Happy Halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, and Day of the Dead

I just wanted to hop in and wish everyone a happy Halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, and Day of the Dead. Many are probably only familiar with Halloween (unless you are Catholic, then you might know about all of them) but all of these holidays involve remembering the dead in some form or another. All these holidays span from October 31st to November 2nd and have roots in Christianity, cultism, and paganism (but really all exist in commercialism today). Indeed, while kids roam around dressed as the scariest things they can imagine trying to get enough candy to last until Christmas, the general purpose of all these holidays is to prepare for and celebrate those that are dead. Whether they be saints, relatives, or unknowns, all those who have died are celebrated. Take a moment and remember those that have passed on, hopefully you don’t forget anyone’s sacrifice, no matter how small. Tradition dictates that you visit the cemeteries and crypts to feel closer to the dead for a day. Although tradition also dictates that this is the time when the dead can sometimes communicate as well. This leads to all the popular fiction of ghost stories, undead monsters, and creepy ghouls that have been so ingrained in our culture.

Speaking of culture of the undead, I have a story I would like to share. I was at Barnes and Noble a couple of months ago searching for birthday presents for Brooke. As I was perusing the shelves for books of interest I was struck by how many vampire and zombie books and movies there were. It wasn’t really Halloween time yet and no decorations were out, but it seemed like all the popular books out were about the undead. True, there were a couple of extremely popular books and movies about both vampires and zombies, but is seems that our society craves nothing else now a days. I came across countless books about the undead dealing with life in high school, retelling of classic books (like Jane Austen’s) with the undead on every page, and even the undead in historical fiction books (my favorite being “Pirates and Vampirates”). Has anyone else noticed this? Does using the undead in any story make that story better? I’ll be checking the comments for your thoughts.

Of course using the undead in popular fiction is nothing new. For me zombies didn’t really exist until the day I first watched Michael Jackson’s Thriller. I have posted a link below to the full version of Thriller on YouTube. You can’t celebrate Halloween without watching it!!! If you don’t want to take the time to pause and remember the dead, take ten minutes and watch Michael and his undead crew dance like no one alive can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA&feature=fvw

PS-I am still working on a lot of posts. I have been busy with school and haven’t made it around to finishing any of them recently. Terry, I’m still working on both of your questions (yes, there were two). Catch you all soon!