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Halloween

Possession and Exorcism in New France

November 2, 2022 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

ben franklins world podcastIn this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, Mairi Cowan, an Associate Professor of History at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, joins Liz Covart to investigate the life of a young French woman named Barbe Hallay and her alleged demonic possession.

Cowan is the author of The Possession of Barbe Hallay: Diabolical Arts and Daily Life in Early Canada (McGill-Queen’s Univ. Press, 2022). [Read more…] about Possession and Exorcism in New France

Filed Under: Books, History Tagged With: Canada, Catholicism, Halloween, New France, Podcasts, Religious History

Witches and Warlocks of New York

October 31, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Witches and Warlocks of New YorkThe new book Witches and Warlocks of New York: Legends, Victims, and Sinister Spellcasters (Globe Pequot, 2022) by Lisa LaMonica is a collection of legends and historical accounts about witches and warlocks from the Empire State. [Read more…] about Witches and Warlocks of New York

Filed Under: Books, History Tagged With: Folklore, Halloween, Witch Trials

The Architecture of Spider Webs

October 29, 2022 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

classic circular form spider's web courtesy Wikimedia user StephencdicksonOne neighbor calls our house “the spider house” because so many orb weavers spin webs outside our large living room windows. Our spiders work on their webs at dawn and dusk, and I watch their silhouettes against pastel skies as they move like aerialists – twisting, pulling, building, repairing. [Read more…] about The Architecture of Spider Webs

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Halloween, insects, nature, spiders, Wildlife

Washington Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Podcast)

October 27, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

History Twins PodcastThe topic of this week’s The History Twins podcast is Washington Irving‘s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” and storytelling duo Carla and Keyes discuss the classic 1819 tale of a headless goblin that haunts Sleepy Hollow, in the town of Mount Pleasant, Westchester County, NY, in search of his missing head. [Read more…] about Washington Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Podcast)

Filed Under: Arts, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, New York City Tagged With: Halloween, Literature, Mount Pleasant, Podcasts, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Washington Irving, Westchester County

Haunted History of Rockland County

October 20, 2022 by Clare Sheridan Leave a Comment

crossroads of rockland historyThe October 2022 episode of Crossroads of Rockland History turns its attention to the haunted history of Rockland County, NY. First, host Clare Sheridan read the mysterious story of Lavender, and afterward we revisited a 2014 episode of “Crossroads” featuring an interview with the author, historian, and ghost hunter Linda Zimmermann.

Whether it’s the house on LaVeta Place in Nyack; Bosco; Clarkstown’s Jane “Naut” Kanniff, and the last witch trial in New York; the Goblin of the Dunderberg, or others, Linda Zimmermann knows them all and shared many with us. [Read more…] about Haunted History of Rockland County

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Halloween, Historical Society of Rockland County, Podcasts, Rockland County

Hulda of Bohemia: The Accused Witch of Sleepy Hollow

October 10, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Hulda GravestoneEach fall, tens of thousands of people from around the world flock to Sleepy Hollow in Westchester County, New York to visit the burial ground made famous in Washington Irving’s 1819 tale, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. In Irving’s tale of “the Headless Horseman,” a German soldier is said to return to the grave-site, in search of his head that was lost during America’s Revolutionary War. [Read more…] about Hulda of Bohemia: The Accused Witch of Sleepy Hollow

Filed Under: Events, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: American Revolution, Cemeteries, German-American History, Halloween, Literature, Mount Pleasant, Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving, Westchester County, Witch Trials

Haunted History Trail Offers NY State Halloween And Haunted Events

October 7, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Dr. Best House & Medical Museum on The Haunted History Trail of New York State courtesy AmityPhotosThe Haunted History Trail of New York State is home to the largest collection of haunted and Halloween events statewide. Nearly 500 events – the most since 2019 – are offered now through Halloween and range from guided ghost walks and themed Halloween parks to historical haunted tours and paranormal investigations. [Read more…] about Haunted History Trail Offers NY State Halloween And Haunted Events

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Halloween

Macabre Mania From Charles Allan Gilbert to Andy Warhol

March 8, 2022 by Jaap Harskamp 2 Comments

Cimitero dei Cappuccini, Roma, late 1870sThe ossuary under the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini at Via Veneto in Rome houses the skulls and bones of some 4,000 former Capuchin monks who were interred there between 1631 and 1870. The dead were buried without coffin and later exhumed to make room for newly deceased. Their remains were transformed into “decorative designs.”

In the summer of 1867 Mark Twain visited the Capuchin Convent and recorded his observations of the crypt’s “picturesque horrors” in The Innocents Abroad. What the novelist witnessed were arches built of thigh bones; pyramids constructed of “grinning” skulls; and other structures made of shin and arm bones. Walls were decorated with frescoes showing vines produced of knotted vertebrae; tendrils made of sinews and tendons; and flowers formed of knee-caps and toe-nails. [Read more…] about Macabre Mania From Charles Allan Gilbert to Andy Warhol

Filed Under: Arts, History, New York City Tagged With: Art History, Cemeteries, Cultural History, Halloween, Manhattan, New York City, painting, Performing Arts, Theatre, womens history

Celebrating Bat Week

October 27, 2021 by Ellen Rathbone Leave a Comment

Rodrigues Fruit Bat photo by Dennis DeMello (courtesy Wildlife Conservatiuon Society)Ah, October; the month when summer has truly fled and winter can be felt in the air. Leaves explode in color and then lose their grip on life. Geese and other waterfowl beat a hasty retreat for warmer climes.

Some flowers we typically see in the spring are apparently confused and put out a few end-of-season blossoms. And everywhere we turn, yards and businesses are decorated for Halloween. [Read more…] about Celebrating Bat Week

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Bat Species, bats, Halloween, nature, Wildlife

Great Pumpkins: A Ton Of Fun

October 8, 2021 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

Competitive Entries for largest pumpkin at the State Fair of Virginia in 2007 by Joy SchoenbergerPrecocious, blanket-toting Linus from the Peanuts comic strip awaited the Great Pumpkin each Halloween night from 1950 to 1999. If anyone else had been stood-up that many times, they’d have thrown in the blanket for sure.

Perhaps Linus’ resolute faith that the mythical pumpkin would show up was because every year brings the world a greater pumpkin. [Read more…] about Great Pumpkins: A Ton Of Fun

Filed Under: Food, Nature Tagged With: Food, Halloween, nature

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