Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett

The Discworld series tells the history of a world not totally unlike our own, despite of the fact that it’s a world peopled by wizards, vampires, dwarfs, and witches, in addition to other strange fantasy creatures.

The Discworld series is composed by many individual stories and it’s an amazing work of imaginative complexity where you can find fairytale landscapes, magic and everything told in a funny way. In fact, here you can find sarcasm and wit in almost every word.

Reading Witches Abroad you can imagine why Terry Pratchett sold more than 85 million books worldwide and he’s considered the UK’s best-selling author of the 90’. The Discworld series was translated in 37 languages!

Unfortunately, this amazing author died in 2015, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He was an excellent author, but even a greater man; in fact, he made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, and he became also a patron of Alzheimer’s Research UK and an incredible civil example for everyone.

Witches Abroad is the hilarious story of a young Fairy Godmother, Magrat, that has to learn everything about being a Fairy Godmother, and especially how to use a magic wand without causing any trouble. At the beginning, everything that Magrat points it at becomes a pumpkin.

With a group of other funny and strange witches, she will travel across magic villages living numerous adventures and meeting several fantastic creatures.

Terry Pratchett received several awards during his brilliant career, but I’ll end this article writing what he said at his acceptance speech for his Carnegie Medal:

“Fantasy isn’t just about wizards and silly wands. It’s about seeing the world from new directions”.

EMP: The Incredible Music, Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction Museum

Almost everyone reading this blog is really interested in fantasy or horror, or both. Magical creatures, supernatural, myths, legends and spooky stories. Now, imagine a place where you can explore in real life the history of fantasy and horror, as well as the history of music, a place where you can find out more about literature and art, walking into a huge fantasy art salon or a gallery, with imaginative depictions of other worlds, from The Wizard of Oz to Harry Potter; this place really exists!

The EMP museum in Seattle is a structure made of several electric guitars sliced into pieces and used as building blocks to create a structure that evokes the history of rock ‘n’ roll, designed by internationally acclaimed architect Frank O’ Gehry, reminding the audiences of the evolution of music and culture.

This is one of the most amazing museums in the entire world! EMP has a rich collection of pop culture content and the purpose of the museum is to inspire creativity to everyone and to create a positive change in the society, as well as inform and pay tribute to different genres, such as fantasy, science fiction and horror literature and art in general.

Here you can view an original manuscript page from Game of Thrones, several weapons used in The Lord of the Rings movies, and real costumes from The Chronicles of Narnia, among other things. You really lose track of reality here and you enter into another world.

But, if you’re more interested in horror, the EMP museum offers an exhibition where you can learn more about how horror is expressed through cinema, biology, history and contemporary culture; you will not be disappointed: in fact, you can find the original axe from The Shining here, the Nighthawk stake from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the artifacts from Alien. Plus, three horror experts and iconic horror directors, Roger Corman, John Landis and Eli Roth, have made a selection of the best cinematic horror from its origins, until today.

If you’re interested in music as well, at EMP you can find an exhibition called Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses, where you can explore the story through many objects and music,  of one the most iconic  groups and musical artists in the world: more than 150 instruments, artwork, photographs, albums, films and much more, this is the world’s most extensive exhibition of memorabilia celebrating Nirvana.

Here is the link to EMP’s website, where you can find more info about this beautiful cultural place. 

http://www.empmuseum.org/

Dark Shadows

If you’re searching for a strange, but funny and dark film, this is the case. Dark Shadows is once a time a mystic and very clever work by the brilliant director Tim Burton, played by many talented actors, such as Johnny Depp, Eva Green and Michelle Pfeiffer. Burton’s style is evident, but he always manages to make unique movies.

This is the story of the vampire Barnabas Collins, a very old vampire imprisoned in a coffin by his jealous ex-lover and witch Angelique. Most of the story is set in a beautiful dark and spooky mansion, where the cousin of the protagonist lives with the rest of his family.

Dark Shadows has not a linear plot, so it may seem a bit confusing, but that’s what makes the film unique. I think that the film focuses more on the story, and on how the characters react to different experiences; every character reflects a different human aspect and different feelings. The story is powerful and very funny at times. The movie has received mixed reviews.

Another collaboration with the great Elfman that scored the film is a plus. An entire album of all the tracks from the film was released in 2012; and obviously you can hear most of the music during the film, really amazing.

Also, this gothic horror comedy film is based on a soap opera of the same name of 1966, that had some of the same features, such as melodramatic performances and numerous dramatic plot twists.

If someone is interested in watching it, here is the trailer: 

 

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter has been considered by many critics as one of the books that established the modern tradition of American literature. Set in Puritan Boston during the years 1642 – 1649 and telling the story of a woman charged with witchcraft, this is a perfect Halloween reading.

Hawthorne wants to underline, through the protagonist Hester Prynne, how dangerous and mean people’s judgment can be, especially in the famous 17^th century Witch Trials period. The book is very interesting because it explains historically what happened during that period, mixing information with a very powerful story.

Hawthorne began writing The Scarlet Letter in September 1849, after his mother’s death. The author was born in Salem.

The book is divided into two parts, in my opinion one very different from the other. Only at the end of the book you manage to find out the real meaning of the first part, named “The Custom House”.

Hester is different from all other characters in the novel, because she chooses not to conform to the Puritans strict rules and beliefs, and for that, she will be isolated by the Puritan society, both physically and spiritually.

The Scarlet Letter is a perfect picture of the society, very realistic. Many important themes are analyzed by the author, like the importance of freedom, faith and how the man can change his destiny if he wants.

I think Hawthorne wants to identify Hester with the change of the American society, the hope of a better way of facing life and situations, remembering to not commit the same mistakes of the past.

 

The One Lovely Blog Award

 

I’m really happy to have been nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award by ignitedmoth and being part of this wonderful initiative; so thank you so much to the lovely ignitedmoth. Reading her blog is a must if you’re interested in fantasy, sci-fi and horror stuff. Here you can find fun Halloween tags, interesting book recommendations, and great cake recipes and reviews. Check her out at

https://ignitedmoth.wordpress.com/

 

The purpose of the One Lovely Blog Award is to know more about the nominated bloggers and most of all to spread some positivity and love through the web, recommending your favorite blogs. Hearing bad news every day, stories of hate and negativity, on the web and in everyday people’s life, it’s very important for bloggers to spread as much positivity and hope as possible.

 

The Official Rules of this Award go as such:

 

• Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.

 

• List the rules and display the Award.

 

• Nominate 6 – 10 bloggers to receive this Award.

 

• State 7 facts about yourself.

 

So here are my seven facts about me I want to share with you:

Fact I

 

• I love all kind of literature, from different parts of the world. I’ve had literature at school since I was a kid: Italian, English, Latin, Greek. But, my favorite is American literature, that I’ve began studying at university. I did my graduation thesis on Edgar Allan Poe’s works. Obviously, I’m particularly fond of the fantasy, adventure and horror genre. I also like reading novels when I’ve got time.

 

Fact II

 

• I’m bilingual, so I speak fluently both Italian and Norwegian. I love the fact that I’ve grown up with two different cultures.

 

 

Fact III

 

• I’ve tried out a lot of sports during my childhood (like volley ball, swimming, artistic gymnastics, dance – among other things) but my favorite one has always been tennis.

 

Fact IV

 

• I love walking in the nature, whether it is on the beach, or into the woods.

 

Fact V

 

• My favorite holiday is Halloween, and some of my best memories from the childhood and from now are from different Halloween nights every year, with my dear brother and all my best friends.

 

Fact VI

 

• I love spending time with my boyfriend; whatever we do, like for example watching movies together, walking in the nature, listening to music, we always have amazing and lovely moments together. I’m very happy to have him in my life.

 

Fact VII

 

• My family and I love animals, and having a garden and space, we have many. Here is a pic of our cat Tine. 😀

 

 

And now, here are the next nominees. These are all very interesting and well done blogs, and my best blogs to visit. Here they are:

 

 Antonio Pantano      www.antoniopantano.com

 

 Christine Valentor    https://witchlike.wordpress.com/

 

Stuart Mc Ewan         https://forgedfromreverie.wordpress.com

 

 

Kindra M. Austin       https://poemsandparagraphs.wordpress.com/

 

Arcane Halloween              https://precinct1313.wordpress.com/

 

Tony PT                                https://tonyptips.wordpress.com/

 

Jeffrey                                 https://quasproduction.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October Board Games Must-Have

Board games are a huge part of autumn evenings, when you can sit at home with your boyfriend/girlfriend, friends or family with a cup of warm chocolate and have fun together playing. There are so many now on the market, that you just have to pick the best for you.

Some games are based on pure strategy, and they can last hours before you finish; some are purely based on chance. They are always based on defeating opposing players. Some plays are very simple, but others are amazing! Sometimes entire universes are represented in a board game, with great stories behind.

In this period the most fun board games you can find are obviously Horror or Fantasy board games. Here are my favorite ones.

 

Betrayal at House on the Hill

 

This is an amazing board game in which you explore a haunted mansion encountering spirits and frightening omens. You will build your own haunted house, room by room. There are maximum six characters, so this game is conformed for three to six players. Many great designers and artists have had a collaboration to create this board game: Rob Daviau, Bruce Glassco, Bill Mc Quillan, Mike Selinker, Teeuwynn Woodruff, Dennis MC Clain, Christopher Moeller, and Peter Whitley.

One of the characters betrays the rest of the players, and the purpose is to discover who it is before it’s too late. This game quickly builds suspense, excitement and a spooky atmosphere, so you can have fun with it and play especially on Halloween!

 

The Witches

I’m currently reading a book called Witches Abroad, the twelfth Discworld novel of the English writer Terry Pratchett, known worldwide for his fantasy-comical novels. The Discworld is one of the most famous comical fantasy novel series. The books frequently parody or takes inspiration from other famous authors, like J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare.

This board game draws on some of the characters and situations described by Pratchett.

This is one of the most amazing games on the market, that’s the creation of an entire world. You have a huge map, where the players move while playing, and several cards with different meanings. The design of this game is stunning!

In the game you take on the part of a young trainee witch, and being a witch you are stuck in different situations, like solve other people’s problems, or fighting back an invasion of elves.

This is an amazing adventure game, and the story behind is fantastic. Absolutely recommended to read some of Pratchett’s books before playing, so you can understand perfectly the world in which you’re in when you’re playing.

And look at the dices, aren’t they cool?

The amazing artists that created the board game are Martin Wallace and Peter Dennis.

This one I have is the second of three games by Martin Wallace. Can’t wait to have the other two games!

Betrayal at House on the Hill and The Witches are two professional board games, where you have everything: strategy, an amazing story behind, suspense, and sometimes you need to have a bit of luck while playing.

And, as I said, October is the perfect period for those kind of games.

Horror Art and Legendary Ghost Ships: The Flying Dutchman

For many artists, their art has a very strong correlation with horror; this is because the purpose of paintings is always to represent feelings, whatever they are good or bad: they can represent for example fear, sadness, scary moments in life, or spooky legends.  

Albert Ryder (1847 – 1917) was an American allegorical painter with a very eccentric personality that used to paint beautiful seascapes; his most amazing work represent an ancient myth from nautical folklore: The Flying Dutchman.

 Legend has it that a Dutch man-of-war was lost in the stormy weather in front of the Cape of Good Hope and couldn’t make port; the entire crew died onboard, stricken with pestilence; there are common superstitions of mariners of a divine punishment for a dreadful crime of the men; many claims it was a pirate ship.

There have been many reported and alleged sightings in the 19^th and 20^th centuries of other ships; people claim to have seen a ship glowing with a ghostly light, or even real presences onboard, screaming for justice and help.

The scientific explanation given by experts is that it probably was a mirage seen at sea by several people, and that this kind of phenomena was common when they sailed for days and days in the ocean. But, no one could ever explain how it’s possible that several people in different ships saw the exactly same scene in the same period of time and wrote it down in different diaries and books.

Ryder is not the only one who represented this legend, in fact it was also represented by illustrators, and described by different authors in different period, such as George Barrington in his volume A Voyage to Botany Bay in 1795.

This is one of the most known ship ghost stories, but we have many more. It’s an important part of ancient literature, and as we analyze horror we cannot avoid to talk about how many sea legends there are.

The Flying Dutchman also inspired Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, his longest major poem.

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

The Fall of the House of Usher is a short story written by the amazing Edgar Allan Poe, one of my favorites and a perfect October reading.

The book was published in 1839, when Poe lived in Philadelphia, and reading it you find all the most important features of gothic literature, mixed with the main characters’ psychological analysis, one of Poe’s most popular characteristics.

The author describes as a first person narrator the story of his stay at the House of Usher, home of one of his best friends.

The narrator receives an unexpected letter from his dear Roderick Usher in which he tells that he is not well, having severe mental issues. The friend then decides to go visit him to help him face this difficult time.

When he arrives, the setting is really scary and disturbing; the House is characterized by gloomy and faded walls; around the house there are several dark reeds, rotten trunks and a very dark little lake that reflected everything around it.

After being received by house’s butler, the two friends meet in a large and mystic room, full of books, paintings and ancient instruments. Roderick is very pale, and he tells to his friend that his presence will for sure help him. Roderick has a sister, Lady Madeleine, who is as well very ill.

In the Fall of the House of Usher you experience how a haunted house is, secret crypts and stunning storms. You have adventure, horror and drama all together.

Real Haunted Tours Today: Salem

I’ve already wrote an article about Salem, its history and the most interesting places to visit there today, but, what if you’re going in October?

If you happen to be in Salem, one of the most connected places in the world to Halloween and witchcraft, you would have plenty of interesting stuff to do and experience. A one of a lifetime experience if you are there is without any doubt haunted tours. Here are some tips about the best Salem tours in this period.

One of the best tours you can experience is the Bewitched After Dark tour, an historical tour that has as motto “Where the History is more Frightening than the Fiction”. On the Bewitched Historical Tour, you will learn about 1692 hysteria and witch trials, ghosts and haunted locations, Salem’s colonial history and present day witchcraft. The guide Jeff is a history major, so he will give you a lot of interesting and mystic info about everything Salem related. The tours are approximately two hours in duration and are entirely outside, so this is a unique experience.

Here is the link to the official Bewitched After Dark tour, where you can find more info about tickets and meeting points.

https://www.bewitchedafterdark.com/

If you are searching for hauntings info another recommended tour is The Black Cat Tour organized by Lara and Daniel fury: master storytellers that will immerse you in the fascinating tales of the city where great stories begin, and true ghost stories really happened there.

There is a Daytime Historic Tour, where you can visit the ancient burial ground and know more about pirates, puritans, witchcraft and war; you will also discover why Salem became one of the biggest shipping ports in America. And, there is also the very exciting Evening Ghostly Tour, and you travel to some of the most haunted sites of Salem and America! Here is the website:

http://www.blackcatsalem.com/

You can also experience Haunted Cruises; for example, the Haunted Harbor Cruise is a 75 minute experience where you can experience Tarot reading, and stories of local pirates and haunted islands.

http://www.mahicruises.com/

Or, you can join the magic at the Salem Witch Walk, where you join real Salem witches in a magic circle and learn more about Witchcraft. More info here:

http://www.witchwalk.com/

There are so many different things you can experience, it all depends on you and what you prefer.