Spooky Scenes around town

Includes pics from a yard haunt that popped up 2 weeks ago just around the corner from where I work. I almost drove off the road on my way home the first night I saw it! The other scenes are from Lester's Farm as they prepare for upcoming Pumpkin Fest 2018.

Admittedly, the music's a little over the top...but I didn't have much to choose from :)



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Music Monday

Cold blows the wind to my true love, And gently drops the rain, I never had but one sweetheart, And in greenwood she lies slain, And in greenwood she lies slain.

I'll do as much for my sweetheart As any young man may; I'll sit and mourn all on her grave For a twelvemonth and a day, For a twelvemonth and a day.

When the twelvemonth and one day was past, The ghost began to speak: Why sittest thou here all day on my grave, And will not let me sleep? And will not let me sleep?

There's one thing that I want, sweetheart, There's one thing that I crave; And that is a kiss from your lily-white lips Then I'll go from your grave, Then I'll go from your grave.

My breast it is as cold as clay, My breath smells earthly strong; And if you kiss my cold clay lips, Your days they won't be long, Your days they won't be long.

Go fetch me water from the desert, And blood from out of a stone; Go fetch me milk from a fair maid's breast That a youg man never had known, That a young man never had known.

O down in yonder grave, sweetheart, Where you and I would walk, The first flower that ever I saw Is withered to a stalk, Is withered to a stalk.

The stalk is witherd and dry, sweetheart, And the flower will never return; And since I lost my own sweetheart, What can I do but mourn? What can I do but mourn?

When shall we meet again, sweetheart? When shall we meet again? When the oaken leaves that fall from the trees Are green and spring up again, Are green and spring up again.

Old houses...

Wouldn't you love to attend a Halloween themed weekend here...?



There was a beautiful older house here in town. Well, to be honest there are quite a few stunning older homes in this town. But the one I'm referring to was down by the Waterford River -- close to where we used to live.

It was restored in the 90s and became a successful B&B. Until two years ago when there was a devastating fire! Arson, by one of the co-owners. It was set to be demolished.

I should go take a look.

Source

The Night is Ours t-shirt

Hailing from New York, The Long Losts "are made up of vocalist Anka & her husband Patrick on guitar that began in 2012. In 2014 they released their first album, Scary Songs To Play In the Dark. Their music mixes goth & punk with lyrics inspired by their love for each other & things that they love; Autumn, Halloween, nature, romance, & their own memories all wrapped in a dark Victorian aesthetic." 

This is their new The Night is Ours t-shirt. Perfect for the months of gathering darkness, don't you think? Available for pre-order to September 18, so order yours now!

Goya's dark, symbolic etchings

I had a surprise treat at the art museum the other day. There was an exhibit of Francisco de Goya's aquatints/etchings displayed and the surprise was that I was into a lot of them! I've never thought of myself as a big Goya fan. When I think of him, I usually only think of his painting The Third of May 1808. That is one striking painting, in the way where you feel almost a physical reaction to it. I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me when I look at it.

So that's the feeling I had about Goya when going into this. I thought "Here we go". Stepping into the first room, I was shocked to see how tiny many of the etchings were. Some were made by other artists, and were probably there to show how their work compared with or inspired Goya. One piece was so tiny, it must have been no larger than a business card! There were little magnifying glasses out for us to use, so we could see all the tiny details.

Most of the Goya pieces were larger, probably something like 8x10" or 11x14". I feel like I've seen this one somewhere before, maybe online. It's titled The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters and was made in 1798-98. Actually, all of the pieces you're going to see here were made at that time.

When I looked at this, I was struck with a thought I often have: "They were drawing things like this back then?" Which is probably pretty silly. Because, why wouldn't they be? There's really no reason for someone not to be creating art like this in the late 1700s, it's just surprising to me for whatever reason.

Check out all the wild creatures behind the man! There are owls, that black cat perched behind him, lots and lots of bats, and whatever that creepy feline is that's lounging on the floor. Sort of a googly-eyed lynx? That critter is the weirdest of them all. The man in this etching is actually a self-portrait of Goya, himself.

According to the information next to this piece, the animals symbolize "folly, ignorance, and evil". I don't know about the folly and ignorance, but I'm seeing the evil. The written information goes on to say that this art suggests "the contrast between reason and superstition". So when reason takes a nap, folly, ignorance, and evil come out to play. Without this description, I would have seen this as a portrait of a man having a nightmare.

This next one, Here comes the Bogeyman, is another that seems really modern to me. I guess people have been playing in the same ways forever really.

This one would be kind of cute, if it was just the person in the sheet and the adult woman looking kind of amused/pretending to be afraid. But the kids! OK, one looks petrified and that other little gremlin... That kid is scarier than whatever is under the sheet. Woo!

Hush reminds me a lot of that scene in Disney's Snow White when the Evil Queen/Wicked Witch is creeping around in her cloak getting ready to give Snow White the poison apple. Although, I'm not really sure who the devious one is here. This scene looks sinister all around.

Now, this last one! This genuinely creeps me out. I'm not even sure why. OK, the title is probably a good part of it. It's titled Don't Scream, Stupid. Not the kind of title you expect in the late 1700s, right?

I don't even know where to begin with what's going on here or why it disturbs me so much. Are these evil, floating gnomes? And why does that woman look like she's smiling in a surprised sort of way, given this title?

Wanting some answers, I looked up Los Caprichos, which is the name of a series of 80 aquatints and etchings that these are a part of.

Here's the Wikipedia page for Los Caprichos: Los Caprichos Wiki

Every one of the 80 pieces is shown on the Wiki page. I warn you that some of these are fairly dark. I chose to only photograph the ones I thought were cool and spooky, in that way where they look like they're illustrating a fairy tale. Some of the others are dark and disturbing in a realistic way.

Goya's intention with Los Caprichos was to show what he took issue with in Spanish society. It turns out this series was a little too scathing of the culture, especially that of the church, because Goya had to withdraw the series soon after presenting it. He later wrote that he withdrew the Los Caprichos because of the Inquisition.

I'm interested to hear anyone's thoughts on the etchings here or on the Wiki page. I haven't found much information about the meaning of these as individual pieces, just people analyzing the collection as a whole.

This is somewhat unrelated, but I picked up an interesting book at the library a few days ago. Villains, Scoundrels, and Rogues:

Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? I found this book accidentally while sitting on the library floor, between some bookshelves. I was sitting down, looking through my purse for my keys, library card, etc. and glanced over to see this. This book looks nearly pristine and I think that's in part because you'd have to sit on the floor to see it! It's kind of funny to put a row of books that low to the ground, if you'd like anyone to run into them. Anyway, how could I pass up a title like this? Have any of you read this one? I've only paged through the contents so far. The book is split into three sections, one for the villains, one for the scoundrels, and one for the rogues.

The names I recognize in the villains section are pretty intense. Those wouldn't be good bedtime stories! The scoundrels look like random and kind of wacky characters. The person who stands out to me in that section is "Squirrel Tooth Alice". I'll probably skip right to her story. As for the rogues, they're sounding like something off that show American Greed.

This book should make for some good summertime reading! Not that it's technically summer yet, even if it feels like it! But you know what I mean, it has those juicy, drama-filled, dangerous kind of stories. And they're all true! I'll let you guys know what I think of this book after giving it a read.

Antique beer steins you won't believe

I saw a totally unexpected display at The Milwaukee Art Museum last weekend. It's not surprising to see sculptural beer steins in a Milwaukee museum, but the subject matter was a surprise. I bet a lot of you are coveting this right now:

Isn't this skull stein amazingly well crafted? It looks like a real skull. It dates from 1900 and has some interesting history, which I learned from a gallery label. I just learned that "label" is the word used for descriptive signs in a gallery.  So, according to the label, skull steins were a common gift for a college graduate! The skull is shown on a book. The Latin on the book reads "Let us rejoice while we are young".

This inscription is the beginning of a hymn "On the shortness of life" which according to the label, is commonly sung at European graduation ceremonies. Is that true? I'm asking anyone living in Europe, who might know. The skull stein was a bit of a joke for the graduate. I think in a "Drink up! Life is short!" sort of way.

Check out the back of the skull, 1/2 Ltr. mark, and bone handle:

Some people might find that skull creepy, but in my view the creepiest stein went by the name of the "Happy Radish".

Yikes! I don't know how happy it is, but it sure looks menacing. I can almost hear an evil little laugh coming out of this. Can you imagine having this happy radish on display where you live? At night, especially! The happy radish was also made in 1900. As the label next to it reminds the viewer "Salted, thinly sliced radishes were a common beer hall snack". So that's it, this is the look of a radish with revenge on its mind!

See? Looking at the radish and the skull side by side, isn't the radish scarier?

This next one is creepy too, but only because of the lighting. I'm sure it would look noble, maybe even kindly if it was sitting in a nice setting, in the sunlight. This is "Father John" and he was also created in 1900.

OK, looking at him again, there is one creepy detail that no amount of good lighting could disguise. You'd have to pop the top off his cranium to drink your beer!

This "Elf" stein, also made in 1900, is nearing cuteness.

There were a few animal steins too. I thought this owl was pretty cool. It reminds me of those fake owls people put out in their yards.

It's not titled "Owl Stein" but is instead titled "2036". Anyone have an idea of what that's about? Maybe it was the 2,036th owl stein someone made? This one was made in 1897. I looked at a Latin to English translation page and learned that Bibite = Drink. I figured the word was Latin after learning that the words under the skull were in Latin.

There was a pig that was just not doing it for me. Just meh. It's called the "Singing Pig Stein" and dates from 1900. Not sure if it looks like it is singing. Maybe.

And a funny pug, which I'm on the fence with. Part of me is thinking "cute!" and part of me isn't sure about those eyes. I'm sure pug people would be into it.

The pug stein is dated from 1891, but its title is "2018". I found that kind of spooky, given that it is 2018. I thought it was wild that someone made this stein in 1891, named it "2018", and in the actual 2018, here I am photographing it. I think if someone told the artist who made this in 1891, that someone would be photographing it with a newfangled camera 127 later, they'd think that was as cool as I think it is.

This frog stein is my favorite, along with the skull. It's so glossy! I like frogs, especially frogs with funny body language. He looks like he's saying "You'd like to take a picture of Moi?" This stein was made in 1900.

Another view of the frog, because I like him so much:

If you're curious about the back view:

It spooked me to see that face in the reflection just now, but then I remembered that it's "Father John".

All of these steins have held up so well over the years! As you've probably all guessed, each stein was made in Germany.

Something funny happened while I was photographing these steins. This has probably happened to those of you who take a lot of photos too. I was in this out of the way gallery space, in a dimly lit area, photographing beer steins, when a woman came in, stood next to me, and started taking the same photos I was! She eventually left and a few minutes later a man came over and did the same! Neither of them said a word to me. I should also mention that there were amazing pieces of art nearby that they both completely bypassed.

I have this theory that people want to take a photo of something, but they don't know what might be important in a museum or at a historical site. So when they see someone in full concentration, taking photos of something, they come over and join in. They don't want to miss the possibly "important" gallery piece, etc. Now, I obviously knew what I was going to do with these photos. As soon as I saw that skull, I ran over thinking "blog post!" but I have to wonder what those other people will do with their photos.

Anyway, what do you guys think of these steins? Would you want any of them around as decorations or to drink from? I liked the skull and the frog. Imagine how neat those two would look sitting out at Halloween! 🎃

P.S. ~ If you'd like to read a detailed history of beer steins, I have just the page for you: A Brief History of Beer Steins 

If you read that page, you'll learn some interesting trivia, like the reason beer steins have lids. 

Wilkie Collins

Back to the topic of books and stories...

I can't remember when I first came across Wilkie Collins; another author considered to be the founder of the detective / mystery genre. I'm not even sure how old I was when I read The Moonstone. Maybe I came across it amongst my father's old books? Or the old books that used to kick around the summer camp I went to?

It's also possible I read a short story by Collins in one of those horror anthologies and then went searching at the library for more. I used to read so voraciously...

...and I see that, yes indeed, a story by Collins did appear in the 4th Fontana anthology. Just have a look through its contents, or any of the others (here and here) to see how many you may have read. And while it's true, I have NOT got round to re-reading anything but the Introduction from the 8th edition of Fontana Book of Ghost Stories, it's also true that winter is long and dark here. We had snowflakes just the other morning! So, there will be plenty of time to snuggle up with it.

Now, I recall preferring The Moonstone to Wilkie's other novel, The Woman in White. The former is more exciting involving a legend and a mysterious gem from India. Ah, India; that place where the very creepy monkey's paw (W.W. Jacobs, 1902) came from. Of course!

In Wilkie's story...

Colonel Herncastle, an unpleasant former soldier, brings the Moonstone back with him from India where he acquired it by theft and murder during the Siege of Seringapatam. Angry at his family, who shun him, he leaves it in his will as a birthday gift to his niece Rachel, thus exposing her to attack by the stone's hereditary guardians, who, legend says, will stop at nothing to retrieve it... - Source

And in The Monkey's Paw...(which I know I read in one of those anthologies!)

The short story involves Mr. and Mrs. White and their adult son, Herbert. Sergeant-Major Morris, a friend who served with the British Army in India, introduces them to a mummified monkey's paw. An old fakir placed a spell on the paw, that it would grant three wishes. The wishes are granted but always with hellish consequences as punishment for tampering with fate. Morris, having had a horrific experience using the paw, throws the monkey's paw into the fire but Mr. White retrieves it. Before leaving, Morris warns Mr. White that if he does use the paw, then it will be on his own head. - Source

Of course, the UK's connection to India is long and...eventful. Like many other colonizing forces throughout history, an unfamiliar society and its cultural practices can become both a source of intrigue and fear for the colonizer. Maybe that's why India features so frequently in 19th C British literature. Especially when there is something mysterious or supernatural that is integral to the plot.

The 100 best novels: No 19 – The Moonstone

Christopher Lee reads The Monkey's Paw

Apple cider

My husband is a fan of apple cider. One his favourites is the Nova Scotia brew, No Boats on Sunday. I'm not a huge fan of cider but even I like this very crisp and apple-y beverage (review here). Also love the label (see below).

Now, if you are looking for a good scare with apples at its core (forgive me) then you might want to watch the video below. It's the first episode of Midwinter of the Spirit, which I posted about a couple of years ago. It's based on Phil Rickman's book Wine of Angels; a mystery series with Reverend Merrily Watkins as the protagonist/detective/exorcist.

This story features a creepy old man, a spooky old apple orchard, and ciiiiideeeerrrrr (reference to the audio book).

The Guardian Review here

Crossed oars will keep the demons at bay! Source

Burning Witches Records

The Changeling

Life has been hectic...more on that later -- so I've found myself woefully behind in my posts. Also in the Halloween spirit. So to try and get the old ectoplasm flowing I decided last week to watch The Changeling. I was going to save it for Mat Night but I was particularly tired this day and needed some couch time. Besides there will be other things going on Mat Night to keep us busy.

So, I first came to know about this film because an old boyfriend loved it and thought that, other than The Wicker Man (1973), it was one of the scarier movies he'd seen. Now maybe he'd described enough of the plot to me that I ended up thinking I'd seen it. I was familiar with the bouncing ball scene and I remember there'd been a tragedy and a subsequent move by George C Scott's character but after that everything else was like watching something I hadn't seen before! And that was great because this is a really good spooky vengeful ghost story; similar to What Lies Beneath (2000) or Lady in White (1988). Definitely worth a look if you haven't seen it.

Tonight's Harvest Moon creeps out of the clouds

We're going to take a brief break from the Colorado blog posts, because I had to share some photos of tonight's Harvest Moon!

I'd taken some pics of the moon last night, thinking it was full at that time. Then I read that tonight was the actual Harvest Moon. So I planned to get out there again. It was pretty overcast when I looked out there tonight.

But after waiting maybe a half-hour, I eventually saw something glowing behind the clouds. It looks almost like there's a skull-type face in the clouds, hey? Complete with a few teeth.

I mean, that's pretty eerie. I'm really seeing a face looking down here, complete with lower jaw this time.

I was cheering the moon on, hoping it would make an appearance.

And then, for a brief moment, it did.

Then the clouds glided back over it and it began to rain! So that was some pretty lucky timing.

And what could be more appropriate music for tonight than this?

For those who get this blog in email form, here's a link:

The Frantics - Werewolf - 1960   I love this song!

Spooky Listening

"Rawhead & Bloodybones" deftly spins together sampled Appalachian folk tales and field recordings with newly composed music. The album focuses on folk tales mostly told by children and recorded in the 1940s. The tales are humorous, gruesome, and full of meaning and character. They are weaved together with archival samples and newly composed instrumental parts. The combination of the youthful voices and often-grisly tales offer a strikingly beautiful contrast. - Source

A foggy walk, ice crystals, and a swamp monster!

Today was a very foggy day. To my surprise, the fog hung around for hours, into the night. As I was taking some photos of what it looked like around here, it struck me that these images looked a little like what was in my last blog post. These scenes are made of transparent layers, some lighter or darker than others. Can't you imagine this image as the inspiration for one of those tunnel books?

I was looking for some fog themed music to add to this post, and was surprised to find some choices. I really like this song. I recommend listening to it while looking through the photos because it's a good fit!

Celtic Mystique: The Foggy Dew

I listened to this while looking at a slideshow of my foggy photos and it added something. I began to feel like I was putting together a St. Patrick's Day blog post with this music, the fogginess, and all the green. Seeing green on the ground instead of white is really weird for January here, by the way. It will be 50° here in a few days!

Check out the little droplets hanging from these branches:

If you look really closely at this drop, you will see the landscape behind it upside down. It might help to enlarge the photo. Pretty cool, hey? It's like there's a little fisheye lens in there.

There was still ice along the curb. Here you'll see some of the leaves left from autumn which are looking surprisingly colorful and  fresh.

This little leaf was nearly transparent.

Here's the swamp monster! If you use your imagination, you'll see a face and two arms emerging from the ice. I even see a bit of a hand. He has kind of an Oscar the Grouch thing going on.

Do you see the tiny tree branches in these droplets?

This ice next to the curb reminds me of an ice queen's crown.

Some of these look like larger versions of crystals or snowflakes that you'd see through a microscope. Maybe you've seen some of that up-close crystal photography.

These looked like insect wings to me.

I like how still this one is. It just looks quiet. You know the painter, Edward Hopper? This reminds me of something he'd paint. It's quiet and kind of isolated looking.

Three soft little trees:

The fog was still hanging around at night, so I went out in the drizzle to take a few more photos.

I love the curving frame of this limb.

It was pretty spooky out there. I could hear all kinds of little noises. Dripping, something scurrying around. So, that cut the photo session a little short. :)

If you were following my blog back in June of 2011, you might have seen some foggy photos I took back then. It's interesting to look back at those, in part because the color is so different. Check out how blue these are:

Out of the fog


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