Supernatural Friday: A Good Possibility that Ghosts Might Be Haunting Your House With AC More Than Normal, that Bigfoot Might Be Thinking About It, Too

It's hot and humid the past couple of days here in Virginia. Summer can be Hell, literally.  Do ghosts or cryptids feel the humidity like we humans do?

I mean, spirits are those mortals who passed away from our plain of existence. Supposedly, you no longer need to eat, drink, or have any other mortal body functions. Do they still feel, even if it's a sort of memory? I always asked that question during a paranormal investigation when we're either sweating due to extreme heat or freezing to death. I haven't gotten an answer to that question yet.

What about Bigfoot or a lake monster, or even the Mothman? Because he's called the Jersey Devil, does that means if New Jersey's weather is in the 100s, he's fine, because we equate him being called a devil with Hell? And Hell means hot--right? 

I know that the Sasquatch has to feel the heat, with all that fur/hair covering its body. As for the lake or sea serpent, it can duck beneath the surface to keep cool--unless the water levels start dropping. So the next time you decide to overwater your lawn, think of that poor lake monster who might die due to hardly any water in its environment.

I'm not even going to talk about aliens or UFOs, even though I think the Mothman is an alien more than anything paranormal. Like any tourist to somewhere else, they'll just have to do their research on what sort of clothing they should pack for the weather in their suitcases!

Next time, you relax in your AC or stay indoors in your heated house during the winter, think about all those phantoms, monsters, and extinct beasties that have to suffer the weather too.

Supernatural Friday: So, June Is More than a Hot Month

Where did the first month of summer, June, get its name? In Old English, this month was often referred to as simply “midsummer month.” Today being June 1^st, there is more to the month than the end of spring and beginning of summer.

In Greek mythology, the month may come due to Hera, known in Roman as Juno. In Roman myth, she is the patron goddess of Rome. She is shown alternately as a cruel goddess in Virgil’s Aeneid, and the goddess of marriage and childbirth. In fact, summer weddings are still very popular, and they may have started because of the blessing that this goddess bestowed on those who got married in her sacred month.

In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. He is Connected to the month June too.  The relationship between Janus and  the Greek goddess Juno is defined by the closeness of the notions of beginning and transition and the functions of conception and delivery, result of youth and vital force.

This Roman god is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. In other words, sounds like Gemini twins in the zodiac, which is connected to birthdays end of May through a portion of June. Gemini people are thought to be two-faced in their personalities.

Janus presided over the beginning and ending of conflict, and hence war and peace. The gates of a building in Rome named after him, not a temple as it is often called, but an open enclosure with gates at each end, were opened in time of war, and closed to mark the arrival of peace (which did not happen very often). As a god of transitions, he had functions pertaining to birth and to journeys and exchange, and in his association with Portunus, a similar harbor and gateway god, he was concerned with travelling, trading and shipping. The ancient Greeks had no equivalent to Janus, whom the Romans claimed as distinctively their own.

The function god of beginnings has been clearly expressed in numerous ancient sources, among them most notably Cicero, Ovid, and Varro. As a god of motion, Janus looks after passages, causes actions to start and presides over all beginnings. Since movement and change are interconnected, he has a double nature, symbolized in his two headed image. He has under his tutelage the stepping in and out of the door of homes.

According to myth Janus was the first to mint coins and the as, first coin of the liberal series, bears his effigy on one face.

Representing time, Janus was worshipped at the beginnings of the harvest and planting times, as well as at marriages, deaths and other beginnings. He represented the middle ground between barbarism and civilization, rural and urban space, youth and adulthood. Having jurisdiction over beginnings Janus had an intrinsic association with omens and auspices.

The birthstone of June is the pearl. Arabian legend say pearls are drops of the moon that the oyster has fallen in love with. The Chinese believed that the pearl came from the brain of a dragon. 

As we forge ahead into June, thinking of the end of school, summer, end of spring, summer vacation, the beach or pool, and amusement parks, it is interesting to learn there is more to June than the mundane.

Supernatural Friday: ReadaScare This Summer

The first day of summer will be here June 21st.  People are thinking of swimming at the pools while others will spend their vacation time at the beach or camping in the mountains. Others will get their thrills and scares on riding roller coasters at amusement parks. Lounging at the pool or at the beach, even camping, will be time for those to catch up on their reading. Many will read scary reads even though Halloween and autumn is over four months away. Horror books are as good a read for the beach or to read indoors in the AC as that latest bestseller by James Patterson. 

What is horror? Horror fiction, horror literature and horror fantasy is a genre of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, scare or startle viewers/readers by inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie and frightening atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for the larger fears of a society. The genre has ancient origins which were reformulated in the 18th century as Gothic horror, with publication of the Castle of Otranto(1764) by Horace Walpole.

The reader can even revisit old classics. Like Dracula by Bram Stoker, H P. Lovecraft’s tales, those scary tales by Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson's ghost story, The Haunting of Hill House, and many others. Today, horror has changed into many different ways. From urban fantasy. psychological, to gory fiction to weird, science fiction horror, paranormal romance, and Johnny-come-lately term, cozy horror (can being scared ever be called cozy?). 

 

So many ways to give yourself shuddering palpitations of the heart.

So, what are you planning to read this summer? Leave a comment, so others can find these great reads in their local library, or at their bookstore or online estore.

Happy Haunting. . .I mean Reading! 

 

Supernatural Friday: Summer Solstice is Spooky Sometimes

Haunting Summer Solstice Battle

By

Pamela K. Kinney

Only 19% visible;

the solstice moon

looks down

on the battlefield.

Silence,

except for crickets

in the humid night.

From both sides

comes pale, wisps of

shades on horseback

and many on foot.

Noise of battle erupting.

Out of sync,

no reality

Blue against gray,

Union against Confederate,

cannon fire and guns blasting.

Their ectoplasmic war began late,

All due to the

longest day

of the year

Dawn,

the cock crows

and phantoms

vanish with the sun.

Until the next night…

Now for some facts on the upcoming Summer Solstice:

Solstice comes from the Latin words sol, meaning 'Sun' and sistere, meaning 'to come to a stop or stand still'. Astronomers and scientists use the date of the June Solstice to mark the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. For meteorologists on the other hand, summer began almost three weeks ago, on June 1. Even though most people consider June 21 as the date of the June Solstice, it can happen anytime between June 20 and June 22. June 22 Solstices are rare - the last June 22 Solstice in UTC time took place in 1975 and there won't be another one until 2203. This is when the Sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer. In many Northern Hemisphere cultures, the day is traditionally considered to be the mid-point of the summer season. Many European countries hold midsummer celebrations. And though summer in the Northern Hemisphere, many believe that the earth is closest to the sun during the June Solstice. Actually, the earth is farthest from the sun at this time of the year. Our planet will be on its Aphelion a few weeks after the June Solstice.

The Northern Hemisphere has the longest day of the year in terms of daylight; the June Solstice is also called the Summer Solstice. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is the shortest day of the year and is known as the Winter Solstice.  Solstices happen twice a year - in June and December. The December one takes place around December 21. On this day, the Sun is precisely over the Tropic of Capricorn.

 The sun reaches its northern-most position, as seen from the Earth. At that moment, its zenith does not move north or south as during most other days of the year, but stands still at the Tropic of Cancer. It then reverses its direction, moving south again. The opposite happens during the December Solstice. The sun reaches its southern-most position in the sky - the Tropic of Capricorn - stands still and then reverses its direction towards the north.

June Solstice happens at the same time all over the world, at the exact instant of time when the Sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer. In 2016, this will happen on June 20 at 22:35 UTC.Time zones differences will cause this event to take place on June 21 at locations that are more than one and a half hours ahead of UTC. That includes all of Europe, Russia and Asia.

The earliest sunrise doesn’t happen on this day either. The earliest sunrise happens a few days before and the latest sunset takes place a few days after the June Solstice.  In the Southern Hemisphere, where this day marks the Winter Solstice, the earliest sunset happens a few days before the solstice, and the latest sunrise occurs a few days after it. It is not even the hottest day of the year, the hottest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere happens a few weeks or sometimes months after the Solstice.

Supernatural Friday: Do Ghosts Haunt Air Conditioned Houses More in Summer?

The past couple of days, humidity has hit Virginia. What has me thinking, do spirits or monsters feel the humidity like we humans do?

I mean, spirits were once living beings who passed away from our plain of existence. Supposedly, you no longer need to eat, drink, or have any other mortal body functions. Do they still feel, even if it's a sort of memory? I always asked that question during a paranormal investigation when we the investigators are either sweating due to extreme heat or freezing from the winter chill. I haven't gotten an answer to that question yet.

What about Bigfoot or a lake monster, or even the Mothman? Because he's called the Jersey Devil, does that means if New Jersey's weather is in the 100s, he's fine, because we equate devil with Hell? And Hell means hot--right? Maybe he is waiting for Hell to freeze over.

I know that the Sasquatch has to feel the heat, with all that fur/hair covering its body. As for the lake or sea serpent, it can duck beneath the surface to keep cool--unless the water levels start dropping. So the next time you decide to over-water your lawn this summer, think about that poor lake monster who might die due to water levels lowering in its environment.

I'm not even going to talk about aliens or UFOs, even though I think the Mothman is an alien more than anything paranormal. Like any tourist to somewhere else, they'll just have to do their research on what sort of clothing they should pack in their suitcases!

Next time, you relax in your AC or stay indoors in your heated house during the winter, think about all those phantoms, monsters and extinct beasties that have to suffer the weather too.

Supernatural Friday: Read Something Scary--It Just Might Make Your Heart Beat Faster

Here we are at the end of April, where summer is a promise beyond the horizon, with time at the beach and beach reading. What are you planning to bring to read on your summer vacation? Romance? A good mystery. Thriller? How about a good, scary read? Horror is a good read beyond the month of October. You could read it in the DEAD of winter, when the leaves DROP DEAD in the fall, and even in the frightening BLOOM of spring. Why not summer? After all, Jaws was a terrifying book about a shark in the ocean.

 

Any excuse to be scared to death. And dark fantasy and horror can be read by the light of the day. Just watch out for sharks!

Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat. It's a basic reaction to a stimulus, such as pain or dangerous threat. Fear is separate from anxiety, which occurs without external threat. It means to terrify, or to frighten.

 

Physical reactions from fear are:

Rapid heart rate

Increased blood pressure

Tightening of muscles

Sharpened or redirected senses

Dilation of the pupils

Increased sweating

So why would a person get a scary book when these symptoms of fear take over them? For the imagination is the greatest bringer of fear--you read a few pages and suddenly, there is a shadow in the corner. Did it move? Was there a sound when you should be all alone in the house?

But being frightened is good for you. Just as laughter is. Fear is that rush that brings out the prey in all of us, from our caveman days.

So go ahead. Pick up that book and buy it, or check it out. Read it. You know that shadow didn't more and the sound was the house settling. Nothing more.

Supernatural Friday: How the October Country Led Me to Writing, or How Ray Bradbury Mentored Me Without Meaning To

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

~Ray Bradbury

“I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room.” 
~ Ray Bradbury

I just read a great article by author Jonathan Janz about why he likes Stephan King, and how King had led him to become a writer. Well, I have a confession. Being that I am of King’s generation and read most likely what he read growing up and even in college, I will tell you my secret. Which writer most influence me.

Edgar Allan Poe? HP Lovecraft? Yes, I devoured their stories, but it wasn’t them who put me on the path. No, it was two authors, and they were Ray Bradbury and Shirley Jackson. But I will talk about Ray Bradbury today. Bradbury’s books and stories are those even to this day I can read and reread. He is a master storyteller. Who I have seen much of his influences in Stephen King’s work.

Like Something Wicked This Way Comes. The young boys fighting the Dark and his carnival, and learn that wishes can become nightmares. That the innocence of childhood due to monsters can lead the way to growing up. A magical blend of creepiness and nostalgia. 

His Fahrenheit 451 (one of my husband’s favorite science fiction reads) is a science fiction where in the future where firefighters burn books, not put out the fires. It is a classic novel of censorship and defiance, as resonant today as it was when it was first published nearly 50 years ago. A dystopian novel many years before books like this were named that.

He wrote many themed short stories and combined them in books like Dark Carnival, The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine, The Martian Chronicles, R is for Rocket, S is for Space, The Golden Apples of the Sun, The October Country, and I Sing the Body Electric and Other Stories (“I Sing the Body Electric” was originally a teleplay written by Bradbury for the 100^thepisode of The Twilight Zone in 1962.).

Stories I remember well from the books above included “The Foghorn”: this story was the basis for the 1953 film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, “The “Homecoming,” “The Sound of Thunder”: Bradbury examines what can happen due to one tiny mistake during a time travel prehistoric hunt that can change the history of the world, “The Veldt”: Bradbury imagines a world of enormous flat screen TVs, interactive video game playing, the future generation of children indifferent to violence or homicide, and smart houses 50 years before it is ever invented Except the lions on screen in this futuristic tale are not image, but the real deal. “I Sing the Body Electric”: though “I Sing the Body Electric” was originally a teleplay written by Bradbury for the 100^thepisode of The Twilight Zone in 1962, and was how I saw it first before I read it, and “The Lake”: a sort of classic ghost story, but about childhood too.  You can view "I Sing the Body Electric" that was telecast on Twilight Zone at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhjqabvYvSs

A favorite children’s book of his I love concerns Halloween. The Halloween Tree. Eight boys set out on a Halloween night and are led into the depths of the past by a tall, mysterious character named Moundshroud. They ride on a black wind to autumn scenes in distant lands and times, where they witness other ways of celebrating this holiday about the dark time of year. 

The past few years, I read One More for the Road, and the last of his books I read before his passing, Farewell Summer—sequel to his Dandelion Wine (I suggest read this one before Farewell Summer) and From the Dust Returned . 

From the Dust Returned grew out of a short story, "Homecoming," which appeared in the October 1946 issue of Mademoiselle magazine. Bradbury has published just five other stories about the Elliots, an outlandish, greathearted and loving-spirited Halloween creature clan and their "abnormal" adopted son Timothy. The novel is comprised of the previously published six stories interwoven with newer chapters and "connective tissue" that give us an unforgettable portrait of the rise and fall of a most peculiar brood.

Ray Bradbury takes me and others back to a time where as a child we all want to grow up, and yet, are afraid to. Growing up takes away the wonder of dinosaurs, settling Mars, a man whose illustrations on his flesh move and unsettle as we view them, and where vampires and ghosts share their home with a human boy who only wants to fit in with them. Where summer is just around the corner and autumn means we are have arrived at the October Country which Halloween resides in all its dark glory.

What are your favorite stories or novels by Ray Bradbury? And why do they touch you, and in what way?

Supernatural Friday: Beware of Big Hairy Toes! (Retold Folktale)

 

As I am working on a horror wip at this time, I found this old folktale and rewrote for your Supernatural Friday of Memorial Day Weekend enjoyment.  As you go camping this summer, maybe even this weekend, it is spooky tales like this that are told around the campfire. Let's restart a tradition and get that fire going in the woods or at the beach, and tell spooky stories. 

Once upon a time an old woman went out in the woods. She planned to dig up roots to cook for dinner. Suddenly, she spotted something funny sticking out of the leaves. Digging around it, she discovered it was a great big hairy toe. Now it came to her that there was good meat on it and it might make a tasty dinner, so she stuck it in her basket and took it home.
Back at her cottage, the old woman boiled hairy toe soup in a kettle. That night she had the soup for dinner. The old woman went to bed that night with a full stomach and a big smile.
Around midnight, a cold wind arose and blew in the tops of the trees around the old woman's house. A large black cloud crept over the moon and from deep in the woods a hollow voice called out, "Hairy toe! Hairy toe! I want my hairy toe!"
Inside the house, the old woman stirred uneasily in her bed and nervously pulled the covers up over her ears. She forced herself back to sleep.
Something stomped from the woods as the wind whistled and jerked at the treetops. In the clearing at the edge of the forest, the same hollow voice said: "Hairy toe! Hairy toe! I want my hairy toe!"
Inside the house, the old woman shuddered and turned over in her sleep.
A, stomping sound stopped outside the cottage. The night creatures shivered in their burrows as a hollow voice howled: "Hairy toe! Hairy toe! I want my hairy toe!"
The old woman snapped awake and with her heart pounding and her stomach clenching, she leaped out of bed, she ran to the door and barred it. Knowing her cottage was secure, she lay back down to sleep.
The front door burst open with a bang, snapping the bar in two and sending it flying into the corners of the room. The sound of giant feet stomping up the stair came to the old woman’s ears. Shaking, she peeped out from under the covers. A massive figure filed her doorway. "Hairy toe! Hairy toe! I want my hairy toe!"
The old woman bolted upright and screamed: "I ATE your hairy toe!"
"Yes, you did," the giant figure said as it advanced into the room. It grabbed her.
No one living in the region ever saw the old woman again. The only clue to her disappearance came from a giant footprint pressed deep into the loose soil of the meadow beside the house. The footprint was missing the left big toe.


 

Supernatural Friday: My Soul for a Bucket of Ice

Enjoy this poem. It is copyrighted by me, so if wish to share it with friends and family, please share the link. Thank you.

"My Soul for a Bucket of Ice"

by

Pamela K. Kinney

 

Summer heat;

humidity draining me.

The night is

no different

The moon doesn’t

cool me down

I would do anything,

anything to be cold.

Even sacrifice

my first born child

Or rip out

the heart of my enemy.

But

Unless,

I make this summoning,

I will keep sweating.

Circle of blood;

black candle lit

Chant rising

on the night’s fetid air

A form of

black mist inside

Eyes red

as hellfire

staring back at me

“What is that command?”

I fall to my knees

Cry out,

“I need freezing cold!”

“As you wish. . .”

I disappear

End up

in a cave of ice

Many miles below

the Arctic snow and ice.

Maybe I should have

been more specific

And maybe,

Next time don’t use,

Demon Summoning for Dummies,

Instead, 

go to the supermarket

and buy a bag of ice.