I once saw a guy in my office printing out drawings of jack o’lanterns with a line through them. At first, I wondered what he had against pumpkins. How can any parent not like a smiling vegetable? Then I read the message under the picture “Sorry, no trick...
Happy Cross Quarter Day! It’s better known to most of us as Groundhog Day. Today we celebrate the fact that we are halfway between Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Okay, in the age of electric lighting the Cross Quarter is not a big deal for most of us,...
Many superstitions date back to the medieval days when people believed that you could tell if your neighbor was a witch based her buoyancy in the local pond. But the “bad luck on Friday the 13th” thing doesn’t show up in lore until fairly recently....
Maryland’s most famous haunted statue is no longer in Maryland. An empty pedestal stands in Druid Ridge Cemetery where, for years, “Black Aggie” lured thrill seekers and ghost hunters out to visit at night. It was said that if you sat in her lap, she...
I’ve found witchcraft in some pretty unexpected places, so in honor of All Hallow’s Eve, I thought I’d share a few. There’s witchcraft in the Bible, for starters. Although the Lord tells Moses in Deuteronomy that His People aren’t allowed to practice sorcery or...
I think tonight is Twelfth Night. I know that Twelfth Night used to be considered the highlight of the Christmas season, but the fact that a history nut like me is not even sure when it falls is an indication that this holiday doesn’t mean much in our society...
