One of the strangest and darkest of professions is that of the sin eater; people paid them to consume the sins of a recently deceased person. This was done so the departed could avoid a miserable fate in the afterlife and prevent them from haunting this world as an unholy spectre. From as early as the 1600s, right up to the early 20th century, becoming a sin eater was a viable, if somewhat macabre line of work. Originating from folklore and…
Happy Halloween, have a great weekend and whatever you’re doing please stay safe. © Colin Lawson Books Top^ Suggested posts:Ego TrapsImprove Your Well-Being: Buckets, Drains & Radiators5 Horror Books To Read This ChristmasUncle Sam – Cheesy Horror Movie For 4th July
The history of Halloween is long and complex but here’s a video sharing a lot of information in a short six minute presentation. The video brings a lot of known information together with some lesser-known details such as the fascinating legend of Stingy Jack. Treat the video is a broad overlook of the Halloween origins which will lead you to to further research of your own. It’s intriguing stuff! Video: The History Of Halloween – Halloween Traditions Explained Video Credit:…
For me, the golden age of horror movies ran between the 1920s and the 1960s mainly in the USA and then 1960s to 1970s in the UK . The movies produced in this timeframe were classic films that stood the test of time and stand up against any of today’s contemporary offerings. Some of the finest actors in horror movies were introduced by Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount followed by the British studio, Hammer Film Productions. Here I…
Growing up in the 1970s and ’80s means I was fortunate enough to be present in the early days of home computers and games consoles. It was, however, the 1990s that saw me discover and explore the horror genre to the full via video games. Through video games I was able to slake my thirst for all things horror via the games being released. Games that blew me away with their cutting edge graphics, atmospheric audio and immersive story telling….
Is the COVID-19 pandemic a hoax? MY OPINION (from FACTS I know): I don’t blindly follow the media, the government or social media ‘experts’. I can only count on what I witness first hand as someone who runs a local funeral home in South Tyneside, England. If you don’t think the pandemic is serious (or even real) then I have one simple fact for you: In the first six months of 2020 I saw an unprecedented 100% increase in the…
A fascinating documentary from 2011 about Gerald Gardner (13 June 1884–12 February 1964) and the religion he created in England during the 1940s – Wicca. Personally, I feel this documentary would be better titled, ‘The Man Who Made WICCA’. Anyone in the know will tell you witchcraft predates Wicca by quite some time and while the two compliment one another, they are separate entities. Then again, the followers of Wicca are used to non-believers holding misconceptions about them. Some of…
‘Live fast, die young.” That’s the philosophy followed by many in the entertainment business. More than one or two hard-living stars have died young but have you heard about the famous but mysterious 27 Club? Also, what has the 27 Club got to do with white lighters? Is the club a lie? Is it a conspiracy? Is there a supernatural link? Is it simply coincidence? You decide. What is the 27 Club?The 27 Club’s is a cultural phenomenon with a…
We’ve added a brand new section to the website – the media section. The media section will be a repository of exclusive Colin Lawson related audio, video and images. At the moment only the video area of the media section is populated with a very small amount of content but when further media is created it will appear in the relevant area – whether it be audio, videos or images. Sometimes reading isn’t enough so if this is the case…
We’ve all feared for the future of public libraries in the past following the cutting of already meagre budgets that funded public libraries and their services followed by devastating closures. Then there was the proliferation of the electronic publications and online resources for readers which many saw as a serious threat to the physical printed word in the form of books and newspapers. It now seems that the death knell for the public libraries we all know and love could…
