DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   Almost every culture in the world has its own vampire legend, and some date back thousands of years.  Today, we are most familiar with Count Dracula and other folklore from Eastern Europe.  Do you want to learn more?  Here is a list of 13 juicy trivia facts to get your blood pumping with Halloween just about a day away.  Was the first vampire a woman?  The oldest known vampire legends come from Babylonian and Sumerian mythology.  Female demons called the Lilu were said to hunt women and children at night, and drink their blood. Vlad III Tepes , also known as Vlad Dracul , was known for his incredible cruelty, he was alleged to have killed up to 30,000 people at one time!  His blood thirsty reputation inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula . The National Retail Federation listed "Vampire" as the second most popular adult Halloween costume in 2005.  Vampires were the sixteenth most popular children's costume for the same year. While mo...

   The term ghost is widely used to refer to any paranormal activity that occurs in the home, but it is really a misnomer.  Ghosts or the spirits of those who have passed on may cause a paranormal disturbance in your home, but they are not the only cause of a haunting.  To determine the type of haunting, an understanding of different types of entities is necessary. Residual Ghosts -Residual ghosts are probably the most common type of haunting.  It is believed that when a traumatic or emotionally charged event occurs in the lives of the living that it can be imprinted on the environment.  Certain geological features like the presence of water, limestone and other stone features seem to hold images of past events.  The residual ghost is seen performing the same tasks, walking the same path or singing the same song at regular intervals.  The characteristic person searching for a lost love or walking passively through the area they inhabited whe...

Poveglia Island    Poveglia Island is a very small island that is located in Italy's Venetian Lagoon.  The island itself is rather "run of the mill".  It is covered with a smattering of foliage, as well as some run down buildings, a water tower and a bell tower that appears to be receding back into the foliage that surrounds it.  Poveglia Island is split in two by a small canal that runs straight through it.  The canal has walkways over it.  On one side, there are the deteriorating parts of the different buildings, on the other, nothing but greenery and grass.  However, there is a more interesting aspect of the island that one wouldn't suspect by looking at it, though some say, you can tell when you are there, and that is the island's supposedly sinister history.    Poveglia Island was once inhabited by a small community.  However the island was abandoned around 1380, during the War of Chioggia.  Later, as the Bubonic P...

   Scary games to play at home are perfect for Halloween.  Some games are scarier than others, but for an adult Halloween party, the scarier the better. Try one of these games to play at home at your adult Halloween Party.  Ouija Board     Of the scary games to play at home, the Ouija Board is by far one of the scariest, if no the scariest.  A Ouija Board is used to talk to spirits. Ouija Boards make alot of people squeemish.  There are experts who believe that the Ouija Board is dangerous.  Some psychiatric experts believe Ouija Boards are portals that free demons from other dimensions to prey on humans.  For brave souls that want some truly scary fun, the Ouija Board is it.  Fury of Dracula     Fury of Dracula is one of the scary games to play at home, designed by Stephen Hand.  In this board game, one player is Dracula and the rest are vampire hunters.  The goal is to destroy Dracula before he can...

   Like many other places in the world, Canada has its fair share of ghost tales and haunted buildings.   Gibraltar Point Lighthouse       Gibraltar Point Lighthouse on Toronto Islands was first constructed in 1803 and was totally finished and operational by 1809.  Local legend states it is haunted by the first lighthouse keeper, JP Radan Muller.  Muller had been murdered one misty night by drunken soldiers from Fort York, looking for bootleg beer.  The soldiers had cut Muller up and buried his body somewhere on the beach.  The soldiers were charged, but later acquitted.  In 1893, a cofin was found buried on the beach with a jaw bone still inside it, but it has never been known if it ever belonged to Muller.  The lighthouse, since time is no longer on the shore line and  the sand has built up,  it now lies 100 meters inland.  It's not being used and is boarded up, but people say on misty nights you ...

In his recent autobiography, Ernest Borgnine reveals that his friend George Lindsay, Goober on "The Andy Griffith Show", turned down the part of "Mr. Spock" on TV's "Star Trek".  Lindsay, by the way, started out as a science teacher. James Whale said his Frankenstein (1931 star, Boris Karloff.  "His face fascinated me.  I made drawings of his head, adding sharp bony ridges where I imagined the skull might have joined". The U.S. Air Force refused to help in the filming of Howard Hawks' The Thing (1951), because the theme of the movie was counter to the Air Force's claim that flying saucers don't exist.  In fact, one crew member (Dewey Martin) reads a quote from Air Force regulations denying flying saucers to the others as they are flying near the UFO crash site. In George Pal's War of the Worlds (1953), the unique Flying Wing aircraft that drops the atom bomb on the advancing Martians was a prototype and remains, to th...

   With Halloween just around the corner, the cameras are certainly going to be flashing away with all the amazing pictures that will be taken of all of the little ghouls and ghosts  in their costumes, to the amazing houses decorated to scare those little ghoulies and ghosties.  Years before your photos just ended up looking a little less than amazing.  This year you are bound and determined to capture those precious memories with some "professional" style.  So hers some tips on how to achieve great Halloween photos this year.  Finding A Point of Interest - make sure you know what the focal point is of your picture.  The focal point will need to be the attention holder of the photo.  The item or person you will see first when looking at the picture.  Once you have determined the focal point make sure it is absolutely perfect.  It may be hard to achieve that with children, but pick the older child, place him in the middle of the...

   Taking a photograph of a ghost or spirit does not require fancy equipment or extensive training.  Any camera is capable of capturing images of ghost and spirits.  Digital cameras are preferred because they produce immediate results, can e stored on a memory card or transferred to a computer without losing quality and there is no film to fiddle with in the dark. Select a location that has reports of paranormal activity.   Although you can certainly capture a ghost image in the most unlikely of places, exploring paranormal hot spots increases your likelihood of capturing apparitions or ghostly figures. Take pictures of a defined object to provide perspective and to judge distance.   Focus on a tree, gravestone or fence post if you are shooting a photo outside in a haunted location.  Include people in your photos when ever possible.  It is believed that some spirits are attracted to people and you just may catch that perfect shot while photogr...

   One of the most intriguing phenomenons is the apparition of ghosts or spirits.  For centuries sightings of disembodied spirits have been reported around the world.  Are these ghosts just figments of our imagination, or is there really more to these spirits than just a children's fair tale?    Sensationalism has defined the word "ghost" as a dangerous hideous spirit which rules and dominates the confines of where it is located.  But in reality these spirits, in most cases, seem to be unaware of their mistaken presence, much less ours. Tower of London Tower of London    For over 900 years, the Tower of London has developed a very mysterious history and reputation.  This tower is home of headings, torture, and also numerous hangings.  This famous tower was also a prison to some of the Nobles throughout history.    The "bloody tower" was the scene of the infamous murders of two princes, Edward V and Duke of Yo...

   The French have a phrase--ide'e fixe-- meaning to be obsessed with an idea to the exclusion of everything else.  There is probably no better explanation for the growing of giant---approximately one thousand pound--pumpkins.  In fact, in some sense, growing giant pumpkins has become a "big business".  Although growing giant vegetables isn't restricted to pumpkins, the pumpkin is iconic for what would be called "Paul Bunyan" gardening.  At the peak time of growth, a giant pumpkin can grow thirty to forty pounds a day, which is more than a pound per  hour!     The Ultimate Experience-the Giant Pumpkin    One quote says, "To err is human, a pumpkin is Da' Vine".  The most carefully chosen pumpkin seeds, though, won't grow a world-class pumpkin without considerable planing and investment.  Seeds may now be bought online.  An internet search reveals many willing providers and forums dedicated to doing just th...

   The next couple of weeks before Halloween, don't cuddle up with a book and read some kind of romance novel!   Go down to your video store, redbox rental unit or dig out one of these from your collection of movies (you do have your own stash of scary Halloween movies, don't you?).  Grab one of these and pop it in the dvd player, make some popcorn, grab some snacks (some Reese's chocolate), and a soda or two and sit back in your favorite chair or on the sofa and get ready to be entertained (or if you haven't seen them before, I hope they scare you so much that you sleep with the lights on!). Here's my top thirteen favorite scary and not so scary movies, not in any order, for this Halloween season! 30 Days of Night  - This 2007 vampire tale has a strong story and excellent acting.  The set design is beautifully done and very realistic.  It takes place in Alaska during the time when the sun doesn't shine.  Based on the 30 Days of Night ...