Halloween!

Its All Hallows Eve! (spooky laugh!) Yesterday - grave stones, today - a pumpkin (original, I know!) Tonight I'm going to my workplace with a small group of people to have an evening with three Mediums. I'm going with an open mind as I'm a half believer, half sceptic. It should be interesting, I'll report back tomorrow.

Have a scary weekend!

Grave Situation

Its almost the spookiest day of the year. Ooooo! Instead of a carved pumpkin or a scary witch I thought we'd have a tour around Cheltenham Crematorium. Don't let it be said I don't show you all the best places! There's not a lot to say really, lots of graves, lots of dead people, lots of other-worldly feelings.

The Devil's Chimney (a Halloween tale)

As its Halloween I thought I'd share a tale of local folklore with you. This rocky pile is known locally as the Devil's Chimney and it sits on the side of Leckhampton Hill, over looking Cheltenham.

The story goes that these stones form the Devil's chimney, on top of the Devil's dwelling deep beneath the ground. Supposedly the Devil, angered by the many churches in the area, would sit on top of Leckhampton Hill and hurl stones at Sunday worshippers. However the stones were thrown back at him, driving him beneath the ground and trapping him there so he could not further harass the villagers. Now he uses the mass of stones as his chimney to let free the smokes of hell.

That's the tale, now some other facts. In the past visitors to the Devil's Chimney would climb up and leave a coin on top of the rock as payment to the Devil in exchange for his staying in his underground home and not leaving to create mischief and spread evil in the local area. People would often climb to the top, thirteen is the largest number of people known to have been there in one go! In August 1926 the Devil's Chimney was left with several large cracks following an earthquake. In 1985 the Chimney was fenced off to stop erosion and also for safety (it is quite a drop below!)

Other theories surrounding the mysterious rocks include it being a "rude creation of some fanciful shepherd", a practical joke dreamt up by bored quarry workers in the 18th Century looking for a way to immortalise their work, and "differential erosion over many years which has left a column of harder rock free-standing as the softer rock has been worn away around it." (Boring!)

Hope you've enjoyed this Halloween tale. Have a spooky day!

All Hallow's Eve!

Well, it is Hallowe'en. What else did you expect!
Here are some Hallowe'en facts to impress your friends with. 1) Hallowe'en is one of the worlds oldest celebrations, dating back 2000 years. 2) One reason given for the colours orange and black being linked to Hallowe'en is orange for Autumn harvests and black for death. 3) 99% of pumpkin sales are for Jack O' Lanterns. 4) The heaviest pumpkin in the world weighed in at 1446 pounds in Ontario, Canada in 2004. 5) Ringing a bell scares away evil spirits. 6) Worldwide over $2.5 billion is spent on Hallowe'en, second only to Christmas. 7) Trick or Treat began in Ireland when people would go door-to-door asking for food to contribute to the towns All Hallow's Eve feast. 8) To meet a witch put your clothes on inside out and walk backwards on Hallowe'en night. 9) The original Halloween film made in 1978 cost $320,000 to make. It has now made over $50 million. Happy Hallowe'en everyone. Hope you have a ghoulishly good time!