MARY BRASWELL: The color black is often associated with Halloween, but there’s more | QUIK QUIZ

Each week Albany Herald researcher Mary Braswell looks for interesting events, places and people from the past. You can contact her at (229) 888-9371 or [email protected]. Follow @ABH_MBraswell on Twitter.

As Halloween approaches, here is a look back at a color associated with the big day … black.

COLOR PSYCHOLOGY

— The color black relates to the hidden, the secretive and the unknown. As a result, black is often associated with mystery.

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— Black implies self-control and discipline, independence and a strong will.

— Black absorbs negative energy. Many people believe it is useful to carry something black to protect a traveler from harm when traveling.

— Wearing black shows power and authority.

— Black is often seen as a color of sophistication. Such is the case at a “black-tie event” and the “little black dress.”

— People who like the color black are typically conservative, conventional and serious-minded.

— Excessive admiration of the color black, including in one’s wardrobe, may be a sign of self-denial and not letting joy into one’s life.

— Black has long been associated with grief and allows a person to hide from his or her true feelings.

— A person who dislikes the color black may have a fear of the dark.

— Preferring any colors other than black indicate a light-hearted nature and an easy-going personality.

SAYINGS

— Black out … to darken by turning off the lights or to lose consciousness.

— Black-tie event … a formal event where male guests typically wear black bowties with tuxedos or dinner jackets.

— Black sheep … used to describe a person who is the “odd one out. ”Within a family, the phrase refers to a member who is a disgrace or embarrassment to the rest of the family members.

— Pot calling the kettle black ... used when a person hypocritically criticizes or accuses another person of something which he or she is just as guilty as the person being accused.

— Pitch black … describes a place that is very, very dark.

— Black and white ... to judge everything either one way or the other, good or bad.

— Put something down in black and white … to write or have something written down on paper for confirmation.

— Blacklist someone … to write someone’s name down on a list for breaking a rule, real or perceived, banning the person from participating in an activity, club, etc.

— Black market … a term used for places where goods are bought and sold illegally for a profit.

— Black as a skillet … used to describe something that is very dirty.

— Blackmail … to extort or take money from someone by using their secrets against them and threatening to reveal those secrets to others.

— Black and blue … a description of someone who is badly bruised.

— In the black … out of debt, profitable, successful, especially in reference to a business.

— Black gold … crude oil.

— Take it black … usually refers to coffee with no sugar or cream.

— Black cats … believed to be the familiar spirits of witches or of bringing bad luck.

— Black hole … a region where gravity prevents anything, including light, from escaping.

— Black mark … something a person has done that affects his or her reputation in a bad way.

— Little black book … a small book filled with the names and phone numbers, can have a male or female owner. These books sometimes contain additional confidential information.

— Paint a black picture … to describe or portray someone, something, or some event as being extremely bad, hopeless, and/or unpleasant.

— Black magic … referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes.

MOVIE TITLES

“The Spy in Black” (1939) … A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.

“Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954) … A strange prehistoric beast lurks in the depths of the Amazonian jungle. A group of scientists try to capture the animal and bring it back to civilization for study.

“The Black Sheep” (1956) … Sir Joel Cadman, a mad scientist, kidnaps his victims and cuts open their brains in an effort to discover a means to cure his wife’s brain tumor.

“Black Sabbath” (1963) ... A trio of atmospheric horror tales about a woman terrorized in her apartment by phone calls from an escaped prisoner from her past; a Russian count in the early 1800s who stumbles upon a family in the countryside trying to destroy a particularly vicious line of vampires, and a 1900-era nurse who makes a fateful decision while preparing the corpse of one of her patients — an elderly medium who died during a seance.

“Black Moon Rising” (1986) … A professional thief is hired by the FBI to steal a data tape from a company under investigation.

“Black Roses” (1988) … Demons hypnotize the general public by posing as a rock and roll band.

”The Blackout” (1997) … A debauched Hollywood movie actor tries to piece together one wild night in Miami years earlier which remains a drug-induced blur, and soon finds out that some questions about his past are best left unanswered.

“Black Hawk Down” (2001) … Elite U.S. soldiers, 123 of them, drop into Somalia to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord and find themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily-armed Somalis.

“Black Cadillac” (2003) … Three young men become terrorized in a high-speed car chase with a mysterious pursuant.