Happy Caturday! This month is dedicated to the witches call, a feeling or vibe one gets when exposed to the elements. There are many types of witches, kitchen, green, divination, cosmic, etc, etc. Pay attention to how the natural world draws you in. The power is inside you. Coven or no coven, follow the path. Ignoring the call only delays the inevitable.
More photo artwork by Tinca2 can be found here:
Our theme this April is The Witches’ Call
whispers from old books
magic stirs from inside
the witches’ call
March is a magical month. It’s women’s month. It’s a witches’ month. Winter is winding down and we should take time to relax and replenish a little before we get busy on spring tasks. I know 2021 was off to a shaky start, but I hope things are turning around, wherever you are.
Artist: Janie Olsen
Where to purchase goods: Janie Olsen’s art is only sold through galleries, please see her website for details and locations.
www.thestorybookstudio.com/
Looking to impress that special Halloween and horror fan in your household this Creepmas? Well, check out my list of oddball and unique, but totally awesome gifts! Remember to shop local and small business when you can this year!
BUY FACEMASKS! Protect your loved ones and help defeat this Covid-19 pandemic! Great stocking stuffers! With over 280,000 dead from Coronavirus, I’m advocating face masks hard this year. You can never have too many. Buy different kinds. Themed face masks are fun. Do it for yourself, your family, your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers, your school mates, your grocery store clerks, your favorite artists, musicians, celebrities, and complete random strangers. Staying alive is not a political issue! PLEASE WEAR A FACE MASK.
https://www.zazzle.com/halloween+face+masks
Scare Package from Creepy Co., $53.99-$109.99
I’m not sure this is a new idea but I love it! Creepy Co has fun 2 item or 3 item sets available featuring blankets, T-shirts, hats, socks, etc.
https://www.creepycompany.com/collections/creepy-co-scare-packages
Mezco Toys Presents Living Dead Doll, Elvira-Mistress of the Dark, now available for Pre-order, ships in July 2021, $52
The Queen of Halloween, Elvira joins the Living Dead Doll family. This is a must have if you are an Elvira fan or a Living Dead Doll fan.
https://www.mezcotoyz.com/ldd-presents-elvira-mistress-of-the-dark
Sam Statue Decoration, $39.99
Sam from Trick ‘r Treat movie is our Halloween hero! This 16” light-up statue decoration made of resin, sold exclusively at Spirit Halloween Stores is gorgeous.
https://www.spirithalloween.com/product/16-inch-light-up-sam-statue-decoration-trick-r-treat/178192.uts?Extid=sf_froogle
Legend of Sleepy Hollow Writing Gloves, $26
I think I’ve mentioned before that Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of my favorite literary characters and I adore these fingerless gloves from Storiarts. Great for a night of reading.
https://storiarts.com/collections/gloves/products/the-legend-of-sleepy-hollow-writing-gloves
Pawzuph Statue, $23.99
This hand painted polyresin statue named Pawzuph, a horned occult cat, is simply too beautiful for words. I feel like this little guy needs a legendary story to go with him.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/825728054/pawzuph-horned-occult-cat-figurine
The Walking Dead We Are the Walking Dead Black Mug, $15
After ten years, The Walking Dead Universe is still going strong, with two different shows on television right now, the final Season 11 of the flagship show, due out in late 2021, and planned spin-offs featuring our favorite characters. Plenty of more collecting to be had.
https://thewalkingdeadshop.amc.com/collections/drinkware/products/the-walking-dead-we-are-the-walking-dead-black-mug
Krampus Activity Book from Fright Rags, $10
Scary T-shirt afficionados Fright Rags now features officially licensed Krampus brand and this Krampus Activity Book is hours of fun.
https://www.fright-rags.com/collections/krampus/products/krampus-activity-book
MINIATURES
Halloween Miniatures make great gifts. They’re perfect for dioramas, terrariums, supplementing entire Halloween villages, or just all by themselves. Some name brands are expensive, but shop around to get best prices and discounts. Off-season is always a good time to buy. Miniatures make great stocking stuffers too!
Lemax Collection – Spooky Town Villages – Prices and Stores Vary
https://www.lemaxcollection.com/villages/spooky-town
Dept. 56 – Prices and Stores Vary
https://department56.com/
Miniatures.com
https://www.miniatures.com/Halloween-C41.aspx
The Little Dollhouse Company
https://www.thelittledollhousecompany.com/dollhouses-miniatures-furniture-kits/halloween-miniatures-c-9_375/
L.A. COUNTY LOCALS
Suggestions for my hometown peeps. Online ordering and pick-up available. Check website for store hours and other info. Facemasks are great stuffers!
Dark Delicacies – Large selection of horror books, signed CDs & Vinyls, clothing, purses, jewelry, horror memorabilia, horror Geeki Tikis, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab oils, horror facemasks, and other unique gifts.
Frankenstein Turntable Spinature, $25
https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1920/Frankenstein_Spinature.html#/
Horror Socks from Character, $10
https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1846/Horror_Socks.html#/
FACEMASKS
https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1735/Masks___.html#/
******
Bearded Lady’s Mystic Museum – Large selection of clothing, books, witchcraft supplies, tarot cards, divination, taxidermy, antiques, and unique gifts. Looking to get into witchcraft, but don’t want to be overwhelmed or intimidated? Then, this is the place to go!
Vampir Slippers, $38
https://beardedladysmysticmuseum.square.site/product/vampir-slippers/4111?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=13
Krampus Air Freshner, $5
https://beardedladysmysticmuseum.square.site/product/krampus-air-freshener-/4137?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=53
FACEMASKS
https://beardedladysmysticmuseum.square.site/s/search?q=face%20mask
*****
Halloweentown Store – Large selection of T-shirts, costumes, facemasks, replica vintage Halloween decor, novelty gifts, Funko Pop! Vinyl Figures, Wacky Wobblers, Iconz, Mystery Minis and more. Great place to find sold-out collectibles too.
Trick ‘r Treat Vinyl Record, $105
http://www.halloweentownstore.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HS&Product_Code=WAX105&Category_Code=Vinyl_Records
Ouija Mystifying Mints, $5
http://www.halloweentownstore.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HS&Product_Code=CANDY117&Category_Code=Mints
FACEMASKS
http://www.halloweentownstore.com/page/HS/CTGY/Face_Masks_Fabric
*****
Monster-A-GoGo, featuring Kreepsville 666 The “Original Scare Wear” – New location in East L.A. (Melrose closed), clothing, purses, accessories, pins, collectibles, Hexmas, and brand names such as Elvira, Vampira, Vincent Price, and more!
Haunted House Purse, $54
https://store.kreepsville666.com/collections/new-and-restocked/products/haunted-house-purse
Elvira Macabre Mobile Men’s T-shirt, $25
https://store.kreepsville666.com/collections/gifts-under-25-00/products/elvira-macabre-mobile-mens-t-shirt
FACEMASKS
https://store.kreepsville666.com/collections/face-masks
*****
Traditions – Traditional homemade style and replica holiday themed vintage décor, wreaths, figurines, ornaments, home and garden, tableware, Bethany Lowe, Kathrine’s Collection, and more! Collectibles and other items sell out quickly!
Jack O’Lantern Topiary $150
https://www.christmastraditions.com/product/TJ7743.html
Black Cat Jack with Pumpkin $15
https://www.christmastraditions.com/product/TPH7812a.html
MERRY CREEPMAS!
Celebrating May Day with a 25-day photo challenge. Head on over to Instagram and post your favorite photos representing Spooky Spring. Join in any day!
Don’t forget to tag your pics using #spookyspringphotochallenge
cackles on the wind
long live the defiant ones
walpurgisnacht
Halloween may be officially over but we keep on celebrating here at Halloween Haiku!
This holiday season, I wanna get back to showcasing art from amateur, intermediate, or relatively unknown artists that I come across. Today, I’m sharing the cool digital art of JayGraphixx, titled Silk and Potions
Artist: JayGraphixx
Social Media: www.instagram.com/jaygraphixx/
To view more of his art, please go here:
https://www.deviantart.com/jaygraphixx
Black Sunday (1961)
Sometimes Satan, with his capacity for doing evil, even plays tricks with the dead.
After following in his father’s footsteps, cinematographer Mario Bava made his directorial debut with 1960 gothic horror, Black Sunday, aka, The Mask of Satan, about a witch named Asa Vajda from Moldavia, who vows revenge after she and her apprentice are condemned to death by her brother, the crown prince. Two centuries later, on Black Sunday, the day Satan walks the earth, a traveling physician and his assistant unwittingly bring the witch back to life. After turning her apprentice into a vampire, Asa immediately sets out to fulfill her cursed prophecy, by terrorizing her brother’s descendants.
Production started in late March 1960 and took less than two months to film, releasing in Italy in August of 1960. The film was a modest success, bringing in $140 million lire, earning back its production costs, but performed much better in Europe and the US. Despite being low-budget, Black Sunday was praised for its originality and vivid imagery, however, the gore and gruesome violence shown in the film drew much criticism and was even banned in the UK until 1968, when a heavily censored version, retitled as Revenge of the Vampire, was finally released. The uncut version wouldn’t be shown until 1992!
In the US, Black Sunday was shown as a double feature with Roger Corman’s The Little Shop of Horrors in February 1961. In order to make the film less objectionable, American censors edited the movie down three minutes, excluding such violent scenes as, the burning and branding of flesh, eyeball impalement, and blood spewing out from the mask as it was hammered onto witch’s face in the opening sequence.
Unknown British actress Barbara Steele was cast in the lead duel role of the evil witch vampire Asa and her innocent descendant Katia. Even though her voice was dubbed by another actress, audiences swooned over Steele’s haunting beauty and loved her villainous portrayal of the vengeful Asa. Barbara Steele reportedly had a hard time on set and gained reputation for being difficult, mostly due in part to the lack of communication and language barrier.
What was once shocking to audiences of the early sixties, holds the same magic to influence numerous artists and filmmakers over the years, including Francis Ford Coppola, who is said to have recreated several scenes in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, as a homage to Bava, and Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow, which borrowed imagery, namely, the iconic death by iron maiden scene. The horrifying story of revenge and all its extreme violence and sexual suggestions actually helped Black Sunday become a cult classic.
The Witch’s Tale was the first horror-fantasy radio series, which aired from May 28, 1931, to June 13, 1938, on WOR, the Mutual Radio Network, and later in syndication. Creator Alonzo Deen Cole, a 34-year old Minnesota native, convinced the station to air the supernatural series that he wrote and directed himself. His goal was to draw audiences away from more conventional musical shows airing on rival stations.
The creepy 30-minute weekly anthology featured a cackling host named Old Nancy, a witch from Salem, who, along with her wise black cat named Satan, spun a new wicked “bedtime yarn” each week. The show terrified younger listeners and was a huge success with New York children, who adored Old Nancy, often imitating her cackles and quips, in efforts to scare younger siblings.
The shows were broadcast live, recorded for syndication, and then distributed to various national markets. It’s reported, that in 1961, Cole didn’t think the recordings held any value, so he destroyed nearly all of them (only about 30-50 recordings exist today).
Most scripts were original stories but there were a few literary adaptions as well. Cole played the cat Satan and enlisted the aid of his wife Marie O’Flynn to play lead female characters. Old Nancy, liked telling tales was created by stage actress Adelaide Fitz-Allen, who portrayed the spooky witch until her death in 1935.Auditions were held soon after to find a new Old Nancy and 13-year old Miriam Wolfe, a radio prodigy from Brooklyn, New York was chosen for the role after Cole heard the girl mimicking the character’s trademark cackling laugh. Wolfe would play the character for several years, in addition to other characters, before leaving to pursue other interests. Veteran radio and film actress Martha Wentworth (the famed Disney voice artist) then stepped in to lend her voice talents as Old Nancy. Top New York radio actors were often cast to fill roles of secondary characters respectively.
In 1936, a companion magazine called The Witch’s Tales was published by the small firm, Carwood Publishing Co., which reportedly failed to promote the radio show properly and completely mismanaged finances and distribution of the magazine. Only two issues (November and December) ever made it into print. Although Alonzo Deen Cole was named editor, real editorial work was believed to be done by Tom Chadburn. Cole did, however, write the lead story for the first issue and contributed the plot for the main story in the second issue. The magazine’s other stories were all reprints from the American version of Pearson’s Magazine.
The spell cast by The Witch’s Tale came to an end in 1958, with talk of bringing the series to television. Cole was eyed as a consultant and story supervisor for the pilot, but the idea never came to fruition.
You can find many episodes over at Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/TheWitchsTale
The video shown below is titled Graveyard Mansion, originally aired in 1934, about two brothers who may have stumbled upon a New Orleans vampire. Take a listen.
The Halloween season is basically here, depending on who ask, and I love it!
Artist: Carol Cavalaris
For more of Carol’s spooktacular art and much more, please visit her website: https://carol-cavalaris.pixels.com/
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