photo by armywife_94e, from photobucket.com

"The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you, 
you who live in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of 
the hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle's, from 
there I will bring you down," declares the LORD. --Jeremiah 49:16 (NIV)


"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day 
your Lord will come." --Matthew 24:42 (NIV)



*******************************************************************
Note: in 2001 I asked the question, 10/31/01 + 9/11/01 = ?
The book Death Makes a Holiday by David J. Skal,
released September 2002, seeks to answer that question
in the afterword "September 11 and October 31".
*******************************************************************
2008

JOKERS, JOKERS EVERYWHERE!

And I plan to be a Female Joker!



I'm not patterning myself after Heath Ledger's Joker.
I have a lavender jacket, light-green pants, orange scarf,
light orange flower, and other accessories.

Check this out:

The Biblical Batman, by Ross Hoss, 7/23/08

And yes, this is an election year!

And the Obama mask seems to be outselling the McCain mask!

*******************************************************************

2007

THE NEW WONDER WOMAN

Throughout the last few years I've been thinking that there are 
two costumes I haven't done yet: Joan of Arc, and Wonder Woman.

So this year I'll be Wonder Woman.
I'll be an overweight, bespectacled, African-American, 
walking-on-a-cane Wonder Woman!
Isn't Halloween terrific?


*******************************************************************

2006

WHAT BECOMES AN ELDER?

My mom died three months ago, July 23, 2006.  The first heat wave 
on the Eastern Seaboard got to her, complicated by the illnesses 
she already had.



Back in 2001 I bought a plastic Halloween tombstone similar to the
one above, with the idea of creating some sort of 9/11 commemoration,
or letting the tombstone stand alone and allow passers-by to 
create their own commemorations in their heads.  My mom nixed the idea.

Now, however, I've taken that same plastic tombstone and graced it,
Day-of-the-Dead fashion, with doodads to commemorate my Mom:
a funeral prayer card with a picture of Jesus overlooking a 
first-century Israeli city; a plastic flute (she loved music);
a Day-of-the-Dead-like pushbutton dancing skeleton; silk flowers,
including a rose; and a patch that says Mexico.  That little
memorial is in the front yard along with the little pumpkins
and scarecrows.



I turn 50 on December 21, 2006, and this Halloween I'm dressing up 
as a cincuentanera!  I thought I'd made the word up, but it turns
out that a handful of middle-aged women have been celebrating their
cincuentaneras over the last few years!



These may give some idea of what I'm aiming for with my cincuentanera dress:
white trimmed in black.  I've already lengthened the hem of a white
dress of mine with a black cloth with white trim.  I have a string
of cloth black flowers and other things.  If I don't have time to
sew them, I might just tie them on!

Amazon.com: So you'd like to... Celebrate your Cincuentanera 
(that is, your 50th birthday)

Amazon.com Listmania!: Cincuentanera: 50 is the new 15

Shortly after my mother's funeral, my sister Becky reported 
that someone--a friend, maybe a cousin--said to her, 
"I guess we're becoming the grown-ups now."  
Becky replied, "We've been the grown-ups for years.  
We're becoming the elders."

*****



BOOING AT LAST!

Two years ago I stumbled upon an Internet report about a new
Halloween tradition called booing.  (See report in 2004 section.)

A few days ago in the Target store in Elmhurst, I saw a couple
of "booing" kits--three, actually, from M&M/Mars, Hershey's, and
another company, maybe Target itself.  "Oh, yeah!" I exclaimed.
I bought the first two kits and supplemented their supplies with
more candy, whistles, toy plastic horses, and leftover VistaPrint.com
cards.  I bought gossamer-like favor bags from a 99-cent store in
my neighborhood, and divided the goodies among eight bags.

Within the next few days, I go booing in my neighborhood!
Will this fly in Queens, NY?

*****

NEW FOR 2006:



The Magic Eightball Test: 
A Christian Defense of Halloween and All Things Spooky 
by Lint Hatcher 

Publisher's website:
Hambangers Junction: where faith and imagination meet


*******************************************************************

2005

THE WHORE OF BABYLON IS US?

The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with 
gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, 
filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.
--Revelation 17:4 (NIV)

Last Halloween, or in early November, I told myself that if 
George W. Bush won--or "won"--the 2004 election, the next Halloween 
I would dress up as the Whore of Babylon.  
He did--and, Lord willing, I am.

Some thoughts on this:

The Bill Maher Message Board: Babylon the Great=USA?, 9/20/05>

Amazon.com: So You'd Like to...Celebrate Halloween as a Christian

(Oh, this Halloween page started so innocently, years ago!)


*******************************************************************

Bush          Kerry

Politically (In)Correct: Which One Is Scarier?

(masks available at DLAssociates.GiantPartyStore.com)

HALLOWEEN AND POLITICS
Trick or Treat as a Candidate
New York Newsday, 10/28/04


2004

POLITICS CAN BE SCARY...

This website's purpose is to deal with spiritual aspect of Halloween...
yet, this is an election year, and the election is strong on my mind.
To see which candidate I'm backing, go here.


from www.ebay.com

In the spirit of politics, I plan to repeat my Patriotic Jester costume of last year
--and I almost never repeat a costume.

I'm not the only one whose 2004 Halloween thoughts turn to the election:
With Halloween Falling Just Days Before the Election...
iParty's Halloween Shoppers Are Already Voting 
--As Bush and Kerry Halloween Masks Start Flying Off the Shelves!

Masked revelers prefer Bush 
Get this one: Halloween mask sales predictor says incumbent will beat Kerry in November

oh, oh...



photo by Adi Ashkenazi, from photos.halloween-nyc.com.  
Not me, but another patriotic figure from the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, 2004.  
My picture's way below. (Scroll down.)


Have You Been Booed?

New trick-or-treat tradition involving the whole family: Getting Booed!

A new Halloween tradition is spreading rapidly grass-roots fashion 
throughout the culture. Called "Getting Booed," it involves a family 
making a Halloween gift basket and leaving it anonymously on a 
neighbor's door step with a sign "You Got Booed." The receiving 
family's job, then, is to make up another gift basket and play the 
trick on another family in the neighborhood who doesn't have a 'got 
booed' sign on their door. 

"The way we celebrate holidays, in particular a grass-roots holiday 
like Halloween, reflects the trends of the time. Today consumers are 
emerging like butterflies out of their protective 'cocoons,' and 
looking to reconnect with the outside world. Connecting has become 
our dominant trend and along with it comes a desire to make new 
connections with our neighbors. Halloween celebrations, like trick
-or-treating and getting booed, are a way for us to connect," 
Danziger explains [Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and 
author of Why People Buy Things They Don't Need]. 

BOO News! Halloween is spawning new holiday traditions, reports Unity Marketing (9/29/04)


As a cynical native New Yorker, I can already imagine the dangers if
this practice falls into "the wrong hands".  Might this be more
safely done among neighbors who know each other--or might we take
the risk with neighbors we barely know, or don't know at all?  As
a Christian, I see a wonderful opportunity for evangelism here--
slip in a gentle or holiday-appropriate tract along with the treats!
Or, you might write a note of your own.

For some ideas or resources:
American Tract Society: Halloween

If you live in or near New York City, 
you can visit the American Bible Society Store on Broadway near 61st Street; 
otherwise, you can call and ask about their tracts and booklets.

New York Headquarters 
American Bible Society 
1865 Broadway 
New York, NY 10023 

Telephone: 212-408-1200 
1-800-32-BIBLE


*******************************************************************



2003

GOD'S MONSTERS: GARGOYLES AND THE FOUR LIVING CREATURES

Are there any gargoyles depicting the four living creatures?

We often associate beauty with good and ugliness with evil.
Oh, we know beauty can mask evil, too.  But "ugly goodness"?
Why did medieval artists decorate their churches with monsters?
Why did God himself create "four living creatures"
--fantastic, fascinating, and probably grotesque to our eyes--
to worship him day and night?

Some say gargoyles are man's evil passions banished by the Holy Spirit.
Some say gargoyles were meant to protect people from evil.
Their practical purpose was as waterspouts, but, according to
sculptor Walter S. Arnold,
gargoyle-carving allowed sculptors to freely use their imaginations.
They loved to make them, and viewers loved to see them.

Perhaps these sculptors expressed a facet of the original Creator,
who sculpted his own "living grotesques", if you will, 
in the four living creatures.

Why did God want these fascinating, fantastic, grotesque creatures?

In Ezekiel 1 they each have four faces—of a man, lion, ox, eagle.
Throughout Revelation they each have one face—man, lion, ox, eagle.  
They’ve become differentiated and individualized in the New Testament.
They don’t appear in any other book of the Bible.  

Do they represent the royalty of Jesus?
Do they depicts the four Gospel writers?  
And by extension, the whole body of believers?

Or are they the finest attributes of nature
—nobility, strength, speed, and wisdom—praising their Maker?   
Or could they represent the Beatles?


The Four Living Creatures, the 42nd Annual Biblesta Parade
Saturday, October 2, 1999, Humboldt, Kansas

The Four Living Creatures only appear in Ezekiel 1 and 
throughout the book of Revelation.

At this time of year when our minds turn to scary things,
God's Four Living Creatures, and man-made gargoyles, 
may serve to remind us that goodness and holiness 
can be scary, too!



*******************************************************************

2002

This summer I was reading Jeremiah, and I found this:

"Moab has become an object of ridicule, 
an object of horror to all those around her." 
--from Jeremiah 48:39

Now I found a couple of places in the book of Jeremiah
that talks about making something or someone 
"an object of horror and scorn".
Also I saw a PBS-TV show with a panel of comedians talking 
about their craft.  One said, "We laugh at what we fear."

Think about this in connection to Halloween.  Although the Bible
talks about having proper respect for the power of evil (see Jude 9),
it also talks about Jesus making a spectacle of evil powers 
(Colossians 2:15).  In fact, the very next verse says:

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, 
or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration 
or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were 
to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 
--Colossians 2:16-17 (NIV)

I found an article that suggests Halloween is a good time
to remind Satan of his ultimate defeat:

Hallowing Halloween: 
Why Christians should embrace the "devilish" holiday with gusto
—and laughter.

also:

Is Halloween a Witches' Brew? 
Or have Christians been spooked out of celebrating 
a part of their rich tradition?

both from Christianity Today.

++++++++++++++++++

The following article is pretty highbrow for this website,
but since it mentions Satan and Milton's Paradise Lost, it fits.

Satan is Not A Literary Character: 
Teaching Early Modern Literature to Religiously Committed Students
by Dr. Carrie Hintz, Assistant Professor, English, 
Queens College (Flushing, NY)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


When the terror strikes...
10/31/01 + 9/11/01 = ?


Halloween 2001 articles:


This Year's Halloween Hit: To Be a Hero  
"So many kids want to dress up as firefighters
--and cops, doctors, and soldiers-- 
that the costumes are already in short supply."


Halloween 2001: Easing the Fright, Not the Fun

SLUCare Pediatrician Gives Tips for Parents to Help Kids Stay Safe 


Terror attacks in US cloud Halloween festivities

"Americans usually enjoy a good scare on Halloween, but the 
September 11 terrorist onslaught and the subsequent anthrax attacks 
in the United States have left people looking for treats, not tricks."


Halloween may offer welcome diversion

"This is the night when people dance, that's what this holiday is about. 
It's about dancing in the face of death." 





"At one store there was a t-shirt that simply stated ‘Who Died?’. 
This would have been thought of as humorous prior to September 11, 2001, 
now it brings back frightening memories."



Editorial Cartoon, 10/6/01


Am I Safe?

a Gospelcom message for children


and some news links.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


You will not fear the terror of night
...nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness...
--from Psalm 91:5-6

I looked, and there before me was a pale horse!  
Its rider was named Death, 
and Hades was following close behind him.
--from Revelation 6:8

"Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged,
for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
--from Joshua 1:9


Are you scared yet? Are you thrilled down to your marrow?
Hope so, because we're going to touch on that most 
confounding of holidays:







"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Someone's hair shot into the
air as they ran from this website!

For you brave people, come along!

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for You are with me.
--Psalm 23:4

Remember:
He that is within you is stronger than he that is in the world.



This site was begun October 5, 2000.
Last updated October 30, 2008.   

Free graphics from thesitefights.com and hollowhill.com

SAUL AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR
I Samuel 28

a ghostly witch story!






THE VALLEY OF THE DRY BONES
Ezekiel 37


"Son of man, can these bones live?" --from Ezekiel 37:3





Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,
Now hear the word of the Lord!





THE DEVIL TEMPTS JESUS
Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13




THE MAN AMONG THE TOMBS
Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39







THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
1 Corinthians 15




For All Saints Day (November 1):



THE GREAT CROWD IN HEAVEN--Revelation 7

New!: All-Hallows-E: download modern stories from stealthpress.com

Goblin Market (poem) by Christina Rosetti
Young Goodman Brown (story) by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (story) by Washington Irving
The Monkey's Paw (story) by W.W. Jacobs
Jabberwocky (poem) by Lewis Caroll
The Raven (poem)by Edgar Allan Poe
From the website of the movie "Poe: The Last Days of the Raven"

Jabbercandy (Trust me, just read it!)

"Alpha and Omega: Reconciling Science and Faith"
The theology of "B" horror movies, with a bow to Taylor Caldwell's Dialogues with the Devil.
By Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Denver

Mystical World Wide Web: 'THE FAUST LEGEND'
an article by Lloyd Hawkins (UK)
Faust Legends
translated and/or edited by D. L. Ashliman © 1999-2001
a list of articles concerning the story of Dr. John Faustus

Paradise Lost Study Guide
links to the complete poem, summaries, essays, etc., plus a prose (novel) version.

The Screwtape Letters (excerpt--Letter 1) by C.S. Lewis
Temptation lessons from one devil to another.

The Crucible Project
Guide to Arthur Miller's play about the Salem witch trials, with links to the recent movie and to history webpages.
Sweeney Todd
A webpage dedicated to Stephen Sondheim's musical thriller--or is it opera?--about "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
Little Shop of Horrors
The Off-Broadway musical about a Faustian deal between a shop boy and his plant.
The Phantom of the Opera
Links to personal stories, Phanfic, the musical, etc.

Beliefnet.comA list of excellent and varied links about the Halloween controversy.

I ain't afraid of no e-mail!

mnl_1221@yahoo.com

Lamb Chop in Mourning, 1998 Blue M&M, 1999 Bread and Wine, 2000

2001: Okay, this isn't me, and I wasn't an Oompa-Loompa, but this comes fairly close to my Brownie Elf costume: silver-gray overall shorts, tan shirt, floppy tan hat with silver flowers, and oversized pink cloth bag with a flower on it!
Also, for an indoor party, I wore a silver gown covered with a brown velvet blouse and a crown, and called myself the Duchess of Chocolate.

2002: This American Girl doll echoes my Hippie costume: long red dress, flower lei in my hair, a plastic sax with a kazoo taped to the mouthpiece, and a yellow Smiley bucket!

2003: a Patriotic Jester!

2004: Patrotic Jester

2005: the Whore of Bablyon, aka Babylon the Great (Revelation 17, 18)

2008: the Female Joker, with my churchmate Gideon, at our church's Family Fun Night, the Saturday before Halloween

********************

Some of my costumes, since childhood, have included:
Herman the Mouse (of Harvey Cartoon's Herman and Katnip)
Artist (and I costumed my doll as an artist, too)
Gypsy
Doll

college:
Farm Woman (a la Fiddler on the Roof or Little House on the Prairie)
Cheerleader
Patty Hearst (as "Tania")
Batgirl
Girl Scout (yes, I took an extra year for college!)

adult:
Supergirl
Zorro
Witch
Old Man
Saint Michael the Archangel
Priest
Clown
Bride
Debi Thomas (Olympic figure skater, bronze medalist, 1988)
Energizer Bunny
American Indian (coincidentally, the year Dances With Wolves came out)
Olympic Gymnast (1992 costume)
Beauty Contest Winner: Ms. Greater New York
(I did this one two years in a row!)
Half-Bride, Half-Groom (I believe I repeated this one, too!)
Flower Woman from Streetcar ("Flores para los muertos.")

and then Lamb Chop, Blue M&M, Bread and Wine, Brownie, Hippie, Patriotic Jester, Babylon the Great (aka the Whore of Babylon), Cincuentanera, Wonder Woman, and the Female Joker.

Don't Fear the Links!