The fairies be out that night and they would take you away with them if you were out at that evil time. It is also said that the devil shakes his budges [fur] on the haws and turns them black and according to the old people if you eat a haw after Hallow Eve night you will have no luck (qtd in “Halloween in Irish Folklore”).
It’s that time of year again. There’s a chill in the air, a draft in the house, and needles prickling at the back of your neck. So curl up with a good ghost story.
Much like Persephone from Greek mythology, Lara Rae Brecken, the main character of Beneath Blair Mountain, finds herself trapped in the underworld after wandering through a crack between worlds one cold October night. Irish mythology was at the forefront when I wrote this tale, but I consciously had Persephone and other analogous tales and figures in mind. Continue reading
“It was Gate Night, the night before All Hallows’ Eve. Distant memories of the old stories nagged at me. During All Hallows’ Eve the veil between the world of the living and the word beyond was lifted. Our world and their world all blurred together like ink running on a page in my old primer when we schoolgirls would try to run home in the rain, shrieking and splashing up mud all the way.”
–Beneath Blair Mountain
A mix of folklore from the Old and New World, Beneath Blair Mountain makes a great read for Halloween, Samhain, or Día de Los Muertos. Find it on Amazon and Goodreads.
Salt & Iron 