Fun Halloween Ideas from the Past
Hallowe’en. The night wind whispers — Ghosts ! They are waiting for their hosts; The waning moon is weary and will not be up till late ; Already there are shadows at the gate. A word, half heard, that is whispered in your ear, And a presence that is felt when no one else is near. Have you been along the corridors alone — all alone — And listened to the wind up yonder making moan? Have you thought about it all, The footfall in the hall That comes and goes — comes and goes — With the measure of a heartbeat of a life that ebbs and flows ? The poem above was the first item in a nearly 200 page book, Hallowe’en Festivities by Stanley Schell, put out in 1903, that was devoted to giving suggestions on how to Read more…
Uneasy Spirits Excerpt: In Celebration of Halloween
Halloween is fast approaching, and I thought it might be fun to put up an excerpt from Uneasy Spirits, the second book in my Victorian San Francisco Mystery series. This is a chapter near the end of the book where the main protagonist, Annie Fuller (a boarding house owner who supplements her income as a clairvoyant, Madam Sibyl), is taking a walk with two of her boarders (Barbara Hewitt and her son Jamie) and one of my favorite characters, their Boston Terrier, Dandy. Chapter Thirty-five Tuesday evening, October 28, 1879 “No Fun for the rats. A ratting match for $200 took place the other evening in a well-known sporting resort…The dogs were the imported bull-terriers ‘Crib’…and ‘Flow.’” —San Francisco Chronicle, 1879 “Jamie, hold tight to Dandy’s leash. I don’t want any rat-catching tonight,” said his mother, Barbara Hewitt, who then Read more…
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