(YouTube link)

A Halloween greeting for you from Furball Fables.

The following is an article from Uncle John’s Great Big Bathroom Reader.

We've all heard the werewolf legend, seen it in films and on TV. In real life, it's called Lycanthropy. Here's a little of its history.

ANIMAL TALES

Nearly every society has legends about people who can change into animals. In Russia there are stories of were-bears. In Africa, they have were-leopards, were-hyenas, and were-hippos. In Asia there are tales about were-tigers, elephants, crocodiles, snakes, and even sharks. Why are these animals singled out? "In almost all case," Nancy Garden writes in her book, Werewolves, "the animal has these characteristics: 1) It is commonly found in the area; 2) It is feared by the inhabitants; and 3) It has been known to attack people and/or farm animals."

In Europe, wolves fit that profile: As the population grew over the centuries, Europeans settled in parts of the continent where wolves had roamed freely. As the wildlife that wolves depended on for food began to disappear, they often preyed on livestock. And when food was really scarce, they might even go after humans. As late as 1875, an estimated 160 people were attacked by starving packs of wolves in Russia. So it's not surprising that when Europeans told scary stories by the fireside, wolves were a common subject. Their spooky habit of howling at the moon made then that much more fearsome.

THE WEREWOLF TRIALS

No one (or at least hardly anyone) believes in werewolves today, but in the Middle Ages, they were taken quite seriously. "Of all the world's monsters," says Daniel Cohen in his book Werewolves, "the werewolf is the one that has been most widely believed in, and the most widely feared." Here are some of the things people commonly believed:

* A person could become a werewolf in a number of ways: if he was cursed, drank water from a wolf's pawprint, ate the meat of an animal killed by a wolf, wore a girdle made of wolfskin, or used a magic salve. "The business about becoming a werewolf after being bitten by another werewolf is basically a creation of the movies," says Cohen. "'Real' were wolves didn't just bite people, they tore their victims to pieces and ate them."

* In some versions of the legend, the werewolf remained human, but took on wolf characteristics, such as fur, fangs, and paws. In other variations, the person literally turned into a wolf.

* Werewolves could be killed any way that a normal wolf could be killed.

DEMON WOLVES

It was commonly accepted that werewolves were in league with the devil.

Don't take this thing trick or treating as it can't actually hold that much candy, but man is it a cool way to store your candy later on.

Link Via Make

Halloween is still largely considered to be an American holiday, but more and more countries are joining in on the spooky sweet fun each year, and it seems like Halloween may one day be a holiday that the entire world celebrates together!

France

Photo:  Fracassi Family

Don’t you know that you don’t get a treat if you’re not wearing a costume? In France it’s no costume no problem, and even though they’re relatively new to the holiday, people are happy to give out treats to any trick-or-treaters who show up at their door.

Photo: Lupo Lupo/Flickr

Costumed kids and parents take to the streets of Paris, France in search of sweets. It has become a yearly tradition for families to go trick-or-treating around Paris on Halloween night, due in large part to the 1997 advertising push by American companies and France’s own Telecom to make Halloween an official holiday.

England

Photo:  SiGarb/Wikimedia Commons

The Antrobus Soul-Cakers are a British mummers troupe (folk actors) who perform a souling play (a play about death and revival) each year at Halloween for the eager holiday crowds in Cheshire. This picture was taken in 1976, but the tradition is just as popular today as it was back then.

Photo: National Geographic

Fang-tastic Halloween decorations were strung across a busy street in Blackpool, England back in 1998, earning it the nickname Halloween Highway.

Japan

Photo: HAMACHI!/Flickr

Parents and kids take to the streets of the Harajuku District in one of many parades that take place in honor of Halloween. You gotta love a parade, especially one full of people in crazy costumes!

A little edible ink, some gingerbread cookies, and some licorice and you too can make your own awesome voodoo doll cookies. Then all you need are some toothpicks with jellybeans on top to serve as your pins.

Link

While plenty of goth skull and skeleton stuff is created today, particularly around Halloween, this is a vintage piece from 1780 that would make a pretty awesome Halloween dinner centerpiece even today. Although, personally, I'd be happy to keep it around all year long.

Link Via BoingBoing

Granted, it does look a little like an S&M pumpkin, but when you think about it, Edward's clothing was pretty masochistic in itself, so the whole thing works pretty well.

Link

Apparently the grandfather of grunge isn't dead, he's just been plotting a way to defeat Batman!

Kurt CoBANE has moved out of Seattle and in to Gotham City, and his voice change is an unfortunate side effect of all the drugs fed to him by his insane wife Courtney Love. Maybe that's why he's so angry at ol' Batsy...

Link

(YouTube Link)

Explore the science behind the possibility of a zombie apocalypse with this crudely drawn short by AsapSCIENCE.

They'll school you on the facts, and not the media hype created by coverage of whacked out bath salt addicts chewing on people's faces.

A zombie apocalypse has never seemed so...plausible? *scratches head*

--via Geekosystem

If two Trekkers ever decided to tie the knot in full costume on Halloween then they'd most certainly need this cake to be in attendance!

Combining the forces of geekdom with the holiday made for cosplayers, the Black Cherry cake company have really outdone themselves with this colorful work of edible art. And is that a cute little kitty hanging out on the side?

Link  --via Geeks Are Sexy

(YouTube Link)

To say that Axe Cop is one of the best comics ever is an understatement, because Axe Cop is THE BEST EVER!! 

Now we've got a cartoon featuring Axe Cop to watch, and as a teaser Fox has given us a sample of the madness that awaits us when this axe wielding cop dresses up for Halloween and hits the streets. 

Bonus Points- Nick Offerman aka Ron Swanson is the voice of AXE COP! Squee!

--via Topless Robot

(YouTube Link)

Okay, so this isn't a costume per se, more like a puppet or rig controlled by a guy wearing all black to conceal his identity, but it's still pretty darn cool.

And if they ever had a Star Wars parade they would definitely invite this guy to come marching down the street with them, and all would be right in the universe...

--via GeekTyrant

(YouTube Link)

The ghoul they call Gameface is coming for you, and your little gaming console too!

The moral of this video is- don't hook your broken game consoles up at the same time or Gameface will appear, and he isn't playing around...

--via Kotaku

We've all seen vampires, zombies and ghosts so much that they're not scary anymore, but do you know what's truly scary? Texting and Driving!

Or how about a Sedentary Lifestyle, something we bloggers are all too familiar with... *shiver*

Link

(YouTube Link)

Talk about stepping up your pumpkin carving game! Pumpktris was created by Nathan Pryor, a guy who was clearly tired of just looking at jack-o-lanterns and wanted a little interactivity with his Halloween decor.

This fully playable pumpkin has a LED light gameboard and uses the stem as a controller, and Nathan has been kind enough to include a step-by-step tutorial of the entire process in case you want to make one for yourself.

Good luck getting those kids off your porch!

Link  --via Reddit