Season 4 Halloween Spooktacular

The Reference Desk

In this very special season 4 spooktacular, we are bewitched by haunted houses and the Nazi-fighting New Forest Coven.
It took less than a hundred years for haunted houses to go from a vague spooky story concept to a half-billion-dollar yearly industry inextricably linked to the Halloween season. Katie explains the humble Great Depression-era origins of the haunted house, why they always seem to be Victorian-style mansions, and how the neighborhood haunts evolved into modern massive money-makers.
In one of the most unique World War II stories we've featured, Hailee introduces us to the New Forest Coven, a group of Wiccans who decided to take on Hitler and his Nazi war machine. On August 1, 1940, the coven met near midnight in a forest clearing to create a Cone of Power aimed at Hitler's brain to change his plans of invading Britain. Did it work? We'll let you decide.
All books shared in this episode can be purchased at our Bookshop!
Staff picks:
The Great Halloween Fright Fight on ABC (TV show)
The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf
Recommended reads:
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
The Family Plot by Cherie Priest
Within These Walls by Ania Ahlborn
The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike
The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero
Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
The Grip of It by Jac Jemc
The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich
Sources:
The Great Depression Origins of Halloween Haunted Houses
A Brief History of the Haunted House
Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween
How Victorian Mansions Became the Default Haunted House
Why the Grand Guignol Was So Shocking
Historical Halloween Pranks
McLean County Jaycees Architects of Haunted House Concept
Knock-Knock-Knocking on Hell's Door
The Science of a Good Scare
The Architecture of Fear
An ‘extreme’ haunted house requires a 40-page waiver
The Coven of Witches That Fought the Nazis During World War II
Operation Cone of Power: When British Witches Attacked Adolf Hitler

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