28 October 2011

Halloween Booktacular Day 6!



Welcome back to day 4 of Halloween Booktacular. OUaT has teamed up with Good Choice ReadingRead My MindAn Avid Reader's MusingsSkyla11377Books With Bite and Dark Readers. The Halloween Booktacular will run from October 24th until October 31st. Each blog participating will have different post and giveaways going on, so you want to make sure you visit each one of us daily during the celebration.


Welcome back to day 6 of the Halloween Booktacular. Author T. Lynne Tolles is making a stop today on OUaT.  T. Lynne has written a Halloween themed post for you all to read and has graciously offered for one lucky reader to win her entire Blood Series in paperback. So that means you will get a copy of Blood of a Werewolf (book 1), Blood Moon (book 2), Blood Lust (book 3), Bloodstone Heart (blood 4) in paperback with some swag. 



It is once again the time of year when the bountiful harvests of the year have been sown and the earth soil rests and rejuvenates herself once again just in time for Spring. The heat of the summer has finally subsided and clouds descend upon us like a giant meticulously hand-stitched quilt and fast approaching is All Hallows Eve.

Otherwise known as Halloween, we have found childhood memories of trick or treating under the moons light disguised with costumes hoping our friends, family and neighbors can’t guess who we are. But what we often forget is that our ancestors celebrated this holiday in a much more solemn and tentative way, for All Hallows Eve was not originally about sweet candy and laughter but death, spirits and impending harshness. It was the night when the curtain between the dead and the living was at its thinnest and the dead took advantage of this eve, to once again visit the living and vice-versa.

Like many things in life, spirits range from benevolent to malevolent and everything in between, so in order to confuse and disguise themselves from those spirits that might intend harm upon them, our ancestors carved turnips, gourds and later pumpkins into scary faces to ward off the harmful spirits. Masks, too were worn in case one were to run into a disgruntled spirit on their way home in the darkness that appeared earlier and earlier with each passing day of this season.

Consider this, you live in the 1600’s, you’ve just spent a month or two on a horrendous journey from across the Atlantic Ocean to live in a new untouched, unknown land. You settled near the coast and life was incredibly hard – heat and humidity in the summer like you’ve never known, and rain and snow in the winter that felt as if it would never end. Anything west of where you lived was wilderness, in which your priest/pastor informed you, were home to the devil and his demons who roamed freely in those woods nightly and seduced those who dared to enter into becoming witches. You rarely lived past your thirties and anything that couldn’t be explained away was the devil’s doing. It’s a wonder we ever survived.

So remember your ancestors this All Hallows Eve when they come a calling and celebrate what they endured so that we could live the lives we live now, with a candle in a hand-carved pumpkin. Enjoy your Halloween. May your Tricks be sweet and your treats even sweeter.

T. Lynne Tolles


What a great story T. Lynne. I think its great when I read books that actually touch this subject, its not all about candies and costumes. Thanks for giving us a brief history lesson and bigger Thank you for the treat you are offering one lucky reader. 

You can read all about T.Lynne and her books on her website HERE





21 comments:

  1. My favorite part of fall is the cooler temps. and I love Halloween. The candy, the costumes, and the horror flicks are awesome.

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  2. Fave part about fall: the colors :)
    Fave part about halloween: candies!

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  3. only US too sad it was really a great giveway

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  4. My favorite part of Halloween is the children. I love to hear their laughter and see their smiles as they enjoy dressing up for a few treats.
    My favorite part of autumn is the way mother nature paints herself in a stunning array of beautiful colors. not to mention the devine weather. Cool but not too cold. Thanks for the awesome giveaway! Happy halloween to you!

    LadyVampire2u AT gmail DOT com

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  5. My favorite part is everything, the crisp air, the scents of pumpkin, candy corn, and hot chocolate, the mystery and excitement.

    h mccorkle (at) wildblue (dot) net

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  6. Mary DeBorde

    It's hard to pick just one favorite part of Fall - I love it all; the beautiful leaves, fields of Pumpkins, children laughing & dressing up ... OH, and I almost forgot the best part - TEE PEEING my friends & family hehehe ;D

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  7. My favorite part about fall is the beautiful changing of the leaves and the fresh, crisp air. edysicecreamlover18@gmailDOTcom

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  8. My fave part of Fall is the cool temps and the leaves changing colors. My fave part of Halloween is passing out candies to kids and watching scary movies.

    - Beckie
    ChiKittie(at)gmail(dot)com

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  9. My favorite part of fall is when the leaves change and it gets colder because I love my warm sweaters. My favorite part of Halloween is wearing costumes and the magical feel that surrounds the holiday.

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  10. Fall is very special to me. I love it when it starts getting cool and the leaves start to change color. THEN comes Halloween! The one day out of the year that magic is in the air, all the kids in the neighborhood are in great moods and...it's just a special time.

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  11. My favorite part of fall is the changeing colors of the trees. I think they are absolutly beautiful. and when Fall is here that means my reading time gets increased....

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  12. I love the changing of the seasons and the holidays are just around the corner.

    yadkny@hotmail.com

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  13. I love the changing leaves, getting dressed up and all of the CHOCOLATE!!
    Thanks for the great giveaway.

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  14. my favorite part of halloween it's the costums an the candy

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  15. I love the season changing, the colors. The leaves falling, the squirrels chittering and collecting food. It's a great time to spectate.

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  16. My favorite part of Halloween is the scary movie marathons.

    jmesparza821(at)gmail(dot)com

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  17. My fav part is decorating & seeing all the pretty fall colors

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  18. I think my favorite part is getting to watch all the kiddy Halloween movies on TV! Hey they only play once a year!

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  19. My favorite part about fall is the colors and the usual perfect temperatures where it's not too hot or too cold. When the wind blows, I tend to comment about how it looks like the trees are bleeding their colors away. My favorite part about Halloween is seeing all of the costumes that people wear and dressing up myself and trick or treating. To me, there is no age limit. As long as you have a costume that's not bogus, then you should get candy for it.

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  20. For Halloween it's the candy!!!! Both eating it and handing it out.

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