Boston Brick & Stone October 2017

Boston Brick & Stone October 2017

THE MASONRY MONTHLY

OCTOBER 2017

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America’s Spookiest Locations

the added fear factor of it being the spiritual home of a local legend: The Jersey Devil.

Halloween is, without question, America’s spookiest holiday. Traveling haunted house experiences crop up all over the country beginning in October, but they can’t hold a candle to locations that have long been believed to be home to paranormal inhabitants. If you’re feeling extra brave this month, check out these “haunted” locations.

The myth states that the Jersey Devil was born in 1735 and quickly grew horns, wings, and hooves. It has been spotted in the forest ever since, even lending its name to the state’s professional hockey team. Campers in the Pine Barrens claim to hear a ghastly presence, and some even observe mysterious drifts across the cedar swamps.

Winchester Mystery House San Jose, California

A medium from Boston told Sarah Winchester that her family was haunted by every person ever killed by a Winchester rifle. Given that her husband and infant daughter had recently passed away, she took his words to heart. To build a home for the spirits, she began construction on what is now known as the Winchester Mystery House. She continued building the house for her entire life, 24 hours a day for 38 years. The home features many design choices that lend themselves to a spectral presence. There is a seance room, doors that open to brick walls, staircases that lead directly into the ceiling, and acoustics that channel sound into secret listening places. During the Halloween season, the house offers candlelit tours that are sure to send shivers up your spine.

Stanley Hotel Estes Park, Colorado

When Stephen King checked into the Stanley Hotel on vacation with his wife, he wasn’t looking for inspiration, but he found it. Their stay in the hotel inspired “The Shining.” The book, along with Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation, quickly turned the Stanley into a destination for thrill-seekers and paranormal investigators. The hotel has played into its newfound reputation, offering ghost tours late at night. Recently, the proprietors even created a hedge maze to allow visitors to recreate the harrowing chase scene from the movie. At last check, there were no Jack Nicholson impersonators on-site, but who knows what the future holds?

Pine Barrens New Jersey

Dave Laverdiere

A heavily forested area dotted with ghost towns and abandoned mills is going to be creepy as a matter of course. New Jersey’s Pine Barrens has all of this, plus

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FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT FALL

Just because summer is over, that doesn’t signal an end to fun. How about those Halloween parties, sweater weather, and football season? The list goes on and on. In fact, fall might be the most interesting season of them all. Here are five facts you probably didn’t know about the season. 1. It was originally called “harvest.” The reasons for that should be fairly obvious. In a world that was far more agricultural, the season was defined by the harvesting of crops. It’s also a reference to the harvest moon, which was essential to farmers during the season. The names “autumn” and “fall” have no known origins, but fall is used almost exclusively in America. 2. Fall babies tend to be impressive. Not only does the world’s most common birthday, October 5, land in fall, but those babies have built an impressive resume. The British Department for Education found that they tend to do better in school and also tend to live longer. 3. Weight gain is most common in the fall. It’s not only the Halloween candy or Thanksgiving turkey. Researchers believe it’s primarily caused by lower levels of vitamin D. As the days shorten and temperatures

drop, we tend to get less sun. It’s another reason to be careful about diet and exercise this season. 4. Autumn is good for the economy. “Leaf peeping,” which is a slang term for fall foliage tourism, is more than just a funny name. It’s also a $3 billion industry in New England alone. So, if you thought winter and summer were the only seasons that brought along seasonal tourism spikes, you thought wrong. 5. People fall in love more in the fall. Men and women’s testosterone levels tend to spike in the autumn, which makes women even more attractive to men than in the summer months. A >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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