Ghost Upon the Floor

 Tonight, a double-subject post. I posted this animated film by John McCloskey, a visual interpretation of Camille Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre" some years back, but after all the versions, all the videos, all the Internet incarnations of this autumnal standard, this remains one of my favorite pieces to usher in the season. 



 And, with the ushering in of this time of the year I am so partial to, I begin another year of "The Halloween Candy Project," with a rather healthy kick-off, brought to you by a trip to my local Mayer Bros' cider mill for some apple-inspired treats.

 

The Halloween Candy Prioject 2013

 October, finally, in all its leaf falling, burning red, cool nights of glory, is here. At once, the joy of knowing that it is the most wonderful time of the year, and the panic that sets in knowing that never, whatever I do, will it be enough.

 This year I have something different, however. My efforts caused these pumpkins to grow. I can now say that I have grown pumpkins-- only two, but two nonetheless, and two bright, round, beautiful orange pumpkins I could not be more proud of.

 I bought the plants this spring, from a local herb and plant farm, grown organically. I wasn't even sure at the time if I would find or have a place to plant them in, let alone if they would grow. I did, and grew they did. With some love, care and a lot of rain that I am sure did not hurt things.


 What better way may there be to start off October, than a harvest of pumpkins?






 Should you be as fortunate to make it as far as I did in the pumpkin growing experience, I found this video from the University of Maine helpful in the harvest.

 The first of many posts about my Salem visit. While there, walking the streets and shops and cemeteries and seeing what has come to be after the generation-spanning effects of the witchcraft hysteria and trials, I saw "smudge sticks" being commerically sold. A smudge stick being, simply, a bundle of dried herbs used for any number of religious and/or spiritual rites through burning. With thoughts of stories where sage is burned to cleanse malicious spirits or release energy, I was intrigued, and thought of the herbs I had growing back at home.

 Some online research shows the worlds the customs of making and burning smudge sticks have become. Attempted definitions refer to customs in the spirit of some unnamed and hard to trace Native American, or otherwise indigenous, spiritual practice. The history of smudge sticks seems to have deriven from specific Native practices, and has-- while still being practiced for those original purposes-- been repurposed, and often commercialized, to become a practice of using a calvacade of herbs for an equally as diverse number of spiritual purposes.

What you will need.

 And so, with due respect to the practices, religions, customs and beliefs of those who lead to the creation of this practice, I made some smudge sticks, using a number of how-to directions from the Internet. This is what I found, and how I did it. Many other blogs, articles and websites-- such as here at About.com-- have far better directions than I will on how to do this-. So, if you will: take this as one ghost's experience making herb smudge sticks, for the first time.

 What You Will Need:

 -Freshly cut or dried herbs. (I used sage, lavendar and rosemary, freshly cut.)
 -A pair of scissors.
 -Some string or twine.
 -Patience. (The drying process can take anywhere from a few weeks to a month.)

Step 1: Harvest or cut your herbs. Place them into roughly neat bundles, and make an effort to line up the bottoms of the stems as best you can.

Step 2: Take your string. Cut about 5 feet, 8 inches of string for each stick you will do. I found it worked best to have the string pre-cut, before starting on the bundle for each smudge stick. Drape about an inch of string over the end of the stems, at the bottom. Take the other side of the string, and wrap the string, at the same point/place, several times. About four to five.

 Step 3: Take that string, and at an angle, begin to wind the string up the bundle. Half way to the top, take the string and wind a few times at the same point for support.

 Step 4: Repeat the winding of the string a few times once you have reacher the top. Leave some space at the top as you will, once finished, cut a bit of the top to make the stick even.

 Step 5: Wind the string downward, going back to where you started. Once you have reached the end, you should have roughly the same amount of string left as the inch or so you hung off at the beginning. (However, if this isn't the case, don't fret; you may cut them to make the stick even.)

 Step 6: With the end you have been winding together at the original, other half of the string, tie 2-3 knots for support.

 Step 7: Cut any excess string down as much as possible. Also cut an even line at the top of your stick; do the same at the bottom. Feel free to trim any excess herb sticking out of your bundle you feel necessary.

 Step 8: And so you have your smudge stick. Find a place to hang your stick(s) to allow them to dry and form. Some writings say to place the sticks in a paper bag while you hang them, to protect them from light which causes their color to fade as they dry.

 Step 9: Wait 2-4 weeks for the sticks to dry. Some sources say a full month, others 2-3 weeks. I'm going with 2-4 weeks.

 Step 10: Then, you will have your smudge stick. With herb combinations such as sage and rosemary, used by many traditions for spiritual and energy cleansing purposes, you will be ready to burn, in a fire-resistant container, your smudge stick.

 Once I have reached this point and have experience enough to write about it, I will do another post and link here for an update.

 

  It's here. Septemeber is here, the start to the of the Halloween season. The days will get shorter, the the air cooler, and the pumpkins will soon light up the night. And on September 13, "Frightworld," my local Western New York and always impressive haunted house attraction-- which I've written about in years past-- will open their doors.


 This week, my good friend Laura and I-- who have long made our yearly visit to Frightworld a highlight of our fall-- had the opportunity to speak with Stephen Szortyka, GM and Director of Operations for Eerie Productions and Frightworld, America's Screampark, and talk about how it is to run such a large and successful haunted attraction and production company, and what new horros lie in store for the coming season.



 Thanks so much for this opportunity, Stephen. First question. How do you measure your success as a haunted attraction? Is there an ideal reaction from visitors (to get them screaming, crying or exiting the attraction) that you use in measuring success?

 What are the biggest challenges to putting on an attraction like this, and how long does it take you to prepare?


Where do you get your inspiration from? Do movies, books or real life events influence you?


Does customer feedback matter and do you make adjustments or get ideas for next year’s show based on this feedback? 


Do you have a memorable moment or response you've witnessed from a visitor? 


What's up with those big balloon rooms? I’ve written about them before. They are terrifying. 

Claustraphobia!!!! How cool are they?! This year, they are even bigger and longer!


Have you ever come up with an idea, only to deem it too scary? 

Yes, of course. We have to be cautious on how we approach certain things. To us, it’s all about how scary can we make it and how good will the impact be? What we always need to be aware of, is how bad will the impact be, both physically and mentally for our customers.

What are some of the new things we can anticipate? 


One thing that has always struck me about Frightworld is how vested you seem in the WNY community (I remember two years ago your ticket booth taking donations for the Jamey Rodemeyer family after the loss of their son.) Is this something that comes naturally to you?  


Frightworld 2013 opens Friday, September 13, 2013, in their new location at 2309 Eggert Rd, Tonawanda, NY. 

 

A quick note. I'm still here. How embarassing, to think, it has been months since I last wrote a post.