The Day After, 2024

Only 364 days to go!

Click on the pic... 

This is Hallowe'en - Images to Inspire!

Creepy illustrations are part and parcel of the Hallowe'en aesthetic, aren't they? Whether modern or vintage, they evoke both the fun, childlike joy of dressing up, and the darker side of the holiday. I love them!

Click on the pic for a collection of Halloween images!

 

Vintage Hallowe'en

If you're nostalgic for some of those old school Hallowe'en tunes, click on the pic for a vintage Halloween Playlist!

 

Happy Hallowe'en!

Happiest of Hallowe'ens to you all! Click on the pic for my playlist! 

The Pumpkins Carve Themselves!

A compilation of whimsical stop-motion animation by Lawrence Becker! Click on the pic for the short. 

Dusk in Autumn

Dusk in Autumn

Sara Teasdale
1884 –1933

The moon is like a scimitar,
A little silver scimitar,
A-drifting down the sky.
And near beside it is a star,
A timid twinkling golden star,
That watches likes an eye.

And thro’ the nursery window-pane
The witches have a fire again,
Just like the ones we make,—
And now I know they’re having tea,
I wish they’d give a cup to me,
With witches’ currant cake.

Lance Inkwell Halloween

I love that his drawing style hearkens back to the Ub Iwerks "Silly Symphony" days. So nostalgic and fanciful!

More of Lance Inkwell's work is here!
 

The Horror!

If you're looking for some horror to get you in the mood, click on the pic for a fairly extensive list of horror movies!

It wouldn't be October without the chills! 

New in the Shop!

 

Hurry to the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store for more Halloween goodies!

Gears

I can see these in a nightmarish, post-apocalyptic film...

Art by Justin Gershenson-Gates. More on his work here.

Mr. Macklin's Jack O'Lantern

Mr. Macklin’s Jack O’Lantern
By David McCord

Mr. Macklin takes his knife 

And carves the yellow pumpkin face: 

Three holes bring eyes and nose to life, 

The mouth has thirteen teeth in place. 

Then Mr. Macklin just for fun 

Transfers the corn-cob pipe from his 

Wry mouth to Jack’s, and everyone 

Dies laughing! O what fun it is 

Till Mr. Macklin draws the shade 

And lights the candle in Jack’s skull. 

Then all the inside dark is made 

As spooky and as horrorful 

As Halloween, and creepy crawl 

The shadows on the tool-house floor, 

With Jack’s face dancing on the wall.
O Mr. Macklin! where's the door?

In the Shop!

 

And more to come this week! Go to the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store!

Theme in Yellow

 

Theme in Yellow
by Carl Sandburg

I spot the hills
With yellow balls in autumn.
I light the prairie cornfields
Orange and tawny gold clusters
And I am called pumpkins.
On the last of October
When dusk is fallen
Children join hands
And circle round me
Singing ghost songs
And love to the harvest moon;
I am a jack-o'-lantern
With terrible teeth
And the children know
I am fooling.

Sounds to Possess

 

There are so very many wonderful vintage Halloween albums out there, it make you want to replace your old turntable!

From sound effects to creepy poetry to music, the sheer volume of Hallowe'en goodness out there is impressive!

Click on the pic for a nice collection of those lovely LPs of yore...

Poe, Price, and Rathbone

Deepest apologies for this lazy, lazy post, but I wanted to share this old article about the works of Poe being read by Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone. Hours of it, for free!

Click on the pic or link for the article!

This is Halloween! A Playlist for Your Spooky Soul

I share this playlist every year for those who love the Hallowe'en sounds this time of year. I tweak it here and there, rearrange it in bits and pieces. If I find a vintage Halloween commercial, I add it. New spooky songs get added during the year.

I'm always happy to share it with y'all!

Click on the skulls for a lovely Hallowe'en playlist! 

Spooks...

There's nothing like the last second push before a show to bring out your best! In this case, my annual Artist Open House this Sunday brought out these darlings! (I love them so...)

Whatever doesn't sell on Sunday will be available in the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store next week. But I hope they all find homes! 

Closer, closer, closer...

 

This is my last pumpkin guy for the year! I really pushed his drying time by sticking him out in the sun for a couple of days and then laying him down so the fan could dry out his insides, too. He went into the kiln with the rest of the crew on Sunday (with a one hour preheat and the firing set to "slow") and I have been hoping he comes out in one piece!

 

I honestly love him so much I wish I could keep him! But there's only so much space...

And the waiting. The waiting is the hardest part! The kiln needs to cool to 100° F before I can open it, and then it's the marathon glazing sessions that have to happen, plus two more firings! 

Who needs sleep, right?
 

My Scary Bookshelf

 

Every October, I share My Scary Bookshelf here on my blog, for those who love reading horror as much as I do! While it's impossible to know every single spooky ghost story out there, this is a very good start, which should keep you entertained for the foreseeable future!

Legal declaration: The board has my Amazon Associates link and qualifying purchases can earn me a small commission, though it's about as likely as Hannibal Lecter becoming vegetarian...

Abandoned

“The room was bright and white and still and silent, but soundless sound roared and howled in it.”

― Anne Rivers Siddons, The House Next Door

 

Halloween Song

An absolutely delightful Halloween tune with a stunning and charming animation to go along with it!

Click on the pic for the full experience. 

Oil and Blood

Othello and Desdemona, Alexandre Marie Colin

(Click on the pic for the song)

Oil and Blood by The Unsettlers

She wore a homemade dress made of broken bones
She owned lonely horses with outstanding loans
She cut the head off a nickel for all your bad luck
She pulled out her matches and struck

Oil and Blood in the kitchen sink
And boiling mud I'm on the brink
And I've forgotten her name
And now let me think

While I wake in this valley below

She drinks homemade whiskey and she chews the fat
There's no sense in lying she can smell a rat
She lives with the dead and the stench is foul
She serves hornet pie with a trowel

Oil and blood in the kitchen sink
And boiling mud I'm on the brink
And I've forgotten her name
And now let me think

As I wake in this valley below

She sings

"Mother Mary, go around back

There's a hearse by the side of the road.

Mother Mary, go around back

There's a fair fae lettin' you know..."

She saves her own sweat and she sees the dead to their graves
She sings to the moon while you rant and rave
She has her twin tied up in a church on a pew
She has a plan for her and one for you too

Oil and Blood in the kitchen sink
And boiling mud I'm on the brink
I've forgotten her name
And now let me think

As I sleep in this valley below
She has a velvet tongue and a rattle snake
She goes a thousand days without a break
She has a tombstone for every dollar
She waltzes all night in a funeral parlor

Oil and Blood in the kitchen sink
And boiling mud I'm on the brink
And I've forgotten her name
And now let me think

As I walk in this valley below

She has a razor sharp whisper she's the colour of bone
She sleeps in the attic when nobody's home
She sharpens her teeth to a bevel
Evil Desdemona of the devil

The Legend of the Scarecrow - A ShellHawk's Nest Halloween Tradition

 

A heartwarming tale of a sweet little scarecrow. Click on the pic for video.

The Last Wips

Getting the last of the crew together before my Annual Artist Open House!

 What can I say? It was a busy, busy summer with renovations taking all my time...