From: amadeus@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Susan Harwood Kaczmarczik)
Newsgroups: alt.pagan
Subject: Re: Halloween
Date: 1 Oct 92 04:43:26 GMT
Organization: University of Texas at Austin

In article <1992Sep25.163434.1@uwovax.uwo.ca> wrchurch@uwovax.uwo.ca writes:

>The following is a list of question I have about Halloween in
>general. If you can help me with some answers I would be most
>appreciative.
>
>1.  What does Halloween mean to you?

Hallowe'en is magic.  You can be anything you want.  Hallowe'en is
when the faeries ride, and the veil between worlds is thinnest, and
when strange things happen.

(This is what I always thought about Hallowe'en, long before I learned
about the Craft and about Samhain.  And I was always a witch or a
faery or a vampire or a gypsy fortuneteller or a goddess...Perhaps
it's *my* Celtic ancestry... :) )

>2.  Do you know of any places with a Halloween legend attached to it?
>    If so, where?

Sleepy Hollow?  Umm, that's all that comes to mind at present.

>3.  Halloween is supposed to be a time when the veil between this
	 world and the next is briefly lifted. Do you know of any "true"
	 stories of ghostly visitations/warnings, cases of clairvoyance/
	 premonitions, encounters with "non-human spirits", deeds
	 involving witchcraft, etc...

Well, I often get visitations and premonitions, and especially on
Hallowe'en.  Enough, in fact, that specific examples escape me at
present.  And I've left out faerie offerings that were gone the next
day, and they could have been the neighbor's cat, but... :)

>4.  Where is the Halloween capital of the world? Is it in the British Isles
>    (i.e. Ireland, Scotland, Wales) or is it in the USA ( one of the New
>    England states)?

If you're going for Hallowe'en as the industry, I would have to say
the United States.

>5.  What sort of activities take place on Halloween in your part of
	 the world?

Here in Austin, it's very popular to go to Sixth Street (a nightclub
strip) in costume, and parade around all night.  Usually, however, I'm
otherwise occupied.  Most witches I know have a costume party on
another night right after Hallowe'en so we get to play too.

>6.  Is the Halloween Sadist a myth or are some people really driven
	 to perform unspeakable acts of cruelty on Halloween.

I'm sure plenty of people are.  But plenty of people are driven to
perform unspeakable acts of cruelty on any old day.

>7.  In your community, does organized religion still condemn Halloween as an
>    evil practise. If so, what has the church done lately to counter its
>    popularity.

Some denominations do.  They hold parties of their own with Christian
themes for their children, to counteract all the "devil-worship" they
see around Hallowe'en.  Personally, I prefer that, because if it means
nothing to them or offends them, then they shouldn't participate.

The school district in which I grew up has banned Hallowe'en costumes
and displays because it celebrates "Satanism."  I rather fancy they
have stopped giving their annual Hallowe'en carnival.  Oh well.

>8.  My mother was born and raised in France with stories of the "Loup-Garou"
>    (Werewolf). In the small welsh mining village of my father the kids all
>    feared the bogeyman. Are there any local myths were you live, or is it 
>    all just the pop culture Hollywood stuff.

As Mark said, legends belong to the locals.  I don't have any for
around here.  But I wouldn't just say that's it's Hollywood stuff,
because a lot of the old legends come from the places where our
ancestors came from.  I mean, I knew about the bansidhe before I knew
about paganism, for instance.

>9.  Do people have anything real to fear from Halloween?

Only if they fear their boundaries being thinned and tested, the
boundaries between real and unreal, physical and not.

>I want to thank you in advance for your input. Its hard to tell without any
>feedback as to whether my questions are valid or way off the mark for this
>group. In any event, if you would like to add something else or make a point,
>by all means feel free to add your $0.02

Not anything I haven't already said, that Hallowe'en is magic.  I've
always thought so.  And, just between you, me, and the fencepost, I've
always found Samhain a *whole* lot sexier than Bealtaine.

>Richard Church

-- 
-----Susan Harwood Kaczmarczik-------------------------------*<:-)-------------
"Queens never make bargains."  -- The Red Queen, _Through the Looking Glass_
-----amadeus@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu--------------The University of Texas @Austin---
Newsgroups: alt.pagan