Local- There are some cool Halloween events happening here in Orlando. There are events that you go through drive-in or publicly. Some events include movies, trick or treating, jump scares, and exploration.

Orlando is hosting its first Drive-in Halloween event it’s called The Haunted Road. The Haunted Road is trying to recreate an actual Haunted house but through Drive-in, it includes jump scares recommended for 13 or older, People 18+, and a family friendly road. It lasts around 40 minutes and it's only 15-30 dollars per vehicle. 13+ is open every weekend from the 8th to 31st, the family friendly one is open every weekend from the 10th to the 31st, and the 18+ is open on November 6th and 7th.

SeaWorld is hosting a public event called Spooktacular. Spooktacular has stations where you can trick or treat, do some fun activities, meet a mermaid, and go through a Halloween maze. Spooktacular is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from September 19th to November 1st. Seaworld is also having another cool event called Flicks and Frights. Flicks and Frights is a drive-in movie theater showing every Saturday a new movie, this Saturday's movie will be BeetleJuice, October 17th Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, October 24th Casper, and October 31st Hocus Pocus.

Fun Spot is hosting some fun events too! Starting on October 1st all the way through November 1st. You can go see their wicked decorations, have a taste of their frightfully delicious food and drinks, go through an escape room, and get to do some free trick or treating.

Hopefully you found these places pretty cool. If you did which one was the best? Have a great day and a Happy Halloween!

Sources-

Funspot: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fun-spots

Flicks & Frights: https://seaworld.com/orlando/events/drive-in-movie/

Seaworld Spooktacular: https://seaworld.com/orlando/events/halloween-spooktacular/

The Haunted Road: https://www.thehauntedroad.com/

The Legend of Black Cats

By: Gabby Powell

According to the ASPCA, black cats are the least likely to be adopted from shelters of any type of cat. This is partly because of the superstition behind black cats such as their association with bad luck, or because they appear dull next to more colorful cats.

But where did they get the bad reputation from? It is believed to have started in the 17th century where black cats were associated with witchcraft. The belief of witches transforming themselves into black cats to prowl the streets discreetly became a central belief in America, during the Salem witch hunts.

Not all black cat superstitions are bad; there are some good ones scattered throughout the world. For example, in England a black cat on a ship could be considered lucky, if a black cat walked on and stayed on the ship, it meant good luck, but if a black cat walked on and then off again, this was a bad sign that the ship would sink. In Japan it is believed that black cats can bring prosperity, bless a marriage, ensure good harvests, and even help bring success to a theater production. Some artists are particularly fond of incorporating black cats in their exhibitions because of their cultural appeal and the intense emotional reactions they are capable of bringing forth.

Origin of Halloween

By: Terrence Miller

Where does Halloween come from? Who came up with the idea to take candy from random people and wear ridiculous costumes?

WORLDWIDE (Religious Ritual) - Kids wear costumes, walk up to random people’s houses, say “Trick or Treat”, and the people willingly give up their candy. Let’s start with the basics; Who, What, When, Where, and Why

Turns out Halloween started when the ancient Celtic festival, called Samhain, where people lit bonfires and wore costumes so they could parish all the ghosts. Pope Gregory III, a bishop of Rome, is actually the one who made Halloween. First, he announced that November 1st would be All Saints Day. Soon, the day before was named All Hallows Eve, and then changed to Halloween. So, although the Celts started history, Pope Gregory III finished it off.

In the beginning, us Americans dressed up and went from house to house, asking for either their food or money. This eventually changed to what we know today as “Trick or Treating”. In the late 1800’s, there was a move about molding Halloween into more of a community and neighborhood activity instead of ghosts and pranks. Sooner or later, these parties and celebrations became very common. The parties focused on food of the season, and festive costumes. Anything “scary” was taken out of newspapers. This caused Halloween to lose any false accusations and religious acts.

Celebrating Halloween was originally a part of Christianity. November 1st, also known as All Saints Day, was a day in which Christians honored the people who had left this world and went up to heaven. The day before, October 31st, was referred to as All Hallows Day. Soon, they changed it to Halloween. So, if it wasn’t for Christians coming to - what is now Ireland, Scotland, and Wales - Halloween wouldn’t exist and there wouldn’t be anything to celebrate.

We didn’t always give kids candy. Before that, we gave them food and money. Americans took this away from the Europeans. Some younger women thought by using “yarn, apple parings, and mirrors” that they could find out who their future husband may be. The reasoning behind kids wearing costumes is very interesting. Some families celebrate Halloween by inviting their ancestors’ spirits to join them, but they don’t want evil spirits to be unleashed as well. So, they wanted kids wearing evil spirit costumes. Since they disguised themselves, the evil spirits died off.

The background of Halloween is very interesting and brings up a lot of questions. But, let’s not answer them. Halloween is a holiday of where you are supposed to be having fun with, not only your family, but your friends and neighbors and community. This celebration is supposed to be a public, interactive, and a participative event.

Aliens

By Cary McCaghren

Imagine you your taking a hike or looking through a telescope you may evening serving in the military and than you see these strange glowing floating lights you go closer to investigate, this weird craft begins to move in physics you once deemed impossible the lights gets brighter and begins moving faster than you've ever seen before faster than light ts self almost like teleporting and the leaves leaving a glowing stripe behind it what could this be have those meddling soviets reached a new scientific advancement, is the us government experimenting with a new aircraft. But no Humanity can barely reach the moon let alone mars they can’t travel through the infinite wonders of the universe or at least not yet but what if this isn't' from earth not even human is you see crazy people rambling about aliens and UFOs but what if those lunatics you know more than you thought this strange floating disk must be extraterrestrial.

Okay maybe you're exaggerating Sherlock. Let's think of this alien life theory from a logical scientist's point of view. Well believe it or not it’s basically a fact scientists estimate about 40 billion planets possibly harboring life and that's just the milky way 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 in our universe and that only counting planets orbiting stars there is almost no other way of looking at this life beyond earth has to exist somewhere from the simplest cell to all powerful beings some may view as gods.

There may even be life in our solar system lets first travel to the asteroid belt and we find ourself at a place called europa at first people brush this off as a ice cube in space but this could harbor marine life on planets other than earth europa well life needs energy to survive from muscle to fire to nuclear and the sun is one of the most important forms of energy out there and europa a place where oceans are shielded with ice well we can learn more about europa here on earth than you might think in our planet in the deep blue we have volcanically active with something called black smokers they emit out a cloud of black material and hot water causing a constant flow of minerals from earth's mantle bacteria eat the minerals and create organic material life such as but not limited to crustaceans,snails,bivalves,fish squid along with octopi and tube worms. In a dark ocean like Europa life could have similar water vents or volcanic activity could be a starting point for exploring ecosystems outside of our own. However life inside europa has both positive and negatives a positive is that the thick ice sheets protect it not only from asteroids but also radiation and gamma rays and as long as the core produces energy thing dont change life at first would probably be microorganisms but will eventually evolve into fish or crustaceans some may even rival human intelligence if they do they will find themselves in a difficult situation situation ice at the top of the their world and rocks at the bottom and with no plants to create agriculture no fire to create metal and no metal to craft tools they may live never knowing the unlimited wonder of the universe trapped by borders they cant pass and never achieve what they are capable of because of the unfair situations the universe put them in.

Alright so how do we measure the power of these aliens. Well the kardashev scale is probably the closet to flawless a level 1 civilization is able to harness the energy of their planet a level two is able to control their solar system they could mine asteroids for resources and create a dyson sphere which can harness all the energy in their sun a type 3 civilization can harness all the energy in their galaxy they must have unimaginable communication, travel capabilities, and of course energy. This means there is no type 3 civilizations in our galaxy unless they access our galaxy without us knowing, us humans are around a 0.7 on the kardashev scale there is also other scientists who believe their could be type 4 and OMEGA civilizations type 4 control their own universe which is pretty indiscernible they probably see us as we may see bacteria The type OMEGA is the most powerful civilization that scientists came up with. We would see them as gods they could have created our universe they would need to have basically unlimited power we just hope they are kind gods.

Okay but if there's so much aliens why haven't we seen any well? Aliens could be humanity's doom and I don't mean an invasion. I mean a philosophical way that many scientists believe that every civilization has one seemingly impossible challenge that is called the great filter. We are either ahead or behind the great filter if we are ahead then great e completed this challenge what is perhaps the ice age or ww2 if we are behind the great filter then this could be our doom mabey climate change or becoming wiped out of disease if we find one or two aliens species then hooray us and our couple of alien buddies are the best of the best if find hundreds even dozens then we are behind the filter although this just a thought a scary at that.

Well you your still puzzled by this hovering disk you snapped a few photos of this craft you head down to your friends house and share your findings they don’t seem to believe you but you know something else living is out there they could even live among us.

By Urshitaa Goel

When we think of Halloween we think of zombies, werewolves, and other creepy creatures hiding outside in the dark as the sky is lit up by a spooky full moon. But how frequently does a Halloween full moon occur? Apparently, not a lot.

A full moon on Halloween is still somewhat common as it occurs approximately every 19 years. However, when it happens, it is not visible from all time zones. The last time a Halloween full moon appeared was in 2001, and as most Halloween full moons are, it was only visible to specific time zones. In this case, the Central and Pacific time zones.

A blue moon can be a phenomenon in which the moon appears to have a slight tint of blue. However, in this case the term “blue moon” is being used to describe the second full moon in a calendar month. This phenomenon happens once every 2.5 to 3 years.

While a blue moon might seem quite rare, a full moon on Halloween that is visible from all time zones is even more rare. It is an event that has not happened since 1944.

This spectacle can also be considered as the hunter’s moon. A hunter’s moon is the next moon after the harvest moon. It got its name because this is when hunters would use the moonlight to hunt prey and prepare for winter. As the harvest moon was on October 1, that makes this full moon the hunter’s moon.

There have been a lot of crazy things happening this year and now here is another event to add to that list. A full moon on Halloween is extremely rare. Add that to the fact that it will be visible from all time zones around the world, and the fact that it is also a hunter’s moon, and you’ve got yourself an event that is truly “once in a blue moon.”

Mythical Beasts

By: Gabby P

Griffins

The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature,but very few know anything about it.

Griffins usually have a lion’s body (winged or wingless) and a bird’s head, usually that of an eagle.

The Griffin originated in Ancient Greece back in 3300-3100 BC.

The griffin was a favourite decorative motif in the ancient Middle Eastern and Mediterranean lands. Probably originating in the Levant in the 2nd millennium BCE, the griffin had spread throughout western Asia and into Greece by the 14th century BCE. The Asiatic griffin had a crested head, whereas the Minoan and Greek griffin usually had a mane of spiral curls. It was shown either recumbent or seated on its haunches, often paired with the sphinx; its function may have been to protect. Greek metalworkers evolved a handsome stylized rendering, the beak open to show a curling tongue and the head provided with horses’ ears and a large knob on top. Apparently the griffin was in some sense sacred, appearing frequently in sanctuary and tomb furnishings.

Jackalope

The jackalope is a mythical animal of North American folklore described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns. Douglas, Wyoming, is the Jackalope Capital of the World. Jackalope souvenirs can be found in Wyoming, South Dakota, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Kansas. It is said that the jackalope is a fierce hunter. They also love to eat wolves. This is explained in the documentary "Jackalopes Are Real. For those who believe, the jackalope is said to be an antlered species of rabbit, sometimes rumored to be extinct. One of the rarest animals in the world, it is a cross between a now extinct pygmy-deer and a species of killer-rabbit.

Unicorn

The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. No one has proven the existence of unicorns. Scientists would say that unicorns are not real and that they are part of mythology. Cultures all around the world do have stories of unicorns from China, to India, to Africa, the Middle East and now the United States.Unicorns are found in many stories and myths from different parts of the world, especially China and India. Its unicorn blood and horns usually have mystical powers. For many of us, unicorns do not die. The idea that such a beautiful, majestic creature could meet death is very painful. It seems that unicorns are too powerful to be overcome by something so natural as death.They are not joined with nature; they are nature.

Cerberus

In Greek mythology, Cerberus, often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. Cerberus was a monster who just happened to be dog-shaped. As such, he was never associated in art or literature with any particular ancient breed. He tended, however, to be represented more or less as a Molossian hound, the classical world's default guard dog. Molossians were huge, deep-chested mastiffs.Cerberus is a good boy. He does everything his master, Hades, tells him to and keeps souls inside of the underworld.He even named his dog Spot, (Cerberus, translated from Ancient Greek, means “spotted”). So yes, Cerberus is a good boy.