Recently I have been asked by Wild Zero Studios in Morgantown to possibly have a show with my work. I’m excited but terrified, I’ve got to go through my pieces and find works I need to revamp to print well for matting. My work prints dark, and the detail is often lost…so I’ll be running the printers I go to crazy with changes.

I’m excited though; I on a whim dropped off a small portfolio for consideration. They liked it and contacted me. It may not pan out, or I may ask to do it later in the New Year. I very well might be moving and it would be a mess to do it now.

What’s sad though is that I would invite my friends but they currently are scattered about the country, I should kidnap them for the opening if it goes through.


Now, I was voted most clumsy girl in my senior graduation class of 475. Funny how like a black hole trouble seems to pull me in and find me?

So while moving a table around a basement I stepped on nail on a random board. I’ve always heard pain is temporary, and maybe it is. Even with all the blood (never seeing so much of my own) I felt no pain.

Maybe it’s because for a majority of my life I’ve been tossed around like a beanbag by horses. I blame the horse world for other injuries too. When bailing hay I stepped on a weak spot in the barn bridge and fell through. Proud of myself as I held on for a few minutes but I had no choice but to fall. It was 9ft to the bottom of the ravine and the extra sheet metal from the barn roof had been placed there. Cut my shoulder down to my elbow on that. Still no pain.

So maybe is it’s only when someone you love bleeds does that somehow breech the space that connects your heart to your brain? Something clicks and everything becomes real and unreal at the same time, that’s when the pain begins, that’s when reality sets in.



I guess I felt sentimental, the last time I stepped on a nail my father and I were building a boat. I was ten years old, and he carried me to the car, then to the doctor. All the while he held my hand, he said, “Don’t bleed too much kid, you’ll lose the best part of me I gave you.”

So…while I haven’t gone to the doctor, I’m dreading the possibility of a shot, not the soreness but the price, Tetanus shots tend to be pricey without insurance, so leave it to me to mess myself up enough for a thirty dollar bill. It pans out I got thirty dollars from the lost dog groom I did…easy come easy go.

I suppose that it’s going to be a record of how many times a person can step on a nail in her life, but maybe I’m shooting for the title. After all, I am voted and I quote, “Lauren E Jolles voted Must Clumsy and Most Likely to Write a Best Seller,”

I’ll take comfort in the last title and write a book. *rolls eyes*

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My Cell Phone Art [link]

I am a Member of:

Man it’s been a crazy month. The Manor project was a little rough but….oh well I’m not a web master extraordinaire. I’ll be sure to work on it though.

We seemed to have sold our farm, and are now looking for a new home. We saw a beautiful old house today, perfect in everyway right down to the creaky doors. We don’t think we’ll be able to afford it, but it’s a pipe dream.

As for myself I find I’m constantly thinking about how we ever got so much stuff in one house that we have to move when we do find a place. I swear a house eats things and then spits them out again.

I was offered a contact in the film industry recently, a possible position for a location manager. All it really involves is scouting out places appropriate to the look the director wants the film to have. The guy I’m supposed to work for was location manager for the Transformers films. It may or may not pan out, but it’s something. I’ve had to give up on film school for a while, so I’m a little scared to be too excited about it.

Also recently I got a very unexpected surprise as one of my pieces was suggested for a DD. Even if they don’t feature it I feel a little proud of myself, it’s a wonderful compliment.


So overall things are beginning to get busy which is odd after what felt like an abnormally long summer. Also…and I’m hoping no one will yell at me…. I’m excited about the New Moon film coming out this month. Sad to say the film looks better the book.

Also wanted to thank all the great folks who contributed to the Manor and whatnot. Also a word of apology to ~GojiraGirl75 who was so awesome in editing the soundtrack for it. Unfortunately I had a server outage ( the joys of living in Amish paradise) so I couldn’t edit the link to it!

Anyways thank you to all who indulged me in my harebrain ideas.

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These are the movies I'm waiting for
[link]
My Cell Phone Art [link]

I am a Member of:

Welcome welcome welcome!

To Deviance Manor Deviantart Virtual Haunted House and Events!
Take a look around go in the Manor or visit the collections of chilling work.

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Disclamier
The Ghoul staff is not responsible for any sudden loss of life, limb, or sanity.
So please, enter at your own risk.




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This is the soundtrack option, music that has already been posted on Youtube has been chosen accompany the Walk-Through.

Simply open this link in a new tab and have it play while viewing the Walk-Through.




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My Worst Nightmare Contest Poll
Open Located Below Journal




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Staff



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Polls
Get...asked…anything.
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Manor Chat
Chat room open! Talk about anything share work....sky's the limit.
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Manor Thumbshare
Take a look at other's work and submit your own!
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Trick or Treating

Please send me your notes with your candy tally!

Game Rules
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Collections and Manor will be open till Oct 31st @ 12 midnight Eastern time.

The Winner of the My Worst Nightmare Contest

by

Congratulations! You will be contacted after the 31st. Well done on a wonderful entry.



The Haunting History of Halloween

Once upon a time in Ireland, the Celts an early Pagan culture, lived at the mercy of the harsh elements in which they dwelled. Winter was a fearful time, you eat as much as you were able to harvest and were unable to get more. The harvest season before it became a time of reflection of one’s frail humanity and that of one’s loved ones and friends.
Celts often asked their Druid priests to pray for them during this time. On the night of Samhain, pronounced SAW-WHEN, was a night believed to be a time when the veil between our world and the supernatural could be crossed.
This Pagan holiday was a time of fear and joy; the fear was of the spirits who could come to wreak havoc on lives. The more pleasant enthusiasm was that on this night the Druids would use this night for divination, and through symbolic bonfires and animal sacrifice one’s future would be foreseen. This visions spread through the villages, and today is considered one of the origins of ghost stories on our modern Halloween.

It could be argued that Ireland is also responsible for our Trick-or-Treating traditions. Fairy Mounds, large piles of ancient rock, are said to be the gateways to the Fey on this night. They come and roam the land collection their offerings so that they will not cause any magical mischief. Therefore people would dress as fairies and other otherworldly creatures roaming the streets collecting candy.

It was also a thought that in the Greek polytheistic religion a goddess Pomona of the harvest was offered apples at the fall season. Hence…. bobbing for apples.

Pagan vs. Christianity
But the Pagan religion was about to fight a battle for their harvest holiday meeting controversy from the Christian church. It was after Emperor Constantine around 1600 that started to address the (at the time large) population of Pagan worshipers. He imposed a doctrine that sent priests forth to “convert” Pagans through baptism.

Constantine however tolerated pagan practices, keeping pagan gods on coins and retaining his pagan high priest title "Pontifex Maximus" in order to maintain popularity with his former subjects. In 330 he began an assault on paganism but used a clever method of persuasion to force people to follow the laws by combining pagan worship with Christianity.

He made December 25th, the birthday of the pagan Unconquered Sun god, the official holiday now celebrated as the birthday of Jesus. He also replaced the weekly day of worship by making rest on Saturday unlawful and forcing the new religion to honor the first, not the seventh day, as a day of rest. As a way of defining his concept of the new universal religion he simply classified everything "Jewish" to be an abomination.

When Pagans were not deterred in their Samhain celebrations and practices, Constantine made Nov 1st All Saints Day, a celebration in observance of any saint not already appointed a day in the year.

Pagans basically ignored this decree and thus Constantine in further attempts to appease the Pagan populace created All Souls Day on Nov 2nd to honor the dead.

It began then that under a new name of “Halloween” did the Pagans continue their practices and celebrations.
Witches
But it wasn’t just the large bonfires and the strange animal costumes that the Pagans donned themselves that gave the church reasons to fear the autumn holiday. Witches were considered to play an important role in the ceremonies.

Portrayed as evil hags any witch was thought to be the Devil’s Handmaiden and thus attended him and did his bidding in exchange for magical powers. It was after Pope Innocent VIII approved a publication that tied witches (mainly women) directly to the Satan.
He also approved the use of torture of the accused during trials, which greatly increased the numbers of those brought to trial.

With witch burnings spreading across Europe women were executed in what was the closest mass murder since the Holocaust. One woman who fell victim to this hysteria as St. Joan of Ark of which the Catholic church eventually made a saint and martyr.

Vampires

It’s no wonder that so many love Twilight, Interview with a Vampire, or the horror classic Dracula by the famous Irish author Bram Stoker. Vampires have been around awhile.

The legends are mixed through out the times, but recently vampires have made a huge comeback in their popularity and allure.

It’s a popular belief that the first legends of vampires as we know them have come from the historic figure of Vlad III the Impaler known for being Stoker’s literary inspiration.

Move over Edward! Vlad was known to be a warlord of such brutality that no one other then Satan himself could rival him. His father, Vlad Dracu, was a known member of the Order of the Dragon which was thought to not proceed it’s Christian façade but in fact worship the devil.

So that doesn’t sound like an author’s interpretation of the immortal brooding hunk, rather that of a demonic figure home of Romania’s superstitions and fears. Romanians to this day has certain procedures of burring their dead to ensure they stay there.

Stake Through the Heart
One old legend speaks of a farmer, who would in drunken rages beat his young son. One day the farmer accidentally kills his son during a particularly brutal beating. To hide the evidence of his abuse he claims the boy fell from a high tree.

When buried however the farmer became frightened of sounds of fingernails being drug over the front door and scratching the windowpanes. Certain that it is his son come back to torment him, he and other went back to the boy’s gravesite. They began digging and found the coffin as they had left it. The farmer insisted they open it to make sure his son was still there. He was.

To ensure that his son would never again walk the world of the living to haunt him, the farmer drove a wooden fencepost though the chest of the body spinning it to the ground. Then it was re-buried. The farmer thereafter never again claimed to be plagued by his son.

Official rules for all people participating in trick-or-treating

How do I trick-or-treat?
A TOT (aka trick-or-treater) must leave a comment on the front page or this icon of any person who is participating. Simply comment “trick-or-treat” in whatever way you want and….wait to see if they give you any candy.
The max any one person can give you is up to 10 pieces The person with the most candy pieces wins.

This can be a devious game as people do have the right to refuse you the goods.

But you can show them how heart broken you trully are by posting pack any of the approved revenge icons.
Put forks in yards or simply chose to have your certain candy person abducted, it's up to you.










How do I let people trick-or-treat on my page?
The tag line below your avatar on your front page should say
" Porchlight On” or something to that effect. If you don’t have this typed in then treaters should know not to bother you as their comments will be ignored.

How do I hand out candy?
Simple you have a couple options for candy icons to use:


but all the candy is worth the same so it doesn’t matter which you choose.


So just post an icon like this for a trick-or-treater:

- 3 -1
Mix it up give them as much or as little as you want. They have the right to beg for it, but you have the right to refuse. Watch out though you might get a revenge trick back!

If you choose not to give someone no candy at all…. A comment like “Candy Refused” or something funny might work.

How will we tally up the candy?
Treaters are responsible of keeping their own track of the candy they have total. Be honest, I may not be a math genious but when you can only get ten pieces per person saying you have 200 is a little far fetched.
Note me with your personal tally and I will give the results in the event journal.

Basic Trick-or-Treating Rules
1. Be polite this is all in good fun, if I hear of any offensive behavior I’ll gut you like a fish. If you take a fun game and take it too seriously you need to take a chill pill.

2. Don’t trick-or-treat on any page that does not have some kind of tag line below their avatar that says “ Porch light on” or something to that effect. They may have their names on the list for participating, but for some reason have chosen not to at the last minute.

3. Use Only the approved icons, I will consider the use of anything else not following the rules and you will be disqualified as well as no longer able participate in any other activates. It’s a simple request and we’re grown up here.

4. You may hand out candy and trick-or-treat yourself, but you may not give yourself any candy.

5. You have the right to report any rude and indecent behavior that occurs on your page only. Please note me and I will deal with it immediately.

You don’t have to dress you avatar up to trick-or-treat, but it might be fun to do so for the duration of the event.

Hello everyone hope alls well in the world. Since my last journal update we have had some new additions to the list of Ghouls, so great news there.


Updates

~~~Trick-or-Treating~~~

This will basically be answering comments on your front page. Someone will say, “trick-or-treat” and all you have to do is post one of the approved icons in answer with the comment of how many pieces this person gets. Please know that 10 candy pieces is all any one trick-or-treater may obtain from you at your page. If you refuse them candy they have the right to “toilet paper” you with an approved icon in retaliation.

If anyone is still iffy about the trick-or-treating please know that it will be explained further in the rules. It's pretty straight forward, answer a comment, give or not give out candy,( you might get toilet papered) and if you want nothing to do with the trick-or-treaters at all comment below your avatar in your slogan "porch light turned off". Because mom always told us never to go to a dark porch.

Rules for trick-or-treating will be posted very clearly in the event journal; anyone not respecting these rules will answer to me. Trust me I’ve worked too hard on this and am a little bad-tempered so no one better mess with me, don’t post ignorant comments on other pages. If you do you’ll be sorry…. fair warning to you.

~~~Collections~~~

Running well but still need some submissions for the Book of Shadows literature collection. I’m still getting a huge response from the thumbshare I started a little while back, so I’ll be starting one for literature when this one cools off a little. Right now I get more then 20 thumbshare submissions a day so I’ll wait to get this one over with.


~~~Contest~~~

Remember that the submission deadline for “My Worst Nightmare” is Friday the 16th. All art categories will be taken except for literature, and a voting poll will be set up to determine the winner. The prizes will include a subscription, custom Journal CSS and matching DA ID.


~~~Event Date~~~

Here’s the three day event schedule folks, please remember it runs Friday the 23rd and will go till Sunday the 25th


Friday
Trick-or-Treating all day
Manor and Collections open for viewers
“My Worst Nightmare” contest voting polls open to determine winner
Post your polls, ask folks what their favorite horror or Halloween movies are. What costume is the most popular this year? Sky’s the limit ask anything! (If you decide to post a poll this day please send me a link to it as I’ll have the polls in one place in the journal)
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Saturday
Trick-or-Treating all day
Theatrical makeup how-to and with question/answer talkback (possibly being posted in my shout box)
Thumbshare chat room opened link will be provided in this journal. Post your recent works, talk about the event, or just see who’s lurking there.
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Sunday
Winner of Trick-or-Treating will be announced
Winner of “My Worst Nightmare” will be announced
Honorable mentions, those who have put in that extra time in the event will get a little love with a feature.

Collections closed by 12 midnight Eastern and unavailable for viewers, however the Manor will be up till the end of Oct

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Please know that these events are subject to change or be added to. If you want to add an event yourself let me know and I’ll add it to the schedule.

Also know that I'm looking for some people willing to do some journal features during those three days. What you feature is up to you, but it would be helpful to keep to the theme of anything dark, Autumn, or Halloween themed.



~~~New Ghouls or Phantom Supporters~~~

I'm still taking submissions up for the Manor and collections until Wednesday the 21st after that everything needs to be in place. If anyone wants to be a Phantom supporter (meaning to support the event but not submit actual work) the deadline to note me and be placed on the list is still the same.





News Article Info for Deviance Manor DA Halloween Project – Taking Submissions Become a “Ghoul” [link]