Happy Halloween! Sometimes, October feels like one long festive party. We get thirty-one days of shivery movies and books, pumpkin carving activities, hayrides, jack-o-lanterns, hot cider, ghost stories, and spooky decorations.
Trick-or-treat takes place in my neighborhood tonight, so I will be passing out candy to the little ghosts and ghouls who knock on my door. Maybe I’ll pop in a spooky movie or crack open a Halloween novel. Or maybe I’ll be doing my final round of NaNoWriMo prep. Tomorrow—November 1—kicks off the big event.
I’ve plotted as much as possible. I have my character sketches, my setting details and a number of scenes mapped out, but NaNo is still going to be a challenge. Especially because I work thirty hours a week. That’s less than many people, but still enough to limit the hours I can devote to writing.
As a result, I’m going to take a one month hiatus from blogging. I won’t be online much, if at all, which means I’m going to miss your November blog posts. I hope you’ll bear with me while I tackle NaNo. I’ll pop in, if and when I can, but for the most part I don’t expect to be visible. Wish me luck! 🙂
In the meantime, I cobbled together some Halloween superstitions and folklore for your enjoyment.
Did you know:
You should turn your pockets inside out when passing a graveyard on Halloween. That way, you won’t inadvertently bring a ghost home in your pocket.
To ward off evil spirits, walk counterclockwise around your house backward, three times before sunset on Halloween.
If you hear footsteps behind you on Halloween, do not turn around. It could be Death or the dead following you.
If, however, you spy a spider on Halloween, consider yourself lucky. It means a departed loved one is watching over you.
If you happen to see a bull lying down on Halloween night, the wind will blow most of the winter from the direction he’s facing.
Finally, if you were born on Halloween, you can see spirits, chat with faeries, and interpret dreams!
Happy Halloween, and good luck to everyone who is participating in NaNo!
Mae, best of luck with NaNo and have an amazing time! I look forward to seeing you the other side of November. Thanks for the Halloween facts! My cousin is born today … I’ll have to ask her about chatting with faeries. Loved reading these although slightly spooked! Enjoy the celebrations.
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My niece was born on Halloween, but so far I haven’t seen her chatting with any of the Fae, LOL.
Thanks for the NaNo wishes. I haven’t participated in years, but I’ve done a lot of planning for it, so hopefully, I’ll succeed! 🙂
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Good luck with Nano, Mae. See you in December! 🙂
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Thanks, Harmony! Catch you then! 🙂
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All the best with Nano, Mae! I will miss your blogs. I enjoyed the Halloween tips . . . I’ll try the one about the spider on my youngest daughter who demands death for every arachnid that has the nerve to crawl in our house. Take care!
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I kind of have to agree with your daughter, Mark. Creepy crawly things completely freak me out. I mean…why couldn’t a departed love one watch over you in the form of something cute and cuddly like a bunny rabbit? 🙂
Thanks for the NaNo wishes. I’ll miss reading your blogs, too. Hopefully, I can pop in once in a while during the month.
Happy Halloween!
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Good luck with Nano! I actually will be walking past a graveyard today as I take the dog out. I’ll remember that pocket thing!
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And you have the dog to protect you, LOL!
Sending you good luck wishes for NaNo, too!
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Wishing you all the best with NaNo. I’ll be right (write) there with you.
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I like that phrasing, Joan. 🙂
Happy NaNo and Happy Halloween!
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Good luck and happy writing to you too!!! It’ll be worth it 🙂
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Thanks, Tessa. Wishing you the best for NaNo,too!
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You’re going to kill NaNo. We’ll miss you online, but we’ll survive. Looking forward to your new words.
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Thanks, Craig. I’ve got my fingers crossed I can pull it off.
I’m going to miss everyone, but hopefully I can pop in now and again!
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Wishing you lots of words with NaNo, Mae! I’m going to give it a shot, but I’m not nearly as prepared as you – hoping to get some more accomplished today, then jump in and hope I can swim tomorrow.
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Yay! I’m glad you’re joining in, Teri! I looked for you on the NaNo site but couldn’t find you. I’m MythMaven if you want to buddy up!
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Just sent invites to both you and Joan. Knew I had the right person when I saw Raven!
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Yay! Got the invite and connected.
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Teri, I’m joan58 if you want to connect.
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Just sent you and invitation.
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Happy Writing! See you in December.
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Thanks, Judi. See you then 🙂
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Good luck with Nano! I’m doing it too. So, in 30 days, two new books will be born! (at least the drafts of them) 🙂
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So glad you’re participating, Sue! I just looked for you on the site but couldn’t locate you. If you want to buddy up, I’m MythMaven.
I hope you’re right about the results at the end of the month. I’ve got my fingers crossed I can pull this thing off. I did it once before, but have also failed at it before, too. Fingers crossed for both of us!
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I just sent you (I hope it was you!) an invitation on Nano. I’m Hoganlives.
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You had the right person, Sue. Got it, accepted, and we’re connected. YAY!
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Love these superstitions, most of which I’d never heard before. I think I’ll save them as jumping off points for a story somewhere.
Good luck with NaNo! Write like the WIND, my PenderPal! 😀 See you on the other side. Or sooner, if you get a sudden urge to talk books! You know where to find me. 😀 ❤
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They would definitely play well in stories! I love old superstitions. There are even a few I adhere too (though none of the above).
Thank for the well wishes on NaNo. I can’t believe I’m going to vanish for a month. Well, hopefully, I can pop on now and again. And yes, we have books to discuss. So many books, my Pender Pal! {{big hugs}}
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Cheering you on, Mae! 🙂
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Thanks, Natalie. I’m excited!
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Happy Halloween, Mae… Hope it’s a great one and all the best with Nano! 🙂
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Thanks, Kev. I’m looking forward to NaNo. Happy Halloween!
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Happy Halloween! And good luck with NaNo! See you there!
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YAY! It’s great to see you, Stanalei! 🙂
I’m glad to hear you’ll be doing NaNo too. I just sent you a buddy request. I’m MythMaven on the site.
Happy Halloween and happy writing!
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Wonderful post about Halloween. I hope you have a lovely evening and good luck for NaNo!
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Hi! Many thanks for stopping to check out my post. I really appreciate the good luck wishes for NaNo, too.
Happy Halloween!
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I wish you the best of luck with NaNo. This will turn out to be a very productive month I think!
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Fingers crossed for both of us, Jacqui. Wishing you NaNo success as well!
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Our blogging circle is going to be quiet in November for sure! I hate to miss everyone’s posts, but I simply can’t do it all AND write 50k words. I too work outside the home, normally around 20 – 30 hours per week. So I have a mindset to write first, then do other stuff later. Coffee will be my friend! I love the Halloween folklore, Mae! Thanks for sharing. Here’s to everyone’s success with NaNo!
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I think you have a good plan. I’m going to miss visiting blogs too, but I’m going to word count first, otherwise I’ll just stress myself out. So glad you’re joining in, Jan! I’m cheering all of us on! 🙂
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They should add that bull thing to the Farmer’s Almanac, lol. Wishing you all much success this month, I’ll miss you!
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Ooo, I love the Farmer’s Almanac. That might have even been where I stumbled across the superstition , LOL.
Thanks for the well wishes, Jacquie. I’m going to miss interacting with everyone, but as Arnold said in The Terminator “I’ll be back!” 🙂
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Good for you for taking the time you need to write Mae. NaNo is quite a challenge if you’re also working. And thanks for the bits of lore. I’ll keep my eye out for lying down bulls. Lol. 🙂
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LOL! Given the accuracy of weather forecasts, those bulls are probably just as reliable.
Happy Halloween, Diana!
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Happy halloween! I never heard a out pockets before. Good luck on writing, I finally threw in my hat and see how it goes.
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Yay! I just got your buddy invitation and accepted. So glad you’re joining in the fun!
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🙂
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Enjoy your writing, Mae.
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Thanks, John! 🙂
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😊
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Reblogged this on All About Writing and more.
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Hello, and thank you kindly, Henrietta!
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You are welcome
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Good luck with NaNo – see you in December 🙂
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Thanks, Dan! I appreciate the well wishes 🙂
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Happy Halloween, Mae, and good luck with NaNo. I know you’ll be awesome. 😉♥️ See you when you get back.
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Thanks so much. I’m getting ready to start now. It’s a crisp autumn day here, and perfect for writing. Thanks for the well wishes!
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Best of luck with NaNo Mae! I’ll miss you around here, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. I loved the tip about tucking your pockets out when going past a graveyard! Quite cute really imagining a little ghostie in your pocket 🤗
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As long as that little ghostie is friendly!
Thanks for the well wishes, Jess. Fingers crossed I can make this happen! 🙂
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I hope you had a great Halloween, Mae. All the very best with your November writing undertaking. I will be writing at the same pace as usual as this is a very busy month for me.
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Wishing you lots of success with your writing in November as well, Robbie! 🙂
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Thank you, Mae.
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See you at NaNo! (by last count, you’re killing it! Great job!)
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I start off great but did 0 words yesterday. I have to get back to it!
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What a fun list, Mae! I looked for you on NaNo but couldn’t find you. Buddy me at username Dendra. Since I live by a graveyard, I will keep the advice in mind about turning my pockets inside out. Also. I love the forecast for those born on October 31– “if you were born on Halloween, you can see spirits, chat with faeries, and interpret dreams!” That includes poet John Keats, and he certainly did those things in his poems.
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I didn’t realize John Keats was born on Halloween. I love his poetry.
And yes, watch your pockets since you live by a graveyard, LOL. I found you on NaNo and sent you a buddy request. I started out great but wrote zero words yesterday 😦
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May the good ghosts stay with you! Happy Hiatus! Best wishes, Michael
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Hi, Michael! I’m so sorry, I just found this comment in my spam. A pox on WordPress, LOL!
Thank you for the well wishes. Hope all is good with you!
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Thank you Mae! No problem, the last days i am again in the club of the “button seekers”. WP.com has its own rules, maybe nobody understands. I hope you are well too. Best wishes, Michael
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