News

Haunted History: Where Halloween Comes From Part 3

Published

10 years ago

October 14, 2014

Well, we’ve covered the ancient Celts and the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire. We can continue on, now, with the evolution of All Hallow’s Eve. You see, even the Christian holiday would run into problems over the course of the centuries. Indeed, initially, they couldn’t even decide when to celebrate it.

We learned in the last article that Pope Gregory I had established All Hallows Eve, but it was having trouble taking hold in all parts of the empire. Pope Boniface IV first name All Saints’ Day on May 13, 610 CE as a day of recognition for those who had died as martyrs for their faith without the official recognition of the church. It was later in the seventh century that the holiday would be moved to November 1 by Pope Gregory III to follow up All Hallows Eve. All Saints’ Day was, for a time, renamed Hallowmas. All Hallows Eve became All Hallows Even which was shortened to Hallowe’en.

As the church continued to hammer down on the Celts with their bonfires and merriment, one positive thing that came about at this time was the cessation of sacrifice. The Celts might not be convinced to put out the fire, but they stopped burning people and animals in the fire. The Christians would only support a death penalty when it was sanctioned by the church. It was also at this time, that the Christians finally put their back into their beliefs enough to convince the Celts that the need fires were there to keep the devil at bay rather than to honor the seasons.

Now, let’s add another celebration day to consider that would come to fall at the same time. Though there is some debate as to when it came about, it is thought that in 988 CE All Souls’ Day was first celebrated by the Benedictine abbot Saint Odilo. It was placed on November 2 as another day to pray for those who were stuck in Purgatory (apparently they needed a lot of days to pray for those poor folks). We do know that it was in 1000 CE that Pope Sylvester II approved the celebration.

As time passed, the Christian church faced its first real break. Though the Roman Empire was long gone, the Church and the Pope were, of course, still in power. It was on Halloween in 1517 that Martin Luther initiated what would come to be known as the Protestant reformation. The Protestants had even less use for the old pagan ways than the Catholic Church, but they still continued to hold autumnal festivals. There was something about it that was so deeply ingrained that they simply continued to celebrate the end of harvesting season. Perhaps, it was simply because they needed a break at the end of all that work. Perhaps it was something that still called to them on a more basic level.

More time passed and the history of our holiday, along with the rest of history, gets very fuzzy through the dark ages, the Inquisition and the outbreak of witch trials all over the continent. This was the first time that witches became associated with Halloween. Folk magick and other ritual practices sprang up among the people with the dissolution of the Druid caste. Powerful healers and makers of charms were regularly sought out by the local villagers when in need. Divination was an important part of their practice and they harnessed the mindset and power of Halloween and the thinning of the veil to foretell the future and communicate with the dead once more in secret. And while most would seek the wise men and women out for help, they would also point fingers very quickly if the healing did not work and lay blame of evil on the failed healer. It was a scary profession to say the least!

We do know that a rich oral history kept some of the traditions alive in the minds of the people even in the darkest hours of our history, and the reason we know this is that when the peoples of Europe began to move across the ocean to America, guess what began to creep up again? Halloween survived the arduous journey and began to branch out into the different colonies, taking on new practices while holding to those from time immemorial. But that…that’s for next time.

Well, we’ve almost reached the final leg of our journey. I hope you’ve been enjoying this trip through the history of our favorite holiday. Join me again next week as we trace Halloween from colonial to modern times in the United States!

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News

Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

Published

11 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

Published

13 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film

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Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

1 day ago

April 18, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

^Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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