Hallowe’en e’en! (A wander around North Berwick)

 

So, Hallowe’en is short for All Hallows Evening right? Meaning the eve before All Hallows Day….

So does that mean today is All Hallows Evening, Evening? Or Hallowe’en e’en?

Whether it does, or it doesn’t we’re running out of time for festivities anyhoo!  Just as well then, that I went round my fair town of North Berwick (famous for, among other things, it’s witches) and found some suitable decorations!  There seems to be a bit less this year, which is a shame, but they finally put the Pumpkins in front of one the churches today, which after last year’s display I was happy about! Here’s a look at what I found….

First up,  right beside where I have my coffee in the morning when the weather allows me to go sit by the beach, were this little lot of pumpkin friends!

This one seems very happy!

And I don’t want to tell this one there’s no glass in his spectacles….maybe it’s just a Halloween costume?

Next it’s the bunch at the church…which, perhaps surprisingly, look way more mischievous!

Definitely more of a harvesty feel with this lot too!

That hairy pumpkin reminds me of Bobby from King of the Hill….

These are definitely the pair not to mess with….look at those toothy grins!

This one does seem to be spitting out a skull though….or is that just the skull’s hat…..This is just weird….

Oh, is that a pumpkin bird hiding in the basket?  That’s cool if it is! 

Anyway, next I had a specific place I had to visit, but on the way, I found this, randomly outside an art shop I can’t remember seeing before…

This weird pumpkin witch and her cat!

Here’s a wider shot so you can see her awesome shoes.  Also there is an owl….

I get the impression the owl just happens to be there all the time though, and isn’t specifically for Halloween…it’s still pretty awesome though! He gives me Bubo from Clash of the Titans vibes!

Ah, and now we’ve made it to here….what’s this place, I hear you ask….doesn’t seem very halloweeny…

In fact, it’s the ruins of an old church…..still not very spooky though.. (wait, did that say murder?)….

Inside is maybe a bit spookier, but still doesn’t show why we’re here for Hallowe’en…

…until you turn and face the other wall…

Witches!  Yes, this is where the famous North Berwick Witches were supposed to have gathered to meet the devil, and sing songs meant to sink a king…

Of course, whether they did or not is open to question….but some of the people who were tried as witches were my ancestors, or at the very least, relatives of my ancestors….but that’s a story for another time….oh yes, quite the story….

Here’s some more pics from the church ruins…

This view above is of the green at the back of the church, where the witches supposedly danced and fornicated…..Vincent Price done a bit about them and everything, on one of his albums..The Witches Reel was the name of the track…terrible pronunciations and all! Here’s a better version of the “Witches’ Reel” with correct pronunciation and a bit of music too!

This pic shows North Berwick Law, the old volcano that shadows the town….there’s a big whale Jawbone on top to make it all seem a but more Lovecraftian….or at least there was…it’s been replaced with a fibre glass one in very recent times…

And there’s out to sea where the witches were cooking up a storm! The Bass Rock can be seen here….a big plug from the volcano and home to hundreds of sea birds, whose poop makes it shine white in the sunlight!

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I hope you enjoyed that little look at stuff around my town….my parents place is also very near to witchity places, which despite being nearly 19 miles away is also connected to the North Berwick witches….and yes, I had witch ancestors….witch, sorry which I will delve into and divulge more of at a later date. Because there’s one who wasn’t a North Berwick witch too…,

Only one day left of the Countdown! As usual, I’ll probably do more than one post tomorrow as I like to have a splurge of spookiness to go out on! In the meantime, catch up with what everyone else has been doing over at the Countdown hub as we all approach the big finale! Click below to head there now…