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Christine Reports A Clear Increase In October Fun

Christine Hennebury
a small quilted cloth with two pumpkins on it with other Halloween images around the edges

All month, I've been having my tea on this mug rug my Mom made me because it makes me happy ever single time. Image description: a small quilted mat featuring two Jack O' Lanterns, one in dark orange and one in light orange. The black background is covered in small cartoon Halloween images of witches, ghosts, cats, bats, and Jack O' Lanterns.

I tried to make the title of this post sound as un-fun as possible so… how did I do?

As I write this, I am more than halfway through the month and even though I have been ridiculously busy* I am happy to report that I am having more a lot fun than I usually do in October.

And that’s definitely due to the fact that in my post two weeks ago I took the time to write a list of seasonal things I wanted to do that would maximize my fun this month. Creating that that post gave me a good container for my thoughts about the kind of fun I want to have in October AND it guided me to make plans early enough to make things happen.

Here’s an update on each item from my list of 13 in the initial post:

  1. I have already planned a ghost story writing workshop and a spooky storytelling event later this month.

I taught the ghost story writing workshop on Sunday and we all had a great time.

The spooky storytelling event will be on October 28 and you can join us online if you wish – let me know if you want the registration link.

Plus, I added an idea-generating writing workshop and an oracle card making workshop to the list of things I am offering this month. I love teaching workshops so that’s extra fun for me.

  1. I’ve planned a couple of artsy-craftsy Halloween events with my community arts organization so I’ll get to be creative and hang out with lots of other people who love this season.

The other bonus is that I will have extra places to wear my costume and I will get to make some cool decorations for my house.

And in addition to those events, I also bought tickets to see Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors – a dear friend of mine is in it so it’s going to be extra fun for me.

I also bought a ticket for an online lecture called ‘Seasons of the Witch’ which promises to be very interesting.

Sidenote: I also bought a book called Season of the Witch: A Psychiatrist’s Case for Magic by Ellen Vora, MD and I am finding that very intriguing, too. I’m not really that far into the book so I can’t address the strength of her arguments or anything but I’m very interested in the ideas she’s working with. I’m also reading Grady Hendrix’s How to Sell a Haunted House and I can endorse the argument he is making so far – dolls and puppets can indeed be very creepy. (Since I can’t include tone in a blog post and I want to be clear: I’m making a bit of a joke about the second book. I just found it funny to pretend that he’s trying, in a horror novel, to convince us that dolls and puppets can be creepy.)

  1. I have already assembled my Halloween-themed collage/junk journaling supplies so they’ll be handy all month.

I’ve spent a couple of evenings moving bits of paper around but I haven’t actually finished my collage yet so I’ll share it later.

Meanwhile, I would not have gotten around to this at all yet if it hadn’t been for this so  I would have missed out on that relaxing creative time.

Lists = More Fun. Imagine that!

  1. I’m making two zines – Advice from Monsters and (Some) Ghosts are Helpful – which will let me combine drawing and writing and some silly spookiness.

I’ve made a list of monster advice and a list of ways that (some) ghosts can be helpful and I have experimented with a slightly different way to fold a zine.

I’ve also drawn some practice ghosts and some practice monster eyes, monster horns and monster teeth.

The actual zine part isn’t complete yet.

  1. I’m on track to finish the ghost story that I’m writing (it’s about a haunted mirror that someone picked up on the side of the road.)

This one has moved slowly because of the aforementioned busyness but I have a fair bit of writing time this week so things will pick up.

  1. I’m slowly putting up Halloween decorations all month.


This is ongoing and as I mentioned above, I am also making some new ones!

  1. I’m making a bit more time for my favourite spooky podcasts/YouTube channels – including taking slightly longer walks and doing slightly longer workouts so I can finish an episode.

So far so good with this one and I am also using Halloween-themed background music and ambience channels** to add to my fun while working or creating cool stuff.

  1. I’m using my Seasons of the Witch Samhain Oracle for journaling prompts.

This has been SO INTERESTING.

I have used this oracle deck before but those times I was mostly just thinking about things in the moment. Drawing a card and reflecting on any possible personal meanings has been really cool. My mind likes it a lot.

  1. I’m doing some practices from Yoga for Witches by Sarah Robinson – I know that title sounds like it could be flippant but I am finding it to be respectful to Yoga and to pagan practices.

I haven’t done many of these yet but, like my writing, this is a good week for it.

  1. I’ve got big plans for making soups and breads and cookies.

I’ve made two batches of chocolate chip cookies and two pots of soup and they have all been delicious.

  1. My Halloween costume is already in the works.

It is still in the works!

  1. I’ve added Halloween music to my playlists.

Last week, my oldest kid (24) and I had a great time rating the relative seasonal appropriateness of a bunch of Halloween songs while I was driving him to work.

Yes, we did find that a lot of fun.

Note: Monster Mash is fun and seasonally appropriate but Flying Purple People Eater is not particularly Halloweenish.  Also, do the words flying and purple apply to the eater or the people it eats?

  1. I’ve already started wearing all of my Halloween themed clothing.

I have indeed! And I just dug out more from storage.

I’m wearing a ‘Haunted Harvest Festival’ tshirt right now and several people have been disappointed to learn that it’s just a shirt, not an actual event.

What do you think a Haunted Harvest Festival would entail?

Is the Festival haunted or is it the Harvest that has gotten all spooky?

(Yes, I do take any opportunity to follow my curiosity)

____________

So, with another week and a bit until Halloween, I have to conclude that advance planning, making lists, and deciding to have more fun (without pressure to fully do every part of every plan) does indeed result in a clear increase in October Fun.

And, as suspected, increasing my fun levels has been great for my mental health and my overall wellbeing.

How is your October going?

*I really need to have a serious look at how I organize my schedule but that’s a whole different post!

**In my last post I shared some podcasts and YouTube channels that focus on spooky stories so this time I’ll share a few links for spooky season ambience.

A video called “Cute Lo-Fi for Ghosts” and the still image shows a cartoonish drawing of a sheet ghost in a graveyard at night with tree trunks in the background. The majority of the image is blue/black but the ghost is white and there are white scribble accents here and there. White text at the top of the image says “Halloween Lo-Fi No AI”
A video called “October Magic Ambience” from the Dead of Night channel. The still image shows a digitally animated corner of a room with stars and moons on the wall, and a stack of books with a teacup on top, an antique dresser decorated with stars and moons, a carved Jack O’Lantern, a blanket with ghosts and witches on it, a sleeping cat, and a bunch of Halloween knick-knacks and on the right side of the image is a window that is slightly open that is decorated with a string of mushrooms.
This ambience video is called Vintage Halloween Art and is by Art for Your TV by 88 Prints. This channel would be to put on a screen as a ‘decoration’ in your room and the images change every so often. The first image is a sepia-toned drawing of a witch and her cat flying on a broomstick over a village at night. There’s a church and houses with their windows lit up and there are a bunch of trees at the bottom of the image. The full moon is in the sky but it is not casting much light.
This music/ambience video is called (No AI) The Toy Shop. Text at the bottom of the image reads “The Toy Shop: Hand-painted Art. Original Music. Ambience.” The image is of shelves in a toy shop with all kinds of wooden toys, dolls, and puppets on them and in front of the shelves are a series of marionettes hanging from the ceiling with their feet near the floor.
A playlist called “something wicked this way comes; a playlist for writing spooky stories by candlelight” The still image shows two hands emerging out of the dark background, the back of one hand is towards the camera, and we can see the palm of the other hand. There is a human skull on the bottom right and we can only see the left side of it because it is facing towards the left in the image, it is poorly lit so it isn’t highly visible. The words “Something Wicked This Way Comes” in a gothic font are overlaid on the image.
A playlist from Alex Rainbird Music called “spooky season 🎃 • a haunting indie/folk/alternative playlist” and the still image is of a person with long hair in dark clothes standing in what looks to be a forest with fallen leaves all over the ground. They are looking downward at the pumpkin they are holding at waist height.


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