Because I am lazy (and because I have found myself needing to work on my vacation), my antique Hallowe’en postcard gallery hasn’t been updated for a while. Nonetheless, if you are interested in a look at early 20th century celebrations, you may enjoy them. Share/Bookmark
Two of my favorite childhood records were an LP of the music from Disney’s Haunted Mansion, and a cheap LP called Thrilling, Chilling Sounds of the Haunted House. The former was primarily organ music — predictable selections like JSB’s Toccatta and Fugue in D Minor — and a handful of melodies from the amusement ride [...]
As another re-run, here is 2005′s Graveyards and Cemeteries gallery. Also, here are the Southern Memorial Cemetery photos I took earlier this year. I find graveyards fascinating and relaxing, even at twilight. During vacations I like to visit them — I feel like I learn a little something about the people who live there by [...]
[O]n Halloween I believed in everything. Given how often I invoke him you might think I’m sleeping with the fellow*, but Neil Gaiman is just one of my favorite authors. Here’s a NYT essay by Neil about Hallowe’en. *I’m not, it was just tea, and even that was in a dream. Share/Bookmark
As a child I liked scary movies. (I’m sure this comes as a surprise to you all.) Unfortunately, I seldom stayed up late enough to tune in the Pompano station which ran Creature Feature at 11:00pm on Saturday nights, so I made do with the Saturday afternoon antics of M.T. Graves on WKID, broadcasting from [...]
I first heard of the The Winchester Mystery House in Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing comic. As with most of the readers, I initially assumed it was something he had created, just as many people assume Neil Gaiman created The House on the Rock for American Gods. The house, though, along with its improbable origin, is [...]
An anonymous commenter asks, “Why do u spell Halloween that way? “. It’s a valid question, so here are two answers. Long answer: The original name of the holiday as celebrated today is All Hallows Evening, the night before All Saints (or Hallows) Day. As time passed the name became shorter, and during the early [...]
Candle-lit pumpkin, crudely carved in human guise, illuminates fear. Old abandoned house, filled with spiderwebs and dust— memories are ghosts. Black October cat, dwell in shadows on this night! Children are monsters. Share/Bookmark
Hallowe’en is my most important holiday. I am not a pagan, born-again or otherwise, although I have nothing against members of those ancient and venerable (or new-age and invented) orders. However, my sentiment has nothing to do with any religion, organized or not, so we can safely leave those discussions out of this particular story. [...]
When I was about four or five years old my family spent Hallowe’en with my grandparents in Paducah. After roaming the neighborhood with my little brother and father, trick-or-treating in my devil costume, we returned home to count our spoils, sorting the Mary Janes from the candy corn, the Bazooka Joe from the lollipops. As [...]
Reviewing the classic horror films has proven to be more challenging than I had anticipated, not because they were unwatchable, but because discussing them deserves more effort than I can give right now. But in the interest of educating you, gentle readers, here is a quick overview. Dracula (1931): If someone made this today it [...]
My friend (and extraordinarily talented illustrator) John Lacko subjected me to this. There isn’t much I can add, I suppose. Share/Bookmark
“‘Why are you outside during our time?’ The sleek grey cat stretched as he strolled out of the shadows. ‘You should be sleeping.’”
I took a completely informal survey of my workmates last week, asking them this question: “Names three classic movie monsters.” I confess, I was a bit surprised how long it took for someone to come up with one of the original classics (and she said “Bela Lugosi”). I got plenty of answers of Freddie and [...]
I am no longer particularly squeamish about spiders. In fact, I’ve become rather attached to having a few of them around to keep the insects under control, particularly on the front porch. Right now there is a huge mass of webs in the open beams near the front door, filled with recently hatched spiderlings. I’m [...]
I’ve been battling a few of my own demons lately. Don’t worry — so far I’m winning. One need not be a chamber to be haunted; One need not be a house; The brain has corridors surpassing Material place. —Emily Dickinson Share/Bookmark
Goblins and witches demand treats in exchange for freedom from their tricks. Candy is not cheap; the economy is bad. Kids don’t understand. A knock in the night, scurrying sounds at the door. A flaming bag? What…? Share/Bookmark
The improbably tall man stood in front of the glass wall, his ivory complexion catching the moonlight in the shadows of the lightless office. He was as motionless as marble, staring out into the night, seemingly lost in thought. With a nearly imperceptible sigh he turned from the window and stepped back into the shadows [...]
In the Midwest of my youth October First signaled the start of a hallowed season. The leaves had turned from rich yellow and gold to dull and lifeless brown, and most had fallen into drifts awaiting the rakes of pipe-smoking suburban fathers. Mothers admonished their boys to put on jackets before going outside, then wiped [...]