It's October and Spooky Season is Upon Us
Published: 01 October 2024
It actually struck me earlier as I was heading out for one of my regular runs a little later than usual. Well, not-so-regular as of late. The other thing that struck me was that I've been kicking that can down the road for over a fortnight. As someone who ran diligently over the summer at least three times a week for over 10k a time, I've certainly been taking it easy for a little as the weather has got worse. But, I digress.
The main thing that hit me was that the nights are definitely drawing in. I left the house at around 18:30 and it was practically dark by the time I got back in. It truly is starting to feel like Autumn as the calendar turns over to the beginning of October.
Paganism & Samhain
Despite the weather and the less hours of daylight, it actually happens to be my favourite time of the year. You see, I am a little of the pagan/Wiccan persuasion. For us Samhain, or The Day of the Dead/Halloween at the end of the month, is actually our new year. The Wheel of the Year will have turned full circle and it's a time of honouring our dead ancestors as well as a time for reflecting over what we've done over the past year. It's also a time of releasing, as best we can, any negativity we have accumulated over the past year and focusing on a fresh start as we enter a new cycle.
Spooky Season
On top of the deeper spiritual meanings of Samhain for me as a Wiccan, Spooky Season is also just pretty darn cool! I'm quite the fan of horror as a genre and October gives me a great excuse to go all-in and indulge in that.
Books
Last year, I discovered a new author I enjoyed in Meredith R. Lyons. I read her Ghost Tamer novel[1] and it was absolutely fantastic. I was actually looking for some cheap scares but the book delivered something much deeper. Thoroughly worth a read if you're even mildly into horror fiction.
This year, though, I believe I'll be going back to an author I've read previously that I know will deliver some darker horror vibes. I'm currently eyeing up Camp Firwood by Boris Bacic[2]. I read a previous book of his, Suicide Town[3], that was as disturbing as the name suggests. He actually started his path to being an author writing fiction over at the /r/NoSleep reddit sub, so anyone into NoSleep/Creepypasta-type content will feel quite at home.
Films
Last year, I got together with a handful of friends and we watched a horror film every week in October. We certainly picked some good ones. Smile (2022)[4], Talk to Me (2022)[5], and The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)[6] were the ones I most remember.
I'm not sure which ones I'll watch this year. I see a sequel to Smile, Smile 2 (2024)[7], is hitting cinemas on 18th October. I thought the first was a pretty solid horror flick so it may be well worth going to see. There's a few others I had on the shortlist from last year that we didn't get around to watching that might be worth a look too, such as Lake Mungo (2008)[8] and Gerald's Game (2017)[9]
Podcasts
Lastly, there's always a couple of podcasts that I enjoy at this time of the year. The first being CreepyPod[10]:
During October they release a podcast every day until the 31st with narrated listener-contributed stories. While a few can be hit-or-miss, the majority I really enjoy and the narration is always top notch.
The second podcast I'll be keeping up with this October is the BBC's Uncanny[11]:
Uncanny Podcast - Episodes - BBC
The host Danny Robins will also be releasing a "Halloween advent calendar" of sorts, with a short episode everyday of listener-contributed stories. If you've not listened to Uncanny before, it's well worth going back through the archive as it's certainly an interesting series that's more investigative in nature.
I think these things will mostly cover my Spooky Season needs! Feel free to drop me a line with any suggestions you may have for films, books, etc. as I'm always looking for more.
I hope everyone has a great October.
References
[1] Ghost Tamer by Meredith R. Lyons - Goodreads
[2] Camp Firwood by Boris Bacic - Goodreads
[3] Suicide Town by Boris Bacic - Goodreads
[6] The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) - IMDb
[9] Gerald's Game (2017) - IMDb
[11] Uncanny Podcast - Episodes - BBC
Mailbag
Comments and replies to this post are welcome. Feel free to send a cosmic raven to:
Misfin: tiff@valkyrieshowl.com
Email: surges.colts_0s@icloud.com
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