FROM THE DESKS OF Razumich & Delamater OPENING STATEMENTS OCTOBER 2018 WWW.LAWYERSREADYTOFIGHT.COM 317-934-9725 | INFO@RDLAWOFFICE.COM apples bats & chicken feed S ecret O rigins of H alloween T raditions
With Halloween right around the corner, it was pretty easy to come up with a theme for this month’s newsletter. In addition to costumes and candy, another thing that goes GREAT with Halloween is scary movies. For those of you who have seen the inside of Jack’s office, you know that he LOVES movies and meeting the actors who starred in them. One of his hobbies is going to autograph shows, and this year was no different. Back in August, Horror HoundWeekend was in downtown Indianapolis. Horror Hound is one of the largest horror-themed conventions in America, and this year, Jack was able to meet Robert Englund, better known to the moviegoing public as Freddy Krueger from the“Nightmare on Elm Street”series. As you can see above, Mr. Englund was a great sport, and was more than happy to menace Jack for this picture. Make sure to ask to see all of his great pictures next time you stop by the office. Happy Halloween and pleasant dreams!
What’s scarier than being at a Halloween party without a good costume? Being at a Halloween party without anything interesting to add, of course! Avoid this nightmare scenario by learning the fascinating history behind everyone’s favorite Halloween traditions.
WHERE DID ALL THESE BATS COME FROM?
Halloween decorations tend to rely on scary or supernatural themes. Cobwebs, skeletons, and ghosts crowd the scene, but there are usually a few bats in there as well. Compared to jangling skeletons, these little mammals aren’t that scary. While bats do risk carrying rabies, for the most part, bats are more likely to help people by eating mosquitoes than harm anyone. So why are they part of our creepy Halloween decor? Bats were associated with Halloween long before the first trick-or-treaters. When celebrating the ancient festival Samhain — a precursor to Halloween — the Celts lit huge bonfires. These fires attracted insects, which in turn attracted bats looking for a midnight snack. Bats came to be linked to Samhain and that tradition was carried into modern Halloween. Giving out apples instead of candy is a surefire way to get your house egged by angry trick- or-treaters. On a night that’s all about candy and sweets, how did we come to play a game involving fruit? Surprisingly, the old game of bobbing for apples has roots in some more romantic traditions. Bobbing for apples was part fortune-telling game and part courting ritual in 18th-century England. A young woman would write the name of her suitor on an apple and put it in a basin of water. If she could grab the apple in one bite, it meant that she and her suitor were WHAT’S UP WITH BOBBING FOR APPLES?
-John Razumich and Joe Delamater
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century, trick-or-treating quickly became a favorite Halloween activity. However, when sugar was rationed during WorldWar II, trick- or-treating started to die out. You can thank Charles Schulz andWalt Disney for keeping the tradition alive. In 1951, Schulz created a series of Halloween- themed comic strips featuring the Peanuts gang dressed as ghosts and trick-or-treating. The following year, Disney produced an animated short featuring Donald Duck and his nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, engaged in Halloween hijinks. Both the Peanuts strips and the Donald Duck shorts were incredibly popular, and these Halloween specials showed kids across the country the fun of trick-or-treating. When you think about it, Halloween is a pretty weird holiday. But isn’t the weirdness part of the fun?
rural communities. Though not initially linked to fall, chicken feed candy was difficult to make and therefore only available between March and November. The scarcity added to its early popularity. In the 1900s, candy makers had to turn down orders because demand was so high! Chicken feed would eventually become candy corn and be cast as the ultimate Halloween candy after WorldWar II. In 1951, Goelitz Confectionery Company — today known as the Jelly Belly Candy Company — had 12 factories making candy corn across the country! Since then, candy corn has made its way into trick-or-treat bags every Halloween.
destined for true love. Two tries meant their love would fade with time. And three or more bites was a sign that the relationship was doomed. Another version of the game was more of a competition. The first person to bite into an apple would be the first to get married. It wasn’t unlike catching the bride’s bouquet at a wedding. Some people adore this sweet mellowcreme treat, while others insist the divisive candy is little more than colored wax. Whatever camp you find yourself in, you may be interested to know that candy corn was not originally created for Halloween. Developed by George Renninger of the Wunderlee Candy Company in Philadelphia, these little tricolored candies were introduced to the world as “chicken feed” in the 1880s. This candy was meant to appeal to America’s WHY DOWE CARE ABOUT CANDY CORN?
WHO SAVED TRICK-OR-TREATING?
While trick-or-treating has its roots in ancient traditions that involve scaring away ghosts and praying for lost souls, modern trick-or- treating owes its existence to a more familiar source. After being brought to the United States by Irish immigrants in the early 20th
Stay weird, and have a happy Halloween!
The Real Halloween Town County Meath, Ireland, Where Halloween Began
Today, Meath celebrates Oct. 31 with a blend of spooky thrills and traditional Samhain practices. The Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival starts with the lighting of the first torch fire of Samhain in Athboy, which kicks off a month of fun activities. If you like your Halloween extra spooky, the screampark, Farmaphobia, is waiting for you. And if you’re not a fan of screaming your head off, you can check out the Halloween-themed Spookling AfternoonTea for fresh-baked treats and spirited conversation. The motto of this all-ages festival is“Fun by Day; Frights by Night,”meaning all the really scary ghosts wait until after sunset to come out. There are plenty of ways to celebrate Halloween, from carving jack-o’-lanterns and eating chocolate to running for your life through a haunted cornmaze. And in County Meath, you can celebrate Halloween in every possible way. For more info, visit www.Discoverboynevalley.ie/whats-on/spirits-meath- halloween-festival-2018 .
Fans of Halloween don’t need to look far to find somewhere to celebrate their favorite holiday. There are festive parties all over the world, fromNewOrleans to London, but if you really want to embrace the spirit of Halloween, there’s no better destination than the birthplace of the holiday: County Meath, Ireland. Every year in Boyne Valley, the residents of County Meath throw a month- long Halloween celebration. The Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival attracts thousands of guests from all over the world, and while this festival has only been celebrated since 2009, many of the traditions observed here date back to ancient times. The ancient Irish weren’t trick-or-treating or visiting haunted houses on Oct. 31, but they were celebrating the pagan holiday Samhain. Over 3,000 years ago, this Celtic festival was born in Meath andmarked the end of the harvest. Samhain was celebrated with bonfires, offerings to fairies, and other rituals meant to keep evil spirits away. Many of these customs carried through the centuries and inspired Halloween traditions that are still practiced today.
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The Most Haunted Place in theWorld The Horrors of Poveglia, Italy
the asylum opened, all its inhabitants reportedly lost their wits, making it impossible to tell the doctors from the patients. The doctors on the island were rumored to have gone insane and begun performing questionable experiments on live subjects. Some patients died; others lost their minds. The island quickly claimed them all. Today, Poveglia is completely abandoned. Local fishermen are unwilling to cast their nets off its shores out of fear. They even report hearing chimes from the island’s church bell, but they still refuse to dock their ships. Locals decline to visit the island for fear of the curse that claimed the lives of so many. The very few who dare set foot on the island do not stay for long, claiming to feel a profound disturbance that overwhelms the soul. If you’re taken to a haunted house this Halloween, be thankful. Anyone can handle a quick scare from someone dressed up in a costume. No one has been able to handle the curse of Poveglia, and no one ever will.
When you think of spooky places, odds are good that the local version of a haunted house — perhaps with teenagers dressed up as chainsaw villains — comes to mind. You might even get someone to take you to the local penitentiary, where they’ll try to convince you that a draft is actually the movement of a tormented soul. After Oct. 31, though, that spooky atmosphere will fade away, and you’ll be left with just a fleeting memory of what you believed might be a haunted place. But there is one location on earth that is truly haunted year-round. The abandoned island of Poveglia, Italy, was the site of some of the worst horrors in human history. In 1348, the region surrounding Venice was struck with the bubonic plague, and the infected were sent to Poveglia to die. Once the plague had taken their lives, the victims’ bodies were stacked on pyres and burned. It’s said that 50 percent of the soil on the island is made up of the ash from these funeral rites.
While the ash-ridden soil would deter many, it did not stop the locals from turning the island into a mental asylum in the 1800s. Shortly after
Take a Break!
Paleo
PUMPKIN COCONUT SMOOTHIE
This meal-in-a-glass smoothie will cure your craving for a pumpkin spice latte. It’s packed with nutrients and fall flavor. If you’re the type of person who uses your blender more than your pots and pans, you’ll definitely want to add this recipe to your rotation.
Ingredients
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1 frozen banana, sliced
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1 cup coconut milk
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1 cup ice
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1/4 cup organic pumpkin purée
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2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or substitute with cinnamon and ginger)
Directions
1. In a blender, combine all ingredients.
2. Blend on high or on smoothie setting until smooth.
3. Transfer to a cold glass, garnish with pumpkin pie spice, and serve.
Recipe courtesy of cookeatpaleo.com
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There are people who would have you believe that monsters live among us all year long. These individuals, referred to as cryptozoologists (or just “wishful thinkers” by their skeptics), believe a hidden animal kingdom exists just beyond the edge of mainstream biological science. Here are three of the weirdest, almost-certainly imaginary “cryptids” to ever capture the human imagination. THE JERSEY DEVIL According to legend, the 1.1 million-acre Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey are home to more than just birds and deer. The story goes that when one Jane Leeds gave birth to her 13th child, she was dismayed to add yet another kid to her responsibilities. She cried out, “Oh, let this one be the devil!” Shortly after the child was born, the boy was transmogrified into a twisted creature with the malformed head of a goat, leathery INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desks of Razumich & Delamater PAGE 1 Secret Origins of Halloween Traditions PAGE 1 The Birthplace of Halloween PAGE 2 Forget the Haunted House —How About a Haunted Island? PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Paleo Pumpkin Coconut Smoothie PAGE 3 3 of the Weirdest Cryptids in History PAGE 4
THE MONSTERS SOME BELIEVE ARE REAL 3 of the Weirdest Cryptids in Pseudoscientific History
THE LOVELAND FROG One night, near Loveland, Ohio, a man reportedly beheld a trio of bipedal frog- people slapping their webbed
wings, and a thrashing, forked tail. After slicing the midwife with its ragged claws, the beast flew up the chimney and fled into the trees. Hundreds of years later, the beast is still said to creep the backwoods on its cloven hooves, glowering from the blackness with shining, red eyes. THE BUNYIP When European settlers began edging into the territory of Aboriginal Australians, they heard whispered, frightened tales of a man- eating “water spirit” that lived in the lakes and rivers of the area. Descriptions of the creature varied wildly. The monster was alternately described as an enormous starfish, an alligator-like creature with the head of an emu, or a massive bulldog-faced beast. But accounts held one thing in common: The monster claimed the lives of any who dared camp near its watery domain.
feet along the side of the road. If that wasn’t enough, one even had a magic wand, which shot sparks
as the man ran off. Apparently, not all mythical beasts are bloodthirsty monsters; some are a little more Kermit than Cthulhu.
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