A Few Symbols of Halloween Explained

Black Cats

Most people know of the superstition of a "black cat crossing your path". Most Americans think of this as bad luck. But why? Well, it dates back to the Middle Ages. The highly religious and superstitious people at the time thought two things about the cats: 1. black cats were pets of witches, therefore they were evil, and 2. Satan and/or demons could transform themselves into a black cat to converse with witches. This superstition continued into America in places like Salem, Massachusetts (most known for the witch trials).

Today, in places like Japan, Ireland, and Great Britain it is actually good luck to have a black cat cross your path. It is supposed to lead to either wealth or (in Japan) a number of suitors.

Bats

Those mammals of the air have scared many people for countless generations. There is an old wives tale that says bats will get tangled in your hair, but the truth to that is most likely the bats were after insects that are attracted to humans, and the bats became accidentally caught in the hair. But bats themselves have been associated with witchcraft in parts of Europe and America for a long time. The vampire legends say that the bat is one of the forms they could turn into. Even the witches in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' use bats in their brew. But are these the only feelings toward bats?

Several old cultures thought of bats are gods or being on the level of gods. Parts of Eastern Europe and the Middle East think of bats as good luck. In China, bats are a sign of longevity and happiness. Some Native Americans (specifically the Creek, Cherokee, and Apache) look at the bat as a trickster spirit as opposed to anything evil.

"Halloween" Movie without Michael Myers?

It's true! Most people forget that there was a movie of the Halloween franchise that didn't feature the signature slasher most known for this series of movies. "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" was (basically) a story about a mad scientist type who creates masks that are supposed to explode on Halloween, and a couple investigate and try to stop him. Why was he missing? Simple: the original concept for the Halloween franchise was to use a different scary storyline/premise for each one. Halloween II was just a continuation of the first one (thought of like a miniseries of sorts). Halloween 4 was supposed to be a completely different story also, but apparently the fans didn't get the memo. They were so outraged that Halloween 4 was labeled "the return of Michael Myers", leaving the 3rd movie the only one without Michael Myers as the villain. (However, if you look in one scene, a TV shows a trailer for the first Halloween movie with Michael Myers shown.)

Mischief Night

Did you know there was such a thing as Mischief Night? It refers to the night around Halloween when usually teens play pranks and practical jokes on people. Typically it takes place in the US, England, Ireland, and Canada. Usually, it is the day before Halloween, but the traditional British Mischief Night is November 4, the night before Bonfire Night, which is in memory of the night in 1605 when Guy Fawkes tried to set the House of Lords on fire. Unfortunately, as the years went on, the night itself has turned into more vandalism than simple pranks. There are a number of other names for the day, not all of which are that pleasant. The first instance of a Mischief Night is in 1790, but it was celebrated around the May Day celebrations. It was soon moved to November 4. In Germany, a form is celebrated in May still.

Orange and Black

There isn't a definite answer as to where the orange and black came from for Halloween. However, most agree that the origin must be with the Celtics of the modern day island of Britain. A likely theory on orange is that it was a symbol of the changes toward autumn: leaves changing to orange, and pumpkins and other festive vegetables being orange. Another theory for orange is that it was a symbol of strength, and the Celtics did fight against the Romans a long time ago. The black isn't so easy to come to a consensus. Everything from a symbol of death or spirits sometimes comes up. Another theory is just that there is less and less light the farther in the year, so it could just represent darkness. Either way, they do work together!

Happy Halloween!

Friday Song #16 - The Firm

"Radioactive" - The Firm, from the album "The Firm"
Released: 1985

Stockholm Syndrome's Origin

I bet you've heard of Stockholm Syndrome, and I bet you even know what it is. But where did it come from? Stockholm? For those of you that don't know, we'll explore it.

The name 'Stockholm Syndrome' comes from an event in Stockholm, Sweden, specifically at a bank at Norrmalmstorg Square. On August 23, 1973, Jan-Erik Olsson (who had a prior criminal record) walked into the bank and attempted to rob it. The police were summoned immediately, and four people were taken hostage. Jan-Erik had some demands: his friend Clark Olofsson (who had a criminal record himself) to be brought to the bank, 3 million Kronor ($730,000 US dollars at the time), two guns, helmets, bullet-proof vests, and a fast car. The police brought Clark and allowed him to enter. The police agreed to let them have a fast car, but refused to let them take the hostages out of the bank.

It was during this hostage situation that Kristin Enmark (one of the hostages) began to feel safe with Jan-Erik and Clark and had great fear that the police would escalate the situation. Jan-Erik called the Prime Minister (Olof Palme) and said that he would kill the hostages, and when he hung up the phone, a hostage's screams could be heard. The next day, Kristin Enmark called Palme and said that she was not happy with Palme's attitude and that he should let the robbers and the hostages go. On August 26, the cops drilled a hole into the main vault where the hostages were. They were hoping to get a camera set up so they could watch the hostages. Clark fired through the hole a couple times and hit an officer. Jan-Erik shouted at the police that if they used a gas attack, then the hostages would be killed.

On August 28, the cops used gas anyway, and after a half hour of no one getting killed, Jan-Erik and Clark surrendered. At the trial, both were found guilty: Jan-Erik received 10 years in prison, Clark received 6 1/2 years, but at the appeal Clark was found to be helping calm the situation and his charges were dropped.

Kristin Enmark's feelings of safety with the captors and fear of the police wasn't only her own. The other hostages have mentioned they felt the same way. Enmark and Clark met some time later and became friends. Some of the hostages even spoke in defense of Clark at his appeal. Some have thought that the hostages helped Jan-Erik and Clark, but the truth is that they felt the police were reckless and neither of the captors showed them any real violence.

Academics became quite interested in the notion of a hostage siding with their captor, and one in particular named Nils Bejerot named this psychological idea the Stockholm Syndrome Theory. The theory has grown into the idea that a hostage situation isn't necessary for the syndrome to exist since it is described as "strong emotional ties that develop between two persons where one person intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other". The FBI has said that 27% of the hostages they encounter show some signs of Stockholm Syndrome. One of the most famous cases is when the Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped Patty Hearst in 1974, and she ended up assisting them in a robbery two months later. Stockholm Syndrome was used as part of her defense, but she was still found guilty for her participation.

Bet you didn't know that!

Friday Song #15 - Stillwater

"Minder Bender" - Stillwater, from the album "Stillwater"
Released: 1977

Prince of Poyais

Gregor MacGregor was born in Scotland in 1786 and grew up to be a great fraud. He began his life in a typical manner: joining the military at age 16, and married by age 18. He had disagreements with his superiors and moved around, calling himself various ranks (eventually settling on colonel) and even called himself Sir as though he'd been knighted. In late 1811, his wife died, and like many other men whose love has died, he left his old life. He heard about the independence movements in South America, so he sailed for Caracas, Venezuela in early 1812. He moved around from place to place (Curaçao, Jamaica, New Granada), and eventually found himself in the rank of brigadier-general for Simon Bolivar. One incident actually gave him acclaim: his forces were outnumbered and they had to retreat for a month back to safer territory, fighting all the way back.

Portrait of Gregor MacGregor

The problem with MacGregor is that he was becoming known for bragging more than his record could show for it. He claimed outlandish victories that didn't exist and his actual record was usually filled with failures, defeats, and outright incompetence on his part. Another great blunder came in 1817 when MacGregor attempted to "conquer" Florida (then controlled by Spain) by using War of 1812 vets from Georgia and South Carolina. He spread word that a group of 1000 men were to attack the garrison of about 100 Spanish troops. When MacGregor's men attacked, most of the Spanish fled. Unfortunately, the US government didn't come to his aid because President Monroe was in talks for acquiring all of Florida (not just the eastern side). His forces had to give up control soon.

And then came MacGregor's grand place in history: he moved back to London in 1820, claiming to be the Prince of the Principality of Poyais, an independent nation on the Bay of Honduras. He spread stories of Poyais, beginning with the leader of the area: King George Frederic Augustus I. King George supposedly gave the land to MacGregor, who in turn was spreading the word about it in England. He claimed to have started civil service, an army, and a democracy. He claimed he needed British settlers and money to get the territory going. Many business men jumped at the opportunity and gave him a lot of money. He made claims about his ancestors from Scotland, so he concentrated his efforts there, setting up offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow. By 1822, he'd written and published a book about Poyais which only furthered people's excitement about the trip.

In September 1822, the first ship left for Poyais. It contained lawyers and doctors mostly, all who were promised positions in the civil service. In January 1823, they arrived, but what they found wasn't what they were promised. They found a jungle without any attempt at clearing it, some natives, a few American hermits, and the ruins of a hundred year old civilization attempt (which was in the place where the capital of Poyais was supposed to be located). Worse yet, the ship that brought them ended up being swept away in a storm, so they were stranded. The men, none of which had ever been in the wild before, argued over who would do what to help them survive. In April, a ship found them by accident. When told of what happened, the captain said there was no Poyais, and he even found King George and brought him to the settlers. King George said that he'd revoked the land rights when MacGregor had assumed sovereignty over all the land. The captain took the settlers to British Honduras, where eventually they boarded another ship for England. Of the 270 who sailed for Poyais, only 90 made it back alive.

The papers were all over the story, but even the men who survived didn't believe that MacGregor was to blame. They thought it was his assistants who'd misled him. The event went to court and MacGregor was dismissed of any charges, but by then he'd left for Paris. In 1825-26, he tried the same scheme in France. Once again, he went to court, and once again his associates were found guilty and he was not. For the rest of the 1820's-30's, he tried various Poyais schemes. He tried over and over to get money in exchange for a position or service in Poyais. By then, most people were wise to his schemes. In 1839, the year after his second wife died, he moved to Venezuela and gained his citizenship. He lived off a military pension for serving in their military and helping to gain their independence. He died in 1845. Once a scammer, always a scammer I suppose.

Bet you didn't know that!

Friday Song #14 - Al Stewart

"Year of the Cat" - Al Stewart, from the album 'Year of the Cat'.
Released: 1976

Dyatlov Pass Incident

The Dyatlov Pass Incident, as it's become known, has the makings of a good "based on a true story" mystery/horror movie. It has everything: a cold and middle of nowhere setting, mysterious death, unexplained circumstances that can't be answered, and conspiracy theories.

The incident began with a group of ten Russians who were planning to hike through the Ural Mountains from the town of Vizhai to the mountain Gora Otorten and beyond. It is important to note a couple things. First, all ten members were experienced mountain climbers and skiers, so they would have been very prepared for the elements. Second, even though they would be very prepared, it was still a very difficult journey since this was 1959. When they left Vizhai, it was January 27. The conditions were very bad: winds of 20-30 knots and the temperature was around -20°F. The lucky one was Yuri Yudin; the day after the group left, he had to return to Vizhai because he became sick. What happened between January 28 and February 2 was pieced together from diary entries and photographs found at the campsite. What happened?

One of the last photos of the group, taken on February 1, 1959.

The group of nine remaining members continued on their trek toward Gora Otorten. On January 31, they stored some supplies and food, and they prepared for the climb. On February 1, they began to climb, but because of worsening conditions, the group deviated from their planned path. When they realized their mistake, instead of going to the correct path or even going down the mountain, they made camp. Sometime that night, something happened. The problem is that no one knows exactly what happened. The group was expected to make it to a telegraph station by February 12 and send a message. The leader of the group (Igor Dyatlov) had told Yuri Yudin (the one who's left the group early) that he expected to arive later than February 12, so there were no major worries when no one had arrived. Days passed, and after some insisting from relatives of the hikers, search and rescue operations began February 20.

On February 26, the camp site was found. The tent was full of snow, cut from the inside, and most of their personal belongings were left behind. There were several footprint trails that led away from the tent, down to a forest. Oddly, the footprints suggested they were made while wearing only socks or barefoot. They followed the footprints and found two of the hikers' bodies. These two were found wearing only their underwear and barefoot. Following some more footprints, three more hikers' bodies were found (one of which was Igor Dyatlov). One of these hikers had minor skull fractures, but all five of the found bodies had died of hypothermia. However, why they would leave from their tent in the middle of the night, without being fully dressed, is the biggest mystery. But it gets stranger.

The last four weren't found until May 4. They were found farther down in a ravine. They were better dressed than the ones that had been found earlier, and it seemed that the ones who died first had their clothes used by whoever was surviving at the time. However, the odd thing with these four were their injuries: one had a severely crushed skull, one had many broken ribs, and one had many broken ribs as well as missing her tongue and entire oral cavity. The most bizarre thing about this story is what was found one two of these hikers: trace radiation. That's right, two of them had radiation coming from them.

There has been no explanation as to what was the reason for their leaving the tent in the middle of the night, nor has there been an explanation as to where their injuries came from, nor has there been an explanation as to where the radiation came from. It is a fascinating mystery that has spawned conspiracy theories: fear of avalanche, native attack, military weapons testing, toxic snow, and aliens/UFO. After the incident, the area was closed for three years. The pass that the hikers were attempting to make it to has been called the Dyatlov Pass after Igor Dyatlov. The files of the incident were sealed until the 1990's, but even when they were released, some parts were still missing.

Bet you didn't know that!

Friday Song #13 - Led Zeppelin

"Boogie with Stu" - Led Zeppelin, from the album 'Physical Graffiti'.
Released: 1975

Bracero Program

Did you know that from 1942-64, thousands and thousands of Mexicans were imported into the United States to work? It was under a program called the Bracero Program, and it was initially begun as a two part plan: import Mexican workers to supply the agricultural need because of World War II and to help the railroad industry. When the war ended in 1945, so did the railroad side of it. But what happened with the agricultural side? It was extended to 1948. Between 1948-51, contracts were formalized between growers out west and Mexican officials. In 1951, President Truman signed Public Law 78, which created a two-year program that protected Mexican workers. Every two years, this law was renewed until 1963, when it was renewed for just one year with the understanding that it would end in 1964.



So why is this a big deal? It's a small footnote to the history of our 20th century history, but it's a big deal for places in California. The way this program worked was it allowed otherwise illegal Mexicans to legally cross the border and obtain green cards to work for American farmers. These braceros (as they were called) first went to California, but were eventually sent all over the country, with the heaviest populations staying in the southwest. The biggest criticism of the program was the number of braceros who would not go to work and instead flee to a city to live as an illegal. But most didn't flee, and instead worked in the program. They were happy to work in the program because it mandated certain conditions and wages that were above levels in Mexico. The problem was when the quotas were met, then the conditions and wages would no longer apply, so the workers couldn't work in the program officially. Instead, they would be kept on or hired illegally which would mean their pay would be very minimal. The workers couldn't complain because they knew that they were illegal. Many illegals came across at this time and they competed for jobs with members of the Bracero Program. Naturally, employers wanted the cheapest labor and most opted for the illegal rather than the one whom you had to secure certain conditions and wages. So in many ways, the Bracero Program created a culture of illegal, cheap labor in the US. Several labor unions found the Bracero Program to be their biggest hindrance in workers' rights.



The program's height was during the 1950's, but by the early 60's, it was coming into fire for some of the things mentioned above. The last year it was officially in place was 1964, but there were some smaller contracts of the program that lasted until 1967.

Another interesting note is that the braceros from 1942-48 were required to put up to 10% of their wages into a special savings account. The members of the railroad program received theirs but the members of the agricultural program did not. Through the 1990's and 2000's, there were numerous lawsuits to try to locate what happened to the money and to return the money to the workers and their families. The lawsuits have pretty much been thrown out; however, those who were formerly braceros can receive up to $3500 if they can prove they were in the program. Today, a vast number of Hispanic Americans can trace their lineage to a relative who came to the US from Mexico during the Bracero Program.

Bet you didn't know that!