The International October2 2013

Page 9

F E A T U R E S

Spooktacular Have your creepiest Halloween yet!

FOr a Spook without sweat...maybe

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pend the night in and spook yourself out. Hit the lights, turn on your laptop and cozy up with an order of Pumpkin Spice Iced Coffee. Here are a few short stories to give you the chills:

“I begin tucking him into bed and he tells me, ‘Daddy, check for monsters under my bed.’ I look underneath for his amusement and see him – another him – under the bed, staring back at me quivering and whispering, ‘Daddy there’s somebody on my bed.’” “I just saw my reflection blink.”

“You hear your mom calling you into the kitchen. As you are heading down the stairs from your bedroom, you hear a whisper from the bathroom saying, “don’t go down there honey, I heard it too.” “The grinning face stared at me from the darkness beyond my bedroom window. I live on the 14th floor.”

Stories from Michael Koh, Thought Catalog

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Then & Now

very year on October 31st, excited children step out onto the streets in various disguises. On this night, they go around, ready to ask for their favorite treats from adults waiting to hand them out. This has been going on for years, but what is the real reason behind this tradition? If we trace back to the history of Halloween, it leads us to about 2,000 years ago. Back then, the day belonged to an ancient harvest festival called ‘Samhain’ that marked the end of summer and the start of a dark winter. Celtic priests would wear animal skins while sacrificing crops and animals to their Gods. It was also a commonly held belief that many spirits would return on the eve of this night to destroy these crops and to trick the living. In order to entertain the dead and avoid possession, many Celtics dressed up as witches, ghosts and goblins. Much later, when the Romans came to the Celtic territories, they brought a day to honor the dead in late October. Later, as Christianity spread to these territories, another holiday called “All Saints Days” was brought to the Celtics. The name later transformed into “All Hallows Eve,” and was eventually abbreviated as “Hallowe’en.” As time went on, traditions changed. In the 1800s, as Irish and English immigrants moved to the United States, they brought along the tradition of dressing up as the Samhain had.

O CTO B ER

These immigrants, along with the Americans, would dress up and go from house to house asking for food and money. This eventually developed into the tradition of “trick-or-treating.” Information from Origins of Halloween by Damira Pon

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Popular Attractions in Nichada Thani

n the mood for some real American treats? Make your way to Regent! It’s past the main entrance of the school, past Nichakorn and across the main soccer field. According to Maggie Turner (11), the crowd in Regent may start to get too heavy, so you may want to stop by at Premier Place 3 or Palm Tree, further down Nichada Thani, past Regent. The candy will be waiting! If you’re in the mood to send shivers down your spine, be sure to visit the haunted house in Nichada Park! You are guaranteed one of the most hauntingly memorable experiences ever, but one piece of advice: don’t go in alone! Make you sure you have a hand to hold when you make a run for it. Arya Bhai

2013

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