Beautiful Day for a Ghost Story

 For today's countdown to Halloween post, a... meme. Which I found a few weeks ago. I am sharing it now because today is a beautiful day for a ghost story: it is autumnal, cool, cloudy, windy, with just that kind of eerie light that makes it very spooky. We have had a few beautiful days like this one for ghost stories recently, I try to spend as many afternoons as I can reading them,liatening to the wind blowing for enhance experience. So I will read some ghost stories, I will try to write ghost stories and i hope you do too, wherever you are.

Les tartes aux pommes de Première Moisson

 Je commence ce billet avec une confession vraiment honteuse, pour quelqu'un qui adore l'automne: je ne suis pas un fan de tarte aux pommes. Je sais, je sais, c'est honteux. Les pommes, ce sont les récoltes, les fruits, enfin bref, c'est toute la saison. La tarte, c'est la civilisation qui transforme la saison. Le pire, c'est littéralement le seul dessert aux pommes qui me laisse froid. Cela dit, je compte un jour me réconcilier avec les tartes aux pommes. Et je vois sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson qu'ils ont pleins de variétés de tartes aux pommes. Alors c'est décidé: je vais me bourrer la fraise de tarte aux pommes de Première Moisson si je reviens au Québec quand elles sont en vente.

Ghosts in the Church

 For today's countdown to Halloween post, I present an anthology of ghost stories. It is a suggestion, not technically a recommendation, because I haven't read it all. That said, as it is for all anthologies, I have already read a few of these ghost stories in elsewhere. So anyway, I started among my many reads Holy Ghosts: Classic Tales of the Ecclesastical Uncanny. Because there's something paticularly eerie about a ghost in an church. In fact, no Halloween season is fully completed without a visit to a spooky old church, or at least a walk by one. A macabre pilgrimage, if you will. Ironically enough, I started reading this book in a train. I did look at the window hoping to see a church, I did not notice any. I will however walk around our little town and when I see a church, I will most definitely look for ghosts.

Araignée géante

Photo d'une araignée géante (je crois) prise par mon père l'an dernier. Ce n'est pas l'Halloween sans quelques araignées.

Ghosts on the Train

I blogged before (and a few times) about The Signal-Man, one of the ghost stories written by Charles Dickens. But I saw it on display in the National Railway Museum in York, and this inspired me this post. This book looked gorgeous, but as I already have it in various anthologies, I did not buy it. Anyway, I recommend it this time of year, especially when you are on a train journey. The mix of supernatural and horror with a modern way of transport like trains always brings a special type of atmosphere. Especially since the train has something that is kind of old-fashioned and and elegant that also mixes so well with horror.

Les squelettes encore

Autre photo prise durant la promenade de mon père... Mettons-nous dans l'ambiance de l'Halloween et du surnaturel.

Crab, Mayonnaise and Vampires

 This may come as a surprise, but this post is another one for my countdown to Halloween. Because allegedly, crab mayonnaise and horror are somewhat related. Or rather, a famous horror classic. Because there is a claim that Bram Stoker found the inspiration to write Dracula after a nightmare caused by an indigestion of crab mayonnaise. It is only a claim and everything leads to believe that is unfounded. Be that as it may, I ordered crab mayonnaise a month ago for our wedding anniversary meal. Because why take a chance? It was delicious, but unfortunately gave me no nightmare to work on. To my wife's dismay, however, it made me snore.

Brume d'octobre

 L'été, il y a les orages. L'hiver, la neige. L'automne, surtout en octobre, il y a la brume, ou le brouillard, enfin il devrait idéalement y en avoir au moins une fois dans la saison, sinon dans le mois. C'est ce qu'il y a eu ce matin, lorsque nous avons amené petit loup à l'école: une belle brume d'octobre, vraiment jolie. Une journée comme celle-ci, c'est l'endroit idéal pour une histoire d'horreur. Parce que les jours de brouillard et de brume sont souvent d'une beauté sinistre, surtout en automne.

Aquila about Halloween

For today's countdown to Halloween post, something that came to the post for Wolfie. Because my son receives the best mail. He is very fond of Aquila Magazine. For October, they really outdo themselves with their issue. It's of course all about Halloween. It has a few spooky stories (although not so scary, as it is after all for children), a lot of fun and games, a lot of information about both the holiday and spooky folklore. I must confess, sometimes I get envious of his childhood. In any case, if you have children, please buy yourself a copy of this month's issue of Aquila.

La St-Ambroise à la citrouille

Bonne nouvelle de McAuslan, tirée de leur page Facebook: leur bière à la citrouille est de retour. Je ne suis pas certain du design de leurs cannettes, moins beau que par les années passées, mais on ne boudera pas son plaisir. Je dis ça et n'étant pas à Montréal, je ne peux pas vraiment en profiter. Je bois leur bière à la citrouille pas tant que j'aime sa saveur (la citrouille ne goûte pas grand-chose), mais parce que c'est une bière d'automne et aussi une bière d'Halloween. Mais enfin bref, pour ceux qui peuvent, buvez-en une.

Countdown to Halloween

 We are the first of October, which is, of course, the official starting date for the countdown to Halloween. I took this picture in Vienna. A proper display dating back from August., with elements of macabre and also looking very autumnal. This is the favourite window display I have seen in years. And it is proof that Halloween is getting popular everywhere. On a side note, Austria is a perfect setting for Halloween and horror stories. Speaking of horror stories, a lot of my countdown to Halloween posts will be about horror stories in some way. In any case, happy countdown!

Fantômes et squelettes

Autre photo prise des décorations d'Halloween vues à Chicoutimi par mon père lors de ses promenades. Ce sera l'Halloween dans moins d'un mois, préparez-vous à voir beaucoup de références à la fête sur ce blogue d'ici là.

The Haunted House Game

As Halloween is getting closer and closer, I am getting into a spooky mood and I have been reading scary stories, some I have never read, some personal classics that I want to revisit. As I do every year, I have already (re)read All About Ghosts, the old Usborne book which inspired many of our childhood make belief games and inspire my writing to this day (because yes, I do try to write horror from time to time). As I mentioned before, one of the differences between the original English and the translated French version was the presence in the latter of a game, a sort of board game on the last page. It was called "The Great Ghost Game". My brothers and I never properly played it, as the rules were unclear. But we liked the setting, even though the house looked a tad modern for a haunted house. The setting and the ghosts doing the haunting inspired our make-belief games.

La Bouquinerie fermée

Triste nouvelle apprise de mon frère PJ et confirmée sur la page Facebook de la Bouquinerie du Plateau: elle est fermée jusqu'à nouvel ordre. Pourtant, sa page Facebook avait pris encore tout récemment les couleurs de l'automne (cette photo date du 14 septembre). Je ne sais pas ce qui se passe, mais j'espère que la durée indéterminée sera courte. Ou, au moins, que ce ne sera pas une fermeture permanente. La Bouquinerie est une institution sur le Plateau et on y trouve vraiment des trésors.

Upcoming Bookshop Day

I have been wanting to mention this for a while, but got caught up in other things (read my last post), so anyway, little announcement for the people living in the UK: there will be a Bookshop Day on the 11th of October. Kind of perfect time in the year for a bookshop day, as it is my favourite time in the year. Anyway, even though I am not short on books, I will go to our nearest indie bookshop and buy a few. There are worse ways to spend Saturday.

L'escoufle dans les feuilles

Bon, petit billet aviaire et saisonnier en même temps: nous sommes après tout le dernier jour de septembre. Nous avons des milans royaux ici, aussi appelés escoufles. Je les prends en photo parfois. Il y en a un qui vient se percher dans un arbre derrière chez nous. On le voit très mal, mais on le voit mieux depuis que les feuilles ont commencé à tomber. Bien qu'elles soient encore très vertes sur cette photo. En fait, quand je l'ai prise, je croyais les couleurs plus jaunes un peu. Mais bon, ça compte quand meême pour une photo automnale.

Unemployed again

 Okay, as you guessed it from this post's title, I am suddenly unemployed again. My new job was short lived: I started early June and did not even make it through probation. No, I did not get fired for gross miconduct or insubordination. It was just a bad match from the start. After a few weeks, I could tell that things were not working, even though I got along well with my colleagues and was giving my all. To be honest, I had a nagging feeling this would be a bad match even at the second interview, but I thought this was due to stress. Anyway, they thought I would do good, I needed somehting then and there, so I accepted the offer. Last Friday, my employers and I mutually agreed that this was not working out. I am disappointed, but on the plus side, I should have a good deal of free time in October, when Halloween is coming, in the heart of autumn. I can spend more time outside, when I am not being interviewed or job hunting. There definitely could be worse moments, especially since we are okay financially.

Des squelettes géants

Je partage une nouvelle photo que mon père a prise lorsqu'il marchait à Chicoutimi. Je dis nouvelle photo, mais elle date de quelques semaines, les décorations se sont multipliées sur ce terrain depuis. J'adore ces squelettes géants et je voulais les partager.

Pumpkin Spice Chai

I love tea, but I love to drink tea even more in autumn. Hence, I love autumn tea. So I was happily surprised to discover that Teapigs has its own blend of autumn tea, the Pumpkin Spice Chai. And it's naturally caffeine free as well, so this will be my go-to hot drink in the evening. That should last me until Halloween, maybe after. Which is fitting, as it is a pumpkin tea. And if you have more suggestions for autumn teas, please let me know in the comments.

Salon du livre: dernière chance

Message pour ceux de ma région, ou qui s'y trouvent: c'est le dernier jour du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean. J'y allais surtout le samedi, plus rarement le dimanche ou en semaine. C'est le temps de l'année où la région est à son plus beau et le plus atmosphérique. Je n'ai que des bons souvenirs du Salon du livre du Saguenay. Si vous pouvez y aller, allez-y, je vous assure que ce sera une journée de pur plaisir.