Halloween Books From Cozy Cat Press...and Elsewhere! By Alondra Deltoro
Ghosted: An Essie Cobb Senior Sleuth Mystery: Patricia Rockwell
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1939816009/?tag=cocapr-20
Cozy Cat Press’s very own Patricia Rockwell has a book published that is a part of her Essie Cobb Senior Sleuth series that is absolutely perfect to read this time of year! The book features Essie and her pals over at Happy Haven Assisted Living Facility who take part in trying to solve a myriad of strange mysterious happenings they’ve all been a witness of. Essie herself has quite a few things she's concerned about as well...She’s started to see things, really weird things. Such as rodents in her shower and faces in her crossword puzzles. But- the most puzzling of them all? The ghost of her dead husband on her favorite tv game show! Either she’s begun to lose her marbles or something far more serious is happening. It’s up to Essie to determine why she is “being GHOSTED”!
ARE GHOST HAUNTINGS REAL?
Reading about Essie's concerns about being haunted by a ghost reminded me of a Ted talk that I saw a while back concerning the veracity of “ghost hauntings” and all things paranormal. Told by Carrie Poppy, It makes for an extremely entertaining talk to see and is one of my favorites. You must check it out to see what exactly was it that was giving Carrie the creeps! Was it really a ghost? Or something much more....deadly?
The Scarecrow's Secret: An Alton Oaks Mystery: Megan Rivers
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1946063665/?tag=cocapr-20
During what was hoped to be a fun outing to the Alton Oak’s Fall festival, Charli Parker and her friend Rip Oakley found themselves in the midst of a crime scene when Charli finds the corpse of her very own ex-husband, Jackson, in the center of a corn maze hung up scarecrow style. Charli is puzzled over the whole ordeal: why her ex-husband? Why and when did he come into town? Why is he on a stake? Meanwhile, Charli is trying to put together the pieces, however, her best friend Sadie finds herself becoming the prime suspect in the investigation! It’s up to Charli to get to the bottom of this to not only find out who killed Jackson but to also clear her best friend's name.
FUN FACTS ABOUT SCARECROWS:
Where did they come from?
Scarecrows have been prevalent for over more than 3,000 years! The earliest recorded use of scarecrows dates all the way back to ancient Egypt, where Egyptians were known to use scarecrows to help protect their crop along the Nile River from quails. Their version of the scarecrow was quite different from the one we know today. What they did was stake up these wooden frames and cast netting on them. Then, the farmer would lurk nearby, waiting for the quails to make their way over and at the last minute, would lunge at them, causing them to fall into the “scarecrow”. A whole “two-birds-with-one-stone” type of deal. They protect the crop and get free dinner while doing so!
The Greek farmers modeled their scarecrow after the image of Priapus, which made for an “ugly” enough mannequin of sorts to scare away birds. But the Japanese, many years later, created thiers to resemble that of a normal human being. They even went as far as dressing it up in raincoats and straw hats!
Where are they used?
Nowadays, the scarecrow has become synonymous with Fall season decor. You see all types of versions sold, from scary ones themed for Halloween to more pleasant ones used as decor for around the house. Although there are farmers that keep the original purpose of the scarecrow in practice and have them set up in their fields. Albeit, these so-called “scarecrows” have undergone plenty of upgrades.
Do they really work against warding off birds?
Yes and no. The traditional stationary scarecrow does very little to ward off pest birds because the effect is so temporary. After a while, the birds get used to the scarecrow and they go about their day. But that is not to say that there isn't any hope for the scarecrow. Some tips to up your scarecrow game is to make sure that it has “realistic facial features and bright;y colored clothes”. Even better is if you can make it so that your scarecrow moves. Every so often, change the site where your scarecrow is located so that the birds don’t get used to it being in any given area for too long! Nowadays, however, the traditional scarecrow made out of hay and potato bag sacks are beginning to feel a little outdated. With technology working in our favor, new forms of these scarecrows are being tried and tested. There is one version that is a robot known as the “Agriaser” which randomly generates a sweeping laser beam. The pros seem to outweigh any cons as this contraption requires no maintenance, is noiseless, is easy to install and is harmless! Oh and it definitely gets the job done- the birds never see the laser coming!
Want more fun facts on scarecrows? Click these links!:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/70232/do-scarecrows-actually-work
HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN:
Halloween got its start many many years ago in northern Europe from the ancient Celtic pagans who originally named the holiday “Samhain”. Back then, the holiday was celebrated in the form of a three-day long festival which marked the end of summer (hence the name of Samhain, which translated from Irish literally meant “summer's end”) since their calendars were divided into two halves- the first half was summer while the second was winter. During these three days, people paid homage to loved ones that have recently died. They did so through the use of bonfires, elaborate costumes made from animals and hollowed-out gourds turned lanterns. The pagans viewed this holiday as an open invitation for their loved ones now turned spirits to come and rejoin the living.
Other rituals performed were sacrificial offerings and even pranks.
Things began to take a turn, however, once the Romans invaded the Celtic lands. With this invasion came the spread of Christianity and Catholicism which forced the Pagan traditions to evolve and eventually not even practiced anymore. Many of the rituals and practices were morphed to fit the standards of Christians and Catholics. An example being the name of the holiday itself! From Samhain to….” All Saints Day” a.k.a “All Hallows Day”. They even changed the subject in which the holiday is supposed to honor, which were the spirits of the dead along with Pagan gods and mischievous spirits. Instead, now they dedicated the day to honor the Christian saints and martyrs.
Even more changes to the holiday came when the Protestants refused to celebrate the now coined “All Saints Day '' because of its now religious affiliations. This led to them creating their own spin-off version of the holiday. More time has passed and now we are in the 19th century where things really begin to take shape into the now celebrated version of Halloween that we know and love. It was during this period of time that America experienced a large number of immigrants coming and settling into the country.
The children kept the mischievous aspect of the holiday very much alive by playing innocent pranks on members of the community. In efforts to try to deter the children from wreaking havoc on the town...the adults decided to introduce incentives to those who weren't playing pranks. I present to you the birth of TRICK OR TREATING!
It wasn't until the 20th century where things really picked up steam all across the board. In the final years of the 19th century, costumes were being mass-produced for both children and adults. The 50’s found candy manufacturers also jumping into the Halloween bandwagon as well. The next decade would introduce Halloween onto both the small and big screens with Halloween themed TV as well as movie festivals tailored to just horror films alone. Halloween was now converting itself into a “mass market holiday”.
Halloween as we know it now is a multi-billion dollar holiday in which millions of people all around the world celebrate by dressing up in costumes and getting together with friends to party and have a good time. It is truly fascinating the evolution the holiday Halloween had to go through to arrive at how it is celebrated today.
Here is a video for a more detailed look into Halloween’s past: