The 'Pagan Roots' of Halloween (Samhain)

[Mystic Wanderer]

With Halloween approaching, I thought it might be interesting for those who don't know, to learn the true meaning and history behind this 'spooky' day when lost souls are said to rise from the grave and roam the earth.

This video gives details of it's Pagan roots, and even goes into details how current members of the Illuminati adopted some of it's symbolism and practices for their rituals.

Be sure to listen and learn what 'soul cake' is.   (Probably not what you're thinking.)

https://youtu.be/VB5ebwv2jfc

[guohua]

  Interesting.

In China, Chinese citizens also have a festival called The Feast of the Hungry Ghosts, an ancient traditional holy day in China particularly during the seventh lunar month These ghosts wander the earth in search of affection and are referred to as “hungry” because they are the restless spirits of people who did not have a funeral, given no proper burial when they passed away ,such Hungry ghosts that are abroad during this month.
The belief is these souls come from people who have passed away due to unnatural causes of deaths, and those that were not given a proper burial by their family members or who showed no concern for their welfare in the beyond.
 Paying Respect To Dead Relatives That Were Not Buried in China.

[Mystic Wanderer]

The Feast of the Hungry Ghosts. 

I've heard of 'hungry ghosts' before, but never knew the history behind it, so thank you for sharing that.  

[Mystic Wanderer]

What would Halloween be without a few good ghost stories? 

Here is one from The Dead Files with Amy Allen as the medium, and Steve ?, a retired NY police investigator. 
They investigate "The House of the Death".    S03E10

[guohua]

What would Halloween be without a few good ghost stories? 

Here is one from The Dead Files with Amy Allen as the medium, and Steve ?, a retired NY police investigator. 
They investigate "The House of the Death".    S03E10

OK and how about,,,,,

Halloween is not a traditional Chinese holiday, and the exposure most Chinese people have to it is through their Western friends. Although with globalization more Chinese young people are getting their ghoul on on Oct. 31st, there are already many previously existing scary stories and legends in Chinese folklore, and many popular Chinese holidays dedicated to the dead (The Tomb Sweeping Festival, the Hungry Ghost Festival, and more).

Americans and Chinese alike are afraid of things that go bump in the night. Read on to discover four truly blood-curdling monsters in Chinese mythology:

1. The Tale of Painted Skin (Hua Pi 画皮）

The Tale of Painted Skin tells of a fox demon who wears the disguise of a lovely young woman and whose features must be painted on at the end of each day. In order to maintain her disguise, she must have a steady diet of human hearts (or liver, according to some versions of the tale) which she obtains by luring unwary men by playing a damsel in distress. The tale originated in Pu Songling’s Tales from the Liaozhai and was made into a tv series in 2011 (watch for the truly disturbing scene where the demon peels off her human skin and reveals her true form).

source: Wikipedia, Chronicles618.com, Youtube.com (image)

2. Hanged Ghost (Diaosi Gui 吊死鬼）


Ghosts are quite common in Chinese folklore, one of the most being the “hanged ghost” (diaosi gui 吊死鬼). These are the spirits of people who have committed suicide or victims of execution, who are said to haunt the location where they died. According to legend, they appear as a corpse with a long red tongue that hangs out of their mouth and try to convince passersby to join them in the afterlife.

3. Chinese Vampire/Zombie (Jiangshi 僵尸)


“Jiang Shi” literally translates to “stiff corpse”. The only way these guys can move is by hopping. In Chinese folklore, this monster is somewhat of a mix between the Western idea of zombies and vampires. Jiangshi are reanimated corpses that feed off humans like Western vampires (draining their life energy, or yangqi 阳气) but lacking the awareness and mental faculties that Western vampires have. They are often dressed in the garb of Qing dynasty officials, and according to legend can be stopped by placing a talisman warding off evil on their forehead.

4. Hungry Ghost (E Gui 饿鬼)


In Buddhist tradition, hungry ghosts are born from the restless spirits of those who were greedy or unsatisfied in life, or died a violent death. Unlike regular ghosts who would eventually fade away, hungry ghosts are usually hideous beings with bulging stomachs, greenish skin, and fiery breath. Yulanpen (盂兰盆) festival (or zhongyuanjie (中元节), as it is known in Daoist tradition,) is a day dedicated to satiating these hungry spirits. It falls on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, which is said to be the month when the gates of hell are open and spirits roam the earth. During this month, many families burn “Hell money” and provide offerings of food and drink to prevent the roaming spirits from bringing trouble on their household.

Link 

[Ninurta]

The spooks are afoot here in the hills. I've been seeing them for a couple weeks now, and some few other folks around here are beginning to sense them as well.

Seems to be a strong year for them, for some reason.

[Mystic Wanderer]

The spooks are afoot here in the hills. I've been seeing them for a couple weeks now, and some few other folks around here are beginning to sense them as well.

Seems to be a strong year for them, for some reason.

If you're talking about the "ghostly" spooks, I agree they've come out early this year. 

Mine is/are in my house. They've been making noise in the back rooms for the last week or so.  One had the audacity to steal something from my kitchen... again! 

It's time to wave the smudge stick at them. That's usually all it takes to make them calm down.  

[Ninurta]

The spooks are afoot here in the hills. I've been seeing them for a couple weeks now, and some few other folks around here are beginning to sense them as well.

Seems to be a strong year for them, for some reason.

If you're talking about the "ghostly" spooks, I agree they've come out early this year. 

Mine is/are in my house. They've been making noise in the back rooms for the last week or so.  One had the audacity to steal something from my kitchen... again! 

It's time to wave the smudge stick at them. That's usually all it takes to make them calm down.  

Yup, that's the ones I'm talking about. I really should have been more specific, or chose different words for clarification.

There is one here now that seems to be impersonating me. I know not why. I came home the other night and Grace's shoes were on my side of the bed, at the foot post. I thought nothing of it, figured she must have gone to check the mail and that's just where they got kicked off. No big deal. Grace woke up and found them there and sort of freaked out, wanted to know why I was moving her shoes around. T'weren't me, I tell ya. I got better things to do than just move shoes from here to there to flip folks out!

Last night, I came home after work and she wanted to know if I had come home early before while she was napping and stood at the lower bedpost (same place the shoes wound up) watching her nap - she was certain I was there, until she woke up from being stared at and realized the house was empty. It freaked her out enough that she cleared the house then, and then had me clear the house again after I got home to make sure there weren't intruders lurking. It's a small house, 'cause there's just the two of us, and pretty easily cleared, so it wasn't a problem... other than it freaking her out.

Then this morning when I got up, she went into the kitchen and I went into the bathroom (I'm old - that's what old folks do first thing in the morning!) and she came in there wanting to know what I wanted, because she SAW me in the kitchen - but it weren't me, as I was otherwise occupied getting myself all pretty for the day and whatnot.

I've told her not to let it scare her, else it might never leave (some of them get their sustenance from fear if they can induce it, and who leaves a free meal?). but it's tough to control visceral reactions. I might have to get rid of it, might not. That depends on whether it hangs around and becomes really bothersome or not. Time will tell. I generally leave them alone if I can and they can manage to coexist, because even haints have to have a place to be - and they're everywhere anyhow, whether you can see 'em or not. Life is too short to spend all of it purging haints away from you if they're not being too bothersome. Live and let live (or live and let be dead, I reckon) has been my motto for years now.

.

[Mystic Wanderer]

@"Ninurta", knowing how skeptical Grace is, I'm sure this has freaked her out.  At least maybe it will open her mind to the possibilities I've shared in some of my past threads. 

Tell her "step-daughter" says not to worry about it unless things get evil or physical.  Tell it to go away and leave her alone in a firm voice and see if that helps.

[Mystic Wanderer]

For your Halloween pleasure, here is a site that has several weird/paranormal stories to entertain you.

In recent days, one very popular genre of movie seems to be that of so-called “found footage,” in which strange, unexplained video pops up to unravel a sequence of events that defies conventional understanding.
It is all good, scary fun, and perfect for a Halloween video night, but what many may not realize is that there have been on occasion very real pieces of such found footage that have turned up, documenting everything from the sick and deranged to the decidedly paranormal in nature.
These pieces of footage have emerged from the murky darkness of mystery to stare us right in the face and defy us to try and understand them, and here we will look at some of the weirdest, which prove that reality can be as horrifying as the movies.

Mysterious and Creepy Real Found Footage

[BIAD]

On the back of Ninurta's and Mystic's accounts of the 'Bump-In-the-night' merchants, a tale I told before has had an
update recently with my son moving back home due to a change of employment.

He's 23 years old now and has been living just over 60 miles south of us in a small apartment with his girlfriend and has
just acquired a new job around 50 miles north of his original home. To prepare for seeking and purchasing a house of
his own, he decided a few months back in the nest would be a good money-saver.
(And of course, being waited on hand-and-foot is an incentive too!)

Anyway, a few years before my only son was born and before we extended the house, my wife had awoken around
3.00.am to use the toilet and being the wee-small hours, she left the lights off, shuffled to the bathroom and sat down
to make that trickling noise.

Again, the world was asleep and so, she left the toilet door open that seperated the room from the landing at the top of
the stairs. During her ablutions, she looked out onto the landing that was slightly illuminated by a far-off street lamp that
shone in through the frosted-glass window behind my seated better-half and that was when she saw the old woman
standing there holding a wicker basket.

When you're halfway through urinating, sitting down and staring at a ghost -that in order to escape, you have to get closer
to, many variables are weighed that seem insignificant in the cold light of day and I've asked my pragmatic wife many
times on what she was thinking about at that moment.

She said that initially, she was frightened at what she 'thought' she saw and then attempted to mentally disassemble
the poorly-lit area that made-up an old woman in black clothing and resting a rattan-woven basket on the end of the
bannister.

The spectre wore a black hat, something plain with a stunted brim. A long black coat that came down to her lower
-shins and when pressed, my wife said the apparition's face seemed lined with age and looked stern.
Traditionlly around the area that I live, old widows of the forties and fifties may have worn such attire.

So gathering all her courage, my wife stood up, quickly took three steps towards the unknown entity, turned right and
hit the gas into our bedroom. The only part I can attest to is that she dived onto the bed and woke me up in the process.
Assuring me that everything was okay, I went back to the land of Nod and the account was only told to me the next day.

Not long after being told of this ghostly encounter, I would purposely sneak out of bed and spend a couple of nights
sitting on the toilet awaiting the next visitation. You see, I don't believe ghosts -except, I believe in ghosts.

I have to believe in ghosts because my late-mother saw them almost every day. I have to believe in ghosts because
the woman that I love, trust and currently getting old with, saw one.
Are the two most-important females in my life liars?
Is their a natural disposition of a woman that causes them to see things that science and general society states do not
exist?

I calmly and sensibly analysed the layout of the landing, the manner that the streetlight shone across the carpet and wall
and squinting, holding my head at different angles, attempted to 'imagine' a physical form of an old woman in black.
And I couldn't do it.

I counted the steps to leave the bathroom, I sat on the bathroom floor and slowly climbed back onto the toilet on perchance
that the vision would only appear when viewed at a certain angle. I checked by having the bathroom door ajar at different
positions and even waited until I needed to urinate, to see if this was an effect to generate what my wife saw.
Nothing.

During the years after, one of the factors of this puzzle that I could never get my head around was if this elderly lady
from beyond the veil (Oh and by the way, we later discovered from an old photo that this ancient gal was my wife's
great-grandma... a person my wife had never seen or met)...the puzzle was if this ghostly great-grandmother was
composed of a transparent unearthly material, why and how was she resting her basket on the bannister?!

I mean she was dead... not real anymore and the laws of the physical realm shouldn't apply here.
In fact, how did she not only arrive on the landing, but also maintain her stance on a artificial level of wood and carpet?!

My wife never informed her mother and it was only by accident that the little old woman came up in a conversation with
her. My mother-in-law told her youngest daughter that 'Old Ma Thompson' -the only name we heard said, had frequently
stated that she would always look out for the girls of her family when she 'passed on'

I left the matter hanging and we all moved on. We never mentioned it to our son during his growing-up and when we told
him in his adult years, he just shrugged and set his sights on his academic goals of being a scientist.

But for myself, it was something I'd muse over when things were quiet around here. My home had been invaded without
permission sought. I sometimes see videos on YouTube where families daily report changes around their property due
to what they say is 'Bigfoot' and everyone seems cool with the idea!
Personally, I'd have to be out there every moment of the day, watching for the intruder, making it known who commanded
this space. Whether a giant hairy beast of nature or a weirdo who likes to peek through curtains, I'd need to know.

The update I promised.
My late-father was the only son of an only son. I am that man's only son and the only children I and my wife have is
a son. One son only in every generation.

My son towers over me at six-feet-two and is as wide as door. The big lad came home and after eating half of the
contents of the refrigerator, went up to the re-decorated room that was once his. Being secretly overjoyed that he was
back in a place we can protect him from the monsters out there, we followed him and stood at the foot of the bed he
was sprawled on and asked stupid, inane questions about his trip home.

Stifling his boredom of being classed as twelve years-old again, he answered politely and then commented on the
different position of the bed. We'd moved it across the room from where it had always been during his youth.

(Needless information time!)
Now, when he looks to his right, he see the window. But in the original position, when peering to his right-hand side,
he'd have looked at the wall that seperated his bedroom from the drop onto the stairs. The door to his room would've
been sightly behind him and was the mirror-image of our old bedroom entrance.
This means, to enter his room, you would be right next to bed area where his head would be when sleeping.

Onwards.
I asked if he preferred the bed in it's current location and like any fawning parent happy to see is only issue home,
assured I'd move it to where he'd like. Then he dropped the comment on to us that made my wife and I glance at
each other.

"You know, when I was a kid, if I did this..." he said and moved his vast frame so that he was facing his new wardrobe
on  his left-hand side, "...I once saw an old woman laying next to me" Being the doubter I am, I scanned his features
for any sign of trickery, but he seemed to be just idly relating something from his past.

"Well..." he continued, "...she wasn't in my bed but on another bed beside mine" he said and conjuring up the
mental blueprints of the room I stood in, that would place this strange berth right near the door onto the landing.
The subject changed and moved onto more important matters like moving remaining furniture from his apartment
and length of time needed to travel to his new place of employment.

Keeping a look of an adult parent listening to practical suggestions in a world where my only son's future lay ahead,
secretly, my mind travelled back to a time when the bearded man talking to his mother dwelled in a smaller body
and in another position of his bedroom.

When guarding my son -because no daughter had been produced, where had that phantom called 'Old-Ma Thompson'
rested that wicker basket during her patrol of my single child? How could the spooky old-bastard manifest a bed for her
supernatural sentinel duties?
Standing in that bedroom, I smiled in the now, but fumed with investigative eyes into the past.
And all the while, whispering "I don't believe in ghosts, but I believe in ghosts"

[Mystic Wanderer]

   

[BIAD]

As Mystic Wanderer soars among the blue-black clouds and offers a swift silhouette
across the face of the moon, Boy In A Dress and his strange guests look on in wonder.

The terrible giggling of Black Annis and the small clapping sounds from the featureless
Lantern Man, accompanied the Halloween congregation as they marvel the aerial
manoeuvres.

BIAD moves head and watches his friends that visit once a year, all different -but with
one common factor that made them equal. The soaring Witch of Rogue Nation aims
her magical broom into a dive and with a hair-tugging swoop, leaves her weird audience
squealing in ecstasy and calls of bravo.

Have a good one from me and the Man-Girl.

[Mystic Wanderer]

As Mystic Wanderer soars among the blue-black clouds and offers a swift silhouette
across the face of the moon, Boy In A Dress and his strange guests look on in wonder.

The terrible giggling of Black Annis and the small clapping sounds from the featureless
Lantern Man, accompanied the Halloween congregation as they marvel the aerial
manoeuvres.

BIAD moves head and watches his friends that visit once a year, all different -but with
one common factor that made them equal. The soaring Witch of Rogue Nation aims
her magical broom into a dive and with a hair-tugging swoop, leaves her weird audience
squealing in ecstasy and calls of bravo.

Have a good one from me and the Man-Girl.

      Same to you and the weird looking 'thing' called Boy In A Dress.  

[guohua]

As Mystic Wanderer soars among the blue-black clouds and offers a swift silhouette
across the face of the moon, Boy In A Dress and his strange guests look on in wonder.

The terrible giggling of Black Annis and the small clapping sounds from the featureless
Lantern Man, accompanied the Halloween congregation as they marvel the aerial
manoeuvres.

BIAD moves head and watches his friends that visit once a year, all different -but with
one common factor that made them equal. The soaring Witch of Rogue Nation aims
her magical broom into a dive and with a hair-tugging swoop, leaves her weird audience
squealing in ecstasy and calls of bravo.

Have a good one from me and the Man-Girl.

My husband was muttering something like,,,,,, Really Nice and Round,,, Pumpkins!

[DuckforcoveR]

For your Halloween pleasure, here is a site that has several weird/paranormal stories to entertain you.

In recent days, one very popular genre of movie seems to be that of so-called “found footage,” in which strange, unexplained video pops up to unravel a sequence of events that defies conventional understanding.
It is all good, scary fun, and perfect for a Halloween video night, but what many may not realize is that there have been on occasion very real pieces of such found footage that have turned up, documenting everything from the sick and deranged to the decidedly paranormal in nature.
These pieces of footage have emerged from the murky darkness of mystery to stare us right in the face and defy us to try and understand them, and here we will look at some of the weirdest, which prove that reality can be as horrifying as the movies.

Mysterious and Creepy Real Found Footage

some of those videos are just bone-chilling creepy...

[guohua]

OH!  The Horror,,,,,,
 I'd like to Apologize to my Pagan Friends,,,,, I thought you should know.