Happy October!

A day late to the welcome party, but the sentiment remains! Less than a month to the big night!

Photo is a re-edit from Halloween 2022

Vintage Halloween Schlitz Ads

Came across a couple of ads from the 1950's for Schlitz—a beer from Milwaukee that was once widely popular, now mostly known regionally by folks from the Midwest (e.g. my ghoulfriend's Wisconsinite family).

I just thought these were fun, given the Halloween imagery and my partner's ties to Wisconsin. I grabbed these images from some old eBay listings; they're decently high quality.  I might even print them out and hang them up!

If you'd like, click on each image for a "full-res" version. Might take a second to load.

^ Would this be considered pumpkin beer, technically? ;)

Another ghost!

This one is by @hallerlakehaunt.  Sheet ghosts are hard to beat in my book.

Tattered Ghost

by @ghostzro_haunts, a prop maker that has only started posting this year.  Definitely an artist to watch out for. This old-looking ghost prop was especially exciting to me, but they have many other cool works you can check out on their Instagram.

Click here to check out other cool props on their Instagram

Happy First Day of Fall !

My mother likes to share a story of when I was in elementary school.  As she was picking me up from school one September afternoon, I took a long inhale: 

    "Do you smell that, Mom?"

    "Smell what?"

    "Fall!"

I can actually recall this moment and this feeling quite well.  Before I was old enough to appreciate the concept of an equinox, I could smell--feel--when fall had arrived.  Cooler, darker evenings heralded the start of my favorite season.  I treated the first cool fall day much like how kids in movies treat the first snow of winter.  My energy skyrocketed; each breath of cool dry air was like a jolt of electricity. I felt as though I could run and play for hours at a time. (Where did all that energy go??)

Over the years, that feeling--which began with a long inhale and stayed with me until winter--has definitely faded for me, and at times was not felt at all.  Blame it on climate change or the stress of life or just getting older... whatever the reason, it hasn't been there for a while.  But this year felt different.

I've recently shared about an evening at the beginning of this month that felt like the beginning of the season.  While I still feel that was valid, the weather this past weekend had me experiencing that long lost childhood feeling again... I took a big whiff and thought, Fall!

Though the temperatures will be warming up again this week in Central Florida, this past Thursday and Friday were quite pleasant. The highs were only in the low 80s with low humidity (as evidenced by the cloudless skies).

This evening we celebrated by going for a short bike ride through a few local neighborhoods at sunset.  Winding through the suburban roads brought back memories of biking through my childhood neighborhood to plan my trick-or-treating route.

Happy Autumn Equinox!  

Pumpkins Spotted!

Caught sight of the first pumpkins for sale in my area at my local Walmart Neighborhood Marketplace.

Very tempting to buy and carve some now, but jack-o'-lanterns don't usually last too long in Florida. The constant heat, humidity, and rain causes them to kind of... melt.  

It's just as well, I suppose. After all, I ought to be saving up my pumpkin cash for the Great Pumpkin Project!

Friday the 13th Pizza

This is a fun idea from Beau Coffron (@lunchboxdad)

Would have attempted this today had I bought ingredients ahead of time.  I definitely want to give it a shot in the future.

Happy Friday the 13th!

True love

"True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen"

- François de La Rochefoucauld

I'm finding these two chicken wire ghosts inexplicably compelling.  I think it's partially due to the fact that this picture was taken during daylight hours, seemingly near sunset.  I also think it's because there is a clear relationship between these two; they aren't the usual solitary figures.  There's a story in there somewhere, the details of which we can never fully know.

Picture found on Pinterest. I could not track down the original source anywhere.

Nosferatu Candle Holder

This is pretty clever.

Click below to see it on Etsy

by LilacRage

Early September Yard Haunters

We were driving home from a date last night when I caught a glimpse of purple and orange lights down a side street.  I gave the ghoulfriend a bit of a start when I exclaimed "WOAH! Turn the car around!"

Pulling into the side street we were treated with a wonderful sight! A full-fledged yard haunt, and we aren't even a week into September yet!

(notice Sam from Trick R Treat in the window!)

Here's a quick video of the lights in action:

It was such a wonderful treat to stumble upon such a sincere display of Halloween spirit.  It absolutely made our night!  Come October, I think I'll leave a Great Pumpkin Project pumpkin for them. They clearly have the spirit of the season, and those headstones are seriously asking for a jack-o'-lantern

It's time

On the night of September 1st, as I was walking the ghoulfriend home from an event, we both inexplicably stopped in the middle of her quiet neighborhood street.  The wind blew, rustling the fallen sycamore leaves.  It was a cool 75° (cool for central Florida).  The New Moon meant it was dark, save for the streetlights.  We turned and looked at each other, wordlessly communicating that we both knew... it's time

"I'm normally a stickler on dusting this one off before the threat of hot days have
passed, but this year I'm appealing to the feeling over the calendar. It’s time folks"
- Sam Heimer, original artist

More-so than last year, it really feels like Halloween is coming.  Among friends and online circles, there has been a steadfast patience for the arrival of the season; a patience not felt last year (as Sam Heimer pointed out in this post) when many jumped the gun, declaring "spooky season" as early as July.  For whatever reason, I didn't see that as much this year, and I think we are better for it. 

The next day, September 2nd, we invited a close friend over to have a cozy day in.  We watched Fantastic Mr. Fox and baked homemade pizza and pumpkin bread (both of which I make quite well, if I do say so myself).

The ghoulfriend and I are very ready for this season to start.  This will be our first Halloween together, and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather share it with!

Pumpkinrot 2024 teaser: HAXAN

Rot and Jenna just released a teaser for their Halloween 2024 display, entitled "HAXAN"

I'm stoked.  There are few creators that can garner such excitement from me just by showing a single prop.  It looks wicked!

Click below for the teaser trailer on Instagram:

100 days until Halloween 2024!

As I've previously said, I won't be building a yard display this year. 

BUT, I am still quite excited for Halloween, as always!  Let's ride out the rest of summer together as we look forward to the most magical holiday of the year

Edited photo from Halloween 2021

Listening to: Stumbling Home

By Lunng Fern & Marta Gynku, from the instrumental acoustic guitar and flute album Zwischenraum.  This album is beautiful and melancholic.  "Zwischenraum" translates to English as "gap, the space between two objects".

Stumbling Home is pensive and heartfelt.  When listening, one can't help but imagine walking a dark street, homebound, drunkenly remembering.

To listen to Stumbling Home, click the image below for links to all streaming/purchase platforms:

CLICK HERE to stream the entire Zwischenraum album.

“We wander in the fields...”

Another incredible scarecrow by Herman's Hollow (@hermans_hollow)

Summerween

Summerween takes place on the 22nd of June each year, but can really be celebrated anytime during the summer.

While it's true that I do believe one can begin celebrating Halloween "too early" (a sentiment not commonly shared by many of my spooky peers) I enjoy Summerween because it doesn't attempt to rush the seasons (at least not the way we celebrate it).

Big box stores are already starting to put out their fall and Halloween decorations despite the full-swing of summer's heat, tempting many of us to engage in autumnal daydreams and wistful consumption.  Trust me, I feel that temptation myself.  But just like how I could sit in a lawn chair with my feet in a kiddie pool and pretend I'm on the sandy shores of O'ahu, I know it wouldn't feel the same.  It would feel too.... empty.  Nothing compares to the real thing, the real Halloween.

And that's where Summerween comes in.

"jack-o'-melons" carved by The Ghoulfriend and one of her friends

Instead of futilely pretending it isn't 99° outside, or imagining the leaves changing color, or cranking my AC to "Arctic Circle" just so I can cuddle under a blanket next to the fireplace... Summerween seeks to uplift the summer season, making it more palatable to spookier folks like us by injecting some Halloween fun into it.

For our Summerween celebration, we got a group together out at a friend's lake house.  During the day, we boated, jet-skied, and drank cold beers and seltzers.  We carved jack-o'-melons after lunch, snacking on the red flesh as we worked.  After watching the sunset from the dock, we went inside and made homemade pizza.  We topped the night off with more beer and a screening of Scream (though admittedly, Friday the 13th would have been more appropriate).

The operating room

To me, Summerween is all about celebrating the wait for Halloween and accepting summer as a necessary part of that wait. We're enjoying our favorite parts of summer -swimming, eating popsicles and watermelon, cooking out, spending time outside with friends- and doing a couple Halloween-y activities to scratch the itch.  It feels like a throwback to Summer Vacation as a kid (except for the beer).  Instead of fighting summer, we embrace it, enjoy it, and declare, "This is how Halloween people do it!"  

I know not everyone feels this way, but for those who do, I hope you find ways to "embrace the wait" rather than trying to force the whole holiday of Halloween to arrive earlier.  After all, the real Halloween only comes once a year... that's what makes it so special!

Please Write In! - Halloween Creep

I am beginning to research and draft a future post on what I have started to call "Halloween creep" (in the same vein as "Christmas creep") and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I've noticed the growing trend of stores stocking Halloween items farther and farther in advance, occupying shelves as early as mid-summer.  Many people are more than happy to begin to celebrate the holiday before Fall has even started, and it seems like this crowd is growing.

I'd like to hear what other Halloween people have to say about this trend.  Why are you happy to start celebrating early?  Or why do you prefer to wait?  For those that start early, do you feel the same way about people who celebrate Christmas early?

Whether you like or dislike this growing trend, weigh in by commenting below or emailing me at tjalgahorn@gmail.com.  If you'd prefer to stay anonymous in my final write-up, simply say so and I will leave out your name/handle.

Can't wait to hear from you!

The Earthen Sculptures of Antonio Massarutto

I found out about him after @olesamhain shared one of his works on her story.  Incredible creations of art made from natural materials.

Photos taken from Massarutto's Instagram: @antonio_massarutto

Listening to: Sti.ll

New release from Taylor Deupree.   

Click below for all listening platforms:

More information, from Deupree's Instagram:

    An elaborate, authoritative acoustic re-imagining of Taylor Deupree’s seminal electronic album Stil. (2002), Sti.ll is the result of a multi-year collaboration between Deupree and arranger/producer Joseph Branciforte to bring Deupree’s explorations of extreme repetition and stillness into the world of notated chamber music. 

    Clarinet, vibraphone, cello, double bass, flute, and percussion stand in for the digital loops and granular processing of Deupree’s original, with meticulously notated arrangements preserving the all rhythmic, formal, and textural complexity of these compositions. 

    Transcribed and arranged by Greyfade’s Joseph Branciforte and performed by an ensemble of notable New York creative musicians — Madison Greenstone, Ben Monder, Laura Cocks, Christopher Gross, and Sam Minaie, alongside Branciforte and Deupree themselves — Sti.ll is a landmark recording situated between the electronic and acoustic worlds.

I have been a longtime fan of Deupree and the 12k label as a whole.  As the above description states, Deupree's work often involves the modulation of acoustic loops. One of my favorite 12k albums is Twine, a collaboration between Deupree and Marcus Fischer.  Fischer also created the cover art for Sti.ll.

The album is also available for purchase as a Double 12" LP / Orange Vinyl, which can be purchased on Bandcamp by clicking the image below:

Big Beaks

Series of bird masks made and modeled by Jym Davis
(@jymdavis / @_false_face)

Masks are for sale at his website: falseface.org

“One grave in every graveyard...”

“One grave in every graveyard belongs to the ghouls. Wander any graveyard long enough and you will find it - water stained and bulging, with cracked or broken stone, scraggly grass or rank weeds about it, and a feeling, when you reach it, of abandonment.”

- Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book

Photo by The Haunt Next Door

Listening to: “The Last Ride”

Soundtrack by Dave Roland

Click below to listen on Bandcamp

Penumbral Scarecrow

Photo by Haunted Overload

“Summer” update: A Verbose Postponement

Though it hasn't officially begun, the heat of Summer is upon us here in Central Florida, with 100° heat indexes at least once a week at this point.  I hope everyone is finding ways to stay cool as we enter the more miserable months.

After taking a few months away from the blog, I'm feeling the Halloween itch again.  Stress from "normal life" is winding down currently, and the heat is winding up... it's no wonder I long for Fall's gentle embrace.

Last Halloween, I announced I was postponing my yard haunt.  While I had initially planned to finish it for 2024, I think it's for the best if I save it for one more year.  I simply do not foresee myself having the time or funds for the fully-realized display.

Instead, I'm going to be focusing on making more one-off props this season. I want to start taking props out to locations for photoshoots.  This way, I can continue to practice new prop-making techniques, accrue pieces for the full haunt, and (most importantly) fulfill my incessant need to make spooky stuff!

Thanks, as always, to all of you who stop by the blog.  Stay tuned for more!

Only 150 days until Halloween!

“McLean, Virginia, December 1978”

By photographer Joel Sternfeld - click to enlarge

Click here for the backstory

Giants Walk on Halloween

Photo by @vault_of_scarlott

The Electric State

Just a few bits of artwork from Simon Stålenhag's narrative art book The Electric State (2017). I own a copy myself, and highly recommend it; it's a great read with stunning artwork.  I keep mine on my coffee table, and guests are often compelled to give it a peek.

A movie adaptation is set to release this year.  I just hope they're able to capture the atmosphere that Stålenhag so effectively crafted.  And they had better include some of the music he composed to accompany the book.

Book available for purchase on Amazon