31 Days of Spooky - Day 29
31 Days of Spooky - Day 29
Marks, mementos and manipulation
Welcome to Beware of Creepy Houses: 31 Days of Spooky, where I’ll be celebrating Spooky Season with my thoughts on books, podcasts, films and spooky activities to get you in the mood this Halloween season.
There will also be a free writing prompt every day to get your spooky creativity flowing, which you can use to build a collection of 31 flashes, begin 31 short stories or stitch together into a great big spooky novel. Or maybe some poetry. Whatever floats your spooky spirit!
Happy Choose-Day!
This Halloween, choose to be spooky.
Warding off evil with witch marks
I love the irony of witch marks. While they were used to ward off all types of evil, using ritual marks to keep the witch next door away, is pretty comical.
This article talks about the history of witch marks and their purpose. I found it especially interesting how witch marks are often found near to chimneys. With festive season coming up, you do have to wonder if they would keep Santa away…
James VI (of Scotland) / I (of England) was particularly obsessed with witches, so it’s interesting that after the failure of the Gunpowder Plot, witch marks were found engraved in at Knole in accommodations built for him.
The top 11 most haunted places in the UK
If you want to arrange a last minute trip or keep Spooky Season going after Thursday, a visit to one of these most haunted places might be just the thing for you.
There are also tips on local places to stay, which aren’t haunted - probably.
Even if you don’t see a real ghost, there are some great local stories here to enjoy while you explore, from an English Civil War betrayal to Sir Francis Drake’s former home. There are also tips for creating the haunted theme at home if you’d rather not venture too close to phantoms.
Memento mori: Let’s talk about death
I wrote about how death in nineteenth century literature is treated differently to death in modern literature, in my degree dissertation, because attitudes to death have changed so much as life expectancy has increased.
This article on how our medieval ancestors thought about death on a daily basis and the mementos to death they kept, is really thought provoking.
Carrying memento mori and considering your own mortality on a daily basis may seem morbid to us, but when the average person didn’t reach their fortieth birthday, and prevalent absolute belief in Heaven and Hell meant that people were more considerate of how their day-to-day behaviour might impact the afterlife, carrying something to remember your day is coming seems pretty sensible.
Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton
Gothic literature and winter go together like tricks and treats, and next January Formby Little Theatre will be performing Gaslight, a play whose dark manipulative techniques have probably become more famous than the story itself.
While “gaslighting” has sadly become massively overused due to a complete misunderstanding of how sinister it actually is (not everyone who lies to you is gaslighting you), searches for the term have become so prevalent, it’s once again inspiring many creative works, including Travis’ recent song of the same name.
Last night I was at the first rehearsal because I have the absolute privilege of playing the lead, Bella! This play is so close to my heart and I’m so honoured to be bringing Bella to life. I’d love to see you there as we bring back the Spooky Season spirit after Spooky Season Jr in December.
Writing prompt - Strange situations
Your grandmother gives you a jewellery box which belonged to an ancestor. It has numerous intricate drawers and compartments, as well as a wide selection of antique jewellery. You find a secret compartment which is full of letters from 200 years ago. What do they say and why were they hidden?
I’d love to see anything you write over 31 Days of Spooky and hear about anything you are doing to celebrate Spooky Season!
Sending tricks and treats and daisy wheels,
Donna
Beware of Creepy Houses is free to read, but if you would like to support my work, you can buy me a hot chocolate