Visitors from the other world

By Eileen Moynihan

On the eve of Halloween, Granny O'Loughlin is with her grandchildren to tell them about the traditions of Halloween. This year, the O'Loughlin grandchildren will celebrate a Halloween they will always remember as they encounter the dead and magical creatures typical of Irish folklore.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DES NOUVELLES D'AILLEURS
• Release date: Sep 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9782490586363

Book preview

VISITORS FROM THE OTHER WORLD

© Texte 2020 Eileen Moynihan

©2020 Des Nouvelles d’Ailleurs version ebook-numérique bilingue

Tous droits réservés

Reproduction même partielle interdite

Pour l’édition française

https://des-nouvelles-dailleurs.fr

ISBN 978-2-490586-36-3

Dépôt Légal Février 2023

Loi n°49.956 du 6 juillet 1949 sur les publications destinées à la jeunesse : mai 2021

CHAPTER 1

Granny O’Loughlin is very old and knows a lot of stuff. She tells old, old, stories from long ago.  Her grandchildren Sean, Niamh and Conor love to listen to her spooky tales, which she remembers listening to from her own grandmother.

Halloween was fast approaching, and Granny O’Loughlin started to recall many old traditions associated with Halloween.  As she peeled apples for an apple pie she would stop and look off into the far distance. Then she would start…When I was a girl all the apples had to be picked by the feast of All Saint’s Day. In Irish, the time before All Saint’s Day was known as Samhain, and the festival of Samhain went back into pagan times. It was believed that on Samhain, the Púca spat on any unharvested apples so people couldn’t eat them.

Her grandchildren interrupted her…

What are Púca?

They are mischievous fairies who can change shape. They can turn into animals or humans.

Wow, shape-shifters! That’s cool, said Niamh.

There’s nothing cool about them, replied Granny as she continued to peel the apples.

We did have great fun at Halloween though when I was a child.

Did you bob for apples? asked Sean.

Oh yes, we would get soaked trying to take an apple in our teeth, while our hands were behind our back. Granny stopped coring and cutting the apples, and smiled to herself.

And did you play apples on a string? Conor wanted to know.

We did. I remember my brother Paddy pulled the apple and the string from the ceiling and fell backwards with the apple in his mouth. Granny chuckled as she looked for her rolling-pin in the kitchen drawers.

Yuck, I think that game is so unhygienic, moaned Niamh. Granny laughed, and started rolling out the pastry for the apple pie.

As Granny lit the oven she recalled bonfires on Halloween night. The old people said it was to ward off evil. She made herself a cup of tea and sat down at the kitchen table with the children.

Tell us more about the old days, pleaded Niamh.

Granny looked at their eager faces. They are growing up fast, thought Granny…they are young people now, but still children at heart. Niamh was 12, her brother, Sean 14, and their cousin, Conor, was 13.

Well, you know how you like a bonfire at Halloween…

Yes, and toasting marshmallows, added Niamh.

Yes, Gran, interrupted Conor.

Do you know why people built bonfires in the first place?

To keep them safe, suggested Sean.

That’s right, Sean. They were supposed to keep evil away. And do you know why people wear masks and dress up for Halloween?

Not really, said Sean.

Granny leant forward. "People wore scary masks and different disguises to