Walpurgis Night, April 30th – a brief overview

Walpurgis Night, April 30th

Walpurgis Night is the biggest holiday in the witches and sorcerers calendar, even bigger than All Hallows Eve. It is at the time when magic is at its strongest. There are numerous celebrations that take place on this night in the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland and Estonia. The celebrations and gatherings (covens) reinforce and strengthen any spells, incantations and conjuring being executed. It is also known as one of those ‘between times,’ where it’s not yet spring and no longer winter. Along with the ‘between times’ is a belief that the veil between living and dead are the most thin and the spirit world is close at hand for beckoning, divination and to be put to use.

The biggest celebration and gathering is on the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains, a group of hills in central Germany near the Weser River. In most of the celebrations, huge bonfires are lit and revelry continues into the morning hours.

Gallery of Witchcraft art and photos through the ages. Not reflective of wiccans or modern witch lifestyles.

The Grave Dancers (2006) – movie review

The Grave Dancers (2006)

Directed by Mike Mendez

If you like in-your-face ghost horror, poltergeist attacks and you want a good scare the next time you watch a flick, I would suggest you check this film out. To me, this is a fun film, scary in parts and humorous in other parts. The story is simple but effective. You dance on a grave and the buried spirit is let loose to exact revenge for the disrespect. After a buddy’s death a few ol’ friends from college get together, get drunk, and go to the cemetery in the middle of the night to pay their final respects. They find a card with a limerick on it and read it aloud. Although it suggests dancing in honor of the dearly departed, which they do, it is actually an incantation for spiritual haunting. Unfortunately, the graves this group of friends dance upon are in Potter’s Field, where psychopaths and mental patients were buried. There are three well-defined ghosts in this film – not CG or even wispy see-thru phantoms, but in your face, solid entities. One is a jilted lover who seeks to strike out against any happy couple – revenge for her lover leaving and her subsequent suicide. The second is a psychotic child who likes to start fires. At age 10, he burnt down his home with his family trapped inside. And lastly, is the deranged doctor who raped and tortured women when he was alive and seeks to continue his sadistic pleasures in the afterlife. They are all portrayed in a frightening manner and Mendez does an excellent job at making the viewer feel the threat of these entities. It starts out slow like a traditional haunting and builds some good tension and suspense. It soon escalates into violent poltergeist activity.  It was packaged in the original ‘Frightfest: 8 films to die for‘ marketing device and I would consider this the best one of them all. Strong ‘R’ Rating!

Recommended if you like: The Conjuring, Poltergeist, The Amityville Horror, etc.