Sylvia Shults's Blog, page 58

Today I Learned …

Tutankhamen took 22 rounds of his favorite goat-milk cheese into his tomb — not only to enjoy it in the afterlife, but also so he could offer some as gifts to the gods.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well here’s something interesting …

You guys know I’m always on the lookout for weird and strange facts. And we’ve talked before about how Christmas, in Victorian times, was kind of a mashup of Halloween, New Year’s Eve, and Mardi Gras.

But did you know that Thanksgiving, too, was once an excuse for people to dress up and go door to door? And that this happened as late as the turn of the twentieth century?

Here’s an interesting article — and old photographs! — from the good folks over at The Lineup. Check it out! https://the-line-up.com/thanksgiving-maskers

Today I Learned …

Women’s wigs and hairpieces in the 1700s were held together with lard. (Hey, no one had invented hairspray yet.) There is no mention in 18th century writings of how heinous wigs covered in lard smelled when they inevitably went rancid. But we do know that many households in the American colonies had a rodent problem. Rats and mice were attracted to the lard-soaked wigs. Merchants sold wire “rat screens” to place over the hairpieces when not in use, to keep them from being gnawed to bits!

The Spookiness Continues …

So now that October’s over, so are the ghost stories, right? Bzzt — no way!

I’ll start off November with a bang, going all the way up to Warren Township Library in Warren, Illinois (210 Burnett Avenue). I’ll be doing the Spirits of Christmas talk there, hanging out from 11 am to 1 pm. (The talk isn’t THAT long, but since I’m driving alllll that way, I figure I’ll stick around for some ghost chat afterwards. And I’ll treat myself to a Galena visit after that.)

On November 8, I’ll return to my old stomping grounds in Monmouth, and give a talk at Warren COUNTY Library on the square (62 Public Square, Monmouth, IL) at 6:30 pm. We’re really going to be warming up for the holiday season — it’s Spirits of Christmas again.

On November 10, I’ll return to my favorite indie bookstore, I Know You Like A Book in Peoria Heights. I’ll be there from 2 pm to 4 pm to sign copies of Spirits of Christmas.

On November 17 and 18, I’ll be at the Quad Cities Psychic and Paranormal Fair, sharing a table with my good friend Ophelia Julien. I’ll be debuting a new talk at this fair, so show up and listen to something brand-spanking new! (I don’t yet know what the schedule will be, so I’m sorry, I can’t tell you exactly when that is. But it will be either Saturday or Sunday.

Happy Halloween!

Baskin Robbins had a sale today, as a Halloween treat. So I treated myself.

And as I was sitting there enjoying my cone, listening to the “Dunkin Donuts” radio station, the radio played one of my favorite songs from back in the day: “Electric Blue” by Ice House. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDOtpdIEsGI )

Life is so very good.

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Halloween’s Coming!

I told you there’d be more spooky fun coming up in October …

Tomorrow morning, I’ll be a guest on the Faith and Hunter Show on B104 in Bloomington. (Yes, it’s a country station. Yes, it’s a 45-minute drive. Yes, I have to be there at 6:30 in the morning. Who says non-fiction writers can’t also suffer for their art?)

So if you’re so inclined, tune in to www.wbwn.com from 6:30 to 8 am next Wednesday, October 31. Get your Halloween started off right with some ghost stories from Peoria and (of course) Bartonville. I’m told there will be contest stuff going on, so join me!

Today I Learned …

Okay, so everyone knows that Orson Welles’ Halloween 1938 radio presentation of War of the Worlds scared the paste out of listeners. And some people even know that this was because a lot of the audience tuned in late, and missed the disclaimer at the beginning of the show that it was fiction and not a real broadcast. But do you know why people tuned in late?

Mercury Theater, which is the show Orson Welles worked for, was aired opposite The Charlie McCarthy Show, hosted by Edgar Bergen and featuring the famous ventriloquist’s dummy, the titular Charlie McCarthy. It was much more popular than Mercury Theater, so people would tune in to it first, and if the guest for the show didn’t grab them, they’d wander down the dial to the less popular show. Mercury Theater was fully aware of this, and they didn’t even try to compete with the talking dummy. Instead, they ran episodes of the classics, usually Shakespearean dramas, commercial-free. For the Halloween show, they decided to air an updated version of H.G. Wells’ science fiction classic, The War of The Worlds, rewritten and narrated by Orson Welles. The folks who had started their evening with Charlie McCarthy and had gotten bored with Charlie’s guest … well, they got quite a surprise. And that’s how Orson Welles was able to inadvertently scare the paste out of radio America on Halloween night, 1938.

Lights Out — The Farmhouse Fiend (Halloween 2018)

It’s time for the Halloween episode of Lights Out! Join me as I listen to James Brija, of Ghostbusters Peoria, spin tales of the haunted farmhouse where his grandparents lived for a time. These stories are sure to send a shiver or two down your spine, so settle in for a delightfully creepy time. https://youtu.be/LBtXaMoFVik

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Lights Out — Halloween Episode

It’s time for the Halloween episode of Lights Out! Join me as I listen to James Brija, of Ghostbusters Peoria, spin tales of the haunted farmhouse where his grandparents lived for a time. These stories are sure to send a shiver or two down your spine, so settle in for a delightfully creepy time. https://youtu.be/LBtXaMoFVik

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Fun On The Canal!

I got to have a bunch of fun last night — I told ghost stories on a canal boat.

The boat was the Volunteer, on the I & M Canal in LaSalle, Illinois. It was supposed to be drawn by a mule, Larry, but unfortunately, Larry had injured himself a little while before (he rubbed up against a fence the wrong way and gave himself a cut on his side, right where the belly strap of his tack would go). So the crew decided to use the boat’s engines to provide the power for the cruise, and let Larry heal all winter. (The boat will be shutting down operation for the winter soon anyway.)

But I got to share ghost stories for an hour, and we enjoyed a lovely ride.

(And afterwards, I got to feed Larry a couple of apples.)

So if you’re interested in a gorgeous boat trip down the canal, look up Lock 16 Cafe and Visitors Center, 754 First Street, LaSalle. It’s not too spendy — $15 for the trip — and it’s a really nice ride for an hour. And maybe next October, I’ll be there again telling ghost stories. (The turning leaves are absolutely beautiful, too.)

[image error]The Volunteer. (Taken after the ride, just before I left.)

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[image error]This is Larry. He’s fuzzy because he kept moving.
[image error]Just look at this face! Who wouldn’t want to feed apples to this face?