Two fun items on today, the commemoration of Samhain (a Celtic festival pronounced sow-in) and All Hallows Eve (the eve of All Hallows day or All Saints day, November 1). For more history on Halloween, check out this History Channel web page.
The first item is an article on death:
Every year as Halloween approaches, macabre articles and stories show up in the media. This year is no different. One of the darkest articles I have come across is one entitled "How Does It Feel To Die?" by Anna Gosline, published in issue 2625 of New Scientist magazine on 13 October 2007.
To be honest, it is an interesting read. Personally, I've had to deal with the deaths of more than a couple of people in my time as a teenager volunteering as an EMT on a local ambulance company. Drownings always intrigued me the most as a way to die and I'll agree with the author that drowning does have "a certain dark romance to it" (though don't ask me why). I have to admit that the description in the article doesn't make it sound like a particularly peaceful way to go.
In addition to drowning, the article covers lethal heart attacks, bleeding to death, death by fire, decapitation, electrocution, falls from great heights, hanging, lethal injection, and explosive decompression. All in all, an interesting Halloween read.
The second item is some fun facts on ghosts and property law from the Volokh Conspiracy, a blog focused on law:
The blog entry references an AP poll that shows that "that 34% of Americans believe in ghosts and 23% claim to have actually seen one." This plays right into an interesting legal requirement of homeowners looking to sell their property: you must disclose to potential buyers if your house is haunted.
According to a 1991 New York appellate court decision, potential home buyers have a right to know if a house they are looking at purchasing is widely believed to be haunted because that might affect resale value. An interesting thing to think about with all the ghosts and goblins running around tonight.
Happy Halloween!
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2 comments:
One might question your fascination with the "death experience". I for one, do not want to know about it until it happens (and I am hoping I don't know about it then!).
As for disclosing ghosts, interesting topic. We have a restaurant in Nashua (Mexican) that is supposedly haunted and many patrons have allegedly seen "spirits" while attending there. Personally I prefer my dining partner(s) to have a little more substance to them.
Keep up the page-certainly makes for an interesting read.
Love,
Dad
for some the opprotunity to buy a haunted house or dine in a haunted restreaunt hold great appeal...
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