October 2024 Stack Talk
What was, is, and shall come to pass
October ruminations
In keeping with the season, I was up for a re-read of arguably the best horror book I’ve ever read, only to find I had lost my dog-eared 70’s paperback version. When looking to purchase it for my kindle, I noticed it was referred to as dark fantasy, general fiction, coming of age, and not strictly horror (seriously?). Hmm. I’ve never been so creeped out in my life except for the time I was reading It alone at night during a fierce storm. Maybe it’s just one of those pieces so unique that it transcends being pigeonholed in just one genre…okay, I can definitely accept that! It is soooo much more than your typical slash, scream and startle horror story.
Sorry, I am not trying to make this like a ‘who done it’ - the book I am speaking of is, Something Wicked this Way Comes, 1962, Ray Bradbury. It is part of a trilogy which includes Dandelion Wine, 1957, and Farewell Summer, 2006. There is a 4th book, Summer Morning, Summer Night, not part of the trilogy but part of this 4-book collection called the Greentown Series. I do not recall reading any of these except for Something Wicked so I am thrilled to have found out about them now. Yet, as often happens, I forget that I already saw a movie until a few minutes into it, and the same thing sometimes happens with books. I am very much hoping that after my re-read of Something Wicked, the others will actually be new to me, or I won’t recall having read them before (the possible upside of old-age memory loss) - there is nothing more fun than discovery!
In joyous anticipation of re-reading Something Wicked, I am reminded of Bradbury using, “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes,” from Macbeth in his title. That scene with the witches over their cauldron stirring away and reciting rhyme made me want to be one immediately. Mother tended to expose me to ‘inappropriate’ literature and art at a very young age - I had seen the Venus de Milo and Michelangelo’s David (though only as cheap mini-statues atop our television) and had Song of Solomon read to me by age 5. She was a little (a lot) crazy, and hoped very much I think, to transfer a bit of her craziness to me (which was in some part quite successful). Note: I use the word ‘inappropriate’ facetiously - that judgement might come from others in this matter but does not reflect my belief - I am grateful to have had growing up, a crazy woman who loved to share her affinity for classical art, music and literature, who could channel villains like no other and act out robust scenes from Greek plays and Shakespeare before my wondering eyes! :D
I also remember so enthralled was I by “Bubble, bubble toil and trouble…” that I developed the best witch’s laugh and was in high demand when games turned to a sort of helter-skelter tag with everyone being chased by the bad guy (or gal, in my case). I was terrible at catching the runners but from the look in their eyes as they took evasive maneuvers to avoid my alter-ego witch, I was very good at being bad (much like my mother, I suppose) and terrorizing them all with my hauntingly authentic witch laugh.
October Days of Celebration
14 Oct: Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day. It is becoming increasingly unpopular to recognize Columbus Day, especially when the bastards-that-be (federal government) decided to juxtapose its celebration on the SAME day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. I suspect they did this with full awareness it would help keep us at each other’s throats so that we would forget to take a good, long, hard look at them.
IMO these should be separate days of celebration so that one would not be pitted against the other. The strange irony for me that I did not see as a child growing up on cowboy/Indian movies, is that while I rooted for the Indians to win and defeat the wicked white conquerors, not me nor my family nor most of the people I know would exist had that been the case. Am I or any of the rest of us who are alive today somehow “more deserving” to be here? I would say not. But I would also think about how human history is riddled with wars and history is mostly written by the winners. The truth is, indigenous tribes also warred and over-ran each other well before the white man came and EVERY surviving culture on this earth at some point, used heinous tactics/methods to defeat, punish and subjugate their enemies in pursuit of land, sustenance, riches and power. No culture can take the high horse in this reality.
So, I applaud the spirit of Columbus’ will and courage to push boundaries and explore unknowns. From my ancestry of Irish and Swede, I seek to learn more about and better appreciate the contributions of all that came before (Indigenous peoples) who add their important voices to the ongoing dialogue and knowledge shared between all cultures.
And just to disappoint the bastards-that-be, I am not going to argue the superiority of one over the other.
Note below all the overlaps and similarities between cultures for celebrating this time of year. I would not call this cultural appropriation, but a sort of borrowing and blending (probably going to get some shit over this viewpoint!).
Wasn’t it Oscar Wilde who said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness”? Kind of a strong dis to the imitators, but Wilde was like that - never at a loss to cut someone to the quick.
So anyway, the Celtic pagans are generally credited with starting this seasonal celebration way back, but I am left to wonder, must the Northmen and all who followed and imitated all or some portion of it be accused of stealing the Celt’s thunder?
I think of these things like writing, music and art. Probably nearly anything we can come up with, has been imagined/done before; if the creator or idea guy is in any way aware of a thing’s original creator/source, he/she/they should give credit before messing with it to suit their own design and intent. Maybe they should even be required to request permission to mess with it, - sort of like a royalty system. What follows would necessarily be a blending, building and synthesis of design and intent between the originator and those who follow. Maybe too simplistic…the bastards-that-be have been training us for a long time to go at each other’s throat for every perceived slight or insult and would hate to see us cooperate in this way.
29 Oct - 2 Nov: Winternights (Vetrnaetr). This is a Nordic pagan holiday, and it has been described as the northern version of the southern Carnivale season. Just like Halloween/Samhain, it is concerned with the dead, ancestors, divination and belief that the veil between the worlds is thinnest during this time of year. For the Norse, The Wild Hunt begins their ride on Winternights and the woods and fields no longer belong to humans. It marks the beginning of the long dark winter with a feast that celebrates kinship with both the living and the dead, great deeds of the past, the beginning of indoor work, thought (maybe time to read/write/create!?), and craftsmanship. This Nordic pagan celebration for this time of year has many similarities with the Celtic pagan celebration around this same time and the Christian religion has similar celebrations of the dead in the form of All Saints, All Souls, and Dia de los Muertos (Aztec roots).
31 Oct-1 Nov: Samhain/31 Oct: Halloween. Nothing needs to be said about Halloween - people either like it and have fun with it or condemn it and think it demonic. As for Samhain, it has Celtic origins and is the pagan New Year/Sabbat that is situated between the Fall Equinox and Winter Solstice. There is much online about it for your reading pleasure, some good, some ridiculous but most pretty interesting. If you speak it, pronunciation is: sah-win, accent on the first syllable.
FICTION WRITING CONNECTIONS/COMMUNITIES/RESOURCES
A few new finds included! Check these guys out:
with
, , ,Mystery Monday - New! Not sure host or link
Terran Tuesday with
Warrior Wednesday with
Thorny Thursday with
(previously )Throwback Thursday - Not sure of the host or link
Sci-Fi Friday with
Sword Saturday with
Funny Sunday with
Microdosing and with
Connecting Readers to Writers with with
with
& & The List with
Substack Accountability Corner & Find Your Tribe with
Horror Haiku Club with
The Library with
&with Christine Sneed
with multiple hosts
& Endnotes (monthly) with
includes a Book Group Directory(Seasonal) Team Halloween hosted by
COMING SOON…
6 October Stack Talk is here! See you again 3 November. I will only be posting the first and a later Sunday of each month from now until…maybe the start of the new year. Thank you for understanding a slower posting pace for Substack means more time for working on my novel I have yet to finish and more family time for this holiday-laden time of year. I will remain active in Notes and reading posts/notes from other great Substackians.
20 October - Part III, The Lost and the Veil: Seeds of Magic (Conclusion). While this was an incredible labor of love (I adore the old fantasy writers like Tolkien, CS Lewis, current ones like Tad Williams, Rowling, Cassandra Clare), I do not have the internal fortitude to re-engage now or perhaps ever, with writing this genre. For one thing, it was extremely taxing - details, logic, timelines, rules, etc., and was far more difficult to construct and control than anything I have previously written. The fact that my fondness for Earth/Sky comparative religion and cosmology seemed to steal my attention and lead me up and down roads I really had no intention of traveling, did not help matters either. While I might visit these roads again for nothing more than my sense of curiosity, I am unlikely to write again in this format - give me a memoir, bit of poetry, flash fiction or even a horror novel any day! I am reminded that one of my creative writing teachers once described me as having some talent but lazy - and here I thought it was because I slept in and missed class occasionally. Apparently, his assessment went a bit deeper, and I am loathe to admit that certain types of writing leave me too exhausted to pursue them - this is one. I have a new respect for folks here on Substack like
, , and who do so frequently and beautifully! After saying all this, I admit to having fell in love with Mother, the Si Gaoithe and find the dilemma the Sky God created for Himself once He gifted free will to humans to be an enduring fascination. Of course, Alvinia will always be a superhero in my mind. I hope those inclined to read fantasy will do so (and even those not averse to giving it a try!) with this 3-parter and comment - would love to hear your thoughts! If you wish to catch up prior to reading the Part 3 conclusion:The Lost and the Veil Part One (posted Aug 18th)
The Lost and the Veil Part Two (posted Sep 15th)
SUBSTACK FAVORITES & DISCOVERIES
*Only tagging the new adds each month
The Starfire Codes
Kent Peterson
Geraldine A. V. Hughes
Beth Kempton
Charlotte Pendragon
Neil Shooter
Andy Adams
Ken Flyingheart
Kathrine Elaine
The Brothers Krynn
Julie Dee
Heidi Zawelevsky
- incredible talent, very active writer who works to promote, support and encourage others in the craft.
- this is the best of the best cartoons - funny, insightful, even educational as Rat finds himself in all sorts of situations and shares his adventures.
- romantic fantasy writer who recently began hosting Thorny Thursday as well. Unlike some “bigs” on Substack, he often reads others’ work and loves to engage with readers offering insightful and kind observations.
Hey, Did You See That?
This little memoirish piece elicited some comments from my favorite Stack writers and I had so much enjoyment remembering and writing it. Whoever forgets their first love… especially when for decades, things went downhill from there (not whining - at some point, it all is just as the cliche says, ‘water under the bridge)! I have decided that when your mind does not work in sync with most around you, it would stand to reason that the pool of candidates willing to engage with your idiosyncrasies is more limited - makes for a longer search, interesting stories and a peculiarly varied life :) So if you haven’t checked it out, and like to chuckle:
https://wyrdplay.substack.com/p/the-birds-and-bees-revisited
Book, Movie and Other Recommendations
I wonder if anyone is a new viewer to these movies…but both are definitely worth a re-watch this time of year IMO:
Hocus Pocus - the original movie. The sequels just sort of lie there for me. It always gets me in the mood for this time of year (I am nearly always a witch though a couple of times I was Scooby Doo for walking around and trick or treating with my granddaughter.)
ET - a children’s classic movie that still brings tears to my eyes.
Something Wicked This Way Comes - best horror book ever! Movie was okay.
Doesn't this poem kind of capture a bit of October - especially for the midwestern US? When the Frost is on the Punkin (excerpt) James Whitcomb Riley "They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossums on the trees And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock."
Obviously, this time of year brings out the kid in me. Have a spooky, fun Halloween or Samhain and thank you as always for your support and reading my stuff!
“By the cracking …” quote spurred a memory. In college I wrote a paper trying to determine if Shakespeare believed in witchcraft or if it was just a convention he used. It was indeed a fall course. I don’t have that paper, and at 58 I recall more of the late night typing the thing than the actual content.
The Bard’s time was interesting, just on the cusp of Francis Bacon, prior to the Enlightenment. North American Continent was being slowly explored, and the thought of leaving Europe not quite prevalent.
Tracy thank you for the shout out! You are prepping everyone for the spooky season! 👻
I was reading an article on the book publishing and categorizing genres. I think the word thriller attracts a lot of readers to books. I can’t remember exactly. But often times Books are categorized according to the most popular genre. Adding weight to advertising efforts!