Halloween Snow

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A Haunting

The Legend

An opening in the trees now cheered him with the hopes that the church bridge was at hand. The wavering reflection of a silver star in the bosom of the brook told him that he was not mistaken. He saw the walls of the church dimly glaring under the trees beyond. He recollected the place where Brom Bones’s ghostly competitor had disappeared. “If I can but reach that bridge,” thought Ichabod, “I am safe.” Just then he heard the black steed panting and blowing close behind him; he even fancied that he felt his hot breath. Another convulsive kick in the ribs, and old Gunpowder sprang upon the bridge; he thundered over the resounding planks; he gained the opposite side; and now Ichabod cast a look behind, to see if his pursuer should vanish, according to rule, in a flash of fire and brimstone.  Just then he saw the goblin rising in his stirrups, and in the very act of hurling his head at him. Ichabod endeavored to dodge the horrible missile, but too late. It encountered his cranium with a tremendous crash—he was tumbled headlong into the dust, and Gunpowder, the black steed, and the goblin rider, passed by like a whirlwind.

- Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Image by LisaDiazPhotos.

Night Smile

Image by firehouse.ie.

Basement Black & White

Square Teeth And Angry Eyes

Image by haoa192.

Haunted Porches

Images by Alessandro Bonis.

Trick R' Terror

More images here.

Memories Of Halloweens Past

The next entry for this nostalgic blog series comes from my gal Jenna.  I've had the pleasure of seeing this neat item up close, so it was really wonderful hearing about its backstory.

Jenna writes "Over the years people have often asked me, 'Why do you like Halloween so much?' or 'Why do you like such scary things?'  I don't really have an answer for them. Truthfully, I have always found myself drawn to darker interests. Poe and R.L. Stine in grade school. The Twilight Zone and heavy metal in middle school. But when thinking about my favorite memory of Halloweens past (thanks to Mr. Macabre), my thoughts kept coming back to a very non-scary subject: My Grandmother, from now on referred to as Grandie (a nickname of her own creation). She is decidedly not spooky, or scary, and does not relate to my love of horror movies and dark art, but she was formative for my love of Halloween. 

Grandie and my Grandfather lived out in the country, not far from the previously mentioned Hex Hollow. In fact, my first haunted hayride as a kid was the local fire hall hayride that took you though Hex Hollow the week or so before Halloween.

She was Martha before Martha - making loads of homemade candy, Golden Grahams smores bars, and soft pumpkin cookies with caramel frosting in the days leading up to the High Holiday. The house was filled with decorations - a sound activated laughing witch (long gone), tons of paper Hallmark party goods, and a unique ceramic pumpkin that she would save for me to put together (once I was old enough to be trusted not to break it). 

This particular decoration encompasses all the imagery I love and associate with Halloween - ghosts, a spooky tree, a cemetery, and a jack-o-lantern. Each year, I would arrange the ghosts around the tree, always in the same places, like a ritual. The tombstone and the jack-o-lantern were my absolute favorites, and would go in the very front, so that I could take them out and hold them whenever I wanted.  It wasn't truly Halloween until this pumpkin was on display. 

Grandie is still with us and turned 98 this year. Knowing my love of Halloween, she handed down her recipes and decorations over the years as she downsized and moved into a retirement community. I think the ceramic pumpkin was the first decoration she gave me when she moved - she knew how much I loved it. Now I am the one decorating and hosting for Halloween, and though she doesn't always understand the darker decor, she loves seeing how we spend our holiday, and will forever be an important part of my Halloween."

For anyone interested in submitting, you can email me at pumpkinrot @ gmail . com (remove the spaces, of course!)

And click here to see past entries!

Halloween Hostess

More images here.

Memories Of Halloweens Past

Anoka, Minnesota is known as the Halloween Capital of the World (read about it here), and I've joked more than a few times that my ultimate goal in life is to move there.  I received a wonderful email from a fellow haunter who actually resides in Anoka, and he shared his favorite memory of Halloweens past.

Dan Wiswell writes "My submission for this topic is my vintage Anoka Halloween banner.  At nearly 5 ft tall and 3 ft wide, and made of heavy duty canvas, it flew in its official capacity decorating downtown somewhere during the 1950-1965 time frame.  At a family gathering in the summer of 2009, the topic of these banners came up, and the quest to find one began.

After consulting with the chamber of commerce, who provides the city with the banners, I learned that the city had housed a number of the banners and other old Halloween memorabilia in the basement of city hall. However, a vast cleaning around the year 2000 had sent many of these items to the landfill. I was crushed. They suggested a few members of the Halloween committee may have spared some things, but would probably be reluctant to sell.  I was offered a contact with a previous Anoka Halloween president and was able to purchase a newer style black canvas banner with three pumpkins.  This was the redesigned logo, not the orange top hatted pumpkin banners of my youth which were made of thick vinyl similar to a school patrol flag.  The money went to charity, but I was still disappointed. Then I found this banner on ebay in October of 2009. The seller had asked $300 for it, but found no takers. Against policy, (sorry I was new to ebay) I privately messaged the seller and struck a deal. It hangs with its newer counterpart in the basement near the fireplace and is on prime display outside during the public viewing nights of the house decorating contest and on Halloween night.  It always sparks conversation, and I have been asked numerous times, especially during the 2020 season (Anoka's 100th year celebrating), if I would sell it. The chamber and city even returned to this design in 2019, because it was beloved, in a nod to tradition. 

These banners remind me of not only my own Halloweens, but also of celebrating with my niece and nephews, and of the now 15 years of being involved officially with the celebration through the house decorating contest."

Thanks, Dan!  So glad you're the curator of these banners. I can't think of a more suitable home for them.

Click here to see some photos of his Home Haunt.

For anyone interested in submitting, you can email me at pumpkinrot @ gmail . com (remove the spaces, of course!)

And click here to see past entries!

And thanks again to Mr. Macabre for the suggestion for this fun blog series!

Memories Of Halloweens Past

The next nostalgic entry for cherished memories and special Halloween possessions comes from Revenant Manor.  In his own words...

"Allow me to present Jack.  While he is certainly not our oldest Halloween item, and while at first glance he seems kind of silly and plastic, he has creeped his way into our Halloween season in a way that other treasures simply haven't (and really can't).

You see, Jack is a hand puppet; a sinister 10" little guy with articulated stretching arms that can act as a bit of an avatar for someone so inclined. 

He arrived on the scene ~20 years ago at the perfect time to help introduce two young daughters to Halloween. Offering the perfect mix of slightly scary and mostly silly when being chased around a house; he's been a part of the Halloween backdrop their entire lives.  

Over the years, he has spent spooky season leering in from darkened doorways, unexpectedly poking his head around corners, tapping the shoulders of unsuspecting people, appearing from nowhere at just the right moment during a spooky movie scene, greeting visitors at the front door, and generally causing the household pets to wonder what exactly is wrong with their humans. 

The kids (both the two and four-footed kind) have all known Jack since their earliest days, and have enjoyed his antics...it's really just not Halloween season until he arrives on the scene."

What an amazing design.  Seeing something like this makes me wonder why we don't see anything similar out there these days, as something like this would sell out every season for sure.  It's Sinister.  It's beautiful.

Thank you, RM, for sharing this incredible piece from your collection!  I love imagining its antics each Halloween season.  

And for anyone wanting to see this guy in action, click the link below!

Jack in motion.

For anyone interested in submitting, you can email me at pumpkinrot @ gmail . com (remove the spaces, of course!)

And click here to see past entries!

Haunted Wood Cove

Where shall we adventure, to-day that we’re afloat,

Wary of the weather and steering by a star?   

Shall it be to Africa, a-steering of the boat,   

To Providence, or Babylon, or off to Malabar?   

- Robert Louis Stevenson

More images here.

The Pumpkin Ghost

 

Memories Of Halloweens Past

The next submission for this fun feature (suggested by Mr. Macabre) comes to us from artist Jerem Morrow.  His nostalgic Halloween possession was given to him back when he was 15 years old, as payment for cleaning the house for one of his mom's friends.  "I'd never seen anything that embodied my sense of Halloween spirit so thoroughly," he shared.  "As an artist myself, I've drawn and sculpted many spooky pieces and this still remains the pinnacle of High Holiday art for me."

As a Halloween blogger since 2007, I have seen my share of ceramic Halloween decor and I have never come across anything quite like this.  It is packed with Old School Halloween charm, and it feels like something you'd see in October in the window of a shadowy house on some lonely leaf-filled street.

Click here for Jerem's Instagram account.

For anyone interested in submitting, you can email me at pumpkinrot @ gmail . com (remove the spaces, of course!)

Cooling Off

Going up to 86 in these parts today...  remembering snow fondly.

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Fire Goooood

Broke in our new Halloween fire pit last night after work.  

The maiden voyage was a blissful success... and seeing glowing bats and a jacko face smiling fire wasn't too shabby either.

Blurry Face In The Dark

Blurry Halloween photographs are a thing 

(click here to see a bunch on this blog).

Image by H Olson Sr.

Autumn Window

Art by Sam Wolfe Connelly.

Clay Jack

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