Skeleton Dance- Vintage

The Most Annoying Halloween Jingle EVER

WARNING: Do not watch if you suffer from a seizure disorder.

No, really.

A Very Merry Halloween to All

The Cat with Hands

Happy Halloween!

WindyCon ~ Steampunk

Coming in mid November is WindyCon. A Steampunk Themed Con happening in Illinois. Full details on their website located HERE *sent in by Parasols by Tamie

Haunted House

"Haunted House"- by Jack Prelutsky

There's a house upon the hilltop

We will not go inside

For that is where the witches live,

Where ghosts and goblins hide.

Tonight they have their party,

All the lights are burning bright,

But oh we will not go insideThe haunted house tonight.

The demons there are whirling

And the spirits swirl about.

They sing their songs to Halloween.

"Come join the fun," they shout.

But we do not want to go there

So we run with all our might

And oh we will not go insideThe haunted house tonight.

*snerk*

Mary and Max

I came across this delight while perusing the many blogs I follow. This looks like a must see to me. Thanks to Haute Whimsey for posting about it! You can go to the Mary and Max website HERE

Abandoned

Random Morbid Pics

Kali-Ma

I think I've stated this before on this very blog, but it bears repeating: there are only a scant handful of horror books that have actually succeeded in terrifying me. Dan Simmons "Song Of Kali" is probably the most powerful, which is why I've saved it for last.

"Song of Kali" is the story of Robert, an American journalist, who is sent to Calcutta, India to investigate a deceased poet, who might not be dead after all. His descent into the dark world of Kali-worshippers and the living dead lead up to one of the biggest and most brutal punches to the gut I've ever experienced with a book. It's truly horrifying.

Not recommended to the squeamish.

Vintage Halloween Party Invitations

As the days grew short and winds began to blow the fallen leaves about, an invitation to a Halloween party was a delightful surprise. Often delivered in secret after dark mysteriously appearing on the doorstep. Here are some examples of verses from such invites circa 1920 and earlier.

On a certain evening of the year,

We are all enveloped in awful fear.

This is the time when witches take flight,

And cats prowl round in the dead of night.

So 'bout eight o'clock we'd like you to meet,

In the first white house on Maple Street.

... The Witches

If you don't reply without delay

Bad luck will follow you to your last day.

In the name of the spooks I've come to ask,

If sheet and pillowcase and mask

You'll don on Halloween at eight,

And sally forth to meet your fate.

But remember - let none know

Where you have planned this night to go,

You'll be expected rain or shine

Where swings the jack-o-lantern sign.

A Halloween party there's going to be,

And we want you there as sure as can be;

There'll be joy and laughter by the ton

Please say you will come and join the fun!

A big black witch and a little red devil,

Are planning a regular Halloween revel.

Come at 8 o'clock up my dark walk

Wear a costume and don't dare talk.

Come, Jack-o'-Lanterns, gather,

And Jell-o'-Lanterns, too.

Meet at the Witch's Hollow

And taste the witch's brew.

The password's "flying broomsticks,

Cat's green eyes, me-ow"

So if you would be jolly

Just come, we'll show you how.

Dr. Hans Holzer, The original Ghost Hunter

Dr. Hans Holzer PhD,(January 26, 1920 – April 26, 2009)
Often called "the original Ghost Hunter," investigated thousands of ghost and haunting cases, and wrote more than 145 books on the supernatural. Having earned his PhD from the London College of Applied Science, he spent over five decades traveling the world to obtain first hand accounts of paranormal experiences, interviewing expert researchers, and developing para-psychological protocols and terminology such as 'sensitive' and 'beings of light.' Holzer's influence on today's researchers is far-reaching; many of the theories we have today about ghost phenomena are due to or heavily influenced by his work.

"Ghosts: True Encounters with the World Beyond is a gigantic volume, documenting almost 200 cases of haunted houses, ships, castles, and just about any place imaginable! The cases are far more complex than just your average white-sheeted ghoul in the attic. Holzer examines the differences between "real ghosts," who reveal themselves to living people, and psychic impressions, which occur to many witnesses, always at the same time and place. There is also solid advice for interpreting paranormal signals--and even photographs of ghostly apparitions."

I've pretty much read the entire thing, Awesome book! I recommend it.

Halloween's Gone by. . .

Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos

21 year old Maria Elena Milagro "Helen" de Hoyos was a celebrated Cuban beauty in 1920s Key West. But when she fell ill, her mother took her to see Dr. Carl Tanzler who diagnosed the young lady with terminal tuberculosis.

Tanzler, despite being old enough to have been Helen's grandfather, fell in love with the exotic beauty and refused to accept her death in 1931. In 1933, after two years of mourning beside her mausoleum had proved insufficient, Tanzler stole Helen's body from its grave and took it to his home, where he went to great lengths to reconstruct the rotting remains. He dressed the corpse, gave her new eyes of glass and replaced her decomposed skin with silk cloth soaked in wax and plaster of paris. He had also inserted a paper tube into the corpse's vagina so that he could commit necrophilia.

Tanzler's crime was not discovered until 1940, when Helen's sister Florinda heard unsavory rumors concerning the doctor and confronted him. Helen's carefully tended remains were put on display for a short time at the Dean-Lopez Funeral Home before being interred once more in an unmarked grave at a secret location to prevent further desecration.

Criminal charges against Carl Tanzler were eventually dismissed, and he died in July of 1952. A life-sized waxen effigy of Helen was found in his home, her beautiful face recreated using the deceased's actual death mask.

Coffin it up!

Check out this wonderful site! These folks specialize in coffins of any size for any purpose! Thanks to Shellhawks Nest for bringing it to our attention! Go to the site HERE

Candy Corn

This is one of the first candies I associate with Trick or Treat. We used to get little decorated paper bags filled with it. Now it is pre- packaged in individual servings for safety. Here is a little wikihistory on candy corn.

Candy corn is a confection popular in the United States, particularly around Halloween. Created in the 1880s by George Renninger of the Wunderle Candy Company, the three colors of the candy are meant to mimic corn. Each piece is approximately the size of a whole kernel of corn, as if it fell off a ripe or dried ear of corn. The candy is usually tri-colored with a yellow base, orange center, and white tip, although the color combinations may vary. The yellow, broader part is the top, while the white point is the bottom. The most common alternative color scheme, called "Indian corn", is white, orange, and brown, and is sometimes associated with the Thanksgiving holiday.
The National Confectioners Association estimate 20 million pounds of candy corn are sold each year. October 30 is National Candy Corn Day. Although regular candy corn is most popular at Halloween, it is available year-round.
According to Brach's Confections, Inc., the top branded retailer of candy corn, each year Americans eat enough Brach's candy corn that if the kernels were laid end to end, they would circle the Earth 4.5 times.


Candy corn is made primarily from sugar, corn syrup and honey. Originally, candy corn was made by hand. Manufacturers first combined sugar, corn syrup, and water and cooked them into a slurry. Fondant was added for texture and marshmallows provided a soft bite. The final mixture was then heated and poured into shaped molds. Three passes were required during the pouring process, one for each colored section. Few changes were made to the process or recipe, and machines were quickly invented to perform the tasks formerly done by people.

Trick or Treat!

Skeleton in the Closet

Louis Armstrong - 1936

Creepy Music

More vintage Halloween Fun

Totentanz

Totentanz (The Dance of Death)
1813

By Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

THE warder looks down at the mid hour of night,

On the tombs that lie scatter'd below:

The moon fills the place with her silvery light,

And the churchyard like day seems to glow.

When see! first one grave, then another opes wide,

And women and men stepping forth are descried,

In cerements snow-white and trailing.

In haste for the sport soon their ankles they twitch,

And whirl round in dances so gay;

The young and the old, and the poor, and the rich,

But the cerements stand in their way;

And as modesty cannot avail them aught here,

They shake themselves all, and the shrouds soon appear

Scatter'd over the tombs in confusion.

Now waggles the leg, and now wriggles the thigh,

As the troop with strange gestures advance,

And a rattle and clatter anon rises high,

As of one beating time to the dance.

The sight to the warder seems wondrously queer,

When the villainous Tempter speaks thus in his ear:

"Seize one of the shrouds that lie yonder!"

Quick as thought it was done! and for safety he fled

Behind the church-door with all speed;

The moon still continues her clear light to shed

On the dance that they fearfully lead.

But the dancers at length disappear one by one,

And their shrouds, ere they vanish, they carefully don,

And under the turf all is quiet.

But one of them stumbles and shuffles there still,

And gropes at the graves in despair;

Yet 'tis by no comrade he's treated so ill

The shroud he soon scents in the air.

So he rattles the door--for the warder 'tis well

That 'tis bless'd, and so able the foe to repel,

All cover'd with crosses in metal.

The shroud he must have, and no rest will allow,

There remains for reflection no time;

On the ornaments Gothic the wight seizes now,

And from point on to point hastes to climb.

Alas for the warder! his doom is decreed!

Like a long-legged spider, with ne'er-changing speed,

Advances the dreaded pursuer.

The warder he quakes, and the warder turns pale,

The shroud to restore fain had sought;

When the end,--now can nothing to save him avail,--

In a tooth formed of iron is caught.

With vanishing lustre the moon's race is run,

When the bell thunders loudly a powerful One,

And the skeleton fails, crush'd to atoms.

Vintage Mourning Attire

I would totally wear this to work.

Is that wrong?

Optical Illusions - The "Vanity" Paintings

White Zombie (1932)

The House On Haunted Hill (1959)

The ghosts are moving tonight, restless... hungry.

Enjoy!

It's Magic

OctoDress

I seriously need to own this.

Fortune Telling

Would'st thou know they future fate

Know they friend or know thy mate

Look within this pot and see

All that's in the years to be.

The Housewives Tarot

When I first saw this tarot deck some years back, I just had to own a copy. Now, I am not exactly a domestic diva ( my adult daughters make fun of me if I actually grocery shop) but this deck is a must have for the art work and humor alone! It is a very 50's/60's sort of deck with plates as pentacles and even martini glasses as cups. The deck comes in a neat little gingham recipe box. A great gift for your favorite house- witch!

Thrice Toss These Oaken Ashes

Thrice toss these oaken ashes in the air,
Thrice sit thou mute in this enchanted chair,
Then thrice three times tie up this true love's knot,
And murmur soft "She will, or she will not."

Go burn these pois'nous weeds in yon blue fire,
These screech-owl's feathers and this prickling briar,
This cypress gathered at a dead man's grave,
That all my fears and cares an end may have.

Then come, you fairies! dance with me a round;
Melt her hard heart with your melodious sound.
In vain are all the charms I can devise:
She hath an art to break them with her eyes.
~Thomas Campion

The Ghost Hitchhiker

La llorona legend

La Llorona is the legend of a woman who has lost her children and who can be heard (and sometimes seen) weeping in the night. La Llorona (the weeping lady) is in most stories said to be Mexican, although sometimes she is a woman who lived in the American Southwest. As with most urban legends, there are many variations of La Llorona, but the central plot remains intact: The woman has lost her children, usually because she herself has killed them because she wants to marry a man who doesn’t want any children. She is so anguished over the depressing circumstances that she kills herself as well and is thus doomed forever to roam her native land, weeping and wringing her hands.

Sometimes she is said to be searching for her children, and sometimes she is said to appear only as a warning to those who see her. Here is a typical version of the La Llorona legend :

“Sightings abound throughout the Southwest. Supposedly she drowned her children in the acequia (irrigation ditch,) and now she roams the ditches looking for her (or any) children. Usually the story is told with the intentions of keeping kiddies away from the ditches so they won’t drown.”

"The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits" by Rosemary Guiley tells a more traditional Mexican version, which occurs in Mexico City around 1550. According to legend, an indian princess fell in love with a Mexican nobleman. The nobleman promised to marry her, but betrayed her and married someone else instead. The ultimate result of this bit of treachery is that the princess murdered her children in a fit of rage, with a knife given to her by the nobleman. Afterwards, she wandered the streets crying for her children, and was eventually hanged for her sins.

Another interesting feature of the La Llorona legend is that it appears to have merged with the Vanishing Hitchhiker legend. La Llorona is reported by some to hitch a ride on a road near to the place where she drowned her children.

I Am Stretched On Your Grave

Based on an anonymous 17th century Irish poem entitled Táim shínte ar do h'uaigh, "I Am Stretched On Your Grave" has been recorded by such artists as Sinead O'Connor, Kate Rusby and - perhaps most famously - Dead Can Dance.

The song chronicles the sad tale of a man's morbid devotion to his deceased love,

whose grave he refuses to leave.

Before & After

You'll enjoy Mister Barlow...