Items purchased from the gift shops at Headless Horseman in Ulster Park, NY.
Pumpkin Patch memories
Whilst going through some photos from several Halloween seasons ago (around 2013), I found these taken at Pell Farm in Somers, CT.
It was a pretty great place for a hayride overall. Beautiful countryside, lots of pumpkins to choose from, plus a corn maze and petting zoo. I remember we had a great day, the weather was perfect.
Upon visiting their website, however, there is an announcement saying that the pumpkin patch is not opening this year. I'm not sure if it has to do with the pandemic. The wording on their site makes it seem as though the pumpkin patch is closed for good, which is unfortunate.
Thanks for the memories, Pell Farm - I hope you can resume your autumn festivities again next year!
Handbag of the Red Death
This would have been fantastic to bring to a Halloween ball this year, but I had to have it anyway (esp. because it was on sale) - a red velvet skull handbag is probably the most goth-as-fuck thing I've seen in the past couple of decades.
💀💀💀
Gravedigger handbag by Killstar
Dave Brockie tribute
Today would have been the birthday of Dave Brockie, better known as his stage person Oderus Urungus of art-rock metal band, GWAR. To say that GWAR has had a huge influence on my psyche, my art, my sense of humor, and my life in general, would be an understatement. Thank you for everything you did for us, Dave.
(photo credit: unknown - reverse image search showed no source)
Dragons in the neighborhood
Spotted this guy sometime last autumn when I went back home to Connecticut for a visit. I took a walk around my usual favorite route in our neighborhood, and decided to take a slightly different path, and was pleasantly surprised to discover this guy.
Might be a little difficult to tell from this photo, but he has nostrils and eyes that look like they might light up. I wonder what he'd look like at night? What color would his eyes be? Do his nostrils emit smoke/fog? Is he kept up to look like this year round? Is he lit up during Halloween or Xmas or other special times of the year? So many questions - I hope to return for autumn in 2021, so I will check to see if he's still around.
Blinky Skull
A few days ago I posted about some new Halloween items I acquired, including this purple skull Blinky Halloween Flashlight. I finally got some C batteries for it and I'm happy to report that it works!
I purchased from Vintage Halloween Store on Instagram, and it arrived sealed and in great condition. I'm not sure of its age but I'd guess1990s?
He still works!
I love that purple Halloweeny glow.
Jelly Belly Harvest Selection
Jelly Belly may be more well-known for their jellybeans, but they make other fun candies too. Last year I discovered this mix at a local shop: the Harvest Selection. If you're Team Candy Corn, you'll like this one.
It's a good variety of flavors. From left to right, the candy corn flavors are chocolate, traditional, and cinnamon. They're a bit larger than typical candy corn. In the middle row, the corn cob is lemon flavored, and the pumpkin is orange flavored. Along the top row, the foil spheres are milk chocolates (both the same flavor). The walnut-shaped candy in the middle is maple flavor.
It's a nice variation on the candy corn theme. I ordered a few bags because they were on sale for 50% off, and as of this post they're still going for that price, grab 'em while you can.
Enjoy the Midnight Movie experience from the comfort of home
Central Cinema, a fantastic theater in Seattle with a full bar and food menu, known for its small-screen classic and cult movie showings, has remained closed since the pandemic shut everything down.
However, they have found a great way to bring the experience to people at home by broadcasting films "from the depths of public domain" live from the cinema, hosted with commentary by local personality Baron Von Terror, streamed via Twitch and Youtube, where you can join in the chat as well.
The current schedule is every Thursday evening at 8PM PDT. Tonight's offering was the 1959 Roger Corman film, A Bucket of Blood:
Savoring a few scents of the season
On the left, Don't Stop Be-Leafing is a fantastic creamsicle orange-vanilla scent. On the right, Blackberries & Basil is fruity but not overly sweet, a nice herbal undertones.
Next up: this Anise & Clove candle from soyNsuds on Etsy - 100% soy. This candle scent came recommended by Pumpkinrot himself, who was (is?) a huge fan. I finally bought one last year. Rot's right - it DOES smell just like Halloween. This scent comes in wax melts, lotion, lip balm, and body spray as well.
And of course: Nothing like a fresh new jar of pumpkin spice blend to usher in the Autumn season. I'll be cracking this open very soon.
Just watched: Death Becomes Her
Despite being an 80s/90s kid I never got around to seeing this til just this week.
I give it 7 out of 10 Skulls, even if just for Meryl alone. And damn, Isabella Rossellini is one of the most gorgeous women ever.
💀💀💀💀💀💀💀_ _ _
Now playing - The Caretaker
If you like seriously dark music -- if you're looking for eerie, haunting, melancholy, nostalgic music with more than a little touch of slow-burn creeping dread -- The Caretaker might be the musical artist for you. It's heavy on an entirely different level than you might expect.
At first listen, the musical style is that of old 78 records playing distantly in an empty, dusty room. A fair warning, however - this is not easy listening music. This is subtle horror at an almost visceral level. These two albums in particular it might be some of the most emotionally disturbing music you'll ever hear. If you have a deep fear of growing old and dying, and/or if you know someone who has suffered from dementia/Alzheimer's, proceed with caution.
I recommend starting with the much shorter and more accessible 'An Empty Bliss Beyond This World' to give you an idea of what you're in for. It's more bittersweet than horrifying, but spooky enough that it would be a great accompaniment for a haunted house setting. It feels like the music of old ghosts that still linger around the earthly plane. Other reviews have compared it to a Lynchian dreamscape, or possibly the music of The Backrooms.
The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This World
Purchase on Bandcamp here.
If you've managed to make it through 'An Empty Bliss Beyond This World' and want more, much more in that same vein, then move on to 'Everywhere At The End Of Time,' a 6-part, six & a half hour long recording. Each section is described as a 'stage,' as in the progress of a fatal illness.
'Everywhere At The End Of Time' begins much the same as 'An Empty Bliss'; Stage 1 is more old 78 records, nostalgic and seemingly harmless. In Stage 2, however, a sense of loneliness and dread begins to creep in. And it's a slow descent from there, the feeling of helplessness, gradual dissipation and disappearing from existence. The music becomes more distorted and eerie, echoing like faded memories.
The Caretaker - Everywhere At The End Of Time - Stages 1-6 (Complete)
Purchase on Bandcamp here.
Once you get through this one, you might want to get outside for awhile and take a walk in the sunshine. Seriously heavy shit. You've been warned.
Latest Halloween goodies
Pretty much all of my Halloween shopping is going to be done by ordering online & having it delivered this year, but the good thing about that is Good Mail Days. Here's some of the cool stuff I got over the past several days -
First up is this cool vintage fanged-skull cookie cutter from Hallmark that I found on Etsy - it looks exactly like the glow-in-the-dark pin, also made by Hallmark, that I've had since I was a kid. Looking forward to using this one, it's still in perfect condition.
Next up: The first couple of items in a batch of cheapie plastic Halloween stuff I couldn't resist on the Wish app - mini Halloween bell jars. Both light up using AAA batteries. The skull version's LED light cycles through all the colors.
Skull version video
Next: A vintage purple skull Blinkie flashlight, purchased from Vintage Halloween Store on Instagram.
Bonus points for the packaging it arrived in.
And finally for today - This ugly-cute pumpkin man scarecrow plush, found on Ebay. I've never seen any like him before. He'll be welcome with my other pumpkin man scarecrow figures.
Rare Halloween music gems: Scribbletronics - "Old Octobers Disinterred"
A few years ago, I was introduced to an obscure recording artist called Scribbletronics and their incredible recording, Old Octobers Disinterred (probably via Doomed on SomaFM, if memory serves).
I was so hooked by the couple of tracks I'd heard that I bought the digital album immediately. The entire thing is excellent, a hypnotic collection of atmospheric pieces combining ambient music selections and audio samples -- a perfect evocative tribute to the Halloween.
Sadly, for the time being it seems to be unavailable in any format. The artist has temporarily taken it down from his website, where he used to sell the digital version via CDBaby. I wrote to him to inquire about it, and I hope he is able to find another marketplace for it soon; it's not even available on Amazon or Spotify right now.
The most I can find at the moment is this YouTube link to the track "Pendulum," embedded below, based on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum". Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Watch before it's gone! Joe Pera's tribute to jack o'lanterns
If you haven't seen Adult Swim's Joe Pera Takes You on a Fall Drive, drop everything and spend the 11 minutes to watch it, because it's about to expire on August 31st.
Trust me on this one. It became an instant Halloween classic for me, and I hope you love it too. It's poignant and beautiful, especially if you're a fellow jack-o-lantern-holic.
If you're not familiar with Joe Pera, he's a comedian whose best known work is probably Joe Pera Talks With You, his series on Adult Swim. I first became aware of him a few months ago when a friend of mine and YouTube both recommended him on pretty much the same day. I had no idea what to expect, and yet somehow his work was nothing like I thought it would be -- for one thing, I didn't expect to be so thoroughly captivated by something so damn wholesome.
The first episode I watched was Relaxing Old Footage With Joe Pera, a 22-minute long, plot-less video with imagery as mundane as pretty-but-dull stock photography: footage of fish tanks, waterfalls, baseball fields, forests. Joe Pera narrates in his calm, grandfatherly-sounding voice, chatting as if he's speaking directly to the you about everyday topics like lunches and getting to bed on time.
The premise seems almost too ridiculous to work -- like flipping through a stranger's old photo books or small-town postcard collection: images of people you don't know and places you've never heard of, yawn yawn -- but somehow, it is absolute magic. Pera has found a way to transform the mundane, kitschy, awkward, boring, too-wholesome, back-ground noise parts of everyday life into a sublime, comforting, nostalgic experience. It's pure fucking alchemy.
Once I watched one video, I felt compelled to keep watching; the soothing Joe Pera Talks You Back to Sleep (which is great when you're having anxiety and need an adult to calm you down even though you are an adult yourself) is also excellent. It was late May or so, when the isolating surreality of the pandemic was really starting to wear me down. Relaxing Old Footage felt reminiscent of chatting with a kindly relative or neighbor, a familiar someone whose gentle presence is reassuring. And, damn, did I need comforting. At that point I hadn't seen virtually anyone -- any human being -- in person except for my partner & a couple of store clerks in passing, for nearly 2 whole months. I felt an intense longing for Home, back east where I grew up, where I'd had just been visiting in March but had to cut it short & anxiously fly home on a nearly empty plane, to become quarantined in the west, home but not quite Home, not knowing when I'd be able to go back Home again. In late August I still don't really know the answer to that, but I digress.
Which is why I felt the need to watch this again recently: Joe Pera Takes You on a Fall Drive.
While I love the others, this one is the absolute shining gem among them. And I might be biased because I love Halloween, but then again if you're reading this, chances are you're a Halloween freak also and might just agree with me.
I don't want to give too much away by describing it in detail or posting a ton of screenshots, but I will say that it's beautifully poignant and you might never see your jack o'lanterns in quite the same way ever again. Make sure you watch it ASAP before it expires from Adult Swim's website on 31st August! (** keep watching after the credits **)
Additional: Joe Pera's also got a tomato-themed Instagram account which is, I promise you, even more amazing than it sounds - check it out immediately. After you watch Joe Pera Takes You on a Fall Drive, I mean.
Scarecrow stickers now available!
I have a Teespring account and I'll be uploading art there from time to time.
Here's the latest:
For the most part I do intend for this blog to be non-commercial, but as a freelance artist it does help to bring in a few bucks here & there to help me cover costs of doing business, and I'd rather do this than run 3rd-party ads. Plus it gives me a chance/excuse to show off more of my art.
Clive Barker in the news
I'm psyched to see Clive Barker's name a lot lately - he's one of my favorite visual artists EVER, and the films Hellraiser & Hellbound are among my top most important & influential films.
First up: Books of Blood, based on short stories by Barker, will see a release on Hulu on 7th October 2020.
Image via Hulu
Next up: The new vision of Candyman, originally to be released in June of this year, will see a theatrical release on 16th October.
Watch the animated trailer here.
And finally: apparently Clive Barker has a new Threadless shop that has just launched featuring his paintings & drawings, and I'm trying not to buy everything.
News courtesy of Clive Barker's official site
More Unsolved Mysteries coming this Oct. to Netflix
I've been enjoying the new Unsolved Mysteries series so I'm pretty stoked to learn that 6 more episodes are coming!
According to Bloody Disgusting, they will be available to stream on Netflix starting on October 19th, and will include a ghost-related episode - just in time for Halloween. Yet another must-watch this season!
90s blow mold pumpkin
Good mail day! I purchased this guy from Ebay and he just arrived. I'm no expert on vintage Halloween things (and tbh it feels weird to think of 90s stuff at "vintage"), but this appears to be a Gemmy-style jack o'lantern foam blow mold. I'm not sure it's a genuine Gemmy, there's no mark on it anywhere with that name, but it has a face similar to ones they were making in the 90s.
This one is battery operated (3 AAs) and has 3 modes: Off, blinking light, and sound-sensor blinking light with sound, a voice saying Happy Halloween with spooky laugh.
August Heat
PHENISTONE ROAD, CLAPHAM,
August 20th, 19—.
I HAVE HAD what I believe to be the most remarkable day in my life, and while the events are still fresh in my mind, I wish to put them down on paper as clearly as possible.
(listen to the entire story below)
NEW 2020 Halloween Country Candles by Kringle
Posted earlier today on Instagram by Kringle's CEO public account:
I can't say for certain whether this person is the actual CEO but they do seem to have insider info. Can't wait to learn more about these!
Mail day - Bath & Body Works
From left to right: Sweater Weather; The Perfect Autumn; Candy Corn Treats; Blackberries & Basil; Don't Stop Be-Leafing; All About Fall Y'all; Harvest Gathering
It was a bit of a challenge choosing them without being able to smell them first, but I think I did pretty good!
These will hopefully last well into Yule season. I'll be posting individual reviews on these scents to my blog as I use them , so make sure to sign up for updates.
Midnight Syndicate video premiere!
Exciting music news for my fellow Halloweenies - Midnight Syndicate, the self-described gothic horror fantasy group, will be premiering a new video for an old fan favorite, "Noctem Aeternus," tomorrow night, Tuesday 18th August 2020.
I've been a fan of theirs since the late 90s or so, after hearing their album "Born of the Night" (now apparently out of print) in a shop in Salem, MA.
Catch the premiere tomorrow night at the video link below.
Late-night doodling
It was too hot to do much of anything but exist. I did manage to digitally clean up a small doodle/drawing I did last night in the wee hours.
I haven't drawn much for awhile but lately I've been getting the urge. I also finally purchased a proper scanner, so this time I can't give the excuse that "I don't have a scanner to scan my artwork anyways." It's been 5 years since I moved here and it's about time I bought one.
Besides, I just found some of my old photos (mid-late 90s) of Halloween-related things that I haven't seen since I packed them up before I moved. Can't wait to scan & share those too.
Pumpkin scone
The memory of this perfect pumpkin scone from one of our local favorite cafes has put me in the mood to try making some of my own.
I found a great-looking recipe on the blog Sally's Baking Addiction, but our weather over the next few days doesn't exactly make me want to deal with a hot stove, however.
Yikes. For here, that's pretty hot. It's been a mostly mild summer, even for here. Tomorrow will be fun.
I'll wait for things to cool off here and then try the above recipe - and of course will report back here with the results.
80s Halloween pin
I found this vintage plastic glow-in-the-dark vampire skull pin among my things today. All I know about it so far is that it's from the early 80s or possibly late 70s - I've had it since I was a kid - and it was sold by Hallmark.
I did a little web searching to see if I could figure out anything more about it, even just the year - when I came across this listing on Etsy for a cookie cutter, also by Hallmark, that looks just like it!
Needless to say, I bought it - which means I will just have to use it to make cookies soon, right?
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