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10月31日 Halloween All Hallows' Eve
 Halloween is a celebration of spooks and goblins, mysteries, and magic. What is now called Halloween actually evolved from an ancient European holiday known as All Hallows' Eve: the day supernatural spirits were known to wander the earth. It began as the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the moment when the veil between the living and the dead was lifted, and inhabitants of the two worlds could commune. For some 2000 years, October 31st meant bidding goodbye to summer, welcoming winter, and remembering the dead. Samhain marked the death of the old year and the birth of the next. It was the day of the dead, a night of magic and divination, a time when ghosts and lost souls roamed the land.
According to legend, every Samhain the souls of the dead were set free by the Lord of the Dead. It was believed that many of these spirits then roamed the natural world searching for bodies to possess. Families began dressing in scary disguises and noisily marching around their neighborhoods to scare away these immortal souls. This practice became the origin of the modern Halloween traditions of wearing costumes and committing harmless pranks.
So the next time you are choosing what to be for Halloween, remember all those spirits looking for a strong healthy body to inhabit, and pick a costume that is truly terrifying- it just might save your soul.
10月30日 The Curse of the HInemoa   In 1852, the ship Hinemoa--named after the beautiful and graceful daughter of a very powerful New Zealan chief-- set sail on a chilling journey of terror. A ghastly string of bad luck for its captains revealed that something was terribly wrong with the steamer. The first captain went insane and had to be replaced. The next fell victim of foul play and was thrown into prison. The third man at the helm became a drunk, and shaking from DT's, lost his job. Captain number four mysteriously died in his cabin, and on the fifth voyage, the captain committed suicide.
The next time the Hinemoa went to sea, it lost its balance and overturned. Righted again, it set sail once and put its curse on two sailors, washing them overboard into the Pacific.
The curse continued until the last voyage of the Hinemoa in September 1917. Instead of a graceful retirement, the unfortunate vessel was unlucky enough to cross paths with a deadly German submarine. Shortly thereafter, the Hinemoa sank, bringing the curse to a water end.
The Hinemoa's faithful crew knew why the ship was cursed. Deadly forces entered the ship while it was being built, they claimed, and were stored up in the heart of the vessel. How did they arrive, and in what material? The first ballast-heavy material used to give the ship stability- was gravel from a London graveyard.
Superstitions SuperstitionsSalt:
Sprinkle salt at a doorstep of a new home, so evil spirits will never enter. Do not hand a salt shaker to a guest at your table. Place it down first. Remember, "to pass salt is to pass sorrow." It is understood that when we spill salt, friendly spirits on our right are warning us that evil approaches on the left, so toss a pinch of salt its way to stave off danger.
For thousands of years, superstitions about salt have been incorporated into religious, domestic, and business practices. Because salt could preserve food, people thought it had the power to protect them as well. Salt was poured into the wells to purify water against evil and was placed on the chest of a corpse before burial. Believing it lengthened life, mothers even salted their babies.
In biblical times, people ceremoniously ate salt to ensure business agreements would remain true (hence the expression "a covenant of salt.") Not always considered good luck, it was forbidden to speak the word "salt" while at sea for fear of the consequences.
Even in the supernatural world salt is relied upon. It is often placed in the corners of a room before a spell is cast and the harmful spells of others are known to be broken with a ritual salt bath.
 Brooms:
With all the superstitions surrounding brooms, it's a wonder any housework gets done at all. You should avoid placing a broom against your bed because the broom's evil spirit will cast a spell on it. Don't let a broom sweep over your feet if you ever wish to be married, and never step over the handle of a broom lying on the floor because it's believed to bring death.
If you drop a broom, company will arrive. If you sweep trash out your door at night, it summons the visit of a stranger. And if you forget to sweep out the room where an unwelcomed guest has stayed, that guest may return. To prevent additional bad luck, never take your old broom with you when you move. Purchase a new one, or avoid trouble all together and just use a vaccum cleaner!
"Taken from the The Little Big Book of Chills and Thrills."
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