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Dan Halloran Wins, Alice Richmond Loses
It looks like a split decision last night in the battle of the Pagan candidates, resulting in a historic win for Republican candidate Dan Halloran. In a very close race Halloran defeated his Democratic opponent by a margin of 1300 votes to become the next New York City Councilman for District 19. This is a dramatic win for the beleaguered Theodsman, and his victory represents a dramatic first for modern Paganism, the first openly Pagan/Heathen candidate to gain an important political office. We await an official statement from Halloran, in the meantime, you can read congratulations from his supporters, and commentary from a snarky but somewhat humbled Village Voice (not to mention a peeved-sounding Steven Thrasher). Read full story from The Wild Hunt

It’s Election Day!
Today is the day, elections are being held, and we’ll soon find out if two out/outed Pagan candidates will win their respective races. The higher-profile story, that of Republican New York City Council candidate, and Heathen Theodsman, Dan Halloran, has gotten a bit ugly in the final hours. Read full story from The Wild Hunt

Candidate’s Religion Is Point of Contention in Queens Race
Dan Halloran, the Republican candidate for a City Council seat in northeastern Queens, actively practices Theodism, a neo-pagan faith which attempts to reconstruct the pre-Christian tribal religions of the European Germanic people. Read full story from nytimes.com

Days of the Dead
From October 31st through November 2nd, a number of festivals, holidays and solemnities take place, all loosely related and revolving around remembrance of the dead. Halloween, Samhain, All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day, the Day of the Dead and other festivals trace their origins back to Celtic, Aztec, Roman and Christian traditions. Halloween is largely a secular observation these days, All Souls and All Saints remain mainly Catholic observations, and the Day of the Dead is still largely a Latin American tradition, its roots in Mexico’s Aztec heritage. Collected here are photographs over the past week from the varied observations of the Days of the Dead around the world. Read full story from boston.com

Does a Wtich live Next Door?
With Halloween coming up tomorrow, most folks are stocking up on candy and other treats to be given away to all the little ghosts, goblins and witches who will be trooping up to the front door screaming, “Trick or Treat.” Read full story from somd.com

Americans embrace alternatives to ‘pagan’ Halloween
WASHINGTON — Witches, beware. Mummies, be gone. Halloween may be a celebration of all things creepy and macabre, but a growing number of US communities are shunning traditional ghoulish festivities, seen by some as tainted by association with paganism and the occult. Read full story from google.com

Day of the Dead honors ancestors
Día de los Muertos, meaning Day of the Dead, is celebrated on November first within the Hispanic cultures around the world. Originating in Mexico, this annual ritual dates back some 3,000 years in history. The rituals are about honoring and communicating with one’s dead ancestors, and was practiced among the Zapotec, Mixtec, Olmec, Maya, P’urhepecha, Totonac and Mexica societies. Read full story from The Examiner

GRAND OL’ PAGAN: What Does the Republican ‘Heathen’ Running for New York’s City Council Actually Believe?
Lou Sancio and Joseph Bloch were more forthcoming. The two have been involved with New York-area heathen groups for the past two decades, including Halloran’s New Normandy. Recently, Sancio was released from his oath to Halloran so that he could form the eastern Pennsylvania group, Arfstoll Thjod. He was the best man at Halloran’s wedding, and has been his friend for more than 20 years. Bloch, another member of the new tribe, has written numerous texts on heathenry. Read full story from The Village Voice

Historic Occoquan Ghost Tours
Walking tour of Occoquan, VA. history and haunting.

Halloween Presents Opportunity to Look at Growing Number of Wiccans
ReligionLink, which is run by the Religion Newswriters Association, recently noted that Paganism seems to be more socially acceptable these days: Read full story from Poynter.org

Press Release: Witch School leaving Rossville, Seeking a new future in ‘The Witch City’, Salem, Mass
Rossville, IL(October 26th, 2009) – Witch School Headquarters are closing in the Rossville-Hoopeston area of Illinois. Witch School settled from Chicago to Central Illinois in 2003, and became the center of protest by many of the Christian Churches in the area. A well-documented spiritual battle has been waged for the last six years, with open hostilities and long quiet truces by various Christian factions. Simply put, this has not allowed Witch School the staff and resources needed to keep up with their growth. On Halloween, Witch School Rossville will close permanently, and Witch School will be moving its HQ to ‘The Witch City’, Salem Mass. Read full story from witchschool.com

Near stadium, Cowboys have a new rival: Satan
ARLINGTON — A wee bit o’ Scotland has come to the outskirts of Cowboys Stadium, and with it a foggy auld controversy over whether a Scottish sculpture park is also a pagan shrine that might hex the Dallas Cowboys. Read full story from star-telegram.com

Wiccan Ways
This is a busy time for Wiccans as they prepare for the pagan New Year. Read full story from fresnobee.com

Fairfax teen may have died in Korean exorcism, police say
Someone pummeled and smothered 18-year-old Rayoung Kim in a bedroom of her home in a new suburban subdivision in Fairfax County. She fell unconscious and later died. Read full story from WashingtonPost.com

The unholy trinity: The three rebel sculptors that shocked the art world with their pagan forms
If you find yourself being troubled on the doorstep by a god-botherer, try playing the pagan card. You may find it’s effective in its off-putting-ness. The modern missionary is used to dealing with monotheism and atheism and versions of these things. But polytheism is trickier. Someone who seems to believe in a variety of divinities is rather hard to pin down for a conversion. Read full story from independant.com