September 23 - Winter is Coming...

This month has been one for prepping. 

Next month is the spooky season, so it’s all hands on deck to get things ready for Halloween! So we haven’t been up to much? Hardly. We’ve been hard at work writing the second book!

What’s the most encouraging is hearing our readers come back to us with feedback. We’ve had some fantastic discussions with people who are half way through the narrative and who already have theories about not only where the first book is going, but also where the series will go! To everyone who has read the book, and all who are currently reading, we thank you so so much for your continuing support.

But back on topic. Halloween for us Welsh brings out the esoteric and storytelling side, even more so considering us as writers. We suddenly hear others tell us about the “ghost of so-and-so” and the “white lady of over-by-there”, and it makes me jealous we didn’t think of the stories first! Halloween is a time for masquerades and costumes, and there is a feeling amongst the autumn chill that there is something not entirely worldly present. That feeling, for me, is a garden for inspiration. Ghouls and spectres and spirits and ellyllon and pucks and boogeymen are terrifying. The Brothers Grimm showed us that what were once the primordial nightmares of children can become the basis of our collective horrors. The big bad wolf and vampire and undead and ghost are classic, only because the Brothers put to paper the night terrors. 

So what exactly is a “Halloween” in Wales?` 

The modern celebration has little influence of our Celtic heritage, instead being highly “Americanised”. Not that that degrades from the fun! The dressing up is now an integral part of the holiday, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Other than that, there is a revival in Celtic and animist tradition that prioritises the turning of the season and the beginnings of Winter. The All Hallow’s Eve emphasises the reverence to spirituality and reflection on Samhain. In Brittonic Celtic culture, Samhain is known as Nos Calan Gaeaf, an Ysbrydnos (spirit night), where the veil between our world and the next is thinnest, and a time when the souls of the dead are believed to return to visit their homes. Bonfires are set on hilltops, hearth fires relit, and masks and disguises worn to avoid being recognised by the revenants. The time is favourable for divination for marriages, health, and death. We have our own ghouls too! 

• The Hwch Dudu Gwta - a shade that appeared if partygoers stayed at a bonfire after the fire had gone out. It was a ghostly sow, a bad omen to be avoided. 

• The White Lady (Yr Ladi Wen) - a headless woman who chased people… or devoured their souls.

Halloween is coming!