It's all about the Screams

October 28, 2011

It's all about the Screams

It's that creepy time of year, where once every 365 days you're left wondering if that love potion you bought from that gypsy at that circus at the beginning of the year is finally going to work - because now is the one time in a year, you can test this theory.

Let's find out more about Halloween. Why? Well, why the hell not? If the time calls for it, then I say:

Let's write a bloody blog!

History of Halloween (the short version)

Around 2, 000 years ago the Celts had a festival commemorating the end of the year. Their New Year took place on November 1st and their New Year festival was called Samhain.

The end of their year signaled the end of Summer, the end of harvest and the beginning of a long, hard Winter that often caused many deaths of animals and people. Because of this, and the cruel Winter to come, this time of the year signified death to the Pagan Celtics.

They believed the night before the New Year, the wall between the living and the dead was opened, allowing spirits of the dead (good and bad) to mingle among the living. Some of these spirits were thought to possess living people causing trouble, the ruin of crops or to search for a passage to the afterlife.

Why do we dress up?

One of their beliefs during this festival was to dress up in outlandish costumes and roam the neighborhood making noises to scare the spirits away.

Another, is when a bonfire is lit, you throw a stone into the fire and once the fire had died, you needed to search for your stone. If it could not be found - you would die within that year. (Anyone want to test that theory and let me know how it works out for you?)

There is still a lot more to the story, but just as the title reads, that's the short version. If you want to find out more, there are ways and means, so stop being lazy and go find out on your ace.

Five things you didn't know about Halloween

The traditional Halloween colours are black and orange - black symbolizing darkness and orange symbolizing the Harvest.
Halloween is second only to Christmas when it comes to consumer spending.
Apart from trick or treating, haunted house attractions are the most popular Halloween activity.
Jack o'lanterns, a tradition from Ireland and Scotland, were originally carved from potatoes, beets or turnips, not pumpkins.
Fear of Halloween is called Samhainopobia.

Halloween Superstitions

Candles on Halloween

If a candle flame ever turns blue on Halloween, a ghost is nearby. If a flame ever goes out by itself, a ghost has come to call.

Jack O'Lanterns

Everybody knows that candles in Jack O'Lanterns are meant to keep the spirits at bay, but if you gaze into the flame, you can peer into your future. It works best if you burn a new orange candle from midnight to sunrise, and it'll give you good luck. However, if you burn a Halloween candle at any other time of the year, bad things will happen to you that will remain out of your control.

Seeing your future husband and children

A girl who carries a broken egg in a glass to a stream can catch a glimpse of her future husband and children, if she mixes some of the spring water in the glass on Halloween Day. That night, she must return to the stream with a lamp and she'll be able to see her future husband's reflection.

Another legend involves a girl immersing herself in a dark room with a single candle as her only source of light. She must place the candle in front of a mirror and peer into it while either eating an apple or combing through her hair. After a few minutes, the face of her future husband will appear over her shoulder.

Omens of Death

If you hear footseps behind you on Halloween night, don't look back because it could be Death himself. Staring Death in the face is sure to hasten your own demise according to ancient folklore. It's also said that if you cast a headless shadow or no shadow at all, you will die within a year.

Bats

If a bat flies around your house three times on Halloween night, it is foretelling a death. If it flies into your house, a ghost is approaching. However, if bats come out early and start flying around playfully, it's a sign of good weather in the near future.

Warding off ghosts and evil spirits

Bury animal bones or place a picture of a beloved animal near every doorway of your house. This is said to keep unfriendly entities out.

(Note: For all the stupid people out there, I am not suggesting you kill an animal and bury it. If you do, my legion of flesh eating pixies will hunt you down and eat you from the inside out.)

Spiders

If you see a spider on Halloween, don't kill it!!! It just might be the spirit of a departed loved one watching over you.

Lighting the Witches

In Lancashire, people used to carry candles from eleven till midnight. If the candles kept burning, they were safe. If they burned out, however, it was a bad omen. This tradition came to be called "Lighting the Witches."

Mashed potatoes on Halloween

Make up a huge batch of mashed potatoes on Halloween. Place a ring, a penny, a button, a heart shaped charm, a shell and a key into the mix. Dish up the mashed potatoes to your friends on a plate and according to legend, the one who gets the ring will marry first, the penny signifies wealth, the button symbolizes a bachelor or spinsterhood, the heart charm means passionate love, the shell means a long journey and the key is an omen of great success and power.

My Halloween Adventure

Because Halloween falls on a Monday this year, it's not surprising that everyone took the entire weekend as an opportunity to dress up and do all the naughty things, they might think twice about doing on any 'normal' occasion.

Myself; I went to Trinity. This is a club inspired by the UK 'super-clubs' and once you walk through the glass doors, you're instantly hit with glamour and a scent of expensive.

The reason why I happened to go to this club on Halloween, which is a good 45min away from my house... well, if this picture isn't reason enough for you, then stop reading now:

Thanks to Capetowners I won two VIP tickets, so naturally took Richard Kuiper with me and through some convincing and lot's of mingling Lesley, Marilyn and Fritz decided to come along for the ride.

Left to Right: Nikita (Me), Richard, Marilyn, Lesley

Walking through the doors and heading towards a spiraling staircase that takes you to the VIP lounge on the top floor, we walked past a small cozy bar and found Marilyn and Fritz already getting the party started with a few drinks. After collecting them we made our way up to the second level, which stopped us ladies dead in our tracks.

To the left you have a sit down restaurant - the kind you see in movies that are found in the heart of New York City. The decor was complete with simple white table clothes that poured towards the floor, with a mix of black and silver to give it that extra edge. On the table was a scatter of tall silver candle sticks, which only belong in a palace, but somehow managed to look perfect in this room. Standing to the side, either assisting the waitress' or just standing there for everyone's view, was a topless guy suited up in just a black bow tie and a six pack as an accessory. Exactly what any woman wants to see when she hits a PlayBoy Party - who says men are the only ones who can have fun?!

To your right, you end up staring into an old fashioned cigar lounge with leather arm chairs, a small bar and people standing around, mingling with the nearest eager set of ears. This was a very vintage look, which on it's first glance reminded me of the interior of the ship seen in the movie League of extraordinary gentlemen - as stunning as it was, this was not where I wanted to stop on a night out.

Gathering momentum we reached the top floor of Trinity and instantly turned to our left. Making a huge statement with the simpliest of furniture, we found the sushi bar. Two steps up, a giant marble table with clear plastic bar stools centered the room and one shy Chinese/Japanese man was found behind a similar bar, creating the masterpieces.

To our right we found what we were looking for; a small line had already formed with a bouncer looking hardcore and checking to see if people had on their bright pink PlayBoy VIP bracelets and before we had time to think, our legs had started walking towards the place we belonged - the VIP lounge!

Once through the barrier, we landed in a highly fashionable lounge (the kind where, couches are made for looking pretty and don't get extra points for being comfortable) with a bar which blew my mind - the counter came up to my knees and the bar staff reached my pelvic - no, we're not talking about midgets, but rather, a dropped bar with a high counter and rounded arm chairs when, once seated, you were the perfect height. It was a great mind f**ck experience.

Yes, this is all great you may be saying, but really, you spent your Halloween dressed up just to go sit around eating and drinking? No. We didn't. Drink in hand, we made our way to the extended side of the VIP lounge area and were greeted with an array of electric blue and purple lightening. Walking towards the noise and lights, like a zombie attracted to fresh meat, we found ourselves standing at the top of a stair case, which spiraled in two directions - left and right.

Without a second thought, we made our way downstairs and found the heart of Trinity - the dance floor. Standing in the center of the room, we felt like Alice in Wonderland in a palace made just for exploring... and that's exactly what we did. Heading to the bar that stretched across one wall, we got our second (possibly third) round of drinks and checked out our playpen. The DJ was getting the night started with some heavy dance tunes and you couldn't miss him as he sat within his box, like a King on his throne. To the left of him were mini tables and chairs scattered from the stage to under the staircase all the way across, so naturally we did what any group would do - danced our way to a table.

The night whirled into a land of bubblegum Tequila, Ponchos, Jack Daniels, amazing music, PlayBoy Bunnies and pure exhilaration.

Trinity was mind-blowing in the sense of delivering the best eye-candy I've had the pleasure of delving into, the different atmosphere's were exactly what any mixed group of friends going out for a night needed. Though this place has three floors and holds a huge amount of people, no matter if you get split up, somehow, you seem to find your way home.

A magical Wonderland that I loved exploring at night and want to explore in the light of day (they serve lunch too!) but one thing disappointed me: The Management.

I'm not sure if it was because of the organizers and promoters but really, how much can you blame the entertainment when it reflects on the club and it's owners. A standard ticket for Trinity is R80 which means to bounce up to VIP, you need to pay an extra R60. With this extra R60, you are promised the chance to feel like a rock-star, your drinks are R7-R10 cheaper than at the other bars (depending on your poison) and as a VIP you're promised free platters of food all night long.

Unfortunately, we didn't feel like rock-stars. Being one of the first 100 people to arrive, we were disappointed to find that none of the barmen knew about the free Fish Eagle and mix that was suppose to be handed out - we got sent to three different bars, by three different 'managers' to try and get this "free" drink. We eventually got it and it was through no help with the managers, but rather, through the help of a barman who wanted to avoid conflict.

With regards to the platters - there weren't any. By 24h00 I was starving (because being the food lover I am, I held off dinner to experience the food of Trinity) and tried to find a place to eat - there was only one place open and that was all the way down on the first floor. So off we all went on a mission to find food. Looking at the menu, I explained to what must have been the manager of the pizza place that their non-existant platters weren't good enough and so I had to come downstairs to eat instead. The best response and confirmation of bad management, was the blank stare I received from this man. After explaining we were promised food platters and after showing him this on his event page on the internet, he gave us two pizzas on the house.

All in all, it was a spectacular night because of the people who dressed up, the friends I got to share this occasion with and the experience of a new place in Cape Town.

My advice to you:

Go to Trinity, try it out, have fun, get drunk, dance till you can't move and forget about the world BUT don't go to Trinity based upon promises in an event, because you will be disappointed.

Here are some pics of our night out: