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Secular Holiday |
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Secular holiday has religious originsHalloween as we know it today is a chance for children to play dress-up and obtain copious amounts of candy. Therefore, it may surprise some people that this light-hearted holiday originated from ancient religious practices. Dr. Joe Coker, lecturer of religion, said Celtic traditions were brought to America in the 1800s with the arrival of Scottish immigrants. Over time, aspects of the Celtic tradition mixed with aspects of English religious practices and resulted in contemporary Halloween. The history of Halloween is complex, Coker said, derived from no single tradition… |
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Figuring out Halloween through Christian lensesWhile some churches today take issue with children dressing as ghouls and goblins for Halloween, many churches are accepting of the holiday. Halloween as modern Americans observe it is an American creation that has roots in something called… |
Celebrating the dead crosses cultures, peopleThere’s a definite something about that time of year for last harvests. When the greens are all gold, save the winter grass at pasture. And heartier vegetables, namely of the squash variety… |
The Hauntings – Ghost stories from WacoFrom cattle rustlers to young lovers jumping off a cliff to be with each other for eternity, Waco has picked up a few ghost stories along the way. The stories can be shared between co-workers, police… |
Paranormal society embodies real-life ghostbustersA glass clinked in the empty kitchen across the Central Texas house. The noise garnered the attention of Becky Nagel, lead investigator for the Central Texas Paranormal Society. The group had been contacted… |
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Having fun but staying safe during Halloween
“Those that are old enough to have a drink, please just have a designated driver,” said Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton,the public information officer for the Waco Police Department. “We don’t want to seem like party crashers, but if you do things to put our public in harm we’re going to protect our people even if that means putting someone in jail for the night.” According to the National Highway Traffic Safety… |
Waco is no stranger to grotesque side of life
When he was taken to trial on May 15, the judge asked Washington for a plea, to which the teen simply replied “yes.” When his defense attorney asked him if he had committed the crime, he replied “that’s what I had done” and quietly apologized. The court took this as a guilty plea and sentenced him to death… |
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The evolution of scary movies reflects our cultureThe Halloween season, to me, is synonymous with monsters, eerie music and a just little bit of blood. While countless horror fanatics pop in a classic for a good scare, I slowed down to examine why and how horror film changes from decade to decade. In my research… |
In the Scream of ThingsLariat staff members Taylor Griffin, Taylor Rexrode, Reubin Turner, Matt Hellman, Linda Wilkins and Linda Nguyen reviewed some of the haunted houses around Texas. Here are their thoughts and experiences at these houses. Trails of terror, 3-D clowns and multiple dance-offs between Taylor G., the clowns and me made Thrillvania by far one of the most interesting haunted house I’ve ever been to. By using visual effects, which sometimes included complete lack of vision, the haunted house exhilarated, entertained and engaged thrill-seekers looking for a good, hearty scare. In the end, although the site was not fully able to maximize the fear factor that many, including myself, sought, the laughs and sheer entertainment gathered from the attraction made the two hour trip well worth it… |
Very Superstitious – the writing’s on the wall about belief in bad luckHalloween is the time of year when people love to be scared. Wild imaginations come to life, and superstitions take on a new prominence. A black cat crossing… |
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Six Feet Under – Our fascination with graveyardsIt’s midnight on a crisp October evening and you find yourself strolling through the local graveyard, weaving in and out of tombstones with the full moon as your only source of light. There is a slight chill in the air. You can feel the terror coursing through your veins, and your heart pounds in your chest as you hear a rustle in the bushes nearby. Panic is just one of many things that come to mind in a situation like this. But what is it exactly that makes a graveyard so anxiety-inducing? Being surrounded by the dead? Perhaps the spirits of those dead? Maybe you should ask yourself. After all, you are the crazy one in a cemetery in the middle of the night. “Humans’ fear of cemeteries is simply just a fear of the paranormal,” said Dr. Carson Mencken, professor and director of Baylor Survey of Religion. “About 50 percent of Americans believe in ghosts, and about 20 percent believe humans and those ghosts can interact with each other in the material world… |
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Hey, pumpkin: Fall in love with classic autumn drinkAs the temperature drops, something about the color-changing leaves and brisk air sets the mood for one of fall’s favorite beverage: the pumpkin spice latte. People rush to the nearest coffeehouse for the season’s first few sips… |
Costume culture: Society’s changing acceptance of Halloween apparelWhen I entered the Spirit Halloween store off of Valley Mills Drive, a colorful neon clown… |
Zombie scenarios put reality in perspectiveIn the event of a zombie apocalypse, B.J. Parker, an Atlanta doctoral candidate in the religion department, would know how to survive. If he were in the backyard of his two-story, 100-year-old home in Waco preparing a garden… |
An unquenchable thirstDr. John Gordon Melton has studied many religious themes ranging from new and alternative religions to occultism. Since the early ’90s, however, one nontraditional topic in particular has sparked his interests — vampires. Although studying vampire literature is simply a hobby for Melton… |
All Hallows Eve
All Hallows Eve
