Only slightly cursed

Author

Vanessa Grall
October 30, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

Cauldrons ready?

Welcome to Halloween week, which means it’s time to get weird. Over at Messy Nessy’s Cabinet, In case you didn’t hear, we’ve been busy bottling sand of the Parisian catacombs, a relic of the Paris underworld for your spells – sealed with wax and only slightly cursed.

And in case you’re in need of a particularly potent potion this year, you’ll find a few more magical & macabre spell Ingredients here.

Now, you know I love a gratuitous and creepy Parisian ghost story, as much as the next sorcière, but I’d like to suggest another topic of conversation for the coven – let’s talk about breasts! Yes, October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month and during this month, we have the opportunity to heighten public consciousness of breast cancer and all that we can do to prevent it. I’ll start by introducing our special guest for the next Paris Writers & Readers Club, where we’ll be joined by Emmy Award–winning journalist, writer, producer – and breast cancer survivor – Robin Allison Davis, to share her new memoir, Surviving Paris: A Memoir of Healing in the City of Light (November 20th).

I’m really looking forward to this important gathering (you’re welcome to join via Zoom as well), and in the meantime, let’s kick off the conversation. Okay, I’ll go first, with one of my favourites from the archive: Free the Nipple! Says History.  

As we edge into November, I’ve also got another cozy craft night at the Cabinet for Keyholders next Thursday evening November 6th, 6.30pm - 8.30pm, hosted by our friends Idle Hands (we’ll be making miniature book buttons)!

Send us an email if you’d like to save yourself a seat. You’ll find all upcoming future events posted on our Events Bulletin Board here.

Wishing you a fang-tastic week and a happy Samhain ! For last minute costume ideas and witchy weekend inspiration, your 13 Things and weekend conversation starters await…

Stay curious,

Nessy

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 756)

Fresh out of the furnace…

www.messynessychic.com/2025/10/29/13-things-i-found-on-the-internet-today-vol-756

Magical & Macabre Spell Ingredients to throw in your Cauldron this Halloween

We're looking for a most powerful spell this year. Forget the "eye of newt" and "wool of bat" – to get in the spirit of Halloween, we've trawled our favourite curio corners of the net to find some alternative oddities to get our cauldrons a' bubbling this year.

www.messynessychic.com/2020/10/28/magical-macabre-spell-ingredients-to-throw-in-your-cauldron-this-halloween

The Buried African Folklore behind the Pop Culture Zombie

There is a law still in effect in the Haitian criminal code that dates back to 1883, making it illegal to try to turn someone into a zombie. The word “zombie” in fact, comes from “nzambi,” a word that means “spirit” in the voodou religions of Haiti and the African diaspora, but the Haitian zombie has travelled a long and troubled road to become everyone’s favourite Halloween ghoul.

www.messynessychic.com/2020/10/22/the-buried-african-folklore-behind-the-pop-culture-zombie

Last Minute Halloween Costume Idea: Guillotine Haircuts

One of the most unusual stories to come out of post-revolutionary France must be the bals des victimes, or victim’s balls. Writings and records from the era suggest that an unusual subculture of society balls emerged as orphaned aristocrats began to see the return of their confiscated fortunes. The gatherings are thought to have been organised by relatives of guillotine victims, and only those who had lost a close relative to the guillotine, or narrowly escaped it, could be admitted to exclusive balls. The most coveted invitation in the late 1790’s Paris, France, came with its own set of manners and dress.

www.messynessychic.com/2019/08/20/how-guillotine-haircuts-became-all-the-rage-in-france

The Parisian Poison Panic and Versailles’ Secret Witch Hunt

This is a different kind of story about Versailles; one that they only dared whisper about in the palace's gilded halls. It's the little-known story of a witch hunt that unfolded in secrecy within the French royal court, eclipsed in history by a more famous witch hunt…

www.messynessychic.com/2021/09/03/the-parisian-poison-panic-and-versailles-secret-witch-hunt

A Brief Compendium of Mesmerising and Macabre Memento Mori

We often try to avoid death. Sweep it under the rug, pretend it doesn’t exist and live in comfortable denial. But we weren’t always this way…

www.messynessychic.com/2021/10/14/a-brief-compendium-of-mesmerising-and-macabre-memento-mori

A Haunting Compendium of Paris Ghost Stories

Paris may be the City of Light, but it is filled with dark corners. Some of the best-known ghost stories were inspired by the very real, gory history of this otherwise romantic setting.

www.messynessychic.com/2019/10/30/a-haunting-compendium-of-paris-ghost-stories

I See a Road Trip to New York's Village of Psychics in Your Future

When the forests of Upstate New York are blanketed in orange and brown hues during the fall of Autumn leaves, there are few places more bewitching to escape for the weekend. But there is certainly no place quite like the enchanting hamlet of Lily Dale, NY, population: 275, where over 50 registered spiritual mediums are in residence year-round, offering private readings, forest temple services, seances, workshops and access to the spirit world for all who care to venture to the other side.

www.messynessychic.com/2019/09/20/i-see-a-road-trip-to-new-yorks-village-of-psychics-in-your-future

More ingredients for your spells at Messy Nessy’s Cabinet

Discover the curiosities

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