The Mysteries

A book by Bill Watterson and John Kascht.

Really grateful to Revenant Manor for recommending this one to me.  I was completely unaware it existed.  As a fan of Watterson for decades, I can't explain the joy knowing he was making art again.  Anyone who was a fan of his comic Calvin & Hobbes probably knows what I'm talking about.  Waking up and reading that daily strip was pretty much magic every day.  He created this small world that was as real as anything else on this planet.  And his artwork and humor were second to none.

I highly recommend this "fable for grown-ups."

In addition to recommending this book, Revenant Manor also sent the below link.  It's pure gold for people obsessed with the reclusiveness of Watterson, as it's an interview with both artists about their creative process.  

Click here to watch.

Huge thanks, RM!

Buried Alive

A day or two ago the body was exhumed, prior to its removal to another burial place, when the discovery was made that the girl had been buried alive. Her shroud was torn into shreds, her knees were drawn up to her chin, one of her arms was twisted under her head, and her features bore evidence of dreadful torture.

-New York Times article, 1886

Image by Jack Ottaway.

NECA Ben Cooper Costume Figures

Introducing the Ben Cooper Costume Kids Collection, a figure series based on the popular kids’ costumes from one of the largest Halloween costume manufacturers from the 1950s through the ‘80s. Standing approximately 6 inches tall, these fully poseable figures wonderfully capture the vintage horror spirit and are ready to make some spooky mischief on your collector’s shelf. Series 1 includes Creature, Devil, Frankenstein, Mummy, and Skeleton—classic Ben Cooper costumes worn by an inclusive group of kids.

Wearing a mask styled after an original Ben Cooper design and soft goods clothing replicating the vinyl look of the classic costume, each playful figure comes complete with a trick-or-treat bag or pumpkin bucket accessory. Every figure is sold separately and packaged in a numbered, retro-style window box that pays homage to the original costume packaging.

Click here for more photos and more info.

Now Playing: Unsolved Mysteries [Ghost Music]

Part of the ungodly horror of the paranormal episodes of UNSOLVED MYSTERIES was the musical score for each of those terrifying stories.  It helped legitimize what I was seeing back then and make it even more real.  It created many a sleepless night for sure.

Click below for some of the spookier bits...

And click here for a bunch of cues from the series, including that awesome main theme.

The Candy Skull

You walked up the hill and paid the graveyard attendant a peso and he flung back a steel door and you went down a spiral stone stair into the earth, into the catacombs.  You entered a long dim hall with one hundred twenty-five mummies facing each other, standing against the walls, their mouths open, their beards intact.  Looking as if they had leaped up at your entrance, screaming silently.

You walked along the line of standing dead.  You looked into the bony, tight-skinned faces.

Until you came to the body of Douglas McClure.

- Ray Bradbury

Beastcraft

Lots of great designs here.

Click to see more.

Memorial Cards

Handing out candy and memorial cards on Halloween felt like a weird social experiment.  I had heard so much about those religious tracts being secretly slipped into trick-or-treaters bags and now here I was doing something similar.  And dressed as Michael Myers no less.  

I would scoop up some [world class] candy and pluck a card from the inner bowl and try to do all of this inconspicuously.  Kids are smart.  They knew something out of the ordinary was happening.  And the ones without masks absolutely looked confused and on alert.  One kid even asked "WHAT'S THAT?!"  Thankfully Michael Myers is a quiet man.  

Since Halloween, I have occasionally found myself wondering where those cards are. We easily had over a hundred kids come for candy, but I never count, and I had ordered 150 cards, and they all went.  Initially I was giving out one per child, but then started to spread them out as my supply dwindled.  I really hope as those bags and plastic pails got poured out at home or sifted through in the days that followed, that those kids, and their parents, got a kick out of seeing our weird funeral cards for our dear uncle Morris.  

Mr. Moundshroud

Now Playing: Away From Reality

By L-ONE-X.

Click below...

Neat photo by sarah_the_spook.

Long-Leggedy Beasties

Image by hydeparkhangs.

Herman's Hollow Halloween 2023

Always wonderful stuff here.

Click for more images.

Dinner And An Alien Autopsy

We had the pleasure of seeing John Carpenter's THE THING on the big screen last week.  Hard to imagine that this film didn't do well when it was first released in 1982.  Fortunately, all these years later it can still manage to fill a theater.  

They took a poll before the film started to see how many people were seeing it for the first time and there was a pretty decent number of folks with their hands raised.  Imagine seeing the scene below for the very first time.  I envied those people...

Click to watch:

Shadows On Center Street

Click below for a neat video...

2024

It was twelve by the village clock

When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.

He heard the crowing of the cock,

And the barking of the farmer's dog,

And felt the damp of the river fog,

That rises after the sun goes down.

 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Wishing everyone a wonderful New Year, hopefully one filled with peace, comfort, and joy.  Lots and lots of joy.

Cheers!

Cauldron Cave Halloween 2023

More [wonderful] images here.

Now Playing: Temple Of Stars

By the wonderful dark ambient project Tineidae.

In the age of short ambient cues, this one comes in right under an hour, and it's really terrific.

Click below...

80's Krueger

Trying to ham it up like Robert Englund for the flash camera in my face.

The important thing is that I FELT like Freddy that night, despite my sweater being red and blue and not red and green.  I would open each kid's trick-or-treat bag with the blade of my index finger, so that was [hopefully] pretty scary for them.

Now Playing: The Darkest Cavern

By Gdanian.

Click below...

Spooky

Witch Burning

In the marketplace they are piling the dry sticks.
A thicket of shadows is a poor coat. I inhabit
The wax image of myself, a doll's body.
Sickness begins here: I am the dartboard for witches.
Only the devil can eat the devil out.
In the month of red leaves I climb to a bed of fire.

- Sylvia Plath

Image from Moaning Acres.

The Steam Whistle Of York

You may recall this post from a year ago regarding a factory in York, Pennsylvania.  Every Christmas since 1955, at 12:15 AM, the eerie notes of Christmas carols played through a steam whistle blast into the night sky.  As each song ends, parked cars all around this old factory and in the surrounding blocks honk and beep in approval and excitement.  These unholy-sounding songs can be heard for miles around.  It was pretty exceptional, and the absolute best way to start a Christmas.  We had an amazing time being a part of this magic.

Hoping you all had a wonderful holiday.  

Here's a video of the tail end of White Christmas (I swear that’s what it was).

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a truly wonderful Christmas, like in one of those rare Christmas specials that are loaded with warmth, huge amounts of heart, and a really nice dose of Magic.

The Art Of A. J. Casperite

More works here.