Halloween Thoughts, and a Real Ghost Story

What is it about the night that enchants children? So many children's books show their characters going out into the night for a great adventure (and almost always leaving their parents behind).

The great fun of Halloween isn't just the candy. It's a chance for children to roam their neighborhoods in the dark, to confirm their suspicions that things really are different at night. That's when the imagination can take over, filling in the gaps left by the absent light.

The origins of Halloween go back to the Celts, who celebrated Samhain, a harvest festival, in the late autumn. They believed it was a night when the boundary between the physical and spiritual worlds became very thin. This allowed spirits into the world to cause problems for humans. To confuse the spirits, people dressed as ghosts and ghouls, hoping to trick the spirits into moving away from their village.

Ghost stories are still with us, of course. A 2003 poll found that 51% of US adults believe in ghosts. Some people have speculated that ghosts are actually time-space anomalies, or some sort of electromagnetic residue. Others view ghosts as psychological projections of our fears.

In celebration of Halloween, take a look at the above video, which is an actual account of an encounter with a ghost known as the Ada Witch. It takes a while to get to the story, so be patient. For more information on this particular ghost, follow
this link and have a Happy Halloween!

A Smooky Ghost Story

Let's take a little break from the lullabies, since Halloween is coming up, a wonderful nighttime holiday. Here's a smooky ghost story, written and narrated by 5-year-old Benjamin, who took the opportunity to practice his counting.

I'll post another ghost story in a couple of days -- a real life one. In the meantime, I hope all the ghosts and goblins you encounter are friendly ones!

The Moon and His Two Wives

For another explanation of the moon's phases, consider this delightful film, based on a tale from the country of Malawi.

The Inconstant Moon

Romeo: Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear,

That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops—

Juliet: O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,

That monthly changes in her circled orb,

Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.

Romeo and Juliet. Act ii. Sc. 2. 12

As I was thinking about the lunar cycle and the moon's phases, I remembered a conversation I had with a friend a few years ago who was trying to understand the mechanics of the moon phases, and I realized I didn't really get it either (or had just forgotten).

Well, since we're here, let's quickly and painlessly get up to speed on the moon’s phases. Here's a diagram to help:

That's the Earth in the center with the moon circling. The outer moon figures show the phases as seen from the Earth. It's really just about the positioning of the moon with respect to the sun and the Earth. It also relates to the fact that the moon seems as though it doesn't rotate (although it does, once for every revolution around the Earth).

Well, I don't want to get too technical. After all, it's getting late. The image above of the moon and the Earth's atmosphere is courtesy of NASA, taken from the International Space Station. The NASA images are amazing, and we're just getting started!

As for Romeo and Juliet, maybe if he'd sworn by the moon, things would have turned out differently. We'll never know. The moon may seem inconstant, but it is reliable in its cycle, waxing and waning as it has for millenia. It takes human minds to apply moral judgments to natural phenomena. I'm pretty sure the moon doesn't care.

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Nick Drake

In keeping with the moon theme, here's a tribute video featuring Nick Drake's song Pink Moon. You might remember it from a Volkswagen ad a few years ago. I hope you enjoy it.

The Light of the Moon

Go out of the house to see the moon, and 'tis mere tinsel: it will not please as when its light shines upon your necessary journey. - Emerson

Some years ago, when I lived in another state, I used to go visit friends who lived in the country. One night I was driving home and noticed that the full moon was casting shadows across the snow-covered fields. I had never noticed moon shadows before. The brightness of the moonlight reflecting off the snow was startling, and I became entranced by the shadows of the trees on that silvery landscape.

Moonlight, praised by poets through the ages, is reflected sunlight, only much dimmer. Moonlight has mysterious qualities. Colors are muted. It's hard to read by moonlight, even if it seems bright enough. It turns out that the mystery lies not in the moonlight, but in the workings of our eyes, which have two kinds of light receptors -- rods and cones. Rods operate in dim light, but can't provide color information to the brain. Cones allow us to see colors and fine detail, but need bright light to function.

Before we conclude that science has once again impinged on the territory of the poets, consider Emerson's quote above. I wonder what he means by "necessary journey." Certainly a bright moon would have helped someone traveling at night in the 19th century. We don't need the moon for that today, for the most part. But to make the necessary journey inward, to encounter the hidden places within, takes both fortitude and light -- not the glaring light of the sun, but the soft, pale light of the moon, giving us just enough light to move forward, to venture into the darkness to recover what has been lost. The moon in that nightscape becomes a guide to our deepest emotions, casting its gentle light to reveal both substance and shadow as we make our way through unmapped terrain.

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Zero 7

I decided to post the lullabies on Sundays to help combat what's been called Sunday Night insomnia, where people can't get to sleep because they're stressed about the coming work week. So relax and enjoy this gorgeous video by Zero 7 of their song, Home.

The Night Sky

When the ancients observed the night sky, they supposed that the stars were fixed on a kind of vast sphere that surrounded the earth - the celestial sphere. We now know that stars' distances from earth vary, and that the universe is ever-expanding.

I once read a Hindu love poem in which the poet tells his beloved, "Rays from your eyes embroider the universe." If we accept that extraordinary premise, then when we look up at the night sky, it may be that our stargaze extends to the very edge of the cosmos.

We'll be exploring the night sky over the course of time, beginning with the moon, then moving outward to the planets and on to deep space. The image above is of spiral galaxy NGC 4414 and was taken by the Hubble telescope. This NASA image is in the public domain. If you want to see more breathtaking astronomy images, go to the links section to NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day, where you can see how humanity's vision with respect to the stars has come into sharp focus thanks to extraordinary technology.

Night Lights

Remember the soft, soothing light of your childhood night light? Maybe you had one with a colorful light cover, or maybe one with an ivory-colored, molded cover, shaped like a little child. At some point, the night light got moved from your room into the hallway, so you and any siblings could find the way to the bathroom at night.

You may have read that the use of a night light has been linked to myopia. You'll be pleased to know that two follow-up studies showed no such link. That's good news for parents who walk their infants in the nursery to put them back to sleep (no fear of tripping over a stray toy).

You'll also be pleased to know that there are some night lights out there designed for adults. Thinkgeek.com offers these two, which they suggest you use to decorate your cubicle:

I think you have to be of a certain age (like me) to fully appreciate lava lamps -- still, very cool. Here's their other one:

Not entirely sure I'd want to wake up to that in the middle of the night, but could add some atmosphere for parties, etc...

Here's one more, not quite so high tech, from brownsmark.com:

Maybe that's all we need sometimes -- just enough light to keep the darkness at bay.

Lullaby for Grown-Ups

This will be a regular feature here. I'll vary the musical style over time to appeal to a variety of people. For now, enjoy this lovely rendition of Debussy's Beau Soir.

An Introduction to the Night

It's hard for me to imagine any aspect of the natural world as fascinating as the night, nor is there another phenomenon that has been so fully loaded with meaning by humans. From the night sky to nocturnal creatures to our dreams and nightmares, the night is filled with mysteries that can be explored but perhaps never fully understood.

To begin, I'd like to recommend a book: Acquainted with the Night: Excursions Through the World After Dark, by Christopher Dewdney. This fascinating book moves from dusk to dawn, discussing natural and astronomical topics, such as the difference between civil and nautical twilight and the behavior of nocturnal animals, to cultural aspects of the night, including night life, bedtime stories, sleep behavior and dreams/nightmares.

Dewdney provides us with a jumping off point. We have a lot of ground to cover. I hope you enjoy this blog. My goal is to create a peaceful spot in the blogosphere, even as we plumb the depths of ourselves and the night. This is the place to come when insomnia hits, to hear a lullaby for grown-ups or see how the night has influenced art, music and literature. Welcome, and thanks for stopping by.