Thursday 30 October 2014

The Colour Collaborative: October: Hallowe'en


Hallowe'en for me is a time when the blood quickens and the senses become more alive, as the temperatures drop and the darkness envelops us.  I occasionally mention here how I like to picture the past, and I often wonder what it was like to try and survive before this age of convenience and luxury.  I imagine there was fear in the darker months of autumn.  Ahead lay winter, with biting cold, food that might not last until spring and a chance of sickness and death.  No wonder then that as people faced this they turned to superstition and magic.


It is said that at Hallowe'en the souls of the departed and the beings from other worlds may cross more easily into our world.  The true origins of our modern festival have been lost in the mists of time, but the traditions we now have are doubtless directly descended from ancient folklore.  Feasting and bonfires to mark the end of the harvest, sacrificial offerings and homage to the dead.

I prefer a more natural Hallowe'en than the orange Chinese plastic one sold to us by giant supermarkets.  I like to walk in the countryside as the sun sets, always sinking faster than I expect, always with that feeling that maybe I won't reach the safety of hearth and home before darkness claims me.


These are shots of Puzzlewood, a strange and atmospheric wood not far from here.  The paths are sunken below the ground, so that you have to look up at the tree roots.  It is said to have inspired Tolkien in his creation of Middle Earth, and programmes such as Merlin and Dr Who are filmed here.  It is a unique and oddly unsettling place.  The light is low beneath the trees, down in the ditches where slippery tracks run between huge rocky outcrops.   The stone is covered with moss and ferns.  A witch lives in a cave deep in the heart of the wood.  I imagine she is the sort of person you would visit in the desperate darkness of winter when you had nowhere else to turn.


The colours of the witch's world are where I look for Hallowe'en.  The fathomless black of the stone shadow, the mossy greens of damp forest foliage, the chestnut brown of fallen leaves and acorns, the neutral beiges of toadstools, the occasional flash of a red berry or fly agaric.  Ingredients for potions to lift curses and cure ills.

When you consider the bleakness and danger of ancient winters, you can understand why people were happy to believe in the power of a witch.  In a time before supermarkets and hospitals, when it was just you and those you love, alone in the darkness, when hunger and sickness could finish you, how could you not believe in magic?

To visit the other Colour Collaborative blogs for more of this month's posts, just click on the links below:

            Annie at Annie Cholewa                                     Gillian at Tales from a Happy House

            Sandra at Cherry Heart                                      Jennifer at Thistlebear

And October's guest poster, Steph at Woolythyme

What is The Colour Collaborative?

All creative bloggers make stuff, gather stuff, shape stuff, and share stuff.  Mostly they work on their own, but what happens when a group of them work together?  Is a creative collaboration greater than the sum of its parts?  We think so and we hope you will too.  We'll each be offering our own monthly take on a colour related theme, and hoping that in combination our ideas will encourage us, and perhaps you, to think about colour in new ways.

33 comments:

  1. Lovely post and very atmospheric photos of the holloway. Would love to visit, it looks so beautiful.

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  2. Hi CJ, I can see that in years gone by you would be glad to focus on one night being particularly spooky...then hopefully move on. Puzzlewood looks like a great place to visit if you want to feel a bit spooked!
    Jacquie x

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  3. Such an atmospheric place, the ideal location for Halloween. I can understand why it's inspired authors and why it's used for filming.

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  4. Very atmospheric photos. Just noticed Chickpea used the same word so you have captured the mood impressively.

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  5. Oh yes, CJ, well said. You can see why people turned to magic (and religion) in times of fear or need, when there was nothing else. What an interesting post. I am quite taken by that wood - it looks like a film set. I'd love to visit it, and think that autumn really is the perfect time to go. x

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  6. Love this take on Halloween! It certainly evokes a very spooky halloween feel and you could certainly imagine a witch appearing around the corner at any moment.

    S x

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  7. Ooh I have goosebumps CJ ! Such a beautifully atmospheric post.
    Happy Hallowe'en,
    Kate xx

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  8. oh, i'm most definitely a believer...what an enchanting place!

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  9. What a spooky, but beautiful place to walk.

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  10. Oh CJ that wood! And your words! Have you read the Outcast series ifof books by Michelle Paver? You and your boys would love them.
    Leanne xx

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  11. These pictures have so much depth behind them. This does look like the perfect place to take a walk around during this time of year and get your fill of cold chills running up your spine. You really made me think about the folklore and history of the holiday and how scary the approaching winter us have seemed. Hope you have a wonderful (and spooky) day:)

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  12. This post is so beautifully written, CJ. I really like the way you explored the more spectral side of the holiday. Here, we don't tend to look at it that way so it was very interesting to me. I hope you enjoy the day.

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  13. What a wonderful imagination of this time of year. Thanks for the beautiful photos--indeed a place for Halloween spooks!

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  14. An interesting post and terrific photos. I like to see the sky so I'm not keen on places like that. Flighty xx

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  15. Puzzlewood looks stunning! Would love to visit and get lost there. Exposed tree roots and moss covered stone are so enchanting. Awesome name for a place too!
    Miss Tulip x
    The Thrifty Magpies Nest

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  16. Spookily fascinating.

    Given that specialist knowledge of healing herbs and the like was so hard to come by long ago and was only passed on to a privileged few, I think we can only begin to imagine how magical a 'witch's' healing potions must have seemed. I wonder if we are even capable of that kind of wonder in our information age.

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  17. Powerful post CJ! I often think that our modern culture is completely spoiled and like you like to think what it was like in those days. How dark and cold it must have been indeed. And these shots evoke such a mysterious feeling that is so well suited for Halloween! Thank you for passing along the goodness! Wishing you all good things! Nicole xo

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  18. OooEEEooo! That is some scary place! I think we all forget how really scary the onset of winter was in the days of old... coldness, worrying what the next meal would be.. thanks for the evocative post. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  19. I would very much explore Puzzlewood, it looks magic and mysterious, and a bit spooky, too. I don't get very exited about Halloween, it is not something I grew up with and I think such traditions need to be with you from small. A spooky walk is just what I fancy. Unfortunately, I have to man the house whilst the rest goes out, to receive all those tiny trick or treaters with their sweet jokes. x

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  20. I really enjoyed this post. My boys are still very young, and we live way out of town with no neighbours. I worry that I'm somehow depriving them by not dressing them up and parading them around to collect candy. It's nice to be reminded that that wasn't always what this time was about. Your photos of Puzzlewood are beautiful, looks like a place I'd love to explore!

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  21. We visited Puzzlewood (twice) over the years and my boys LOVED it. In summer it was more magical and mysterious than spooky though, fortunately. We try to bypass Halloween (hard though it is) since I hate how it absolutely terrifies my youngest, and seems only to be about eating as many sweets as possible. The fun has gone out of it (here anyway).

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  22. I love your pictures!! Than it was called magic, now it's called sience..........I think the witches, wizzards, shaman and druids knew exactly wat they were doing. Nowadays I sometimes doubt that.

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  23. Even the name of the wood is brilliant, and fitting. Love the photos the first is my favourite, the colours are magical.

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  24. Oh, love it CJ! Great spooky description and really cool photos! I'm joining you in the ban on an orange plastic Chinese Halloween!

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  25. I love Puzzlewood! haven't been for years and years...

    (Halloween feels wrong in England... when I was in the US, yes, brilliant.. but here? can't feel it)

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  26. What a wonderful post, like you I enjoy being outdoors at this time of the year. That wood is amazing and inspiring, I would have a problem keeping out of it!xxx

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  27. I love your take on this subject and agree with you CJ. xx

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  28. Ooh that is a spooky wood! I love the moss covered trees and stones. What evocative writing, CJ. Superstition must have played a much more central part in people's lives years ago when times were uncertain and you didn't know if you'd survive from one winter to the next. A very thoughtful post. x

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  29. That wood is so Harry Potter and I can see the Tolkien inspiration (love the Lord of the Rings books). Beautifully written post, CJ, really enjoyed reading this and seeing your photos. Caro x

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  30. I can see why you'd find that place unsettling. So many potential hiding places for little watchers! You've got me thinking about the past and about natural magic. I've always had a bit of an interest in Paganism and natural medicines - maybe it's time to do a bit more reading.
    And I agree completely about the supermarket approach. All that disposable plastic sold cheaply, too...
    S x

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  31. I can see why so many TV programmes are filmed there. Very atmospheric. Great post - and I agree about the supermarket plastic, we tried to avoid it as much as possible.

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  32. What a beatuiful, magical and slightly spooky place. Wonderful!

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