31 Days of Halloween: Day 22

Another slightly late post, but there's quite a bit of stuff on this one. Hopefully, I'll finally get back on track with these posts before the big day!

Today's Tea

Saturday's tea was another one from the Rosie Lea Tea gift set... Dragon's Blood. It's a very fruity infusion of elderberry, apple, hibiscus, blackberry leaves, seabuckthorn berry, raspberry, strawberry and blackberry.

Today's Story

Saturday's classic tale of horror was 'The Judge's House' by Bram Stoker.

Halloween Earrings (1)

My first pair of Halloween earrings today were little lowkey ghosts.

Pumpkin and Parsnip Soup

Since Rob did such a good job carving the pumpkin shell, it was only fair that I did something with the flesh. I made a pumpkin, parsnip and red chilli soup with (half of) it!

Halloween Earrings (2)

My second pair of Halloween earrings on Saturday were my silver broomstick-riding witches.

Family Halloween Dinner

We had a lovely Halloween-themed dinner with my mum and dad on Saturday night, including a cheeky red wine and a gorgeous apple cake made by my mum.

Live and Spooky Campfire Stories (Reggie Oliver)

On Saturday's Campfire Stories video from Flame Tree Press, Reggie Oliver read from his short story, 'The Black Ship'.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 21

I'm still catching up with these posts, as I've fallen a little bit behind. Oops. Friday saw another tea and a couple of stories, but also (very exciting) the unveiling of the pumpkin lantern, carved from the pumpkin we picked at Dunham Massey. And it's a big one, so there was a lot of carving involved.

Today's Tea

Friday's tea was Hexen-Tee from Wegwartehof. It's made of Haselnussblätter, Milde Minze, Zitronenthymian, Brombeerblätter, Ringelblume, Lavendel, Eisenkraut, Lindenblütte, Oswegoblüte und Stockrose! (I understand 50% of those. Hope the others aren't poison!)

Today's Story

Friday's classic tale of horror was 'The Bottle Imp' by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Pumpkin Lantern

The pumpkin is a ridiculous vegetable. There. I said it. And yet... how festive. Don't ever change, pumpkins.

Live and Spooky Campfire Stories (John Everson)

On Friday's Campfire Stories video from Flame Tree Press, John Everson read the prologue to his latest novel, Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 20

I'm still a bit behind with my posts, but hopefully I'll catch up soon. Thursday was quite a busy day, so for once there's a bit more than just tea and stories! (But there is still tea and stories!)

Today's Tea

Thursday's tea was Full Moon Brew from Sybil's Tea Co. It's lemon balm, camomile, rose and lemon zest!

Today's Story

Thursday's classic tale of horror was 'The Succubus' by Honoré de Balzac.

Tonight's Halloween Look

A different look for Thursday night's Facebook Live video.

Ghost Story Readalong Live

I did the third (and penultimate) Facebook Live video for my Ghost Story Readalong (and it turns out I can't handle having a fringe). Next week, it's Part 3 and the Epilogue!

Groobarbs Veg Box

Our fortnightly veg box from Groobarbs came on Thursday. I wouldn't normally count this as a Halloween thing, but... we got a pumpkin! (Plus parsnips, leeks, carrots, potatoes, peppers, apples, raspberries and strawberries.)

Abominable Books

And my monthly Abominable Books Box also arrived on Thursday. As well as lots of other goodies, I got The House of Tongues by James Dashner and Black Lake Manor by Guy Morpuss this time.

Live and Spooky Campfire Stories (Lena Ng)

Thursday's Campfire Stories video from Flame Tree Press featured Lena Ng reading her story 'The Last Train Onwards', which features in their Asian Ghost Short Stories collection. I think this was one of my favourites so far.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 19

Once again, I'm a bit late posting this. I've got a bit of catching up to do with my blog posts this week. This one is about my festivities on Wednesday, though I have to admit I only had time for a tea and a couple of stories. There's definitely more to come later in the month though.

Today's Tea

Wednesday's tea was Toffee Apple from teapigs. I'm sure you can guess how this one tastes!

Today's Story

Wednesday's classic tale of horror was 'Afterward' by Edith Wharton.

Live and Spooky Campfire Stories (Philip Fracassi)

And Wednesday's Campfire Stories video from Flame Tree Press was Philip Fracassi reading his story 'Autumn Sugar', which features in their Close to Midnight anthology.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 18

Today was a day of catching up on work after being a bit restricted by illness last week. I had a few (totally non-festive) meetings today too. Ah well, still time for a tea and a couple of stories though.

Today's Tea

Tonight's tea was Luna Elixir from Midnight Imperium. It's a very tasty blend of black tea, green tea, jasmine blossoms and cornflower petals.

Today's Story

Tonight's classic tale of horror was 'The Trial for Murder' by Charles Dickens.

Live and Spooky Campfire Stories (Shameez Patel Papathanasiou)

Another very enjoyable Campfire Stories video from Flame Tree Press, with Shameez Patel Papathanasiou reading an excerpt from The Eternal Shadow, the follow-up to The Last Feather, which is out next year.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 17

Another slightly late post... and another day of lowkey seasonal celebrations. I've come out of my sickbed now, but I still haven't got the energy for full-on festive frolics.

Today's Tea

Yesterday's tea was Dried Mummy's Brains from Monster Mash Teas. It's part of a gift set, so I have a different cup for this one as well. It's my first foray into corpse medicine this month! Only joking... it's Egyptian Camomile flowers.

Today's Story

And yesterday's classic tale of horror was 'The Room in the Tower' by E.F. Benson (one of my favourites so far, got to admit).

Halloween Earrings

Yesterday's Halloween earrings were little skeletons.

A Walk in the Forest

I had an autumn walk in Blackley Forest yesterday to blow the last of the cobwebs away (or at least to try).

Live and Spooky Campfire Stories (Christi Nogle)

Yesterday's Flame Tree Press Campfire Stories video was from Christi Nogle, reading her short story 'You Will Make Me Strong Again'.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 16

Sorry for posting this one a little bit late, but it was another day of celebrating the season for me on Sunday. It wasn't quite as pumpkin-oriented as Saturday, but there was still some spooky fun.

Today's Tea

Sunday's tea was Around the Fire from Hoogly Tea. There was a lot going on here. It's Oolong and Lapsang Souchong teas with cinnamon, orange peel, safflower and chilli. When you open the box, it smells like Laphroaig whisky, but the taste of the tea is actually a bit more subtle.

Today's Story

Sunday's classic tale of horror... 'Present at a Hanging' by Ambrose Bierce.

Virtual Writing Retreat

Technically, this is a monthly thing, rather than a specifically Halloween event! I run these Virtual Writing Retreats (as Hannah Kate) for my Hannah's Bookshelf gang every month, but I made the October one a little bit spookier. (And I was working on some creepy stuff myself, so I think it counts.)

Live and Spooky Campfire Stories (Gwendolyn Kiste)

And another enjoyable and intriguing Campfire Stories video from Flame Tree Press... Gwendolyn Kiste reading from her short story 'The Woman Out of the Attic'.