By the Rivers Dark

The pouring rain, the crumpled dead leaves, the melancholic restless wind, we know them well: few days to Halloween, the mood is eery. A subtle magic is at work here: that tiny opening between the worlds, between ours and the other one, is a bit larger.

Imperceptible ghostly presences, fleeting spirits of the air, sly grimacing goblins and withered old witches, all come and go, leaving behind a weird trail and an unpleasant chill.....

No use fighting the gloom. It is a better course to let Old Time have its way, relax and tune your inner chords accordingly. Here are some useful suggestions for the evenings:

• Cinema. If you haven't watched it yet, rent or buy Suspiria by Dario Argento, preparing for the Third Mother (last update on the movie: it will be released on Halloween's eve in Europe. US must wait a couple of months more)




• Book. I would grab a copy of the superb John Silence cycle by Algernon Blackwood, and dive right into the intensely malignant tale Secret Worship. No one could conjure up such a strong sense of the supernatural as Blackwood managed to do in just a few evocative lines, trust my words.




• Music. A friend of mine, The Mountain Keeper, has given me a wonderful gift, Ten New Songs by Leonard Cohen. Try out By the Rivers Dark: you won't be disappointed (if we were still in the psychedelic era, I would say it was a bad trip, but we are way past that point)




• Comics. A copy of The Essential Doctor Strange Volume I fighting the Nightmare is a must. Talking of the great doctor: may the All-Seeing Eye of Agamotto protect you and your loved ones from the lures of the Dark Side.