My Irish grandfather, Edward Smith, helped to raise me when I grew up in New York City. A hard working carpenter from County Meath, Ireland, he enjoyed telling stories and had a wry sense of humor. I believe that influenced me in wanting to be a writer. As a child in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, I did some art and began to write picture books. It never went anywhere at the time, but it was the beginning for me of a lifelong interest.
One thing that the Irish are well known for is their love of story telling, and I appreciated good stories. I especially loved hearing ghost stories.
There’s a ghost story that Poppa Ned told long ago that stuck with me, and my mother retold it later. Recently, I decided to write down that story and had it published by my writing group. It will be published again in Ghost Stories II, Tales and Poems, an anthology from SEZ Publishing.
Briefly, the story called “Colliding with the Past” is about two men coming from the local pub in the Irish countryside. Blind drunk and lost in a fog, they meander through woods and near a bog, growing frustrated with not finding the way home. They come to the fork in the road and don’t know which way to go.
Out of nowhere comes a light held by a young boy. Will they find their way?
Read the story to find out, and read the other ghost tales and poetry as well in
Ghost Stories II, An anthology of Tales and Poemsfrom SEZ Publishing available in print on Amazon starting Feb. 25, 2026.
I dedicate “Colliding with the Past” to the memory of my beloved grandfather Poppa Ned.
Halloween, a time of pretending, a time of remembering other times, and a time that has an interesting history, one not far removed from today’s traditions of wearing costumes, trick-or-treating, and telling spooky or horrific stories.
It echoes back to centuries ago with Celtic roots coming from the ancient Irish and Scottish spiritual tradition called Samhain, pronounced sow-win, which for an agricultural society meant to welcome in the harvest and mark the start of the dark days of winter. Generally Samhain is celebrated from October 31 to November 1.
Trick-o-Treating
The tradition of wearing costumes on Halloween comes from the Irish tradition of mumming where participants put on costumes and went door-to-door singing songs of the dead.. There’d been the belief that faeries could play tricks on the unwary so it was best to provide the treat or you might be tricked. Treats were given in the form of cakes, also called soul-cakes which are like cookies. The notion of trick-or-treating stems from these earlier traditions, but today we hand out candy instead of soul cakes, and the tricks which might be played could include smashed pumpkins, toilet paper on one’s lawn, raw eggs thrown, or other nasty tricks.
Pumpkins
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Pumpkins are a symbol for Halloween which stems from the earlier Celts. In Ireland, for example, it was common to carve turnips and put candles into them to ward off evil spirits. The legend of Jack-o-Lantern comes from the Irish story of a man named Stingy Jack who tricked the devil. The devil had given Jack a burning coal which Jack put into a carved-up turnip. The Irish called it the Jack O’Lantern, and when both the Irish and the Scottish immigrated to America they brought this tradition with them. However, they switched to pumpkins because it was easier to carve up than a turnip.
Ghosts
In the spiritual tradition of the ancient Celts there is the belief that the barriers between the physical world and the spiritual world break down. The notion of ghostly apparitions and contact with the departed is supposed to be strongest at this time of year. Hence, the use of divination in the form of card reading, seances, and spirit contact of some form.
In earlier times and still today in parts of Great Britain and Ireland, bonfires are lit and there’s the belief of communion with the dead on October 31.
Witches
Wicca, a pagan religion, celebrates Samhain as the passing of the old year and beginning of the new. It is a celebration of the harvest and is considered one of the most important Sabbats for Wicca. A few ways that this is celebrated is by lighting bonfires or candles if you can’t build a bonfire and calling out to the dead, telling stories about departed loved ones or spooky stories, a silent supper with an empty chair left out for the spirit of the departed, and placing apples and pomegranates before the photos of the departed loved ones.
Apples are associated with death, and pomegranates with life. That’s interesting in several ways. We’re often told that an apple a day keeps the doctor away; the apple is considered the forbidden fruit as it represented wisdom in the Book of Genesis and has been given to teachers who impart wisdom. Some mythologies interpret apples as life giving. The pomegranate is considered the fruit of life because of its many seeds, and in ancient Greek mythology it represents eternal life. An interesting connection to Halloween is the use of apples at the party game of bobbing for apples. Candied apples, cider donuts, and apple cider are found at a lot of farm stands and in grocery stores during the autumn season.
Wearing Orange and Black?
The traditional colors worn on Halloween are orange and black. Orange is considered a Fall color and representative of the harvest, and it is the typical color of pumpkins. Black is typically symbolic of darkness and since Halloween celebrations generally commence at night, it has become a symbolic color for Halloween. The color purple, one of my favorite colors, is also symbolic of Halloween as purple represents mystery and magic.
Writing and Halloween
Two of my young adult novels, A Kiss Out of Time and its sequel A Dance Out of Time, are about hauntings in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, a place I love to visit.
My current fiction writing is a young adult paranormal with elements of magic as a teenage witch is learning how to responsibly use her powers in dealing with the trouble makers at school.
Halloween is my favorite holiday for many reasons, not the least of which is the storytelling and the dressing up. I think it goes back to my own Celtic roots.
“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” Albert EinsteinA simple pencil sketch based on a photo in a magazine
My first love had to be art. As a child I enjoyed doodling, coloring books, and even dreamed of being an artist when I grew up. However, I didn’t follow through on that grandiose idea, but I remained creative in other ways.
I worked in advertising and public relations after graduating from college. As a copywriter, I worked closely with artists creating ads for the JC Penney retail catalog back in the mid-80’s. After the company left New York City, I did freelance writing and started to write my first romance novel. I went to grad. school to become a teacher. I taught language arts for a little over 25 years. I also wrote and published five novels. However, with all that work as a writer and an educator, I never forgot my love of art.
In the past several years, I have taken art classes at an adult school, an art museum, and at senior centers near me. They helped to renew my passion for the visual arts, and I find doing art enriches me as a writer too.
In taking art classes, as well as going to art exhibits and shows, I have learned to look at things differently. I used to feel that art has to imitate life, but that’s not necessarily so. In some way, it’s akin to writing a story where I create from experiences but don’t duplicate them in words. I also have fun playing with colors, shapes, and different media. I’ve worked with pencil sketches, charcoal drawings, pastels, and mainly watercolor painting.
I believe that there is a strong connection in the arts, whether visual, language, dramatic, or musical. I find inspiration from listening to music, attending a play or musical, reading books, and viewing art. I think they all inspire in some way. They say for instance that a picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes words can’t capture a picture. I have been discovering the artist within as a writer and enjoying exploring my own artistic expression.
