Category: HALLOWEEN

• DEATH HALLOWEEN

  YEW

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Yew Lisa Karen Miller           The long-lived yew, one of Ireland’s five magical trees, rivals the oak, hawthorn, elder, and rowan in mystical importance. To the Druids, it was an emblem of the soul’s immortality.           The link between yews and churchyards may derive from the…

  October 23, 2023
• HALLOWEEN

  TOMATO

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Tomato Lisa Karen Miller           Native to Central and South America (we think the first ones came from Peru), the tomato first reached European shores in the 16th century. It arrived just in time for a continent-wide witch panic, with which, through no fault of its…

  October 21, 2023
• HALLOWEEN

  PUMPKIN

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Pumpkin Lisa Karen Miller           In 2017, a Washington farmer grew a pumpkin that tipped the scales at 2,400 pounds. Competition among growers of giant pumpkins in the United States has reached unprecedented levels.  Humungous specimens that must be weighed on special scales are being bred…

  October 18, 2023
• GHOSTS HALLOWEEN

  OLEANDER

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Oleander Lisa Karen Miller           At the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana, the ghost of a slave girl named Chloe walks the night.           She had been the lover of the plantation’s owner, Judge Woodruff, but had begun to worry she would be turned out…

  October 18, 2023
• HALLOWEEN

  MONKSHOOD

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Monkshood Lisa Karen Miller           Aconite, whose flowers resemble a monk’s hood, is one of our more ghoulish flowers.  Its dark history reaches far back in time, and it has featured in murderous tales of both fact and fiction. In the language of flowers, it says…

  October 17, 2023
• HALLOWEEN

  MANDRAKE

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Mandrake Lisa Karen Miller “Go and catch a falling star, Get with child a mandrake root, Tell me where all past years are, Or who cleft the devil’s foot.” “Go and Catch a Falling Star,” John Donne           Thomas Newton, in his 1587 Herball to the…

  October 17, 2023
• HALLOWEEN

  MANGELWURZEL

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Mangelwurzel Lisa Karen Miller           Yes, you read that right. Once I ran across the fantastical name of this plant, I knew I had to find out more about it.           In Somerset, England, on the last Thursday of October, the tradition of Punkie Night is…

  October 16, 2023
• HALLOWEEN

  BROOM

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Broom Lisa Karen Miller           Every woman owned a broom; it was a completely innocent household tool. In the dark days of witch hunting, it was difficult for accusers to discern exactly who was a witch, since all women had access to the preferred means of…

  October 12, 2023
• HALLOWEEN

  KALE

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Kale Lisa Karen Miller “Did you ever eat Colcannon When ‘twas made from thickened cream, And the kale and praties blended Like the picture in a dream? Did you ever take a forkful And dip it in the lake Of the clover-flavoured butter That your mother…

  October 8, 2023
• HALLOWEEN

  HENBANE

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Henbane Lisa Karen Miller           Belle Elmore was, by all accounts, rather a domineering woman.  She had aspirations of becoming an opera star, but alas, not the talent.  She did some music hall shows in New Jersey, and then later in London, where she and her…

  October 7, 2023
• HALLOWEEN

  GARLIC

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Garlic Lisa Karen Miller           In John Sayles’ excellent film, Matewan, Black, Italian, and White coal miners go on strike in 1921.  After moving out of the company town into a tent city, they try to communicate with and help each other.  A West Virginia woman…

  October 7, 2023
• HALLOWEEN

  BELLADONNA

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Belladonna Lisa Karen Miller “Belladonna, n.: In Italian, a beautiful lady; in English, a deadly poison.  A striking example of the essential identity of the two tongues.” Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary           The name of this deadly plant may derive from its ancient use by…

  October 4, 2023