Things That Go Bump in the Night

From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!

As children, we used to recite this little Scottish poem at night, with a little shiver. What did the long-leggedy beasties look like, I wondered to myself. Were they hiding in our bedroom cupboard, or were they creeping around on the roof?

In English folklore, fairies can be quite malicious and harmful to humans. The Fairy Queen (sometimes called Queen Mab) is an untrustworthy creature, to be feared.

I realize that I grew up with ghosts (or duppies, as Jamaicans would call them). My grandmother used to talk about the supernatural a great deal, and had a perfectly huge repertoire of superstitions and fears. “You shouldn’t wear green,” she would tell us. “It’s the fairies’ color and they will get jealous.” (Fairies are not necessarily nice, at all). Old Nick would come for us if we were bad. And you can guess who Old Nick was, I am sure; I was terrified at the mere thought of him.

The English writer Algernon Blackwood’s writings inspired H.P. Lovecraft, who wrote: “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” Blackwood (1869-1951) was a prolific short story writer, and also a journalist and broadcaster.

Her son and daughter (my father and my aunt) inherited something of this fascination with that other world that some pretend doesn’t exist (I am sure it exists). I have inherited some wonderful books of English folklore, myths and legends – simply overflowing with ghosts and revenants, witches and warlocks, goblins and fairies. As a child I consumed this stuff eagerly, along with my father’s books of ghost stories (fictional) and haunted houses (perhaps not fictional) that would make my hair stand on end.  Short story writers Algernon Blackwood (“Rats”) and M.R. James (“Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad”) were two of my father’s favorites.

M.R. James (1862-1936) was an academic and a mediaeval scholar at Cambridge, but is considered one of the greatest writers in the genre.

And then we had Hallowe’en parties, dressing up and having fun. We had apple bobbing and other games. My worst (and cheapest) costume was as a ghost (I just wore a sheet), my most elaborate was a scarecrow. We always made our own costumes.

Apple bobbing is a 2,000-year-old tradition. It’s not as easy as you might think!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, most Jamaicans don’t “get” Hallowe’en. It’s not a tradition here, and many people either don’t understand it or regard it as some weird foreign thing that has nothing to do with Jamaica. The fundamentalist Christians regard it with fear and suspicion. But then they see demons round every corner, even when it’s not Hallowe’en.

An American girl in her Hallowe’en costume. (Photo: Laura Pannack)

But that other world – the flip side of the coin of life – does not have to be so frightening. Why should it be? It is just people who have died, people whom we loved… Why not celebrate them? So tonight is Hallowe’en, tomorrow is All Saints Day and Sunday is All Souls Day (a tradition that goes back to the tenth century). It is the time of year when we recognize those who have passed on (and growing up in England, I actually used to feel their presence on the night of October 31, lying in bed until late, wide awake; I also remember not being afraid).

A beautiful Dia de Muertos altar.

 

In Mexico, of course, families take picnics to the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried, and celebrate; the Día de Muertos is not only celebrated there, but in other Catholic and Latin American countries – Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Haiti and in many parts of Europe. I can’t imagine these traditions ever happening in Jamaica, even if such a tradition existed. Our modern cemeteries are mostly bleak expanses of land in the middle of nowhere, with plaques sunk into the ground. I get the feeling not many Jamaicans visit the graves of their forebears. I much prefer the idea of a “family plot.”

There’s a craze for “evil crowns” this year that has got out of hand in France, it seems. I confess that as a child, I was always afraid of the clowns at the circus.

Modern Hallowe’en seems to have evolved into something different, at least in urban settings. In Jamaica, it will be a good reason for some of our uptown pretty things to get dressed up and party. In the U.S. and UK, Hallowe’en seems to have taken on a sinister aspect. It is not always the harmless celebration it used to be. In Colorado, the police are worrying that the “trick or treat” candies may be “spiked” with the recently-legalized marijuana. In France, the police are also worried – about an obsession with “evil clowns” that has swept through the country. Bands of young people wearing clown outfits have been frightening citizens out of their wits in small villages and towns (some of them armed). A dentist in Wisconsin has started a “buy-back” program to get rid of the excess amount of candies consumed. There seems to have been an obsession with zombies in recent years (an endless stream of films and TV shows, too) – there’s a Caribbean connection, there. But you don’t have to be dripping with blood to be “scary” do you?

What does he see through the window? Daniel Radcliffe in “The Woman in Black” (2012), a British film in the classic ghost story tradition.

Hallowe’en seems to have developed a stronger emphasis on horror, rather than just plain creepy stuff like scarecrows that walk and strange sounds in the night. My favorite horror films are always those that have an element of suspense, of mystery and fear – rather than plain blood and gore. I love haunted house stories, and scenes where the actors walk into a completely dark room (why do they do that?) In that genre, I really enjoyed the recent “The Woman in Black,” with a rather nervous Daniel Radcliffe in a haunted house; and another one called “The Others,” in which Nicole Kidman single-handedly conjures up a feeling of fear and dread.

Nicole Kidman out in the fog in a great ghost story, “The Others” (2001).

Yes, I like my Hallowe’en a little more subtle than screaming zombies and bloodthirsty clowns. But, whatever you are doing this evening (even if you are having a quiet evening at home) – enjoy!

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) is a classic silent German horror film – the first of its kind and apparently still terrifying.