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The season of the witch is upon us. Generally connected to autumn and before Halloween (or Samhaim), this phrase has roots in the ancient Celtic customs. It is related to the autumn equinox, known as Mabon, and marks the transition into a darker part of the year. In witchcraft terms, it embraces themes of the “Crone” or the “dark goddesses”.
When I was recently in Ireland, we were told that the Jack-o-Lantern was originally a turnip, not a pumpkin. This carved turnip head was a tradition that began in the 19th century in Ireland and other Celtic nations. These chiseled turnips had ghoul-like features that warded off evil-spirts as well as the evil spells of witches. Today in the states, we use pumpkins. That switch came due to the abundance of pumpkins over turnips and the ease of carving rather than chiseling. As we move through another season of the witch, let me share other modern activities you can do to celebrate this darker half of the year.
Watch a Spooky Movie Marathon - With the multitude of streaming services available, one is sure to find a curated selection of spooky, campy, or cult style horror movies to assist you in creating the perfect night of terror. A couple of standouts for me are TCM’s Creepy Cinema, hosted by Ben Mankiewicz and Mario Cantone. Each week they pick a creepy movie double-feature and have a conversation about it before and after the viewing. Some of the highlights for me was when they paired 1945’s stylish thriller “Leave Her to Heaven” starring Gene Tierney, directed by John M. Stahl with 1954’s murder mystery “Black Widow”, also starring Gene Tierney and directed by Nunnally Johnson.
The second standout streamer for curated chilling cinema is the Criterion Channel. For this “halloween” season, a selection of horror genre movies are curated into pods you can stream at your convenience. The modern horror movies I’d recommend can be found in the “2000s Horror” capsule. That’s where you can view “What Lies Beneath” starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford. This underrated thriller has some terrific jumpscares that make me scream every time I watch it.
And if streaming movies is not your thing, head to your local library, where you can find a wide-range of movies on DVD that you can check out and make your own horror-movie night. For this I’d recommend classics like “Rosemary’s Baby” starring Mia Farrow and directed by Roman Polanski or Val Newton’s “Cat People”. Sticking with any of the Universal Pictures monster movies, such as Frankenstein or Dracula, is always a solid creepy classic.
Still Life: Balsam Apple and Vegetables, ca. 1820s, by James Peale. The Met Open Collection from the Maria DeWitt Jesup Fund, 1939. Slow Cooking - Now is the perfect time for roasting, braising, soups and bringing out the trusty crockpot. There’s nothing more comforting than the delicious aromas of a slow cooking roast in the oven or a crockpot stew cooking on the counter. I use the crockpot year-round to make homemade bone broth for our dog Lola. And although it does take up a good amount of counter real-estate, I highly encourage busting out the crockpot for a slow-cooked supper. Here is a link for “The Best Slow Cooker Recipes” from The New York Times Cooking section. And here’s my favorite slow-roast chicken recipe, “Slow-Roasted Oregano Chicken with Buttered Tomatoes” by Alison Roman. This last one is a crowd pleaser and makes for excellent leftovers, especially with toast or on some sort of grain.
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Another bonus was getting my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box bursting with a bounty of different squashes and other autumnal fruits and veggies. I was most excited for the squash variety because I love the sweetness from oven-roasting these veggies, as well as the soups made of these seasonal gourds. I was most excited for the Kabocha squash that I will roast and store in the refrigerator to use in a salad or as a side. The Acorn squash was another one in the box and I’m going to make a delicious soup from this New York Time’s Cooking recipe.
Remembering the Dead - This past weekend I bumped into a friend that had an armful of freshly cut marigolds he picked up from the Joshua Tree Farmer’s Market flower merchant. The colors were vibrant and they gave off a delightful fragrance. It was a reminder to start putting together my altar for Dia De Los Muertos. The Marigold flower is an integral part of the altar because it is said that the vibrant color and musky scent helps to guide the souls of the dead back to their families. Marigolds also date back to Aztec times and were part of their rituals to honor gods and ancestors. These flowers are part of the Ofrenda or offerings used to decorate the altars.
In addition to marigolds, items such as photos of the deceased, candles to light the way for the spirits, food and drink to quench and nourish the traveling soul and sugar skulls to represent the sweetness of life, are added to welcome the deceased back to their loved ones. I recall it also being said that when you create an altar for Dia De Los Muertos, you are honoring the dead by remembering them and keeping their spirit alive. This tradition to celebrate life on Dia De Los Muertos takes place on November 1st and 2nd in the United States.
Bonus: Diane Keaton 1946 - 2025. Earlier this month Academy Award winning actor Diane Keaton died at the age of 79. It was a passing that was collectively mourned on and off social media. Keaton’s career spanned six decades, she was nominated for three Academy Awards and won an Oscar for her most memorable character Annie in 1977’s Annie Hall . In addition to her movie career, she was also known as a style icon, introducing her effortless and androgynous “Keaton Style” in “Annie Hall” and again in the 1981 movie “Reds”. In addition to her acting career, Keaton’s second act was as a “house flipper”. During her lifetime she bought, renovated and designed nearly 50 homes. Keaton leaves a legacy that has shaped the world both on and off the screen.
I posted my top five movies for a viewing marathon and it was like this:
“Something’s Gotta Give”, 2003
“The First Wives Club”, 1996
“The Family Stone”, 2005
“Baby Boom”, 1987
“Annie Hall”, 1977
Leave your Diane Keaton movie favorites in the comments.
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Another recommendation for scary viewing: Jacques Tourneur (who directed CAT PEOPLE, cited above) made NIGHT OF THE DEMON in the UK in 1957 - it's a taut, atmospheric and clever thriller about skepticism and belief and is available on several streaming services. (Avoid the US cut, called CURSE OF THE DEMON.)