Locked in the Attic...

GIFs from Guillermo Del Toro's Crimson Peak.

What a delicious haunted house/locked in the attic story... 

Halloween Party

"Halloween Party" by Sideshow Monkey on Deviant Art.

I love this piece. It's such a great blend of the old, Beistle-style Halloween offerings and the new, more sinister Halloween art...

Speaking of Seances...

I shared this lively (heh) tune before, but it seemed a nice time to share it again.

Click on the pic for a tune which will put some swing in your seance... 

Ectoplasm, Etc.

"Ectoplasm is a substance that seeps out of orifices on the medium's body. It allegedly makes it possible for the spirit to materialize and communicate with the living or perform feats of telekinesis.

In reality, the ectoplasm was made from from paper, cloth and egg white, muslin or other textiles smothered with potato starch. It was swallowed and regurgitated by the medium at the right moment, to show the spirit had "arrived."

From the article "12 Strange Vintage Photos of Séances"

The seance thing back in the day was wild, fam! Ectoplasm, speaking in tongues, and parlor tricks of all kinds, all to separate the credulous from their hard earned cash.

Possibly the most famous of those with more money than sense was Sarah Winchester of the now-notorious Winchester House. Mystery still swirls there as to why the house was in a constant state of construction until her death, but most believe the motivation came from a psychic who saw Sarah as easy pickings...

Regardless, seances have a certain thrill factor. Have you ever attended one?

The Medium

“The Medium” by Al Lunois.  From Jugend, 1920.

 This and other vintage delights can be found at Prof. Oddfellow's blog...

WIlliams-Sonoma Halloween

Once again I find myself wishing for gobs of cash to blow on impractical yet super-cool purchases like nearly everything in the Williams-Sonoma Halloween store this year.

I LURVES the upscale look!

 It's as if they're helping me to shop for housewares with which to fill that gorgeous house the Owens ladies own (which I also don't have)!

And those sweet people even have recipes for that Halloween party I'm going to have in that gorgeous Owens house I don't own...

Ugh. At least I can dream, right?

Moving Parts

For a creepy little cautionary tale of what happens when you only follow the money, click on the pic...

Your Halloween Sound Collection...

If you're interested in more music and stories for Halloween, and you've become painfully aware that you should have a hardcopy of the things you love, try my Pinterest board for ideas. Most of them have links (some to Amazon [sorry] and qualifying purchases may get me a small commission).

I've done my best to collect a BUNCH of cool things on that board, and I'm hoping it'll be a good jumping off point for you!

Nocturne

What really happens in the woods at night?

Click on the pic to find out... 

Old School Movie Posters

 

Do you remember the "olden days," when movie posters weren't entirely made up of floating heads? When they didn't look like cookie cutter graphic design? Do you remember movie posters making you want to see the movie?

Me, too. And so does this guy.

So I brought you a few of those 80's horror film movie posters today. Just for nostalgia's sake. Enjoy!