With Halloween on the horizon, I thought I’d give you a dose of weird. Just a few little tidbits of bizarre things that humans insist on using as an excuse for questionable behavior. Here we go . . .

In January of 2008, an 81-year-old Chilean man woke up at his own funeral. His family dressed him in his finest suit and laid him out for a proper way, only to witness him opening his eyes midmorning. Upon waking he simply asked for a glass of water. The family was overjoyed.

The Dunkenfield Crematorium in Manchester, England, once asked local residents and clergyman to support its plan for heating and powering its chapel and boiler using the heat created by burning bodies.

“It rubs me the wrong way, a camera . . . It’s a frightening thing

. . . Cameras make ghosts out of people.”

Bob Dylan

In Paris in the 20th Century, Jules Vern describes the Paris skyline dominated by a large metallic structure. The book was written in 1863, years before the Eiffel Tower was even conceptualized in 1887.

The state of Idaho has enacted a provision known as the “Ghost in the Attic” statute, which went into effect in 1998. It states that neither the homes seller nor the seller’s broker is liable for not disclosing that the property may be haunted. Even if the house is the site of a known suicide or homicide, the seller need not disclose this fact unless the buyer specifically writes to the seller and inquires.

Triskaidekaphobia is a morbid fear of the number 13 or the date Friday the 13th. In early Christianity, the number thirteen was considered unlucky because it was the number of persons present at the Last Supper, and the day Friday unlucky because Christ was said to have been crucified on a Friday.

In you love candles you need to know these following facts since they have always been shrouded in mystery and superstition.

• If a candle blows out during a ceremony, it’s a warning that evil is nearby.

• Three lit candles in a row are bad luck, so be sure to blow one out if you see them.

• Light a candle inside jack-o’-lantern on Halloween to guard against evil spirits that are lurking about.

• If you look into a mirror by candlelight, you are risking bad luck, but you might also find the souls of the dead there.

• A cork candle is a small, sourceless flame that floats through the night air and is believed to be a lost soul. The sight is considered an omen of death.

“Some of mankind’s most terrible misdeeds have been committed

under the spell of certain magical words or phrases.”

James Bryant Conant

HAPPY HALLOWEEN