Witch

Artist: Mandy of October Oddities 

The White Witch

By James Weldon Johnson

O brothers mine, take care! Take care!
The great white witch rides out to-night.
Trust not your prowess nor your strength,
Your only safety lies in flight;
For in her glance there is a snare,
And in her smile there is a blight.

The great white witch you have not seen?
Then, younger brothers mine, forsooth,
Like nursery children you have looked
For ancient hag and snaggle-tooth;
But no, not so; the witch appears
In all the glowing charms of youth.

Her lips are like carnations, red,
Her face like new-born lilies, fair,
Her eyes like ocean waters, blue,
She moves with subtle grace and air,
And all about her head there floats
The golden glory of her hair.

But though she always thus appears
In form of youth and mood of mirth,
Unnumbered centuries are hers,
The infant planets saw her birth;
The child of throbbing Life is she,
Twin sister to the greedy earth.

And back behind those smiling lips,
And down within those laughing eyes,
And underneath the soft caress
Of hand and voice and purring sighs,
The shadow of the panther lurks,
The spirit of the vampire lies.

For I have seen the great white witch,
And she has led me to her lair,
And I have kissed her red, red lips
And cruel face so white and fair;
Around me she has twined her arms,
And bound me with her yellow hair.

I felt those red lips burn and sear
My body like a living coal;
Obeyed the power of those eyes
As the needle trembles to the pole;
And did not care although I felt
The strength go ebbing from my soul.

Oh! she has seen your strong young limbs,
And heard your laughter loud and gay,
And in your voices she has caught
The echo of a far-off day,
When man was closer to the earth;
And she has marked you for her prey.

She feels the old Antaean strength
In you, the great dynamic beat
Of primal passions, and she sees
In you the last besieged retreat
Of love relentless, lusty, fierce,
Love pain-ecstatic, cruel-sweet.

O, brothers mine, take care! Take care!
The great white witch rides out to-night.
O, younger brothers mine, beware!
Look not upon her beauty bright;
For in her glance there is a snare,
And in her smile there is a blight.

Stargazing...

 

Wicked

Image via About.com.

I've always wanted to try my hand at this kind of carving. Maybe this year...

Only 13 Shopping Days Left Until My Birthday!

...and I'd so love to have this for my home office! *sigh* But I need to pay for an electrician, instead.

Kimba the Witch, pre-painted model, at www.tweeterhead.com.

The Shadow Farm

I found this fantastic blog while perusing My Ghoul Friday's blog (which, by the way is pretty darn good, if you haven't had a chance to check it out). The blog is by Dave the Dead, who you may have seen on some of the Halloween boards around the 'net. I am very impressed by his props, and like all the great haunters I know, Dave has created some great backstories for the critters he's created.


I love The Bottle Lady. Since I have a witch to build this season, I will definitely be paying attention to the turorials that helped to create this creepy person. The detail work on her eyes is amazing. I wonder if she has a bottle tree in her front yard? Or perhaps a Halloween Tree?

This toothy character, Clink, just doesn't seem very trustworthy to me. I wouldn't want to turn my back on him in the dark.

This one, Darwin, just seems like a grumpy Department of Motor Vehicles employee to me. Put upon, stuck in a space far too small, forced to be pleasant to people who are too stupid to have motor control. Poor Darwin!

Stop by and sit a spell at Dave's blog, "The Shadow Farm." It is well worth it!

The Water's Return

The rain blew in on Halloween. The wind slapped it against the windows and dribbled it over our dirty gutters. It ruined my idea of how the fog was going to lay in my front yard, snuggled against the ground in a creepy carpet, the orange light from Stewie's eyes giving it an eerie look as it slowly drifted down the hill (Something about the best laid plans applies here, I think). It's interesting, though, to realize the beauty that can come from a storm like that.

I took a break from my housework today, grabbing the camera on the way out the door. I thought I'd get some good images for today's entry. I'm glad I did, for I found that with the rain, the nearby wetland had new life breathed into it.

As I walked down the pathway, I heard the first of the winter's frogs begin their song. Just one lonely little, "ribbet," like the one I heard outside the garage earlier today. If you walk that path in a month or so, you won't be able to hear yourself think, the frogs are so loud.

The red wing blackbird is back with its distinctive call, flitting among the cattails as they sway in the breeze. Some of the waterfowl have begun their return to the neighborhood, as the cold weather in the north pushes them downwards on the map. Mallards, a few Canadian Geese. Soon, the Teals will show up, and the Buffleheads, and goodness knows what else. I can't wait to see them again.

When I returned, I finished packing up the Halloween stuff.

This charming witch has been with me for years, a gift of my friend's mom who was a very crafty lady. Very simple design: A bead for the nose, a pipe cleaner, a wooden spoon, fabric, ribbon, a piece of dowel, plastic eyes, a little hair, black and red markers, and (wait for it)...

A roll of toilet paper to make her skirt poof out.

I have to say, this really is one of my favorite decorations. We also collaborated on a Halloween mouse candy jar, and a witch candy jar. Carole passed away a couple years ago now, and I'm realizing how much time we spent together making stuff. In a roundabout way, this little witch was Stewie's progenitor.

Thanks, Carole, for helping get me started. I'm sure the Afterlife is better decorated with you there to help!