities doing the trunk-or-treats, but I’ve noticed another shift this year. As more housing developments are built, there’s the sense of community–safe communities–and the door-to-door parades of little goblins, firefighters, witches, etc. have started again. I have to admit I’m happy about that. There’s something fun and nostalgic about it, and as one who would hand out candy if kids lived in our neighborhood, it’s fun seeing all the costumes and hearing the giggles.

What are some of your favorite Halloween memories and traditions? Do you go all out decorating?

Last week I mentioned I had two poems accepted, well the official word is out so I can reveal the poems are in a new anthology, North Coast Voices by Main Street Rag Publishing, and one of my poems was an award winner. I know some of the other poets included in the anthology and can’t wait to read their connections to the Great Lakes. If you’re interested, here’s the link for pre-ordering at a discounted price. North Coast Voices

This week, the poems and art are coming together for the ekphrastic poetry exhibit, Vistas–Visions and Verse IV! I’ll have pics soon. How are you spending this last week of October? I hope it’s full of the color and fun of the season. See you next Monday!

You can find 24 Tales at Howling Hills Publishing.