An unhallowed thread

[Jubal]

A Halloween-and-associated-October-season thread! People like having things appropriate for the season (whether that means actual horror or just the cosily macabre) so I thought we should have a thread to share witchy, ghostly, ghastly, etc things in your life throughout October. I found the title on the internet archive's Old Book Images flickr account

And my starting contribution is some graveyard photography: this is the place I usually go to see wild hamsters down in Meidling, I realised that a lot of people here may have seen my hamster photos but not seen the wider view of the site. Austrian urban graveyards pull out old graves regularly in a way that isn't the norm in the UK, which for UK readers is why there's a big pile of rubble in the bottom left image.

[The Seamstress]

Spooky Season thread! Yay! 

Thank you for the photos I think one day I'll have to come along when you go hamster photo-hunting and look at everything myself... Exploring Vienna's cemeteries has been on my "would like to do" list for a while. I think I've been to Zentralfriedhof once but that was way back when I was a teen, so I don't remember much. There's supposed to be deer and foxes, would be cool to see those! If I'm not mistaken there was a whole TV documentary about Zentralfriedhof wildlife some time ago, I'll see if I can find it online somewhere.

Have you seen squirrels or other animals in Meidling, too?

[Jubal]

Yes, usually a few squirrels are bouncing around: it's reasonable for green & great-spotted woodpeckers, some small birds especially black redstarts, and the usual crows, pigeons, rooks in winter, etc. Kestrels too, which prey on the hamsters sadly. I suspect there are foxes around but I've never seen one, I did once see a hare there in the middle of winter. It's too small for deer and too deep into the city, though. I did see deer when I was in the Zentralfriedhof, but I think Meidling is actually better for hamster sightings on the whole.

And yes, absolutely, you'd be very much welcome to come along sometime and I'd appreciate the company

[The Seamstress]

Thanks 

I actually found the TV documentary I mentioned, titled "Es lebe der Zentralfriedhof".

This was made in 2005 and it's super silly, giving me a bout of secondhand embarrassment, so viewer discretion is advised. But there's lots of animals, including hamsters. No foxes, though? Seems I was mistaken. But, to my surprise, badgers! I've never seen a badger IRL.

[Jubal]

I know a few people who've seen badgers around Vienna: I'm too rarely in the outer districts at night, I think. I've seen the occasional probably-Marten deeper into the city, but the 8th is hardly a night-time paradise.

In other news, got reminded of the existence of the ballad of Tam Lin, which I'd forgotten has its climactic point of the narrative on Hallowe'en

[The Seamstress]

Nice 

[Jubal]

Of note for D&D playing Hallowe'en fans, the Monster Man podcast is doing its current season (ep 539 onwards, so the last couple of weeks) on Ravenloft, the gothic horror inspired setting for AD&D. It does fun little short episodes about the different monsters in the Ravenloft monster compendium and how they might be useable in a game (or indeed a story).

[dubsartur]

Austrian urban graveyards pull out old graves regularly in a way that isn't the norm in the UK, which for UK readers is why there's a big pile of rubble in the bottom left image.

It used to be until British Christians gave up their taboo against cremation.  When every Briton except a few Jews and nonconformers had to be buried in hallowed ground, there was just not enough of it to let them sit in a grave forever (certainly not for urban parishes).