Tag Archives: jack-o-lanterns

Yesterday I carved my jack-o-lantern for 2014. As usual, I decided to go with a classic look that is very close to last year’s grin. And yes, that’s the Halloween Altar in the background, with the addition of the Beistle reprints that I ordered this year. As usual, I always have difficulty choosing which photos to share with you, so you’re getting several.


It has been so warm for October lately, and our 80 degree days will kill a jack-o-lantern in no time. I’ve decided that for the next few days we’re bringing them in late at night when we blow them out. That way they’ll be much more comfortable inside and away from the sun and heat during the day.

As you may know, Joe always has to break the mold with his jack-o-lanterns. Here is this year’s polka-dotted disco ball jack-o-lantern! We like the reflections on the post.

Another look at the Halloween Altar.

This evening I took a trip to the cemetery to pay my adopted souls a visit for my 2014 grave adoption project. I discovered so many beautiful trees that weren’t in this condition on my last visit. It cooled down quite a bit by the time I got there, and so it was beautiful weather. It’s still weird to be wearing gym shorts and a t-shirt in a cemetery on the week of Halloween.



One of my grave adoptions for the year. The small pumpkin is still going strong from 3 weeks ago. All of my small pumpkins that I kept in the comfort of my home rotted long ago, so I’m pretty impressed.
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Leave a comment | tags: 8 photos, an update in 8 photos, autumn, beautiful fall evening, beautiful fall evening in a cemetery, big seance, blogging, candelabras, candles, cemeteries, cemetery grave adoption, cemetery photography, class jack-o-lantern, disco ball jack-o-lanter, disco ball pumpkin, disco jack-o-lantern, disco pumpkin, fall leaves, grave adoption, grave adoption project, grave yards, graveyards, halloween, halloween 2014, halloween altar, halloween alter, jack-o-lantern, jack-o-lanterns, jack-o-lanterns and a beautiful fall evening in the cemetery, jackolantern, jackolanterns, nature, orange, orange leaves, paranormal, photo update, photography, photos, polka dot disco ball jack-o-lanter, polka dot disco ball pumpkin, polka dot jack-o-lantern, polka dot pumpkin, pumpkins, ruhenpohl, seance, spiritual, trees, update | posted in Cemeteries, General, Halloween, Photography


Halloween is just days away, so what better time to talk about the history of my favorite holiday with the nation’s leading expert on Halloween, Lesley Bannatyne! She’s the author of five books on the topic of Halloween, including Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History, which will celebrate 25 years of being in print in 2015. Click HERE for my review of this book.
Get this episode on iTunes!
Direct Download Link
Halloween History
Topics discussed in this episode:
Can you guess Lesley’s favorite Halloween candy?
Lesley shares some of her favorite memories from the holiday.
Where did Halloween come from?
- Samhain
- Harvest
- Darkness and the coming winter
- Folklore and Superstition
- “The Other World”
- All Hallows/All Saints Day
- All Souls Day
- Pranks and Mischiefs
- Guy Fawkes
- Victorians and Halloween Parties
When did Trick-or-Treating become a part of Halloween? 1940s
- Kids and mischief around Halloween
- Adults threw Halloween parties to keep young people from mischief and vandalism. It didn’t work.
- Adults learned to offer food and treats (extortion/begging?) in exchange for no mischief or violence on their property.
- Trick-or-Treating seen on television for the first time
- Trick-or-Treat for Unicef (charity)
When did costumes go from being disguises to a way of expression? Costumes then and now.
Our favorite symbols of Halloween. Where did they come from?
- The Witch
- The Black Cat
- The Bat
- Pumpkins and Jack-o-Lanterns
- Are Scarecrows disappearing?
The Victorians and Halloween… how did they celebrate?
- Parties and Decorations
- Games
- “Dumb Supper”
- Seeing the image of your future love
Lesley shares how she researched and found historic articles and information from Halloweens past from vintage periodicals.
Urban Myths about Halloween
- Fear
- Apples and razor blades
- Black Cats and Satanic Sacrifice
Church, Religion, and Halloween
How has Halloween changed since Lesley’s book was first released?
What does duct tape have to do with Halloween? (Ha!)
For More on Lesley Bannatyne:
www.iskullhalloween.com
Lesley’s Books
For More Halloween History
Why Halloween Matters
The Literature of Old Halloween
Check out Lesley’s appearance on the BBC on Halloween day!
Check out her appearance on the History Channel’s The Real Story of Halloween
Thanks, Lesley!
Don’t forget!! Are you a regular listener? Please e-mail (or call, or SpeakPipe) with where you’re listening from, and how you’re listening! I’d appreciate it! Patrick@BigSeance.com
Spooky Music featured on this episode is from Sam Haynes. You can find more about Sam and his music at http://www.hauntmusic.co.uk/. Thanks, Sam!
The Big Seance Podcast can be found right here, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, Google Play Music, and iHeart Radio. Please subscribe, submit a rating, or share with a fellow paranerd! Do you have any comments or feedback? Please contact me at Patrick@BigSeance.com. Consider recording your voice feedback directly from your device on my SpeakPipe page! You can also call the show and leave feedback at (775) 583-5563 (or 7755-TELL-ME). I would love to include your voice feedback in a future show. The candles are already lit, so come on in and join the séance!
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1 Comment | tags: a conversation with the holiday's leading expert lesley Bannatyne, all hallows, all hallows eve, all saints day, all souls day, apples and razor blades, bats on halloween, big seance, black cats, church religion and halloween, costumes, costumes as a way of expression, costumes then and now, duct tape, dumb supper, favorite symbols of halloween, folklore and superstition of halloween, guy fawkes, halloween, halloween an american holiday an american history, halloween candy, halloween costumes then and now, halloween expert, halloween history, halloween history and a conversation with the holiday's leading expert lesley bannatyne, halloween memories, halloween parties, halloween symbols, halloween witch, harvest, history, holidays, how did the victorians celebrate halloween, how has halloween changed, jack-o-lanterns, lesley bannatyne, lesley pratt bannatyne, other world, paranormal, podcast, pranks and mischief on halloween, pumpkins, pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns, religion and halloween, samhain, scarecrows, seance, seeing the image of your future love, symbols of halloween, tampered halloween candy, the big seance podcast, the big seance podcast episode 18, the history of halloween, the nation's leading halloween expert, The Other World, trick-or-treating, urban myths, urban myths about halloween, victorians and halloween, vintage halloween articles and magazines, where did halloween come from, witch | posted in Book Discussions, Halloween, Interviews, The Big Séance Podcast


In this episode, I chat with special guest co-host, Karen A. Dahlman! My favorite holiday is just around the corner, and so we reminisce about Halloween memories, the month of October, and some of the legends, lore, and symbols of Halloween! You may remember her from Episode 5, talking about The Spirits of Ouija.
Get this episode on iTunes!
Direct Download Link
The Legends, Lore, and Symbols of Halloween!
Topics discussed in this episode:
What’s the Halloween season like in California vs. the Midwest?
We talk about our memories of trick-or-treating, and Karen will surprise you with the tale of her last time partaking in this fun tradition.
With perfect timing, Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures, two of my favorite paranormal television shows, finally return. We review the most recent episodes and talk quite a bit about the ghost of the little girl on the Queen Mary.
My visit to A Death in the Family: Death and Mourning in the 19th Century at the Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion in St. Louis.
What’s the lore about death and mirrors?
Are we disconnected with death in 2014? Death, the Spiritualist Movement and the 19th Century. Mary Todd Lincoln and séances at the White House.
Karen, a leading expert on the Ouija, tells us about some of the superstitions regarding the talking board.
Will Karen or I hold séances on Halloween?
Is it really true that during this time of year the veil is lifted between the living and the dead? Karen says yes, and she teaches us about The Law of Critical Mass in physics.
Remember the myth of tampered candy and razor blades in apples?
Divination games played on Halloween in the Victorian time period, including waiting for your future love by staring in a mirror (not creepy at all, right?), and the “dumb supper”.
Spirit Communication with candles and flame.
The number 13 and the story of the 13th floor. Myth?
Some facts and jokes about Pumpkins and Jack-o-Lanterns!
Halloween (The Jack O’Lantern Rag) by Arthur Manlowe (1911)
Karen tells us why she loves Owls, which are viewed as symbols of Halloween.
Bet you didn’t know what the witch’s broom symbolizes.
Avoid having bad luck on Halloween. Be careful! (Actually, these are myths…. supposedly.)
Are there ways to have GOOD luck on Halloween?
Both Karen and I share our favorite Halloween candy!
Have you ever bobbed for Apples?
The top haunted attractions for 2014 in the US!
Karen teaches us how to have fun with panty hose on Halloween!
For More on Karen A. Dahlman:
karenadahlman.com
Karen’s Books on Amazon
Karen’s Facebook Page
Twitter: @KarenADahlman
And check out my review of The Spirits of Ouija.
Thanks again, Karen!
Spooky Music featured on this episode is from Sam Haynes. You can find more about Sam and his music at http://www.hauntmusic.co.uk/. Thanks, Sam!
The Big Seance Podcast can be found right here, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, Google Play Music, and iHeart Radio. Please subscribe, submit a rating, or share with a fellow paranerd! Do you have any comments or feedback? Please contact me at Patrick@BigSeance.com. Consider recording your voice feedback directly from your device on my SpeakPipe page! You can also call the show and leave feedback at (775) 583-5563 (or 7755-TELL-ME). I would love to include your voice feedback in a future show. The candles are already lit, so come on in and join the séance!
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Leave a comment | tags: 13, 13th floor, A Death in the Family, afterlife communication, all hallows eve, big seance, Big Seance Podcast #17, big seance podcast episode 17, bobbing for apples, death, dumb supper, ghost adventures, ghosts of the queen mary, halloween, halloween bad luck, halloween good luck, halloween in the victorian time period, halloween memories, halloween nostalgia, halloween superstitions, halloween traditions, jack o'lantern rag arthur manlowe, jack-o-lanterns, karen A. DAhlman, karen dahlman, legends of halloween, lore of halloween, Mary Todd Lincoln, mary todd lincoln seance, mirrors, mourning in the 19th century, myths, nostalgia, ouija, owls, paranormal, podcast, pumpkins, razor blades in apples, razor blades in apples myth, saint louis, sam haynes, seance, special guest cohost karen a dahlman, spirit communication, spiritual, spiritualist movement, spooky music, st. louis, symbols of halloween, tampered candy, tampered halloween candy myth, the ghost of the little girl on the queen mary, the legends lore and symbols of halloween, thirteen, thirteenth floor, top haunted attractions in the us, trick-or-treating, veil between the living and the dead, victorian time period, white house, witch and the broom, witch and the broomstick, witch's broomstick | posted in Halloween, Ouija, The Big Séance Podcast

I hope you enjoy some photos from our annual visit to Rombachs Farm for our 2014 family of pumpkins, soon to be jack-o-lanterns (aka “punkinheads”).









And these are the three we adopted. Stay tuned for the jack-o-lantern post coming up, about a week before Halloween! Can’t wait!
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2 Comments | tags: annual trip to rombachs farm, annual trip to the pumpkin patch, autumn, big seance, blogging, chesterfield missouri, chesterfield mo, fall, family of pumpkins, family of pumpkins 2014, halloween, halloween 2014, jack-o-lanterns, paranormal, photography, photos, pumpkin patch, pumpkins, pumpkins and the annual trip to rombachs farm, pumpkins and the annual trip to rombachs farm 2014, pumpkins on the porch, punkin blvd, punkinheads, rombachs farm, seance, spiritual, white pumpkins | posted in General, Halloween, Photography

My pumpkin before carving. I carved while listening to as many classic Halloween songs as I could find on YouTube. Then I had to clean finger prints off of my phone. It’s funny how I always forget about the smell of a pumpkin. You smell it as soon as you make the first cut. It was instantly nostalgic to me and took me back to a very early memory of probably one of my first jack-o-lanterns at our first house when I was very young. We had an enclosed front porch with an old door with a window , that led to the kitchen. For some reason our jack-o-lantern was inside that front porch, rather than outside. I remember sitting and watching through the window as the jack-o-lantern flickered and glowed.





This year we broke tradition and I carved Joe’s pumpkin as well. I tried to go for something different… something with a sinister look in the eyes and not quite so chipper. (Ahem… this punkin’ head is not meant to be a representation of Joe.)


I like how my punkin’ head on the right seems to be eyeballing Joe’s pumpkin. Don’t look too close. The one on the left is being illuminated by a sparkly Christmas candle.

Once again, the sparkly Christmas candle seems to be highlighted in the photo.

This is usually Meril’s signature jack-o-lantern look. Joe helped him. I think it gets bigger every year.

We have a plethora of various pumpkin carving tools from mostly cheap sets by “Pumpkin Masters”. We purchased a rather expensive set online last year. I found that this $10 set from Target is just as good or better than any of them. I recommend it!
You might also like:
Pumpkins and the Annual Trip to Rombach’s Farm (2013) (Big Séance)
From Pumpkins to Jack-O-Lanterns 2012 (Big Séance)
2012 Family of Pumpkins (Big Séance)
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4 Comments | tags: autumn, big seance, blogging, family of pumpkins, from pumpkins to jack-o-lanterns, from pumpkins to jack-o-lanterns 2013, good pumpkin carving tools, halloween, halloween pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns, jackolanterns, paranormal, pumpkin carving, pumpkin carving set from target, pumpkin heads, pumpkins, punkin heads, seance, spiritual, target pumpkin carving set | posted in General, Paranormal Fun

My 2012 punkin’ head… I decided to go with a classic look this year.

Punkin’ heads on the porch… Joe’s punkin’ head is on the right. He always has to draw attention with his and be avant garde.

Meril’s traditional punkin’ head… He had a bit of help from Joe…

I just love capturing the sniff shots…

Our whole family of 2012 punkin’ heads…
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1 Comment | tags: big seance, community, family of pumpkins, from pumpkins to jack-o-lanterns, jack-o-lanterns, jackolanterns, missouri spirit seekers, mo spirit seekers, mospiritseekers, moss, paranormal, pumpkins, punkin head, punkin heads, seance, spirit communication, spiritual | posted in General
It makes me sad to admit, but my reading has really slowed down in recent months with so much going on. So I knew I needed to get an early start on this one to get it done in time. I’ve always been the person who gets overly excited about each season before it even arrives (my first “Fall” post was back on August 1st, for God’s sake), so it really worked out for me.
As you’ve heard me say so often in this blog, I heard this author being interviewed on The Paranormal Podcast with Jim Harold. She is a pro on the topic of Halloween, and I just love listening to her. I believe Jim has had her on a few times.
What we know as “Halloween” comes from so many places, traditions, and cultures that it is very easy to get lost in it all. Just like America itself, Halloween really is a blend of it all. The earliest roots come from Pagan traditions that were later changed by the Catholic church into what we know as All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. Throw in a little Guy Fawkes Day (which I’d never heard of), the Celtic festival of Samhain, and the Roman festival of Pomona, and hundreds of years later we open our doors on the evening of October 31st to hear “trick or treat” being shouted by masquerading children of all ages.
Some interesting things I learned…
- Interested in a 9th century recipe for “All Souls’ Bread” that the Roman Catholic clergy encouraged the living to offer to spirits of the dead? This book has it.
- For a while the holiday seemed to be more about love than anything spooky. Many early Halloween traditions included young women practicing divination of all kinds to determine their future husbands. If you’d like to try it, you can stare into a candle lit mirror at midnight on Halloween. The face of your future love will show up over your shoulder. Not creepy at all (rrrriiiiiiight). This is also where bobbing for apples came from. Another tradition was for girls to hang their wet blouses to dry above them while they slept. Apparently your future husband will visit and “turn the sleeve”. Good to know.
- Another interesting tradition… the Irish “Dumb Supper”. A young woman was supposed to see the shape and image of her future love if she cooked and served an entire meal backwards. I’m not sure how this works but I’d love to see it.
- Lesley includes a page out of the October 1911 issue of The Delineator, where ideas for entertaining in October are given. Love it! Time machine, please!
- Using pumpkins as lanterns, or carving pumpkins into “jack-o-lanterns” came from the Irish. Before they arrived to America where large pumpkins were available, they used hollowed out turnips. The story of “Jack” (which there are different versions of) is also fascinating.
- The Mexican “Day of the Dead” is something I think is fascinating… and I’d love to experience it.
- I’ve always wanted to experience the Victorian era, but Halloween in those days just seems so interesting and fun! LOVED this section in the book. Also, one of the main reasons I like the movie Meet Me In St. Louis is the depiction of Halloween in those few scenes.
There is also plenty in this book on the more familiar 20th century Halloween traditions.
This is not a new book (it was originally published in 1990), but it’s a good one with lots of fun facts and history. If you want to learn about the history of many of our traditions from this season while also getting in the mood for ghosts and goblins, you should check out this book… maybe put it on your list for next fall.
Halloween is just around the corner! Enjoy!
Peace!
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4 Comments | tags: all saints day, all souls bread recipe, all souls day, an american history, an american holiday, bannatyne, big seance, bobbing for apples, book discussion, book review, day of the dead, divination traditions, dumb supper, entertainment, ghost, ghosts, guy fawkes day, halloween, halloween book, halloween divination traditions, halloween entertaining in 1911, halloween in the victorian era, halloween traditions, halloween: an american holiday, history of halloween, holidays, jack-o-lanterns, lesley pratt bannatyne, missouri spirit seekers, mo spirit seekers, mospiritseekers, moss, pagan halloween traditions, paranormal, pomona, samhain, seance, spirit, spirit communication, spirits, spiritual, the delineator, trick or treat, turn the sleeve, victorian halloween | posted in Book Discussions

This year’s trip to the pumpkin patch.

Our 2012 family of pumpkins… soon to be a family of “punkin’ heads” (AKA jack-o-lanterns)! I’m not as happy with how they look on our porch this year… not sure why. What I do know is that the size and proportion of my pumpkin (the one on the right) matches me perfectly this year. 🙂 Meril’s pumpkin (which will probably feature a carved out paw print soon) is the smaller one on the step.

Meril proudly displaying his pumpkin… (he has been upgraded to a much larger pumpkin this year)

Meril proudly sniffing his pumpkin…
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1 Comment | tags: 2012 family of pumpkins, big seance, family of pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns, jackolanters, missouri spirit seekers, mo spirit seekers, mospiritseekers, moss, paranormal, paw print, photos, porch, pumpkin, pumpkin patch, pumpkins, punkin heads, seance, spirit communication, spiritual | posted in General