October Edition
Trick or Treat!
Did you know?
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Halloween is the second highest grossing
commercial holiday after Christmas
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Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween.
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Ireland is believed to be the birthplace of Halloween
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According to tradition, if a person wears his
or her clothes inside out and then walks
backwards on Halloween, he or she will
see a witch at midnight.
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Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion
dollars annually in the United States being
purchased around 600 million pounds of
Candy a year for Halloween by americans
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Black cats were once believed to be witch's
familiars who protected their powers.
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If you see a spider on Halloween, it is the spirit of a loved one watching over you.
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Orange was chosen because of its
association with the fall harvest and black
was chosen due to association with dark
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Halloween is one of the world’s oldest holidays.
Movies
To Watch:
The Equalizer
The Equalizer is an American thrilled film directed by Antoine Fuqua; it tells the story of a man who decided to leave his dark and dangerous part aside after his wife’s death. However, one night a young lady will impact his life in a way that will make him go back to the life he did no longer live. The man will get in trouble after trying to help and protect innocent and vulnerable people, such as prostitutes and humble individuals who have been threatened and frightened by rich, illegal, Russian businessmen and the police.
Personally, I really liked this movie, not only because it was not boring at all, but also because of its message. No, don’t worry I am not going to spoil the end; instead I am just going to say some of the many things that caught my attention in the movie. The first one is that while everyone is trying to change the world, the man in the film –the protector- is changing and impacting people’s lives, which, I think is definitely more meaningful. One of the reasons I think that way is because at the end of the day an object is not ever going to be grateful because you created it, while people are always going to appreciate the fact that you helped them when they needed you to. Things are things and people are people; even though this sounds pretty obvious it means more than you think. Humanity often uses things to change the world, and despite the fact it’s satisfying, changing people’s lives intensifies the feeling even more. In other words, you feel that you have done your job in this world; you have gone beyond.
In my opinion, at the end of the day what will make your life worthy will be the footprints you left in others. Don’t misunderstand me; I am not talking about material or tangible stuff that will make them remember you, but about the way you acted in order to make a change in their lives. In the case of the movie, the protector used what he knew to help others.
To conclude, the main message I got from the movie was that an ordinary person can make extraordinary changes if he or she does what he loves the most with passion and never forgetting about others. Having said that, no one should ever refuse to help others if he or she is in the condition to do so.
I invite you, to make extraordinary changes by changing people’s lives; and remember being ordinary is not an impediment.
Lucy
It is believed that human beings only use 10% of their brain capacity however; with just the 10% look how far we´ve come. Taking this premise into account, Lucy shows how humans would be if they started using their brain`s full capacity. Starring by Scarlett Johansson, Lucy tells the story of a woman whose body was filled with a really strong drug by the Korean mafia and starts to have both mental and physical changes. Lucy starts to have amazing abilities no other human has, however, having a “perfect” brain will bring serious consequences. Directed by Luc Besson, this movie has been acclaimed for its excellent visual effects and Johansson´s great performance.
The reason why this movie is memorable is because it makes you think about what humans have labeled as truth. In order to understand life and everything it contains, human beings have invented a series of concepts like numbers or language; nevertheless, these are just human creations, they are a reflection of reality but they are not reality. Personally, this movie made me think about the fact that we catalogue everything we have created as truth but in the end we don´t know anything about our reality. Our inventions have been just an effort in understanding life which is why I think it is silly to believe that we have discovered a lot about the reality we live in.
WARNING
The contenet of the next section is sensitive. If you get easily scared, please skip this section
Creepypasta (Because we all have our scary lover side)
By: Laura Torres 10B
“Creepypasta are essentially internet horror stories, passed around on forums and other sites
to disturb and frighten readers. The name "Creepypasta" comes from the word "copypasta",
an internet slang term for a block of text that gets copied and pasted over and over again from
website to website.”
- http://creepypasta.wikia.com
I have always been a huge fan of scary and spooky things, and I totally love reading Creepypasta.
I must admit that there are many silly and boring ones, but at the same time there are other ones
that have given me shivers and made me look behind me. So now I am going to give you some
short Creepypastas to invite you and persuade you to join this fantastic and spooky world. Here
are two of my favorite Creepypastas that in my opinion have that scary and spooky feeling that I
love.
The Russian Sleep Experiment:
This one is my favorite one of all the Creepypasta in the world. I remember that the first time I read it I thought it was real and got really freaked out and scared.
This Creepypasta tells the story of a Russian experiment that used political prisoners during World War II as test subjects. They were kept awake during fifteen days using and experimental gas in a sealed and carefully monitored environment. But as the experiment kept going, strange and very scary things stated to happen.
Here is a little part to get you interested:
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“After nine days the first of them started screaming. He ran the length of the chamber repeatedly yelling at the top of his lungs for 3 hours straight, he continued attempting to scream but was only able to produce occasional squeaks. The researchers postulated that he had physically torn his vocal cords. The most surprising thing about this behavior is how the other captives reacted to it... or rather didn't react to it. They continued whispering to the microphones until the second of the captives started to scream. The 2 non-screaming captives took the books apart, smeared page after page with their own feces and pasted them calmly over the glass portholes. The screaming promptly stopped. So did the whispering to the microphones.”
Where to read it:
Mandu
Mandu must not be too far. Don't try to remember traumas, because Mandu will bring them back. Don't think about your worst fears, since Mandu will make them come true.
While you pass saliva down your throat, and you feel a chill run down your neck and spine, Mandu is thinking on what to do to you, in how to avenge the people affected by your person. Guess what? Mandu is right above you now, but DON'T STARE UP AT HIM and avoid any object that reflects your personal space and don't look at them (glasses, mirrors, etc). If you're still reading this, you're lucky, Mandu's still thinking on what to do to you. Maybe he'll cut your tongue off so you don't hurt any more people with your words, or tear your hands off so you don't hit anyone, or take your eyeballs off so you don't look at illicit things. Everyone, without knowing, can fall victim to Mandu, because all of mankind hurts each other, and Mandu must fulfill his job. Do you know about people that committed suicide? They never really hurt themselves, they were killed by Mandu. To be honest, this one is not scary when you read it the second time, but the first time I read it I felt a little bit paranoid, maybe it was because it was dark and I was alone at my room, but this is totally one of my favorite. This Creepypasta is in my opinion a very original one and to get the full effect of it then you should read it at night and alone. Since this one is really short I will put it here, hope you enjoy it.
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“Do you know who Mandu is? Take a deep breath and be patient, stay calm, he's not behind you. Mandu is right now in your room, he's in plain sight from where you're reading this. Don't try to look for him, he'd get mad. Mandu is that being that tries to hurt you in your most terrifying nightmares, that's why it is advised to try to wake up as quickly as possible in one of them. Mandu is also the spirit of the people you've hurt in the past, and thus Mandu will seek revenge for them. Mandu is the fears you try to avoid, what you don't want to see, what you don't want to feel, Mandu is the hellfire you try to avoid, and the knife you don't want to fall victim to. In this moment, Mandu is slowly creeping towards you. DO NOT STARE, stay still, I repeat, Mandu hates it when you try to look for him. That nervousness you feel from head to feet, that is a sign that out people that died in accidents? Mandu.Perhaps, right now or maybe later, you'll die drowned, or maybe choked, or in an accident, or any of the worst deaths you could suffer, and then, Mandu will have finally avenged. You should have been a kind-hearted human long time ago.”
Where to read it:
Top 5 Scariest Places in the World
Ghosts and enchanted palaces. Places that impress the tourists with their legends and become popular on Halloween.
1. Sdlec Ossuary
Imagine a museum full of art pieces of all kinds but elaborated with human bones! This is what you can find in Sdlec Ossuary in Czech Republic. The museum is located inside a catholic church and was made from the bones of 40.000 people.
2. Salem Witches
Salem is a city in Massachusetts, US, where in 1692, 25 people were accused of witchcraft and condemned to death. There are some people that believe their spirits are still there. There is a book and a movie about it.
3. Island Of The Dolls
Thousands of broken dolls, hang on trees in a forest near Xocomilco canals in Mexico City, it was created by Julián Santana, a loner who; tells the legend, wanted to scare a spirit that chased him.
4. Bran Castle
In the region of Transilvania, in actual Rumania, in the Bran castle says the legend there lived Vlad Dracula, a feared prince who was the inspiration of the writer Bram Stoker to create the legend of Count Dracula.
5. Gonjinam Psychiatric Hospital
They say this ancient psychiatric hospital in Korea, is haunted. People that live in the zone tell that the patients staying there started dying mysteriously. Nowadays it is desolated and closed.