Day 31...It's here! The soul.

Hello my dear Ghouls and Boils. It's here, it's here, Halloween!

Halloween was originally spelled Hallow E'en meaning the day before All Hallows Day (Nov. 1st). This was a day to celebrate the ancestors that came before us.

What happens after with pass from this plain of existence has been debated for centuries. Most agree that we all have a soul that passes on.

The soul is a curious thing. How the soul lives on is up for debate too. How we see our soul is a question of perspective.

A few years ago a curator in England wanted to see just what people thought their soul looked like and had everyone draw it in black and white. The drawings where eventually published in a book called Soul. 

I drew what I think my soul might look like. I will say this, I think depending on what state of mind we are in depends what our soul might look to us at any time.

What does your soul look like? Draw it for me. While you are doing that listen to this fantastic track...the soul in music.

Happy Halloween everyone!

~Naila Moon

PS>Join me tomorrow as I begin posting 30 days of Thankfulness. This will most likely be a hop and you are welcome to join.

We have a winner!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!



The winner picked by Random Org. for the signed copy of Halloween Nation is...

Entry #2 Marie C.!!!

Congratulations! Please e-mail me your confirmation within 48 hours.

Thanks everyone for your entries on my first ever giveaway!
Be looking for more on my sidebar.

Also be looking for the final Halloween Countdown entry later on today!

~Naila Moon

Day 30...Which, Witch is Which?

Welcome back to day 30 at my crypt. Oh eek,  we are only one day away until Halloween! Excitement all around!

Today I am going to talk to you about witches. I am aware that this is a subject some people get nervous about but trust me, it will be ok.

Hollywood has painted many witches to look like the picture above. They have pictured them to be evil, ride around on broomsticks, cause harm and should be dealt with. Then again, there is Glenda the good witch...


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...or the Charmed ones...



...or Harry Potter.



In other cases witches are what were depicted in the Salem Witch Trials. Supposedly Puritans who became possessed by the evil one reeked havoc on the society. It is nothing to say these people, mostly impoverished women, who were unjustly hanged. Later the people of Salem would admit they were wrong and pay the families who were wronged.

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There was also the witches of the Shakespearean play, Macbeth, who were very involved in political affairs. The term, " Double, double, toil and trouble" directly comes from this play.



Today there are self proclaimed witches who live among us. These men and women  acknowledge that there is evil in the world but do not worship that evil. In fact everything of the Earth is respected and revered. They actually go by the mantra "harm none".

In fact, back in good 'o Salem there is an "official" witch by the name of Lori Cabot. She owns her own store and educates people around the world about modern witches.



Just like Lori Cabot, modern day witches encourage us to educate ourselves on witchcraft and what it is all about. This can only help us to be a people who do not discriminate against others who may not believe or think like us.

What do you think?
~Naila Moon

Day 29..."Eerie" Halloween Music and the 4M's

Welcome back to my crypt. Today is day 29 of the Halloween countdown. We are so close aren't we? Today I am posting a double down post so to speak.

Every Monday I post for Mondays Music and today is no different. Today just happens to be the theme of Halloween Music so, just what do you think I am about to offer you? Bwa ha ha ha

First up:



Next:



This one next:



Here is yet another for your screaming pleasure:



Let's go for one more, shall we:



Come back to my crypt tomorrow for more.
Your Crypt Keeper, Naila Moon

Day 27...Halloween Scream for Pinning

Hello my dear Ghouls and Boils! Today is day 27 here in my crypt.

I thought today that I would just share some Halloween crafts and treasures from Pinterest. I love that site and it has some great ideas to get your boo self on! 

Source: todayscreativeblog.net via Maria on Pinterest

Source: bdghostriderz.com via Vivian Thelma on Pinterest

Source: patternmart.com via ♥♥♥ Y.O.L.O.!! ♥♥♥ Remember! ♥♥♥ on Pinterest

Source: crunchyfrugalista.com via Angie on Pinterest

Source: spoonful.com via Marci on Pinterest

Source: splitcoaststampers.com via Sheila on Pinterest

Source: howtonestforless.com via Candace on Pinterest

Source: halloween.tipjunkie.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Do you scream for Pinterest?  Follow me HERE. If you leave me a comment with your link to Pinterest I will follow you back.
Have a frightfully good weekend and I will see you Monday for some really spook-tacular music.

~Naila Moon

Day 26...Interview & Giveaway "Halloween Nation"

Welcome all of my ghoulish friends to my crypt and day 26 of the Halloween countdown. Today I have something so fantastic it will make a skeleton's head spin.

If you recall a few days ago I spoke to you about a book I had checked out at our local library called Halloween Nation. Go HERE  to read that blog and review.

It turns out the publisher of Pelican Books also read the review and contacted me. In the next two days I was e-mailing and interviewing the author of Halloween Nation, Lesley Bannatyne.

Here is that interview:

Welcome Lesley Bannatyne. Thank you for taking the time to do an interview with me and my blog, “Just the Stuff Ya Know.” We are here to discuss about you and your book, Halloween Nation.

Her Web Site and Facebook

Please tell me a little about yourself .

How did you get your start in the book industry?

I’ve been a writer since I graduate from college, and was working freelance for various magazines and ad agencies when a literary agent friend told me that Facts on File (a publishing house) was interested in holiday book proposals. ‘They have two left,’ she said. ‘Halloween and Election Day.’ I jumped at the chance to write a history of Halloween, sold the proposal, and spent the next three years researching and writing Halloween. An American Holiday, An American History. It was my first book.

How is it that you got so interested in Halloween?

I have loved Halloween from the moment I put on a cape and ran through the night with a pillowcase full of candy. But it was while working on my first book when I discovered how big, deep, and wide the subject is. It’s not “just” Halloween – it’s Irish mythology, church history, popular culture, media, movies, music, sociology, even science.

Was Halloween a fun time for you growing up? Did you have Halloween traditions?

I could barely sleep come October 1st, and the night itself never disappointed. My traditions were those of most of the kids of my generation: we figured out a costume or hounded our parents to buy masks and accessories, got the biggest trick-or-treat bag we could find, and went out the second it got dark with a big gang of friends, no curfew. My dad did the pumpkin carving, and my mom gave out treats, which, as far as I can remember, were always Snickers bars.

In chapter two of your book, Halloween Nation, you talk about our obsession with ghosts. You state, “We fear them, hunt them and try to pry secrets from their musty fists.”  Why do you think if we fear them so much we even bother?

There’s no bigger mystery than what happens after death, so no matter how unsettling it can be to think about ghosts (or encounter them, if you believe that’s possible), we have a huge desire to know, and a deep curiosity that keeps us mesmerized by the spirit world.

In this same chapter you spoke about a project called “draw your soul”.  I found that to be quite interesting. Why do you think we see ourselves so differently? How would you see your soul? Would you be willing to draw my readers a small picture?

I love this question. I think we see different things in our imaginations when it comes to soul because it’s such a personal concept, and also, because there are no models! We can’t help but be influenced by images of birds, flight, or the wisp-like portrayals that appear in paintings or drawings, but when you sit down and try to draw, something more human and individual comes through. I’d be happy to draw something for you!

Also in your book you talk about those on the fringe of Halloween. You know, those that take it to the extreme.  That chapter was brief. Do you have any further thoughts about these people? Do you think you would do something that extreme? If so, what and why?

I did spend a lot of time with people who do all sorts of interesting things, like horror burlesque dancers, people who design Halloween-themed tattoos, and most of all with people who live Halloween at least half the year by spending time creating and building things to decorate their yards. For me, if I could have the time, I’d be in my garage building my own fake tombstones and ghosts. I found nearly everyone I talked to very, very creative, and it would be fun to explore that.

Your whole book is based on our obsession with Halloween. Did you come to a complete conclusion as to why we are so obsessed? Final thoughts?

It would be nice to say that our obsession with Halloween came from one cultural event or trend, but I don’t think that’s the case. Our obsession is equal parts nostalgia, the chance to be expressive or downright exhibitionist, the joy of the tolerance that Halloween brings, our passion for group glee, and our need for community celebration whether it’s trick-or-treating dressed as a tiny pumpkin, zombie-shambling down the main streets of your town, or running naked through a pedestrian mall with a pumpkin on your head.

I see that you have other books based on your knowledge of Halloween. Would you like to expound on them a bit?

My first was Halloween. An American Holiday, An American History, which told the story of Halloween in this country; how some of its folklore traveled here with early Scottish immigrants and later, the Irish, Germans, Africans, Mexicans, etc., and how different ethnicities contributed to its celebration. The book takes Halloween through all the events of the 20th century, including the wars, the beginnings of trick-or-treating and up through the 1980s (it was originally published in 1990; it’s been through several printings, and is now published by Pelican Publishing Co.).

The next was A Halloween How To. Costumes, Parties, Decorations, and Destinations, and this was the book that introduced me to the Halloween community that exists today. It was published just after the internet had helped create the Halloween do-it-yourself yard-haunting phenomenon, and I corresponded with celebrants all over the country about monster mud and séances, Styrofoam tombstones, home-made costumes, and giant pumpkin boat races. 

A few years later I went back to some of the research I’d done for the history book, and starting compiling an anthology of Halloween fiction, poetry, and plays from the past 400 years, which ended up in

A Halloween Reader. Poems, Stories, and Plays from Halloweens Past. I dug around in the wonderful, deep archives of Widener Library at Harvard University, and found material that was sometimes beautiful, often funny, and very quirky.

A children’s book came next, Witches Night Before Halloween (Twas the night before Halloween and all through the cottages / the witches were stirring their brews and their potages / The cupboards were bursting with hop-toads and newts / And they’d shined up their pointy-toed, fancy dress boots…you get the picture!)

Last year I published Halloween Nation. Behind the Scenes of America’s Fright Night (from Pelican; all may books are from Pelican now), which is my attempt to understand what’s driving the new popularity of Halloween, and why it means so much to so many people.

What advice would you give aspiring writers?

The main thing is to write about something you really, really love. A book takes a very long time and there are good days and bad days. If you’re not passionate about the subject, the bad days will sink you. Also, know that you’ll write it over and over again, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Ok ,some fun questions:

What was your favorite costume growing up? Worst?

Gypsy – with my mom’s makeup and a sparkly skirt, I had never felt more glamorous.

Fireracker—it was a good idea on paper, but we made it out of chicken wire and it hurt to walk in it.

If you could be haunted by any famous person, who would it be and why?

Oscar Wilde. I can’t think of a better wing man. And if I could have another (please?), I would’t mind spending some time with Mary Shelley. I have questions about that summer on Lake Geneva.

Once again, thank you so much for allowing me to interview you.  I have found you to be an intriguing person and most fun.

___________________________

****Lesley Bannatyne is an awesome author. I enjoyed her book very much. Would you like your own copy of Halloween Nation? Ms. Bannatyne is generously offering a signed copy of her book, Halloween Nation to one of my lucky followers. You may enter in the Rafflecopter below. Hurry, Halloween is coming fast!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Day 25...What is there to fear?

Hello my spooky friends to day 25 of the Halloween countdown. We are almost there and no time to waste.

  “Fear of the Name increases fear of the thing its self.” 
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Halloween is all about the fear factor. Don't you agree?
I mean come on! There is the dark, spooks, spider webs, clowns...all sorts of things.

Do you know some common phobias that can be associated with Halloween and what the fears are? No? Well let me tell you some.

Necrophobia-fear of dead things (there is no term for fear of skeletons)
Arachnophobia-fear of spiders
Musophobia-fear of mice/rats
Achluophobia-fear of the dark
Keriophobia-fear of candles
Maskaphobia-fear of mask
Coulrophobia-fear of clowns
Hemophobia-fear of blood
Tetraphobia-fear of monsters
Sanguivoriphobia-fear of vampires
Kinemortophobia-fear of zombies
Lycanthrophobia-fear of werewolves/wolves
Wiccaphobia-fear of witches
Formidophobia-fear of scarecrows
Pedophobia-fear of children
Domatophobia-fear of haunted houses
Cucurbitophobia-fear of pumpkins
Xenophobia-fear of strangers
Samhainphobia-fear of Halloween

There is no known phobia for fear of candy so, I guess we are good there!

Do you have any of these fears or a different fear? Tell me about them in comments.

~Naila Moon

Day 24...Landscaping and lighting

Welcome back to day 24 of the frankly ghoul-ed Halloween countdown.
Did you know that in the United States Halloween is the second most celebrated holiday next to Christmas? It's true! So of course that means lighting and landscaping.

I am here to tell you that growing up we did not do much of that for Halloween. In fact, I do not do much of that now. 

However, I know many people across the country take Halloween to the extreme. This can be attested by contest and some of the TV shows about the subject. Most Halloween stores also cater to the most serious Halloween landscaper. If one is in a pinch, they can always go to Pinterest and find all sorts of things there too.

Check out some of the most fantastic landscapes and lighting I found by just perusing around the web.

~Naila Moon

Palm Beach

Step Into Fall Giveaway

Welcome to the Step into Fall Giveaway Event!

Hosted by Mom to Bed by 8

Special thanks to our lovely co-hosts Mom Blog Society and Giveaway Bandit!

From Slatkin & Co. {available at Bath and Body Works}
-14.5oz Candle ~ Three-wick candle burns approximately 30 to 45 hours. Includes elegant lid to keep your fave fragrance fresh, while adding a touch of decor.
- Novelty Wallflower ~ Combine with Wallflowers fragrance plug, sold separately to scent any room with 24/7 with noticeable freshness for up to 8 weeks.
-Wallflower Bulb ~ America's favorite fragrance plug! A quick twist of the rotating plug lets you choose a vertical or horizontal outlet.





The Children's Place is a leading specialty retailer of children's merchandise, ages newborn to 10 years old. The Company owned and operated 995 The Children's Place stores in North America and its online store, www.childrensplace.com. As seasons change so do the styles and lines available at The Children's Place. So from sparkles to prints, neutrals to fabulous brights, they have a bit of it all. Here are just a few of our favorite looks available in-stores and online now:

                     

Five lucky readers will receive a $50 The Children's Place Gift Card &;

Five more lucky readers will receive a Slatkin & Co. Prize Package including 14.5oz Candle, Novelty Wallflower and Wallflower Bulb!

Giveaway ends November 14th at 11:59pm, open to US residents, ages 18+. To enter please use the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own.  Just the Stuff Ya Know is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment.  

Day 23...Halloween can be so trivial

Hello there Boils and Ghouls. It is day 23 of the Halloween countdown. This year we are going to be home and passing out candy to our new neighbors.  We have not gone to get candy yet because frankly, do not want to kill my diet. LOL

Anyway, since I have no candy to hand out to you, I though I would just throw some Halloween trivia your way. Hmmm...
So, see if you can answer these with out Google-orbing (my coined term for looking up on Google). Ready?

1. What was the most popular candy in 2004?
a. Snickers  b. Candy Corn c. M&M's d. Tootsie Rolls

2. According to superstition, if you stare into a mirror at midnight Halloween, what will you see?
a. Bloody Mary b. Your Death c. Your Future Spouse d. Dead Ancestors



3. Jack 'O Lanterns were originally made out of what?
a. Watermelon b.Pumpkins c. Turnips d. Coconuts

4. How much does the world's largest pumpkin weigh?
a. 245 lbs. b. 485 lbs. c. 858 lbs. d. 1,385 lbs.

5. What ancient festival do most people think Halloween evolved from?
a. Samhain b. Lammas c. Beltane d. Ostara

6. How many "witches" were burned at the stake in the Salem Witch trials?
a. 23  b.12  c.6  d. none 

7. According to legends, uni brows, tattoos and long middle fingers are what Halloween creature?
a. witch b. golem c. werewolf d. vampire

8. How many pounds of candy were consumed in 2002 by the average American?
a. 6 lbs. b. 12 lbs. c. 24 lbs. d. 48 lbs.



9. Pumpkins traditionally were carved for what purpose?
a. to keep evil spirits away  b.decorations  c.believed that the dead could find comfort when lit  d.none of these

10. The first city to officially recognize Halloween in 1921 was?
a. St. Louis, Missouri  b. Anoka, Minnesota  
c. Salem, Massachusetts  d. New Orleans, Louisiana

Hope you enjoyed this! For the answers go HERE. *While you are there will you follow me?*

~Naila Moon


source
another source

Day 22...BRAINS!!!

Halloween is almost upon us my ghoulish friends. I am back with another week of Halloween spook-tacular stuff. This is day 22 here in the crypt.

Today I want to talk to you about something so delicious. BRAINS!!!!

Source

Ok, ok...I don't really want to talk about BRAINS!!! Yummy...um, I mean what I really want to talk about is the zombie fest Tamirisc and I went to over the weekend.

source

It really was a ton of fun. I estimate about 7000 people were downtown and yes, most of them were zombies!  Here, take a look.

This is us of course! LOL

That is me with our Governor of Colorado. He was a zombie too!

~Naila Moon

PS>Make sure you come back tomorrow for dinner...I mean for day 23 of the Halloween countdown.

The 4M's...International Music

Welcome back everyone to a new week. How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good but I will chat with you about that later on.

Today is Monday and of course that means, Mondays Music Moves Me or The 4 M's.

This week is a theme which was picked by my hubby. The theme is International Music. Good theme I think but I am a bit biased.

Anyway, on to it shall we?

First up: (I have a story to tell about this group but that is also for another time)

Next: 

Finally: (not exactly politically correct in words I will admit)

 

I realized I posted all English artist. What can I say, they rock my world. LOL

Watch out for my Halloween post today and the rest of the week. I got something special lined up here shortly. Stay tuned!

~Naila Moon