Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Halloween Memorial: John Wolfe
I have been very blessed to know some amazing bloggers, but one who was very dear to my heart was my good friend, John Wolfe. He ran the blog Season of Shadows and embodied all things vintage and true Halloween. He would begin early in the year designing elaborate home haunts and sharing on video how he went about designing them. He did lots of volunteer work and was always available for anyone. He sought to understand the spiritual and the other side. In fact, as he was dying, he said he would contact me through EVPs. And, he asked me to write his memorial which I did and he read it and approved of it before his passing at much too early an age in his 30s. Each Halloween, I will post his memorial here. Halloween is his season, his paradise, and I miss him something awful every October. I'd like to share him with you now -
Monday, October 30, 2023
The X-Files Episode That Was Banned
It's hard to believe that a TV series meant to be unsettling and scary could actually make an episode that after airing was considered too scary and not shown again. Leave it to "X-Files" to come up with just that episode!
Sunday, October 29, 2023
Murder Victim Mistaken For Halloween Prop
Like a scene out of "Trick R Treat," in 2015, a woman's body was a victim of murder and misunderstanding on Halloween Night.
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Friday, October 27, 2023
Horror Film Locations
You ever wonder about locations of horror movies and if they were a set, if the buildings are gone, or if you can drive by and take a pic? Well, here's just some of the biggies that still exist -
Thursday, October 26, 2023
1960s Halloween
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
1970s Halloween
Monday, October 23, 2023
The Mystery and Horror of Fog
Sure, thunder and lightning are in-your-face unsettling and snow is bleak and colorless, but nothing quite unsettles a person more than fog rolling in, eating up the landscape, one acre at a time.
Sunday, October 22, 2023
Saturday, October 21, 2023
The History of Halloween Candy Tampering
October 31st is noted as All Hallow's Eve or Halloween. It's believed Christians took this festival concept right from pagan origins of the Celtic Samhain celebration. There is much debate on how this holiday began, but it has become a most popular time for children to get candy and adults to put on costumes and watch scary movies. The basics are the same; scary decorations, costumes, parties, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, Jack O'Lanterns, apple bobbing, trick or treating, and horror themes. America has done Halloween up more than any other country, celebrating it full force with horror movie marathons to Haunted Attractions and huge parties.
Friday, October 20, 2023
Arizona's Abandoned Industrial Buildings
Two abandoned flour mills in the Greater Phoenix area had my best friend and me out photographing the historic sites. It had me thinking about abandoned industrial sites.
Thursday, October 19, 2023
How To Take Spooky Pictures
Scary is easy to find. It presents itself with light and dark, odd angles, and looming images taken from below. A nest of bare branches becomes something sinister - a portal to the macabre. A dead tree and a storm sky takes on an ominous tone -
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
No-Cost Halloween Decor
Why was vintage Halloween so creepy? Folks used things around the homestead to decorate and that made for some spooky and worn/old looking items versus store-bought shiny and glittery stuff. Here's some no-cost stuff to do at home for a REAL vintage Halloween feel -
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Glow Sticks Crafts
Monday, October 16, 2023
The Jeepers Creepers Truck
I knew I couldn't be the only one obsessed with dreaming of having the Creeper Truck. There is actually an awesome website devoted to it! LINK
Sunday, October 15, 2023
My Doll Island Harvest !
Last fall, after leaving the dolls up all spring and summer awaiting Halloween time, I harvested the dolls on my backyard doll island and collected creepy hands, feet, and heads....
Saturday, October 14, 2023
Friday, October 13, 2023
How To Make Fog
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Creepy European Pagan Costumes
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
What To Do On a Dark and Stormy Night
Monday, October 9, 2023
Using Elmer's Glue in Many Ways For Halloween
Sunday, October 8, 2023
How To Make Halloween Selfies
There is nothing better at Halloween time than updating your profile pic with a Halloween selfie. In this photo above I am peeking around the corner of a curtain with an element of terror. If you want to amplify the look, consider using a filter on Photoshop like "poster edge" or just up the contrast. I also took a pic of a Halloween mask on a piece of black fabric and cut and pasted it to my eye's iris so you could see what I am screaming at.
Saturday, October 7, 2023
Traditional Jack O'Lanterns Are Still the Best!
The fine art of hollowing out a pumpkin, carving a face, and lighting a candle to go inside has become a competition yearly among the most artistic, but still the only thing that truly unsettles are the jagged-toothed ones of our youth.
Friday, October 6, 2023
Entrances to Hell?
Caves and entrances to Hell, they seem to be inextricably connected. Hell Cave (Jama Pekel) in Slovenia is one such supposed entrance to the underworld. Many locations have been called the entrance to Hell. Let's check some out -
Thursday, October 5, 2023
If You Like This Abandoned Site, You'll Like These Movies
An abandoned site is an ideal movie location. But, what if certain abandoned sites make you want more? Here's some great movie options depending on the type of abandoned site that catches your eye -
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
Gigantic Halloween Props
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Monday, October 2, 2023
Sleepy Hollow Fans
When I was a child and our librarian during reading corner time read us Washington Irving's tale of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," I was perpetually in Halloween in my mind.
It is a tale that is so full of autumnal vibe and spooky haunts that it pops up in a lot of haunted attractions.
If you love the legend, here's some great versions to watch, music to listen to, and ways to put that vibe into your Halloween home -
Sunday, October 1, 2023
No Gore Gothic Horror Movies
For those who aren't into slasher gore and shock factor, but enjoy the dark, atmospheric, storytelling of a good gothic horror movie, I have a list for you!
Sit back and enjoy knowing you won't be grossed out and you'll have a plot and haunting score, darkness and stormy nights to satisfy your romantic tastes.
I'll even tell you what it is I adore about each one to see if it matches your own romantic movie-watching needs.