Monday, June 30, 2008

This Could Be YOUR Head!

I've made my share of these tiny shriveled heads in my lifetime, but I never owned this super cool Vincent Price shrunken apple kit, and now I wish I had.


More information.

Candlelight


unknown photographer

Winter Scarecrow



Turnips

I'm dying to do this, but the last time I picked up a turnip in the grocery store, the thing felt like a block of wood.



Pale Kitty/Pitch Kitty

The art of Deth P. Sun.



DethPSun.com

Halloween 1970



Sunday, June 29, 2008

All Hallow's Eve

The greatest birthday gift EVER - an original work by Mike Egan.
All Hallow's Eve


Never owned an original painting before, so this is a really big deal.

EganPaintings.com


Lycanthropy


"Those things out there are REAL. If they're real, what else is real?"
- From the film DOG SOLDIERS


DIY

"...for pets and people."


Amazon.com

3 Crows

Massive sculptures from artist William Salisbury.



WilSalisbury.com

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Absinthe Brewing

Removed the large packet of herbs, poured the pre-absinthe through a coffee filter, and added the coloring packet. It has to sit for another three days. Then it's hallucination time.

Friday, June 27, 2008

The Earliest [Significant] Prop

The flying witch. We were 13 years old when my brother and I constructed a witch on a broom and made her fly from the upper window down towards unsuspecting trick-or-treaters. Suspended by a wire attached to a pulley, she was life-sized and had a green mummy mask for a face and red ping-pong balls for eyes. She rode on a wire tied on one end to a chair in our parents' bedroom and the street lamp at the other end. A thin rope was used to reel her back up. It was very quiet and very fast as it glided down towards the sidewalk. A great gag and one that worked to startle and scare the people below, all night long. It looked amazing at night.

Not bad for 13 years old.

Click the photo for a few-second video of the prop in action (taken from a super 8mm film):

This pulley prop concept was used for the next few years and can be seen on my EARLY YEARS photo page. We had the Witch, a Giant Bat (no existing photos), a ghost like Slimer from GHOSTBUSTERS, a Giant Ghost similar to the one in POLTERGEIST, and a Giant Spider.
All of them came swooping down to the sidewalk. The Giant Ghost looked the best with the fabric blowing in the wind. The Spider looked most natural, like it was descending on its web.

Good memories.

A Store Called Halloween

A unique jewelry store owned by Henri David in Philadelphia.
He also hosts one of the city's largest Halloween costume balls.


More info.

The Paul Lynde Halloween Special

I kid you not, I NEED to see this.


Which Reminds Me...

I'll be working on the Absinthe this evening after its initial five-day soaking period. Phase two of its creation. I'll snap a few pics.

Lollyphile

Absinthe (and Maple-Bacon) lollipops from Lollyphile.com.


Greeted



Floating Pumpkin Head

The art of Jared Chapman.



His site.

His blog.

Giant Spider

A yard haunt featuring a massive anatomically-impressive spider.

(High resolution pic here.)

BazillionLights.com

Briar



Steamcrow

The art of Daniel M. Davis.




Steamcrow.com

A wonderful interview with the artist.

Green Smoke



Thursday, June 26, 2008

Bright, Clean, & Crisp

The art of Bob Staake.


BobStaake.com

Fire Storm


Tragic and sad.

Flickr source.

Yard Haunt, Midwest-style

A simply perfect yard haunt from painter and sculptor Chris Ryniak.



More pics.

The artist's site.

Halloween Party

Coolest Halloween party decorations EVER.



Image source.

Flower Pots and Pumpkins

Using flower pots to arrange pumpkins is an excellent concept. I've always had the benefit of layering my jack o'lanterns on the porch steps, but this would be an excellent idea for a large flat porch display. Plus it looks nice and rustic in the daylight as well.


Flickr source.

Driftwood

Hiroshi Kure's skull jewelry made from driftwood.


DriftwoodSkull.com

Ruins

This beautiful photo set made me wish for a giant property to haunt, with an old gutted house set back a bit. The lighting is all that's required to achieve the atmosphere here. Reminds me of this great house.

Flickr source.

Now I'm not saying I wouldn't put a figure standing in one of the windows... but it really wouldn't be necessary.

Got me to thinking about silhouette cut-outs of figures standing at the edge of a wooded area. A green flood lamp behind them. Like Blake and his men from John Carpenter's THE FOG. (Man, a haunted hayride needs to hire me as a consultant.)


These photos reminded me of THIS great site.