Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Monsterquest
I'm a huge fan of Monsterquest. We watch it all the time. Odd because every single show is destined to end in disappointment as the creature of the week is obviously NOT discovered. An entire series based on a build-up to a let-down. Still, it's fun getting there and listening to witnesses that seem really credible. A favorite episode dealt with the Jersey Devil. It featured a family that witnessed the creature one night during the winter. Huge and menacing, it swooped at them as they ran from their yard. A sculptor named Mike Melillo created a piece based on their descriptions. It was a very creepy figure and watching the mother and son react to seeing a 3 D representation of the creature that "attacked" them in their yard was chilling. A great sculpt and a great episode.
It turns out that the sculptor has his own Halloween yard haunt each year: Dr. Slickshill's Dead End of Horrors. Very cool.
Dead End of Horrors
Shadows Revisited
Featured this display last year. Came upon it this morning and figured I'd do it again. Such a unique style loaded with shadowy atmosphere.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Outside Looking In
Such a huge fan of photographs of Halloween store displays.
Image source.
Some of our outings (scary how many photos I've taken of store displays).
A Few Of My Favorite Things
Michael Myers AND a scarecrow? I must be dreaming.
I LOVE this image.
Dr. Loomis goes off the deep end in his retirement. Builds a scarecrow facing towards his house from the back yard. Finds himself sitting in front of the window. Staring.
Trick
Neat to discover that the artist of this great piece is also the author behind an amazing Halloween short story called "Yesterday's Witch."
Gahan Wilson's Halloween Illustrations.
That story can be found in the invaluable: OCTOBER DREAMS.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Bug Stories
This photo reminded me of an old radio program I listened to that featured callers telling tales of run-ins with nasty insects. An entomologist was the studio guest. I remember one caller who woke to find a hissing cockroach "drinking" from the base of her eyelashes. The bug expert said the roach was testing the moisture for drinkability. Another caller told a story of her honeymoon. It was night and a giant spider was in their room above the only door out. Tarantula-sized. The couple decided to make a break for it and quickly ran into the hallway. They ran into a bunch of flying cockroaches circling the ceiling light out in the hall. The bug guy said the spider was feasting on the occasional roach that made it into the room. The best part was that the entomologist would laugh during the horror stories. He was clearly rooting for the bugs.
Got any bug horror stories?
Image source.
Old Site Index
How my site's index page looked back in 2004. At the time I thought it was so edgy. Now it gives me the chills.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Now Playing: Phantom Satellite
Always so impressed by this guy's talents.
Click image to listen:
His cool blog.
Old Dutch Church Cemetery
In Tarrytown, NY. Sleepy Hollow. I had the great pleasure of visiting that cemetery once. Looking forward to going back in the Autumn. 
Flickr set.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Dead Meat
The previously-featured favorite - Carrion Farm's wonderful 2008 yard haunt video.
CarrionFarm.com (2008 updates coming soon)
Monday, April 13, 2009
Now Playing: Badlands
A band featured on all the [incredible] Halloween At High Noon albums, here's the latest from The Divine Sham called Badlands. Makes me crave the fourth Halloween volume.
"...like smoking a backwoods cigar and lighting dynamite wicks with it."
Listen to samples here.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Pumpkin Headed
Found a photo of a pre-Halloween scarecrow test with a real jack o'lantern for my CARVED scarecrow. Decided to go with a flatter pumpkin, but this looked pretty neat too.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
[2002] Year Without A Haunt
2002 was a year I opted out of doing my yard haunt. I think it was a transitional period of wanting to enjoy Halloween from the non-haunter's point of view. Maybe it was a subconscious way of me knowing that my haunt was going to grow in intensity the following year, and for all of my remaining Halloweens. Not really sure. I DO know that I needed the vacation and the Universe paid off in full - I ended up by chance walking through a borough of a colonial town. I was about to see how they spent their Halloween night. It was a sleepy little street of single homes and cobblestone sidewalks. I'd describe the experience as magical, and it might sound like I'm embellishing the event. Every single porch had at least one jack o'lantern blazing. The residents were giving out treats from their porches, sitting in chairs or on porch steps. Treats were impressive, bundled and homemade. Hot cider at one house from a lady dressed as a witch. Laughter was everywhere. Adults catching up with their neighbors while their children ran around unattended. Strings of orange lights in windows. Cornstalks on bannisters. The finest house had a small circular table out front - a woman dressed as a fortune-teller, hands hovering over a real crystal ball, handing out a tiny written fortune with each treat. And this is the finest part of the story - due to the incredible amount of jack o'lanterns smiling and frowning their finest stuff, the air on that perfect little street smelled of toasted pumpkin.
Almost seven years ago. It's been a warm thought each year as I hand out my own treats on Halloween night, knowing that those neat folks are doing their thing and making Halloween truly Halloween.
Image source.
Now Playing: ALIENS
The score for James Cameron's ALIENS is incredibly dark and sinister and some of these tracks would be perfect for a dark walk-through haunt, specifically Bad Dreams, Dark Discovery, Sub-Level 3, Complex and Queen. This powerhouse score by composer James Horner also contains some of the most exciting cues ever written for film (in my opinion).
Listen to samples here.
