I’m only about half finished with this delightful book, but I wanted to get something up about it. Last Saturday night while I was at Castle Blood, I got a chance to spend the evening freezing my butt off next to Lesley Bannatyne. She was freezing hers off too while she signed copies of her book and spoke with a childlike glee to Castle Blood customers about one of her favorite subjects – Halloween. With an unparalleled knowledge of the subject befitting someone who is Harvard educated – she is smart people so she is – Bannatyne is wonderfully engaging on the subject with anyone willing to listen. She was also in town for World Zombie Day, which I will post about tomorrow, and is writing a new book about contemporary Halloween celebrations; I can’t wait.
Ya got to love an Ivy Leaguer (Is that a word?) who seeks out zombies.
I’ve always thought myself above average in my own knowledge – I like to pretend I iz smart – of the origins of the holiday, but upon reading the first few chapters of “Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History” I realized there are vast gaps in my own picture of this time of year that’s so important to me and just about everyone reading this blog. Yes, there is a lot of rubbish floating about on the Internet pertaining to Halloween, and I’ve managed to ignore most of that; however, I can assure you that if you pick this book up – either from me through the link above or at your local bookstore – that you will be able to dazzle the average person who asks you about your home haunt, party, or just why you love dressing up as a creature of the night every 31st of October.
I’ll post a full review when I’m done, and I’d love to here from those of you that snag this book or already own it.
yup, i think i’m going to pick this up tonight!