Horror stroies are always great ^ ^ . i love em

And this one was 'educational' too! How many furs knew that those carved jack-o-lanterns were also known as Ignis Fatuus? *chuckles*

It was fun writing this one.

woh, don't mess with the old widow!

How cool, I never knew that pumpkins where also called Ignis Fatuus. I guess that explains why they're put out on Halloween then!

Heh, a good Halloween tale to remember!

Wuff didn't know they were called that either, until he started searching for inspiration on what to write for the Halloween con-book. The idea of the jack'o lanterns drifted into his mind first, and Vargr did some Google searches on that to see what connections came up.

The Will-o-wisp, and Ignis Fatuus links showed up, with the concept of spirits who led folks astray. There were ties about folks using a carved pumpkin as a cheap lantern, and that linked the whispy balls of light which lured people into the swamps. Hence the "Jack of the lantern", and "Will 'o wisps".

Next thing Vargr knew, he was twisting those ideas into spirits seeking furs who were up to mischief, with a sprinkle of that old cliched 'swamp witch' "widder" on the outskirts of town. Shake 'em all together (Vargr's noggin is empty enough to give lots of 'shaking' room! *grins*) and "swamp witch" became "widow fox" with her collection of spirit-possessed jack 'o lanterns, and this story poured out!

Neat!

Ignis Fatuus when translated to English from Latin Literally,
It means...Stupid Fire?
Gee those Romans must have really looked down upon the tribes who came up with it.