Halloween 2024 by Church Of Satan

We Satanists consider Halloween to be a holiday that celebrates the outsider, the other, those who are not like most. It is on this night that individuals who keep it to but once a year tend to explore their own quirks and inner-darknesses by wearing costumes that often reveal aspects of themselves typically hidden during the rest of their life journey. I suggest that, whatever your path of self-definition might be, it can be empowering to find a mode of dress that excites you, that ignites your fantasies, that fulfills aspects of your multi-layered persona, as this can be cathartic as well as a fine method for delving into one’s deepest consciousness. And, naturally, a great deal of fun!

George Crumb (24 October, 1929 – 6 February, 2022) was an American composer of consciously avant-garde classical music. His skills as an engraver meant that his scores at times looked like magical sigils, rather than commonly accepted musical notation. He crafted gestural, surreal soundscapes in which instruments were often played in an unusual manner, conjuring sounds that would not typically be expected. At times performers would process around the stage, intoning chants, perhaps whispering or shouting, or even whistling, so being present for a performance would be like attending a ritual wherein unearthly aural vistas might open to the perceptive.

A Haunted Landscape (1984) is a wonderful example of his mature style. Of this work, Crumb said, “The title reflects my feeling that certain places on the planet Earth are imbued with an aura of mystery. The contemplation of a landscape can induce complex psychological states, and perhaps music is an ideal medium for delineating the tiny, subtle nuances of emotion and sensibility that hover between the subliminal and the unconscious.” — Hear and watch the work as performed by Maestro Norbert Girlinger at the George Crumb Festival Linz, 24.10.2019 — the composer’s birthday. At about 18 minutes, the piece offers an evocative, immersive experience. If you enjoy it, I invite you to explore more of Crumb’s work—he was most definitely an original voice who spoke with great feeling and nuance.

Here in the Haunted Hudson Valley, our “Witchcraft District” encompasses those of us who share the perpetual love of Halloween as a lifestyle — thus always part of our experience. It is not a geographic territory, but is, instead, a perspective that can be embraced by those, wherever they might live, who resonate with this archetype. Our homes are avatars of our shared worldview, and one need not be a Satanist to be a denizen of this “haunted landscape.” Our fellow folk inhabit an eternal “October Country,” as Ray Bradbury had recognized this zeitgeist. As more aficionados of the outré have learned about this manner of self-description, the ranks of honorary residents continue to grow!

On this night, my wife Maga Peggy Nadramia and I celebrate the forty-third anniversary of our wedding, which recognized our life partnership began several years before the date of our formal marriage. At the time we married, many thought that doing so on Halloween was bizarre, an anomaly, and there was no tradition for such an event. We began a new tradition, which many have subsequently embraced. And so, to all of you who have also chosen the Halloweentide for your nuptials, may your bliss be unbounded and may your love wax ever stronger during your journey together — just as ours has!

From The Black House, we wish an abundantly Happy Halloween to you all!