Moon Mausoleum
An online magazine about the paranormal, haunted and macabre. We collect the ghost stories from all around the world as well as review horror and gothic media.
In splendid colors and festive celebration the Día de los Muertos in Mexico welcomes the dead with a party and a smile. But how did it originate and how does it differ from the Halloween celebration from its neighboring country?
Bonfires to ward off evil and leaving food for the ghost; the Celtic pagan celebration of Samhain slowly morphed into what is now the modern Halloween with the Trick or Treat, horror movies and costume parties. But how was the celebration done in the olden days, really?
As well as pagan roots, modern Halloween has its Christian touches as well. The three days of Allhallowtide is an old Catholic celebration of the dead, where its followers are praying for their departed as well as reflecting over their own mortality and coming death.
Before the modern Halloween came back to the British Isles, there were celebrations like the Welsh Calan Gaeaf. The first day of winter. The night before this day was when the veil was thinnest and the spirits roamed the land.
Trick-or-Treat is now an integral part of the Halloween celebration. It is often seen as an American tradition, but history tells us that this custom has deep roots to even pre-christian times with much darker and supernatural reasons.
On the place were the grand Palau Guell now stands, there used to be a more humble building of rental homes known as the Ave Maria House. People passing by would make the cross for safety as the house was also known as the House of Fear and believed to be haunted.
“Ken’s Mystery” by Julian Hawthorne was first published in 1883 in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. It’s a mystery story set in the late 19th century, following Ken, a young man home from an educational trip to Europe from which he has returned with an old and mysteriously banjo. He tells the story about what happened that halloween night in Ireland when he was walking home late and met a mysterious and beautiful woman in a graveyard who asked him to play his banjo for her. Later the same night, he met her again. But there was something strange about her, and as he played, he felt his life force being sucked out from him. The story is described as part vampire story and part Irish Samhain story, much inspired by Irish folklore.
The carved pumpkin is perhaps the global symbol of the modern Halloween celebration. But where did this custom come from and what does the Jack-o’-Lantern really represent?
In Somerset, England, a local tradition called Punkie Night in October has many similarities with different Halloween traditions today. A procession of lanterns go through the villagers every year, searching for sweets.
The first day of winter is called Kalan Gwav in Cornish and their version of Halloween. The celebration is called Allantide and the main focus is the big Allan Apple and trying to predict the future.
The urban legend of Veronica Jaja is almost like the Spanish version of Bloody Mary. Say her name three times into the mirror and you will get a visit from the spirit behind the mirror. But why would you risk it as she is mostly there to take your life?
To end his financial problems, Agustin Atzerias made a pact with the devil. To honor this pact, he adorned his house on Carrer Josep Torres No. 20 with demonic ornaments on the building.
According to local legend, the entire stretch of the National Highway 66, formerly known as NH17 in India, is haunted. Travelers are warned about not carrying meat with them, as it is said to attract blood thirsty witches.
“The Vampire Maid” by Hume Nisbet, published in 1900, is a captivating gothic horror story that explores themes of seduction, mystery, and supernatural danger. The story follows a weary traveler who seeks rest and respite in a secluded countryside cottage. There, he meets a strikingly beautiful and enigmatic young woman named Ariadne Brunnell. As the traveler becomes increasingly enchanted by Ariadne, he begins to notice strange and disturbing changes in his own health and vitality. The narrative gradually reveals Ariadne’s true nature as a vampire who sustains herself by draining the life force of those who fall under her spell.
A fine house in Dublin was for a time haunted by a notorious prankster that called himself Corney. And although the family tried more than one way to rid themselves […]
An entire building experienced what they thought to be the works of a poltergeist in 1935 in Carrer Francisco Giner No 43 in Barcelona. For an entire week they endured the hauntings that no one, not even the authorities could explain.
