Magic Thursday: Halloween costumes!

 

Today as part of the Halloween festivities, we asked some of our DarkSiders: 'What would you dress up as for a Halloween party and why?'

Melanie Pickering

Edgey Red Riding Hood

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not afraid of dressing up and love a good Halloween party. I've been to several, and also dress up our house every year with a costume to match, but I also don't like to repeat a theme.

In no particular order, I've been to parties (coupled with my husband) as: Dracula and his bride, Dracula and Mina Harker, Red Riding Hood and the Woodcutter. And for Halloween Trick or Treating at my house, I've been: a swamp witch, the witch from Hansel and Gretel, a zombie bookstore owner, an asylum patient, an evil carnival clown, a pirate, and most recently the grim reaper.

I've also participated in a "haunted house" at my kids' primary school fete, where I was an undead screaming banshee rising from a real coffin. Bags of fun - the tweens loved it; the littlies, not so much 😂.

melaniepickering.com

The Grim Reaper

 

HM Hodgson

source: AliExpress

If you see someone standing in the corner of the party dressed like an ancient tree with a huge canopy of leaves over their head, a sturdy trunk, and gnarled, twisted roots at their feet … that might be me.

I always bite off wayyy more than I can chew when it comes to costumes, and while I have no idea how to actually make the costume, I’d love to come as Yggdrasil, the world tree from Norse mythology. That was the idea that kicked off my debut book series, so it’d be cool to celebrate that, plus I’m also a bit of a tree hugger, so that would be sweet – maybe someone would come and hug me (cue meet cute idea!)

hmhodgson.com

Dakota Harrison / (one half of) Angelica Grymm

I went to a Halloween party a couple of years ago and went as an evil ghost. Hubby was Dracula 😁. 

I went to the REA cocktail party two years ago as a bloody and vengeful Red Riding Hood. I had that wolf’s head in a basket (pic below). 

 

If I was to go this year, I’d love to go as Kai-125 from Halo. She’s a total bad-ass and I love her character. (Pic below) Or Starbuck from BSG. For the same reason. I loved Starbuck so much that I based my character in my new book that’s releasing in November on her.

 

dakotaharrison.com

angelicagrymm.com

Katrina Coll / Kat Chant

source: WikiFans

In Ireland, Hallowe’en is such an important event in the calendar that it’s a public holiday! This gives everyone plenty of time to prepare barm brack (a fruit loaf embedded with fortune telling trinkets) and to build a bonfire. That said, the latest trend here is for farmers to build mazes in their fields and turn these into fright festivals (check out Farmophobia).

As for me, I love the idea of taking vamp in all meaning of the word so who better to dress as than Morticia Addams? She is the queen of comebacks, always unruffled, supportive of her family, adored by her husband and never without something stabby. Like her, I own a carnivorous plant (although mine is a pitcher plant). Black is also one of my best colours!

katrinacoll.com

katchant.com

Danni Line

Halloween might not be as widely celebrated in Australia as it is in other parts of the world, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know how to have a good time when it comes to spooky festivities. For those who do embrace it, Halloween offers a unique opportunity to get creative with our attire, especially when attending a spooky dance party.

I went to one such party recently at the dance hall where I’ve been learning ballroom dancing. Once a month, they hold a social dance night, and October’s theme was all things spooky. With dance parties, it seems costumes have some wiggle room. We don’t have to wear the traditional monster garb, ghostly sheets, or commercially available ghoulture. (I know. I went there. Sorry, not sorry.)

While guests adorned in these costumes delighted us in enacting their chosen character, other partygoers dressed up in different ways. My friends and I chose a less traditional option. We chose our outfits and added spooky accessories. I can’t say for sure ‘who’ we’re meant to be, but we all danced up a storm in our ’costumes’ just the same. 

Also in the crowd were those who wore gothic elegance in black, their dramatic makeup creating hauntingly beautiful (and handsome) looks. Someone wore vintage horror along the theme of a young Angela Lansbury in ‘The Portrait of Dorian Gray.’ Others chose attire which was more modern. We had witches and wizards, a Sandy and Danny from Grease, deadly vampires and some charming devils, too.

To match our various costumes, even the dance hall had transformed into a dwelling of gothic delights. Severed heads, mutated pumpkins, skeletons, pictures where the portraits’ eyes followed you around the room, creepy mannequins and questionable creatures filled the room. I’m just grateful there weren’t any giant spiders in the toilets.

Of course, we spent the night dancing, laughing, trying to guess each other’s spooky attire and who hid under any masks. Our dance teachers created a special dance to the Monster Mash, with a bit of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ thrown in, to which everyone danced. Some of us even themed our food, and I tasted a delicious pumpkin spice mudcake. Yum!

While Halloween’s origins involve celebrating the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (Sow-in), and some people still follow this blessing and traditional season change, and should be respected, there’s room for a little spooky fun, too. 

  

Whether you’re attending a dance party, going trick-or-treating, respecting the old traditions, or simply enjoying the decorations, Halloween in Australia can offer a blend some amazing opportunities for creativity, and who knows? Maybe you’ll come up with your own ‘chilling’ dance. 😊

danniline-author.com

Eleni Konstantine

And what about me?

As a child of the 1970s and 1980s, I grew up with five strong women characters that I always wanted to be - Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Jamie (Bionic Woman), Wilma (from Buck Rodgers in the 21st Century), and Princess Leia (Star Wars).  I remember grabbing a show bag of Batgirl that had the utility belt, a mask and cape and wore it around proudly. 

So you'd think I'd want to dress up as one of these characters. Yes and no - first of all, I'm a plus sized girl so I don't feel comfortable in those tight fitting costumes. Jamie has a jumpsuit costume available but not really inspiring, and Princess Leia - hated that hairstyle. Maybe Wilma? 

 

Still, if I were to go to a Halloween party today, as much as these heroines helped shaped my childhood, I would like a costume that looked okay on me and more 'Halloweeny'. 

I checked out this store - Halloweencostumes.com.au and had fun looking at all the costumes. The great thing is they have a plus size section as well. 

It was hard to narrow down the choices but here it goes:

Theodora Elphaba, The Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz

 

Freddy Kruger from Nightmare on Elm Street

Medusa from Greek mythology

Hmmmm.... I've picked villains. It looks like I want to go for something less goody goody and something more spooky. 🤣 Then again Theodora and Medusa have had adaptations where they are more likable and less villainous. Freddy, well he's just a bad dude and scary as hell. 

How about you? What would you dress up as?

Darklight On...DarkSider Best for 2022!

 

I asked the question 'what was best for you in 2022' to our DarkSiders. 

Kristin Silk

Completing Tempt Me, a steamy anthology which is now available for preorder and releases 6th January 2023. Some of you know I have been recovering from a concussion for the last four and a half years so it has often felt like my journey to publication has taken  the (very long and winding!) scenic route. Davina Stone, Karen Lieversz and I each have three stories in this anthology and I am so grateful for writing friends who believed in me and my writing enough that they were willing to work within my brain limitations so that I could be a part of this. 

Tempt Me

Indulge your wildest fantasies with this steamy romance anthology. 

Dive into paranormal, and fantasy realms, immerse yourself in contemporary and historical worlds. Fall for an underworld god, make a deal with the Angel of Death, get sexy with a satyr and be voracious with a vampire. (F/M,/M/M, and F/F). There's something to satisfy every craving in this selection of short stories from three award-winning authors of erotic romance.

Let the temptation begin…

Content warning: These romantic short stories contain explicit sexual content and are not suitable for young readers.

Pre-Order 

Mel Teshco

For me it was getting into my indie groove and writing a whole series of sheikhs (with those wonderful covers) and starting a new alien science fiction romance series, which coincidentally is about water aliens (No, I had no idea about the new Avatar movie with its aquatic aliens). I've got a huge writing schedule, which includes other contemporary and science fiction books, but I feel I'm on top of things now that I know what I want with my writing - and that is sticking with contemporary and science fiction romance. Hopefully that is what my readers want too.

Bring on 2023 :)

The Sheikh's Secret Mistress

She desires the man of her dreams. Can she resist the attention of another?

Sheikha Aisha Al Wahed might be the sister to Sheikh Hamid—one of the most renowned and unconventional Sheikhs on the planet—but it doesn’t mean she is cut from the same cloth. She wants what almost every girl wants: to marry the love of her life. That she’s had a crush on Tabari Usamah for so long makes her more determined for him notice her. So why is Dhamar, one of her brother’s many friends, distracting her beyond all reason?

Sheikh Dhamar Qadir desires one thing—Aisha Al Wahed. A pity she is besotted with another man not worthy of her affection. But Dhamar won’t give up, he’ll do whatever is necessary to make her fall in love with him, and he’s not above using every tool in his arsenal to make that happen, including removing Tabari from the picture and sending him away. But will his interference cost him the love and respect of the one woman he wants above all else?

Pre-Order

Cover by Eleni Konstantine's alter ego, HelzKat Designs.

Enisa Haines

When the year began I planned to immerse myself in completing Book 2 of the paranormal trilogy I am currently working on. However, this minor character from Book 1 (very minor being only talked of in conversation, but crucial to the plot) hijacked my muse and words for Book 2 would not flow. Frustrating!

Then a callout appeared on social media for authors to join the Guarded Hearts Protector Romance Anthology with release day in November of this year. As I read, that minor character was there in my head. I knew then that here was where the minor character would come alive with her own story, 'When Darkness Stirs'. 

And my story is in great company with stories by some fabulous authors. So fabulous that the anthology hit No. 1 in the Amazon  Best Seller List for Romance Anthologies.  

Guarded Hearts

Guarded Hearts anthology presents 17 passionate protector romances and captivatingly hot romantic suspense novellas.

Military heroes, undercover operatives, guns for hire, private security and first responders are the order of the day. This collection is action-packed with heroic men and the brave women who stand with them - then win them over.

Holding out for a hero? Here they are! 17 Sensational stories to set your heart on fire!

Susanne Bellamy - Ties That Bind
Sandra Carmel - Hearts In Danger
Linda Charles - Trusting The Hunter
Renée Dahlia - Driven To Protect
Izzie Duffield - Heat of the Moment
Debra Deasey - My Sweet Protector - no book links
Louisa Duvall - Between a Heart and a Hard Place
Nicole Flockton - Securing His Heart
S.E. Gilchrist - Endangered Heart
Enisa Haines - When Darkness Stirs
Sara Hartland - Her Cowboy Protector
H. M. Hodgson - A sword of Stone and Magic
Tanya Nellestein - The Safe Place
Erin Moira O’Hara - Silver Lies
Ruby Rare - Guarding Kat
Eliza Renton - Rush
Rosie Miles - Operation Take Back

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Kat Chant

My debut paranormal, God of Summer, was published in September as both an ebook and paperback. The highlight had to be one of my favourite authors, Erin Quinn, giving God of Summer a glowing review.

God of Summer

Back in the Bronze Age, Angus McCraggan sacrificed his life to break the Celtic curse laid on his kind. He failed. Millennia later, he returns to modern Ireland to find his people have become feral, vengeful shadows. With his hollow hill now packed with tourists, he uses his power to keep his past hidden.

Until an American calls him out.

Since a banshee attacked her as a teen, Erin De Santos has been tormented by dreams of a boy she’s never met. Armed with a new identity, she returns to the Emerald Isle determined to face her nightmare. But her discovery turns fatal.

When the banshee strikes again, Angus surrenders his heart—and his hope of freeing his people—to save her. With his life now hers and his curse descending, Erin must make a terrible choice: kill her savior or share his doom.

Buy

Katrina Coll

December saw Twice Baked, my second contemporary romance, published. I had so much fun recipe testing for this that my newsletter readers are going to get a bonus cookbook as well as a spin-off short story.

Twice Baked

Connor Brennan, Bad Boy turned Pastry Chef

First crush, first kiss, first love.

The boy who ruined her reputation and crashed his future, before ghosting her when she needed him most.

Isla Fraser, Cook and Divorced Single Mom

High school sweetheart.

The good girl who defied her parents to date him, then married his best friend. Her betrayal broke him.

The Chef and the Cook

Paired on a Reality TV Bake-Off, their chemistry still smokes. But when Isla confesses the secret she’s kept from him, will Connor burn their second chance?

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Leisl Leighton

2022 was the year I decided to fully give self-publishing a go. I had a 4 book series that I’d got back from my publisher that I wanted to do a bit of a rewrite on and re-edit, plus, for the first time, I was in charge of formatting and publishing the books in the anthology series I’m a part of. I spent all last year working on learning what I needed so that I felt at least a little confident doing the marketing and advertising and formatting and how and when I wanted to publish, so at the beginning of this year, I took a deep breath and went for it. 

The result? 1 novella published, 2 anthologies repackaged and republished, 2 anthologies published for the first time, my 4 book paranormal romance Pack Bound Series re-written, edited and published and the first book in the prequel series, Soul Bound, published. I learned I will never put this number of books out again in 1 year (basically 10 books self-published in 11 months), but the lessons I learned will help me to do better in the future and pace myself in a way I won’t wipe myself out. Plus, I earned myself some wonderful new fans and reached a wider community of readers through my growing newsletter and social media channels. I also did my first signing event and had a ball and will be doing more next year. All-in-all, a big, tiring year that was fully worthwhile.

A Perfectly Paranormal Christmas

Have you been naughty ... or nice?

Christmas is coming! Santa is readying his reindeer and sleigh with toys for all good girls and boys – but he’s not the only magical Being in town. Gods, Goddesses, witches, Fae and all sorts of magical creatures are gathering to celebrate the spirit of Christmas with a spot of tinsel-strewn mayhem.

But they better watch out what they ask Santa for … they just might get it!

The A Perfectly Paranormal Anthology authors are at it again, this time with a Christmas anthology to fill your heart’s desires – and your stockings! Whether it's making magic or making merry, these four novellas will jingle your bells and add a dash of spice to your egg nog.

If lost souls, wild magic, shifters, fated mates, action, mystery and sexy romance make you tingle, then this anthology is for you. So decorate your tree, curl up with some delicious cookies and magic yourself some holiday spirit with a copy of A Perfectly Paranormal Christmas today.

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HM Hodgson

Sooo many things to be grateful for in 2022—releasing two novels and one novella, contributing to Hearts Talk in the Life In The Indie Lane column, the ARRA awards dinner, the Fremantle conference, my first ever book signing with ARRA (amazing!), taking up Amazon ads book coaching, Writing Wednesdays in the city library, new writing groups, creating new social media content (hello, midjourney!), a cover rebrand for my first series, treating writing like an actual business, and the best part … all the wonderful friends I’ve got to make, to know better and to spend some amazing times with throughout the year.

A Relic of Magic and Gold

When you’re a witch on the run, do you trust your head or your magic to lead you in the right direction?

Evangeline is thrilled to kick off her professional spellcaster life protecting dangerous relics in Rome, Italy. After all, she just completed her studies of witchkind’s deadliest, most complex, and potent spells—and finished top of her class.

Except day one on the new job, Eve’s employer accuses her of stealing a powerful relic, and tries to lock her away in a creepy, dank Knights Templar dungeon. Forced to use her magic to escape, Eve runs into private investigator Raph Smith. Hiring the sexy, way-too-smooth PI seems like her best option—if not her only option. The fact she has zero way to pay him is a detail she’ll work out later.

Raph Smith always gets his missing person—though the reason why is a closely guarded secret—so finding a lost trinket box should be easy money. And while accepting multiple clients for the same job is a big N.O. in the PI world, when you’re being blackmailed, subject to a magical binding contract, and one client is a thief, you do what you must.

But the relic has a deadly secret too … and those who know the truth will do anything to find the artifact, including killing everyone who stands in their way.

With the Knights Templar, an international crime family, Daemons, and Eve’s own coven on their heels, Eve and Raph are forced to work closely together as they search for the missing relic. But as the sheets heat up, and with their hearts and heads on the line, can Eve and Raph really trust each other?

Relics and Legends – where witchcraft is a business and legends aren’t consigned to history.

Author note: This book is a steamy fantasy romance full of magical battle scenes where the body count is high, and with plenty of steam between the sheets (and out). Definitely one for 18+ readers! 

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D.D. Line

I had a few highs in writing this year. My third Trinket Bay romantic suspense book, A Twist in the Tail, released in February. I placed in three international competitions with my second Trinket Bay book, An Ear to the Ground. I won this year’s KSP Spooky short stories competition and had two stories accepted in anthologies, one for crime, and the other for a contemporary Christmas romance. I’m currently writing a new adult paranormal romance series for next year.

Holiday Kisses

‘Tis the season to fall in love in this heartwarming collection of Christmas romance stories.

It’s Christmas…a time for kisses under the mistletoe, tree decorating, fruit mince pies, fairy lights and snow in abundance. This holiday season celebrates the joy of romance with some Holiday Kisses.

Filled with love, romance, and a whole lot of heart. From a Christmas gift exchange program, Manhattan wedding, fireman’s calendar photography shoot, train trip to Edinburgh, Irish castle, holiday job, Christmas wedding photo shoot, missent text, plum pudding catastrophe, and a mischievous donkey named Colin. All with a kiss or two.

Families reunite, new friends are made, and old flames take a second chance at happiness. Escape between the pages and get swept away into these holiday stories celebrating the spirit of the Christmas season!

Light the fire, grab some hot chocolate and settle in for the night and dive into these Christmassy romances. With ten stories from Australian authors, you’re sure to find something to pull at the heartstrings while rediscovering the joys of Christmas.

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Anna Hackett

2022 has been a year of up and downs, and I'm looking forward to starting fresh in 2023. A big high for me this year was winning a Ruby for my book The Powerbroker, and I never get tired of hearing from readers who are enjoying all my books!

Striker

He’s a hot British billionaire.

The rich, muscled, former special forces soldier.

He’s a temptation she doesn’t want and can’t afford, but now she’s working undercover in his company to catch a rogue arms dealer.

Former MI6 agent Hadley “Striker” Lockwood found a new life in New York working for Sentinel Security. Her work fills a tired, jaded hole inside her. Life is just how she likes it, and she definitely has no desire for a man to mess that up.

When her next assignment sends her back to London to hunt a dangerous arms dealer, she finds herself not only face to face with a darkly tempting billionaire, but going undercover as his newest employee.

Bennett Knightley left the SAS with dark scars scratched on his soul and a determination to help in different ways. His successful company Secura makes high-tech gear for soldiers around the world, but now it’s under attack. Shipments are going missing, and his people are being targeted.

Enter Hadley—intelligent, stubborn, beautiful, and with walls a mile thick. Bennett’s never been tempted to mix business and pleasure, but with Hadley in the office he’s torn between their mission and claiming the maddening woman for himself.

As Hadley and Bennett close in on their enemy, they fight hard against their overwhelming attraction. She’s been burned before but the hot billionaire is getting under her skin. With Hadley, Bennett feels parts of himself coming back to life—now he has to not only convince her to trust him, but convince himself he deserves her.

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Eleni Konstantine

Battling brain fog from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is an ongoing occurance in my life but this year I managed to not only start (I have started many) but completed a short story, Believe in Magic, for a Christmas anthology. I almost didn't make the deadline getting covid but somehow I managed. It was a good feeling to be invited to join these lovely authors, complete the story, and see my name on something again. 

Hopefully I can get a few more done in 2023!

A Special Gift

A Special Gift anthology has six heart-warming holiday romances that feature a gift of love, and a guaranteed happy ending.

If you enjoy reading about lovers reunited and relationships helped along by a touch of seasonal magic, this one's for you!

Buy

~Thanks for joining us!~

Magic Thursday: Who Started Halloween? with Kat Chant!

 

Who Started Halloween?

Every year I see someone on social media complain “Ugh. I hate how we’ve all gone so American in celebrating Halloween.” And every year I find myself typing, “Well, actually, Ireland is the home of Halloween…”

That’s the TL;DR version.

To be fair, the origins of Halloween are under some debate. Plastic pumpkins, fake spiders, and door-to-door house calls for ‘candy’ are all the result of US commercialism and cultural influence, to be sure. Over the last fifty years, Halloween has grown into a big business. 

It didn’t start out that way though. Before it became a store-stocking exercise before the lead in to Christmas, it was All Hallow’s Eve to most Catholics or Hallowe’en when contracted from Hallowed Evening. Pope Gregory IV is credited with decreeing the universal observance of All Hallow’s Day or All Saints Day in 837AD. The holy gloss applied nearly 1200 years ago, however, has worn so thin that the pagan elements no longer peek through but are to the fore.

The chief culprit behind Halloween are the Celts. But let's get specific here, because we’re not talking all Celts here (and even the term ‘Celts’ has its own origin issues). A super quick history lesson is needed.

Super Quick History Lesson

Ireland was nominally Christian around 500AD (St Patrick is generally held to have died around 460-493AD). A century later, Irish monks founded monasteries in the Hebrides off the Scottish coast. Soon after, Irish war chiefs established what became the kingdom of the Dalriada. Although this declined, by the mid-9th Century, the combination of a Viking invasion and dynastic ties of the ruling Pictish elites to Ireland brought about the dominance of the Gaelic language and culture. English mapmakers no longer referred to Pictland but Scotland. 

Also about this time, what we now call Old Irish would have been the common tongue across Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man (with dialectal differences). Today, Irish is the native language of Ireland. Gaelic (GAL-ick) is the native language of the Highlands and islands of Scotland. (For those interested, Scots originated in the lowlands from a mix of Old English and Norse.) 

Back to How Halloween Traditions Shifted from Europe to the New World

The roots of modern Halloween come from the Scots and Irish displaced by the Highland Clearances and the Great Famine to the Americas in the 18th and 19th centuries. They took their traditions with them and adapted them to their new home. Carving turnips into jack’o’lanterns became a lot easier when using pumpkins. Trick or Treating used to be for apples and nuts and money. Tricks could include stealing a farmer’s gate, switching animals, or moving objects to/from someone’s property. Guisers went from house to house ‘in disguise’ with smeared faces, masks or by merely dressing in clothes of the opposite gender. In County Cork, like in Wales, dressing up as a White Mare using a horse’s head and a sheet happened until the late 1800s. 

It’s easy to see how these traditions evolved to what we see and do today.

A plaster cast of an early 1900s jack-o’-lantern, known as a “ghost turnip.”

There are many more we’ve lost. 

Fortune-telling used to be a major part of the Halloween celebrations. To this day, in modern Ireland, you can buy Barm Brack. This is a round fruit bread sold with a novelty ring inside. Within living memory, this use to be home-baked and contain: a twig or matchstick, a dried bean or pea, a bit of rag, a coin and a brass ring. Find the ring and you’ll be the first to marry, but win the pea and you’ll stay single this year. The cloth? Well, you’re either for the church or the poorhouse. The coin meant wealth. The stick meant either a year of disputes or an unhappy marriage.

Images: Modern day Barm Brack in Ireland

Bonfires were held at crossroads across rural Ireland right up until the early 2000s. In Britain, this tradition was shifted out by five days and rebranded to become Bonfire Night (but that’s another story). The very first bonfire for Halloween is reputed to have been held at what is now the Hill of Ward, known as Tlachtga in Irish. The archaeological evidence for intense burning at this site dates back to 500AD. Geoffrey Keating's describes the fierce fire on a hill in Meath in his History of Ireland, written in the 17th Century. He tells how all household fires across the land must be extinguished that night, then renewed from the great fire from Tlachtga.

Games of skill such as bobbing for apples (in water or tied to a string) remain common, as is feasting—though the meals have changed. Mixed and mashed foods were especially popular: champ and colcannon in Ireland, mash o’ nine sorts in Wales, and champit tatties in Scotland. Oatcakes, griddle cakes and apple dumplings also featured.

What’s really behind these Halloween celebrations?

The pre-Christian festival underneath Halloween has roots going back to the festival of Samhain (pronounced SOW-in in Irish and SAH-ven in Gaelic) or Summer’s End. NB. In Irish, the entire month of November is Samhain and Halloween is specifically Oíche Samhna (the eve of Summer’s End). In Welsh, Halloween is Nos Galan Gaeaf, or Winter’s Eve.

Regardless of the language, this event was the Celtic New Year’s Eve. Unlike our celebrations, however, the key time was not midnight but sunset, and not midwinter but the end of harvest and the year’s farming work. This is because the Celts believed darkness precedes light, therefore night preceded day and winter precedes summer. 

Liminal times and spaces were important in the prehistoric era in a way our clock-run lives can’t fully appreciate. 

Sunrise and sunset dictated the working day. The end of one year and the beginning of the next was an especially important time, hence the emphasis on predicting the fortunes for the new year. The dying of the light also meant the walls between the world of the living and the dead was at its thinnest, requiring the protection of disguises for safety and to scare away ghosts and the creatures of myth. Building a bonfire can be seen as an active threat to the darkness. This is the time of year when animals are slaughtered or brought in to shelters and passing them through or near fire was an act of purification.

Likewise, places that are neither water nor land—bogs and fens—were sacred. Trees, the bridge between earth and sky were also worshipped. But, most relevant to Samhain, are caves. These may be natural such as Oweynagat (pronounced Oen-na-gat and meaning 'cave of the cats’)—the legendary entrance to hell in local Irish folklore. Or man-mound hollow hills such as Maes Howe in the Orkney Islands of Scotland, and Newgrange, Loughcrew and Dowth in Ireland. The latter are not associated with Samhain but are the homes of ancient gods (diminished to fairies) in place-lore. Travellers are warned to be wary of going near any such fairy forts or caves at Halloween, lest they be lost forever in the Otherworld or Tír na nÓg (Teer-na-nohg).

Today in Ireland, bonfires again light the Hill of Ward where there is a major festival celebrating the Irish origins of Halloween, The Púca Festival. The ancient links to Samhain at Oweynagat are emphasised in a Halloween tour of the cave. 

God of Summer

If you’re interested in how an old god might find the modern world, read my debut paranormal romance, God of Summer featuring Angus, the Irish god of love.

Angus McCraggan sacrificed his life to break the Celtic curse laid upon his people in the Bronze Age. He failed. Millennia later, he returns to modern Ireland to find his people have become feral, vengeful shadows. With his hollow hill now a tourist attraction, he uses his power to keep his past hidden.

Until an American calls him out…

Since a banshee attacked her as a teen, Erin De Santos has been tormented by dreams of a boy she's never met. Armed with a new identity, she returns to the Emerald Isle determined to face her nightmare. But her discovery turns fatal.

When the banshee strikes again, Angus surrenders his heart—and his hope of freeing his people—to save her. With his life now hers and his curse descending, Erin must make a terrible choice: kill her savior or share his doom.

Buy

Kat Chant

Kat Chant is an award winning writer. A bookworm who grew into a history buff, she exchanged beaches for castles to move from Australia to the UK and study medieval history. There, she fell in love with a lad from Ireland…and fell in love with his country, too.

She and her family live in the heart of Ireland, surrounded by fields in forty shades of green.

Kat is a keen cook and often experiments with traditional farmhouse foods such as making bread, cheese, jam and liqueurs. She also decorates the occasional cake. 

You can find Kat at her website: katchant.com