The witching hour
Rosalind Moody marks Halloween with thirteen spine-tingling reads for Samhain season
Rosalind Moody
As the colder months draw closer, all I want to do is grab my favourite fleecy blanket, make some chai tea and watch Practical Magic. For me, milder weather – anything under, say, 21 degrees, at least – is much more conducive to a focused brain and more successful solid writing sprints. Anything above that and my creativity can start to wilt like a dehydrated leaf, and I find myself sleepily lounging around my living room like the folks in a Great Gatsby saloon scene on a New York summer.
Personally, as the spiritual magazine editor that I am, I call the 31st of October by its pagan name, Samhain, pronounced sow-en. Most people know it as Halloween. And though some of its traditions may be a trend gifted to us from our American cousins, we bookworms will use any excuse to buy some beautiful new books. Some of my picks are horrifying and some are heart-warming, but they are all written by women – my way of honouring those thousands of women burnt to death in the name of ‘witchcraft’ almost four centuries ago.