Singular Cerebrations: Keep Halloween Haunted

Now this looks like the beginning of a fun evening. (Emily Wayland / Singular Fortean Society)

Halloween arose out of the Celtic festival of Samhain, which was a time for burning bonfires and wearing costumes to ward off ghosts and evil spirits. I've loved Halloween since before I could even spell Samhain, much less pronounce it, but progressively throughout my life—and probably for sometime prior to my life—the holiday has witnessed a disturbing trend towards the bafflingly banal. Every year I see more and more sexy nurses, superheros, and reality television stars parading down the streets in celebration of this once haunted holiday. It's all indicative of the commercialization of the one time of year when us weirdos really get to let our fortean freak flags fly high. When people stop laughing at ghost stories, and start telling them.  

Maybe I'm just getting old, but Halloween is much more to me than getting drunk and squeezing into the most flattering costume I can find.  It's about a connection to the ancient past, and our current spirituality. It's a time to venture forth into the unknown with zeal, and hopefully bring a few new recruits with us. I've seen a lot of people's passions for the paranormal spring forth from this hallowed holiday. So I hope you'll join me this year in dusting off the old ouija board, lighting a few candles, and trying to summon some spirits at a time when the veil between worlds is supposed to be at its thinnest.  At the very least, please try to wear a scary costume.

Yours in Impossibility,

Tobias