The Skull & Pumpkin

First of the Second.

2012-02-01T13:34:00.003-06:00

Welcome, welcome, dear S&Pers, to the first post of a new month!

As we all learned last year, February is Runtmonth. My niece had been lamenting the seeming endlessness of January, and I suggested that perhaps February's great brevity somehow made up for it. She then mentioned that February was the runt of months -- hence, Runtmonth.

From such inauspicious beginnings come great traditions.

Today, of course, is Runtmonth the First, or simply Runtmonth's Day (or, as I was tempted to refer to it last year, the medieval vulgarity 'Runtmas').

In honor of the new, runty, monthy Runtmonth, we have yet again changed up the songlist for our player on the right. Some things are staying over from January, but there are five Februarial tunes to enjoy for now.

Now, we all know that Runtmonth's most famed association is the holiday (not ironically) at its heart: Valentine's Day.

Here at the S&P, we're not that big into Valentine's Day per se -- we've believed for a long time that one should express their love to the object(s) of that love more than on February 14th and on their birthdays -- but there's no denying that, for whatever reason (Hallmarkian or otherwise), February is the Month of Love in pop culture.

We certainly don't discourage romance here.

We just light it with a little more orange and black than other pubs might.

First up on the ol' jukebox after our ever-present Great Pumpkin Waltz is another Vince Guaraldi waltz that has become Runtmonth tradition here: the Heartburn Waltz, from the 1975 special Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. It's light and jazzy and quirky like so much about childhood crushes can be... and two Guaraldi waltzes never hurt anybody.

Then, I felt like another waltz, because the waltz is the dance of love. Maybe.

I can't find real recording dates or tech notes for this next track, except to say it's from "John Leach and George Fenton" according to the Inter Webs. Nobody seems to have more information than that.

But if Paris is considered the city of romance, then its music must be considered the music of romance. Just think of a cafe, your true love, a sunny afternoon, and listen to Valse Moderne (Modern Waltz). It's short and sweet and oh so playfully romantic.

(source)

Then I thought, I've given them two waltzes, surely they couldn't take a third. So that's what I'll give them!

This one's a little slower but no less heartfelt and romantic.

A Penny For Your Thoughts is a sweet three-quarter ballad from the 1996 stage musical Red, White & Blaine. It is the song of Ima and her lover, Armani, as they spend the eve of his shipping off to the trenches of WWI-ravaged Europe doubting, dancing and ultimately declaring their undying love in spite of the question mark of his return from battle.

It has also been suggested that the recording is actually of Christopher Guest and Parker Posey from Guest's 1996 mockumentary classic Waiting For Guffman, but that's totally not true.

And then I got tired of waltzes, but still felt like hearing the odd stage musical love song. Where was it? Where is love...?

Where Is Love? is the gorgeously sad interlude from the 1960 classic musical Oliver!, with music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. In this 1967 version, it is Leonard Nimoy who asks if love is underneath the willow tree he's been dreaming of. In outer space. 'Cause he's Spock.

And finally we feature another song from 1967 that used to be heard on this jukebox quite often, but is now returning to the S&P after a notable absence -- Francesca's ode to Felix on the shores of the Isle of Evil, There Never Was A Love Like Mine.

Like the earlier A Penny For Your Thoughts, this song is often attributed to a satirical film, in this case 1967's Mad Monster Party, and sung by Gale Garnett (as Francesca) to Felix Flanken (voiced by Allen Swift but not heard in this song).

Again, this is totally untrue.

I've left last month's Northern Sky, because it's good and it's a love song and it's my pub.

I did the same with the theme from Escape From Monster Manor because Runtmonth is still the off-season for me and I am still spending some time each week shooting ghosts. And it's my pub.

I sure wish everyone a fantastic Runtmonth's Day/Runtmas today, and a fine, loving Runtmonth.

Here's to romance, spooky or otherwise.

And what is that crackling noise... ?

DDSP!

On farewells, Hallowe'en style.

2012-01-27T19:04:00.000-06:00

Welcome, everyone. Very glad you're all here.

Please gather 'round the fireplace with your drinks for a moment.

I want to take a minute to mention something more important than animatronics and monsters and models and music.

Well, those things are all pretty damned important to all of us, I know.

But I've been reading about something that has me thinking, and feeling, and I wish to express it.

One of the many fine, fun and instructive Hallowe'en sites on the spidery Web for many years has been Season of Shadows, a passionate and prop-laden labor of love. It has a blog, picture and video galleries, how-to's, a chat room, a live webcam of their haunt and workshop, and tons of other magic.

Season of Shadows is the brain-and-heart child of John Wolfe, a talented and crazy Autumn Person who loves Hallowe'en and has made it so special for so many grown-ups and kids over so many years. John has helped and inspired many other Hallowe'en Lovers to do it right on the Big Night.

And I've been reading that, sadly, John's health is in serious decline... and he has written his last blog post at Season of Shadows just in the last few days.

But if you would please go read that post, you'll find that, although his struggle has been painful and difficult and seemingly terminal, his SPIRIT is up, resolved to accept what's happening, and what will happen. It's at once a sad and inspiring post.

And it has me thinking about something I've believed to be (mostly) true for some time now:

I believe most Autumn People, Hallowe'en Lovers, Horror Junkies and Monsterkids of all ages have a healthier grasp of What May Come, and a less-panicked, more accepting sense of our own mortality. I think we face our most basic fear, our own 'ending', so much more often than other people who are too afraid to explore the dark side of life. Facing it and celebrating it through Hallowe'en and all our other monstery rituals makes us more ready to deal with such things.

I find such strength of spirit in that post, in John's acceptance of whatever is in store.

Sure, it's sad and sobering, but it's RIGHT that in our quiet, ending hours we let our cares fall, entrust ourselves to the Great Mystery, neither jump for joy nor weep for sorrow, but just BE.

We who live in this realm live in a true season of shadows, and pass into the season of Light in our turn.

And any time we observe that passage of one of our own, as Autumn People we are obliged to toast, celebrate, and promise to remember the Spirit that is moving to ever-greater haunts in that far October Country where dark and light are the same, where sadness is no more, where pumpkins glow like sunset.

... where real Hallowe'en is forever.

So, a toast.

Blessed be to you John.

Now let's the rest of us sorry fools promise each other to do up Hallowe'en bigger and better this year than ever before!

DUMDUMSHREKPOP!

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. 4.1

2012-01-27T15:30:00.000-06:00

Hey, S&Pbrains!

Don't get up. This is just an update from the lab. I even 'posterized' the video just to do something a little different from the other videos. It's almost effective.

Almost.

A better linkage system and smoother movement, and along with his head working like a champ, it looks like I might just pull this off.

Better not claim victory just yet.

But I'm enjoying the whole process and learning a lot about things I thought I already knew all about. Like servos, torque, wiring.

And my patience.

DDSP!

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. 4

2012-01-25T18:32:00.001-06:00

Welcome, welcome, loyal S&Pers!

I hope you are enjoying your visit to our little pub, keeping cozy and warm.

I've tried to lay in a good supply of firewood this year -- it's getting awfully cold after such a mild start to the month.

So, I've been working and tinkering and sweating (and cursing and shouting and throwing) over my monster making lately, but I have made some progress.

I hesitate to show this but only because it's so hard to cleanly operate a 4-point animatronic controller and point and shoot a camera at the same time.

But it's progress:

I think this is the right direction, and with a few stronger servos and a new linkage idea for the elbow, ol' Edward Van Bone will be able to gesture quite graciously (if not gracefully) for the museum crowds at Monsterpalooza. (And honestly, it does move much better and waaay more smoothly when I have both hands to operate things... I swear!)

Oh, he'll have hands, too. I'm just... going insane trying to make them work right. But they will.

Just an update from the laboratory.

Continue to enjoy Winter. If I get too wrapped up in my work, and don't always hear a call or a shout for something, you can always ask Fester or Mr. Chicken -- they know their way around the place and I trust them with the bar.

Well, I trust Mr. Chicken anyway...

DDSP!

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. 3

2012-01-21T20:14:00.000-06:00

Well...

Actually, this was going to be a Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West post, but as I was getting video of the progress on this animatronic hand (over which I'd been sweating and slaving ALL FREAKING DAY), something horrible happened.

It's time to explain something about electronic things.

See, electronic things operate on magic smoke. There is magic smoke running through all those wires like water in your plumbing. Magic smoke is what moves and pushes and converts and pulls and makes things work.

And if you somehow let the magic smoke out --

-- it won't work anymore.

And so, somehow, even though I checked everything many times, I somehow released the magic smoke from one of my digital servos.

Alas...

... no finger motion, and very little wrist motion.

I mean, it's not like I was finished with the project, but after all the work I did all day, it's frustrating.

It would've been a good post too.

Oh well. Back to the ol' drawing board.

DDS*Poof!*

Happy 203rd, Mr. Poe.

2012-01-19T02:07:00.001-06:00

Oh yes, pubgoers, one of our most celebrated icons, most beloved literary, horrorary and Hallowe'enary icons is having a birthday!

(source)

Sure, he's not necessarily 'around' to see it, but Edgar Allan Poe's spirit is alive and well -- well, okay, gloomy and brooding -- even 203 years after his birth in 1809.

A remarkable man was Poe. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the detective story. He is considered America's first true regularly published (and scathing!) literary critic. He wrote books of poetry before he left grade school. His works have been in print, continuously, since 1827. Ponder that a moment.

I have always enjoyed his works, even when I was too young to grasp the language or even the concept (in some cases) of much of it when I first attempted to read him seriously. Hell, even now I have to admit he's not an easy read.

But the great, dark magic that is a Poe work is a thing of beauty.

(source)

In honor of his birthday, the Skull & Pumpkin will be celebrating all day and night with Poe goodies -- fireside readings of his works in our library, absinthe and bourbon and cognac at the bar -- and I hope you will join us in our celebration wherever you are, if you cannot get to the S&P in person.

I'd like to think we are all here in spirit.

As a treat, do this: go here, and download/print/cutout/assemble this awesome paper Edgar Allan Poe from the cool folks at Toy A Day.

Sweet!

And then another treat: give a listen to the jukebox to the right. I've added two delightful tracks of Poe's genius recorded in the early 1960's, and sure to bring a smile to any Monster Kid who ordered things from the Captain Company in Famous Monsters magazine, and in fact any genre magazine from the '60s to at least the early '80s -- Richard Taylor reading The Tell-Tale Heart and The Masque of the Red Death!

Oh but I must comment briefly, here. You see, I don't know who Richard Taylor was, or is. I am certain (as you will be after hearing him) that he loved doing these things, and his heart is easily in the rightest of right places. Heck, the back of the album says he's fast becoming the Crown Prince of Terror:

See?

But when you get around to actually listening to it, Taylor's narration seems less "sinister", "mystifying" and "full of suspense", and more like the kid who played Fat Sam in Bugsy Malone reading Poe over the telephone in 1960. Amazing we haven't heard from him since.

And I love it. LOVE it. It works (especially with that cool jazz guitar back), and it's fun, and it's goofy, and it's timeless to us Monster Kids who pored over magazine ads like this:

Ah!

It's the perfect stuff to listen to while making a paper Edgar Allan Poe doll.

Have a wonderful Poe Birthday, good Autumn Folk.

(source)

And happy birthday, Mr. Poe. A toast...

DUMDUMSHREKPOE!

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. 2

2012-01-14T08:12:00.001-06:00

A little more hair, subtly backlit eyes, and a cheesy application of sepia tone and 'film grain' to pretend we're watching in 1931...

He needs a little more refining, especially programming his jaw to close/reset more fluidly -- at the moment he looks like he's chewing something as he speaks.

I keep trying.

Onward.

DDSProgress!

(C)old tubes.

2012-01-13T02:09:00.002-06:00

A quick word from our sponsor:

Yes, pubgoers, our Hallowe'enith console radio receives only the creepiest, kookiest, spookiest old shows and tales still flying through the ether, for our listening enjoyment here at the Skull & Pumpkin.

This time around, the ol' radio playlist (to your left) offers two chilling tales from years gone by, both steeped in cold, wintry terror, both from the radio dens of the Great White North.

First up, from the short-lived 1955 CBC radio series Theatre 10:30 comes The Wendigo -- taken from Algernon Blackwood's terrifying short story about a native American nightmare creature. The audio is a bit rough here -- some swishing and swooshing -- but it's complete and present and worth the 25 minute ride to hear the horror of the snowy beast...

source unknown, but very Grither-like...

Then, we move forward a few decades but stay in Canada for another horror tale, this time from one of the CBC's most revered and remembered radio shows from the early '80s, the fabulous horror anthology series Nightfall!

(source)

The 1982 episode Wind Chill tells the tale of a cabin, a blizzard, and unexpected company -- a chilling ghost story for a windy winter night.

Cold, creepy listening for us all.

Grab a hot drink, I'll put on another log, and we can spend an hour forgetting the weather and enjoying the ol' Hallowe'enith radio.

DDSP!

Twenty Twelve Tunes.

2012-01-10T15:19:00.004-06:00

I know.

You've been wondering since the first of the year why your humble pubkeep hasn't changed or updated the jukebox to reflect the new month and year as he usually does.

Or maybe you haven't been wondering.

Maybe you couldn't possibly be less interested.

No matter. I have finally found a little time to remedy the matter.

I must say, though, that as I go back into the jukeboxian archives of this old pub, I find some things done well enough that I cannot do them better, or at least wish to do them again... so half of the 'new' tunes for January '12 are the same as they were in January '11.

Why mess with success?

Oh, for any newcomers (I'm lookin' at you, r l anger jr!), I will explain that here at the Skull & Pumpkin, our little audio player over there to the upper right has two songs that will always be in rotation -- Vince Guaraldi's The Great Pumpkin Waltz, which is the official theme song of the S&P, and The Anger-Higbie Quintet's Pumpkintime, the S&P's official incidental music. These two always open and close the playlist.

But each month the other songs change up here and there; some remain for another month, but most are replaced by more seasonally/monthally apropos tunes.

Feel free to us the term 'monthally' all you wish.

And feel free to listen to some songs I find just about right for the first month in the heart of Winter.

(source)

First, a song that was featured last January -- if you don't mind the repeat, I liked my liner note too:

"... in a North Wind kinda mood, I thought I would add Nick Drake's beautiful Northern Sky, from his 1970 album Bryter Layter. If you don't know who Nick Drake was, try here and then head to all the external links. To my mind (and ear), Northern Sky is one of his most perfect creations, a song that feels like all seasons of the year, sung to every lover you ever had, all at once. "Would you love me through the Winter?" Yep."

After Nick Drake, I feel a natural snow slide to a bit of gloomy longing -- and what Hallowe'en-loving, Poe-reading romantic doesn't love a good song featuring gloomy longing through the frozen winter?

From the minds and hearts of the inimitable kd lang and her longtime collaborator Ben Mink comes Barefoot, the theme from the 1991 indie film Salmonberries and one of the most haunting melodies I've ever heard. It's not entirely bleak or despairing, and at its core is the promise of the warmth of a new love, but in its searching, shivering journey it is a distant wolf howl of nights when love is lean and scarce.

Still, there is something about a cold, lustrous winter night that causes one to somehow think of warmth, and plenty, and restful recovery from a Fall filled with harvesting the fruits of long labor. A sleep of the soul, just as the land sleeps, rests, prepares for new life to come.

(source)

Softly She Sleeps (1959) is a beautiful bit of 'Light Classical' from one of that genre's most commercially and creatively prolific masters, the influential British composer Cedric King Palmer (1913-1999).

Palmer with his dog Nimrod circa 1963.

He named all his dogs Nimrod. I like this guy.

King Palmer composed hundreds of motifs and melodies that we've all heard in commercials, cartoons, films and television shows (and educational slide shows and hygiene films and...) for generations. Search for 'Hackney Carriage', or 'Spindlelegs', and you'll know exactly what I mean, and why it's so... subconsciously soothing.

Another repeat player from last January, if only because it just doesn't get any better than Joni:

"... and as the years change, as the inevitable circularity of life enrobes us all, the time is perfect for Joni Mitchell's heartfelt The Circle Game. This particular recording is from her 1970 album Ladies of the Canyon, but she had written the song in the mid-'60s as a response to friend Neil Young's song Sugar Mountain, as a more positive take on growing up. That isn't to say it's not bittersweet -- the seasons do go 'round and 'round, and we are all captive on the carousel. But there is beauty, and truth, and there are dreams aplenty, before we're all done."

(source)

And the final repeat tune of last year, because it's so grand:

"January means new, and pubs mean traditional. I think I've found a fine mix of both: Malcolm Dalglish's incredible hammer dulcimer piece New Waltz, from his 1990 album Jogging the Memory. It really is something you haven't heard -- it is new to you -- but it feels so very comfortable, so very old.

So perfectly pub."

(source)

And finally, a song that reminds us that this is a Hallowe'en pub, damnit, and all this wintry musical musing is silly!

Remember when I brought my Panasonic 3DO game system to the pub so we could play Escape From Monster Manor? Well, I 'shoot ghosts' in the winter, it's just something I've done since I got that game, and every sound, note, flicker of the game means Winter to me.

This is the theme song from that game, composed in 1993 by Robert Vieira for Electronic Arts. It's six minutes of goofy, spooky fun. Tread carefully now!

Ah, January.

First of the year, holding the most promise, but cold and searching just the same. These are the songs we'll enjoy chatting at the bar, perusing the library, or lounging by the fire at the S&P, until Runtmonth.

And speaking of searching -- is that the radio crackling and humming over there...?

DDSP!

Ghost of the Ghoul Goes West, pt. 1

2012-01-09T01:17:00.002-06:00

That's right, longtime S&P patrons.

It's a new year, and that means a new Monsterpalooza, and that means your humble pubkeep is making new monsters to display at the Monsterpalooza Museum!

Now, if you aren't sure what a Monsterpalooza is or what its Museum might be, you must be new to the S&P. That's not a bad position to be in -- there's so much to discover here. So please click HERE to go to the Monsterpalooza convention site and find out the who, what, where and when. The why should be obvious to anyone visiting the Skull & Pumpkin.

Go on now and come on back when you're finished. We'll be here.

Hum, hum-hm-hmmmmmm, hum-hm-hmmmmm....

Alright, you're back? Sweet.

So! The Art of Monsters takes Burbank by storm for the 4th year in a row, and for the 3rd year in a row, yours truly will be an Artist In Attendance, showing off a bit of my animatronic nuttiness in the Museum alongside works from professional monstermakers and horror artists from all over the world.

It's such an honor for me, and gets more humbling every year.

This time around, I am hoping to supply two pieces to the Museum, and while I don't want to completely give away what they'll be just yet, I do want to share the last few days' progress on one of them.

I'm sure you recognize the audio. If not, you will soon.And as always, it needs refinement, better programming, and real finishing (paint, hair, lenses for pince nez, etc.) Then, the tuxedo'd body, the arms and hands...

I am calling him -- well, that can wait. The full details will come in their time.

But for now, just imagine this fellow standing on a barker stage, footlit bfore a velveted curtain, gesturing to the rest of the Museum with his long, bony fingers; beckoning guests to enter, explore and warn them that "there are such things..."

And that's progress.

Nearly forgot about January music, but that will come tomorrow.

Until then, if you feel this video might disturb your dreams, well... we warned you!

DDSPuttingittogether!

The First Day.

2012-01-01T16:46:00.002-06:00

And what a day it has been...

Sure, I've taken to my sick bed with a nasty cold, but I have Blu-Ray Ellen Ripley and I can shoot ghosts with my old 3DO game system and I can read and write and draw and post new posts to this ol' S&P.

And even as I cough and rattle and ache and sniff and when I speak the walls shake with the sound of Regan MacNeil's croaking demon voice, 2012 is already surprising me with good news...

I won a raffle!

One of my Monsterkid pals, Adam Dougherty, is an excellent sculptor and model maker, currently creating kits for Moebius Models. He's a professional and a true artist and a great fella -- here he is with another Monsterkid crony of mine, the great make-up artist and sculptor Casey Wong, from Monsterpalooza 2010:

These guys make me smile big. True Monsterkids, these two!

So... Adam just informed me that I won a raffle on his Facebook page, and it makes me awfully happy to report to all of you S&P-brains that Adam is sending me one of the amazing kits he created, signed by him -- and it's a real beauty:

YES! Moebius Models' Elvira: Mistress of the Dark kit is on its way to the S&P courtesy of the man who created it! By the way, Adam goes by the nickname KreatureKid, because of his lifelong fanatical fascination with all things Creature From The Black Lagoon! And who can blame him?

And this kit is so authentic, Elvira herself takes stunned delight in its beauty...

(courtesy Moebius Models and CultTVman.com)

At Moebius' website, and on the kit box, the details of this fine KreatureKid Kreation beKome Klear (Klick to enlarge):

I just cannot wait to get this -- signed by the KreatureKid himself! -- into my collection. This guy is truly one of the great new breed of Monsterkids, creating fine horror and Hallowe'en art for us to enjoy for years to come, and helping to keep classic Monster Madness alive and well.

And I honestly wasn't even aware that liking his page entered me into a raffle -- I liked it because I like his art, and him.

As your humble pubkeep I strongly suggest you each go to his page right flippin' now and 'like' it. Then, follow all the links to pictures of his Hallowe'en kits, his Bela Lugosi as Dracula kit, and amazing things in the works for the coming year.

Thanks Adam, and Moebius Models, and thank you 2012 for being so amazing on your very first day!

January music is on its way.

A happy, happy New Year to you all.

DDSPolystyrene!

The Last Day.

2011-12-31T15:33:00.001-06:00

Yep.

It's at the door.

2012 is upon us.

We think of the wonderful things this past year has given us. We think of the not so wonderful things, too.

We think of those we've lost whom we didn't expect to lose. We think of those we've found whom we didn't expect to find.

We recognize our ability to let the past year simply drop like a pebble into the river of our lives, temporarily rippling the water but ultimately adding to the colorful, clamouring riverbed of who we are, and who we hope we will be.

And we come to realize that we get every day and night we love all over again. Birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, holidays. Laughing, crying, gifting, eating, drinking, loving. A new Christmas, a new July 4th, a new Hallowe'en.

And it all begins tomorrow.

So... it is right that we celebrate tonight.

A happy, healthy, hauntingly good 2012 to each of you.

Here's to more of everything good and less of everything not so good.

And now, of course, join me...

DUMDUMSHREKPOP!!!

Afterglow.

2011-12-26T22:47:00.001-06:00

Ah!

Welcome, welcome.

I hope you are all enjoying your respective Christmas gatherings and goings-on, and I am happy to see you visiting this humble place during the holidays. It's why we're here, you know -- a gathering place to share and enjoy the company of like-minded, good-hearted Autumn Folk at all times of the year.

My family has been sharing a wonderful few days of holiday cheer, and I can tell you we now are all a little looney from a long weekend full of sugary treats and drinks and indulgent dishes and salty snacks and naps and late nights full of laughter and remembrance of Christmases gone by.

Just as it ought to be.

I want to share just a few more bits of Christmas, S&P-style.

Here is our very orange Hallowe'en treetopper, a gift to the lovely V and me from my dear mother.

It actually resides year-round on our mantle, but I am always so happy to see it on our little black tree where it truly belongs for a few weeks a year. Thanks again, Mama.

Now, any Autumn Person worth the epithet expects their holiday gifts to be a little horrific or Hallowe'enly, right? I know you all get it.

So...

A first class skull. Who doesn't wish for at least one skull for Christmas?

And so, I got two!

And three!

Not Hallowe'enly, but definitely horrific.

My oldest crush and favorite hero on Blu-ray -- along with my very first Blu-ray DVD player!

Not even remotely scary or Hallowe'enly, but another gift of Sigourney Weaver

is always worth bragging over.

Besides, it's a great film you should all see.

I hope you all gave and got at least one great, fine, heartfelt gift, whatever it may be.

You are each a fine gift to me.

Merriest of Christmases to you all.

DDSigourneyPower!

Nativity.

2011-12-24T22:16:00.000-06:00

A Very Merry Christmas

All of You.

With much love,

(...the Skull & Pumpkin!)

DUMDUMSHREKPRESENTS!!!

Making Christmas.

2011-12-23T02:53:00.002-06:00

Hello again, loyal S&P-brains!

I hope you've all been enjoying your own Week Leading Up To That Other Holiday... we sure have.

Here at the Skull & Pumpkin, we do things a little differently for Christmas. Oh, we have a tree and lights and presents and all -- we're not completely crazy -- but there's always a bit of a Hallowe'en touch, of course.

For example, as you approach this old homely house, you can't help but notice our unique holiday spirit...

I made this Burton-esque wreath years ago, and hang it up every year.

This be-capped beauty was originally part of a set piece from the

Haunted Mansion movie that came out some years back.

(Minus the Santa cap, of course.)

Our driveway skeleton gets into the cap action too. Just to offset

the rotting pumpkins, you understand.

Our gargoyle guards received a bit of garland flair from the lovely V.

Of course, our decorating is not limited to the outdoors, but it's essentially identical to the decor found all year 'round -- we just add a tree and some lights and garland.

But I do want to show off these way excellent construction paper ornaments that were handmade by my nephew, known to you S&Pers as Mr. Jack, when he was just a little guy...

That's right -- Drac, Frank and Wolfy in their Christmas best!

Are those some awesome monster Santas or what?

This year they reside in my paper Hallowe'en lantern just above our little tree.

Of course, we still have the amazing monsters handmade by my nieces and nephew in L.A. ...

OH yeah... baked Frankensteiny goodness!

A few shots of our Haunted Mansion corner...

Skull hand-markered and hung by the great Kiara.

So, that's a taste of the Autumn People-influenced Christmas decor at the Skull & Pumpkin.

I can only imagine that you each have your own spooky spin on That Other Holiday... care to send some pics so we can all admire them over a few drinks by the fireplace here at the ol' S&P?

Send them to your humble pubkeep: --*skellington*35*@*aol.com*-- (remove the *'s) -- and let's have some fun comparing and sharing our creepy yuletide customs!

Here's to everyone having a wonderful, wonder-filled Other Holiday!

DDSPresentsneedwrapping!

Idle hands.

2011-12-17T13:36:00.000-06:00

... are supposed to be the Devil's playthings.

And although I am well beyond salvation at this point in my journey, I don't want to pass the curse along to my creations, so I am doing my best to get their hands moving.

Mini-servos, piano wire, fishing line, cable ties and lots and lots of hot glue, the haunter's best friend -- a recipe for turning idle hands into moving, spidering, fantastic hands for one of my next big figures for Monsterpalooza 2012.

I'll be posting plenty more about my MP'12 projects after the New Year. They promise to be challenging and possibly too ambitious... but when has that ever stopped me?

Ironically, all this work will keep my own hands moving a lot; I guess Ol' Scratch will have to look elsewhere this Spring.

DDSP!

Yule tubes.

2011-12-15T21:37:00.003-06:00

Hey there, S&P-brains!

After a week of shows, errands and even a little dental surgery, your humble pubkeep is ready for a restful Christmas season.

I know. But even if we Autumn Folk consider it That Other Holiday, we also know very well it's a fine time to let our families and friends in on our darker tastes, a chance to beg for gifts that are decidedly different -- darker than the usual under-tree fare.

And since we all know giving is far, far better than getting (it is, and you damn well know it), this is a fine time of year to pass some of our Autumnness around to our loved ones. Get Gramps a vintage leatherbound Lovecraft collection. Get Mama a pretty sweater... with skulls on it. Get your baby sister or brother a set of DVDs of the shows or films that scared you silly when you were their age.

In short, it's a fine time to help bring more people to Autumn.

And it's a fine time to gather with loved ones around a fire, with good food and drink, and fine distractions full of tales of the supernatural.

The parlour with the ol' Hallowe'enith radio here at the S&P is the perfect spot for relaxing for That Other Holiday, and even as I have been dusting and decorating for the Yuletide, the spooky old console has been buzzing, spluttering and humming.

Let's see what's happened, eh?

Ah! First up, a spooky little bit of seasonal suspense from... Suspense! From December 1943, this legendary radio series brings us Peter Lorre as a strange sort of gardener in Back For Christmas.

Then, another odd little program.

(source)

In December of 1941, the WKY (Oklahoma City) radio series Dark Fantasy brought us the tale of three people lost in the wintery woods, trying to comprehend The Demon Tree.

And finally...

Of course!

The ultimate spooky Christmas tale, this time as a CBS Radio tradition begun on Christmas Eve 1975 -- series host E.G. Marshall as Ebenezer Scrooge in The CBS Radio Mystery Theater's own A Christmas Carol.

Plenty of shivery Christmastime listening, for now. Just find the Hallowe'enith radio list on the left of this page and select your program!

Please enjoy your families, your friends, and each other.

And please keep visiting this ol' place. Even if your busy pubkeep can't bring new things as often as he'd like (and is now referring to himself in third person for some reason), there is still lot to see.

A safe and warm holiday season to us all -- a toast!

DUMDUMSHREKPOP!

Old gourds & cold bones...

2011-12-07T14:02:00.001-06:00

Some pumpkins and another snowy skeleton haunting the grounds at the S&P.

(shiver!)

DUMDUMSHREKPOPSICLES!

Winter?

2011-12-06T10:51:00.000-06:00

Well, not until the 21st.

But don't tell that to the Ozarks.

Quite beautiful, really.

I especially love how the first blanket of snow looks at the S&P...

Kong looks a little chilly but he's holding up well.

Actually, he's holding up this little guy:

Oooohh -- snow skeleton!

So no snow griping from me -- roads are clear, power's on, and things are fine.

All pictures, by the by, are courtesy of the lovely V.

DDSnowPictures!

Elevend.

2011-12-02T16:24:00.004-06:00

Yes, the end of '11.

Elevend.

Oh, we still have a month but come now -- it's so chock full of That Other Holiday that before we know it, 2012 will be on our doorstep asking to come in 'cause it's cold outside.

And yes, it is going to be cold outside for a while.

Because it's December.

(source)

The twelfth month.

Shorter days and longer nights of reflection, of reassessment, and eventually a little rest, heralding winter... and harboring Christmas.

A new month is new music at the S&P.

Because, ready or not, Christmastime is here...

Loo-loo-looooo, loo-looooooo...

Yes, we keep finding the S&P's jukebox full of jazzy waltzes from the late Vince Guaraldi, but what could fit better after Guaraldi's own The Great Pumpkin Waltz? Why, Christmastime Is Here, and everyone's favorite 1965 animated TV special reminds us to stay true to ourselves, and the true meaning of Christmas.

Now with holiday TV on my mind, I felt a little tribute to another classic TV special was in order. Of course, being the proud pubkeep that I be, I wanted to do a little more than just play a part of the CD soundtrack...

On the player for the third year in a row is my own rendition of The Most Wonderful Day of the Year, better known as The Island of Misfit Toys Song from Rankin-Bass's 1964 holiday mega-icon, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Still wish I knew why the doll was there...

I recorded Misfit Toys waaaaaaay back in 1999, changing the feel to a bossa and playing all instruments (guitars, piano, bass, electric piano and harmonica) myself, with the exception of all percussion, which was performed by my buddy Matt. I enjoy this recording an awful lot and never miss a chance to show it off at this time of year.

Can't get enough of your (apparently not so) humble pubkeep?

Well listen on.

For the same 'album', I whipped up a five part a capella rendition of Winter Wonderland, and sang each part myself.

It was initially meant to just be a scratch track until I realized it didn't totally stink. I like its sloppy, silly happiness more each year, and so it gets added to the jukebox for another year.

With my ego soothed, I think we need a tune from better known artists...

James Taylor's gorgeous version of Joni Mitchell's River (originally released on her now-legendary album Blue in 1971) is sweet, sad, beautiful and mesmerizing, like Winter itself.

But of course, ours is a Hallowe'en pub, after all, and it simply won't do to dwell on pure Christmas too long.

NO, no, I didn't just throw a version of the Monster Mash on the player...

Okay, yes I did. But it's the 1974 Peter Pan Records version called the Monster Christmas Mash.

Come on, it's awesome and ridiculously addicting and a perfect tune for the ol' S&P.

Another monstery bit of musical madness, you ask? Say no more...

In 1964, horror film icon Lon Chaney Jr. recorded a gem of a tune, the Monster Holiday!

You can hear his infectious joy and great sense of humor in every creaky note!

Yes, the Skull & Pumpkin is a fine, fine place for monsters to take their holiday, and we are proud to host any and all who knock on our door -- including each of you!

Oh, December...

... light our nights, make our spirits glow with your red-green and blue-white magic.

More audio fun later. For the moment, sit, warm up, and bless our pub with your Autumn goodness, each and every one of you.

I'll be back soon, but much work calls for the rest of this week and next.

Then, I can rest.

And hey... is that ol' Hallowe'enith radio crackling over there?

Hhmmm....

DDSP!

Thanksbirthday.

2011-11-24T00:29:00.000-06:00

Today I am thankful for everything in my life.

We all should be.

But I have an extra little glimmer of gratitude that this year, Thanksgiving falls on the (would've been) 95th birthday of our dear Uncle Forry, Dr. Acula himself, Forrest J Ackerman!

Boy am I thankful for everything this crazy guy gave us.

Folks, enjoy your families and friends this Thanksgiving Day.

Remember to tell them you love them.

And be glad we live in a mixed up place where our love for the creepy is allowed to flourish, thanks to pioneers like ol' Uncle Forry!

DUMDUMSHREKGOBBLEGOBBLE!

Tippity.

2011-11-23T16:19:00.002-06:00

No, I haven't been overenjoying the spirits here at the S&P.

The word is not tipsy, but Tippity.

I'll explain.

I have been so busy that until this very moment I haven't had time to post about the finest thing to happen to our home this past Hallowe'en -- a gift from my Mama.

Early in the afternoon on October 31, while we were setting up Boo Corner and the animatronic figures, a UPS truck pulled up to the house, and the driver got out and brought me a big box. I take pride in remembering that as I accepted the box and signed that little electronic doohickey, the UPS guy was just gazing around at all our spooooky stuff, smiling like a kid. I invited him to come back with his kids after sundown. I don't know if he ever did (we had a lot of people!).

Anyway, I saw that it was sent from my mother, so I took the box inside the house, carefully opened it, and found this...

A little booklet, orange n' black ribbon-bound by my Mama.

Opening it, I discovered...

Aaahhh! How perfect!

Mom had put together a grand copy of Tippity Witchit's Hallowe'en, as it appeared in the famous and much-beloved series My Book House, first published in 1920. Mom read this to us when we were little, and not so little, and now she had given me a copy to read to my granddaughters.

Written by the book series' creator and editor, Olive Beaupre' Miller, the story also boasts some of the finest vintage Hallowe'en imagery from illustrator Matilda Breuer...

This looks just like our Halli!

Amazing.

Just amazing.

But much, much, much, much much more amazing was the other item in the box.

See, my mother, besides being a famous singer, is an artist. She is a craftswoman, a seamstress, a painter, a writer and thinker and philosopher, and a fantastic mother of many, many kids.

The woman creates, is what I'm trying to say.

And she loves painting and firing ceramics and porcelain.

And she loves Hallowe'en.

And she apparently loves me, because she also took the above image and turned it into this...

Holy...!

Those ribbons are perfect, too!

And the mist sprites, bats, and jack o'lanterns, wow!

Just wow.

I absolutely love this piece, and I love that it came to be with us on Hallowe'en proper, and I had it carefully displayed in the livingroom all Hallowe'en long, bragging on it to anyone who looked upon it.

(By the way -- that ghost-pumpkin blanket you've seen in the background of so many pictures of cool things here at the S&P since we began? Yeah, she made that too).

This one-of-a-kind piece of Hallowe'en love is now hanging in a place of honor at the Skull & Pumpkin, where it will be displayed proudly and forever.

And like so many lucky Autumn People who were nurtured into being Autumn People by their Autumn Parents, I love my Mama very much.

Proudly and forever.

Trapped.

2011-11-16T18:19:00.000-06:00

I have been so busy with work, work, work, I haven't been able to visit and discuss and critique and enjoy this old homely house. I feel trapped.

Such is life. The work is wonderful, the time-crunch is not.

I hope to fix that soon, certainly before those other holidays.

Please continue to visit and enjoy.

I leave Fester and Mantan Calaveras in charge while I'm away, but if either of you slacks off, leaves a door unlocked or takes advantage of the bar, I'm going to sick the Frog Queen on you.

And man! you do not want her mad!

(source)

Have at it, fellow Autumn Folk.

DDSP!

Eleven '11.

2011-11-06T16:17:00.003-06:00

November.

(source)

The grand, blue-gray morning-after sleep from a manic, magic October.

And though it is still very Autumn, it is the test pattern for Winter.

A time of change and preparation, calm and peace all at once.

And in honor, I've changed up the music in the ol' S&P jukebox...

First, we always have Vince Guaraldi's The Great Pumpkin Waltz. It is the official theme song of the Skull & Pumpkin.

Next, I've added another 3/4-time Guaraldi classic, fit for the month of November: the Theme from 1973's A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

I still want that Thanksgiving meal.

Next up, a tribute to my late father Dick Cathcart, who would have turned 87 today. He died just two days after his 69th birthday, and November always reminds me of his life and death. As a highly regarded and sought-after trumpeter and singer, he did much during his life, and saw plenty, and I find one particular recording to be most evocative of my feelings about him.

In 1957 he played on his good friend Paul Weston's fabulous musical ode to New Orleans, Crescent City. Dad's horn lead on Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen is one of his finest pieces, and I am proud to present it for the month.

I am grateful to have had him for a father, and thankful for so many things he taught me, so many gifts he gave me... so I had to add a song about being grateful for the good things in our lives.

From the 1973 film (of the 1971 musical) Godspell comes All Good Gifts, a pretty and heartfelt song of thanksgiving...

... and then I remembered that this is a Hallowe'en pub and our Thanksgiving celebrations are a raucous, monstery affair.

The Bash is a wild big band piece from Maury Laws' amazing score to Mad Monster Party (1967), and if Count Basie's band ever played at a party thrown by Dr. Frankenstein, this is what it would sound like.

Frankenstein. That reminds me... didn't Mary Shelley have the Monster being created this very month?

"It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils..."

Just as I thought.

So we gotta have some Frankenstein music (as Livy would say). From the original 1931 film comes Bernhard Kaun's main title piece, the Frankenstein Theme. I've left the very smooth introduction from actor Edward Van Sloan, warning us of the horrors about to unfold.

"How do you do?"

I have decided to leave my own composition, Autumn Storm, on the player, since it's still Autumn. And it's my pub.

(source)

Plus, it's still pretty. It still 'works', as they say.

Lastly, as ever, comes the Anger/Higbie Quintet's 1986 beauty Pumpkintime, the official incidental music of the S&P.

New music for a new month, for your pleasure.

Stoke the fire a bit, though. It's getting chilly...

DDSP!

2011-11-06T00:39:00.000-05:00

Dick Cathcart

November 6, 1924 --- November 8, 1993

Happy 87th.

Dumdumshrek, Pop.

Before we get to November...

2011-11-04T14:55:00.001-05:00

Well, November's already here, yes.

But before I get to any new jukebox tunage or waxing poetic about the end of Autumn and all that, I wanted to pass around a few pics of our 2011 yardhaunt, the 'Greatest Hits' display I was able to put together.

Yes, I was going to do a big tribute to the anti-genius of Edward D. Wood, Jr. But time... time not only slipped away, it was fairly torn from my daily schedule with alarming regularity all through September and October.

No complaints. I love working.

But I decided I had backlogged so many great props, figures, routines, music and decor that a greatest hits display would be perfect -- a kind of Hallowe'en version of a cheap TV clip show.

It worked just fine.

Now don't get up, I'll just pass a few around:

Our 'graveyard' just before adding the animatronic characters.

The lovely 'V' helping set up 'Boo Corner' (for littler spooks and scared grown-ups!).

'Uncle Bill' setting up the stupendous 'De Witch Woman' display he built

last year in honor of the family-favorite James Lewicki illustration

(story and pictures from this post and this post, remember?)

Our cat Hallowe'en ('Halli') always helps us move the leaves around.

She also spent a lot of time hanging out with Cap'n Lantern an Ficketts.

The graveyard ready to go, seen through the web of a spider

that decided she had to set up shop here.

(Sorry Frog Queen!)

An angle I only get to see once a year: the business end of my

graveyard attraction.

Cap'n Lantern, First Mate Ficketts, a tombstone-perched raven named Nevermore...

... and the Lean Bros & Ghoul, ready for spooky swingin' songs!

My one and only Ed Wood tribute piece.

The completed Boo Corner...

... and guests.

'De Witch Woman' took the place of the usual Treat Room we have on

that side of the porch. That foot pumped, that spindle spun, and de ol' witch woman

sang (in my Aunt Gail's voice) 'Turn an' spin, come off skin!' all night long.

The decade-old Great Pumpkin animatronic character, in his perfectly

glowy, perfectly plasticky pumpkin patch!

A blurry but colorful shot of the display from across the street.

Of course, the Skull & Pumpkin has always been a Post-Hallowe'en Blues-Free Zone, as you well know. There is nothing about cleanup that saddens me -- not really -- and in fact it has grown to become a rather Zen-like ritual, at once cleansing and inspiring.

Besides, there simply isn't a reason for sadness.

For one, we had a grand time.

For another, it's still Autumn. I mean, look at the view I get to and from work every day...

Still very, very Fall.

I'll be back soon with new musical diversions for a new month.

In the meantime, I'll gather up the pictures and let you all get back to whatever you were doing. I hope you're all discussing your own amazing Hallowe'en 2011 stories!

Until next time!

DDSP!

Hallowe'en dreams.

2011-11-01T01:03:00.002-05:00

(source)

It was truly wonderful, wasn't it?

All my creations recapturing my imagination, pursuing me like the Monster pursued Frankenstein across frozen floes.

All my fears riding to meet my giddy challenge, and sending me headlong across the bridge from October to November, like a headless Hessian soldier's flaming gourd to the back of my noggin -- beautiful, painful, spirited, brief, and final.

It was just wonderful.

Off now to dream black and orange dreams, with a real breeze blowing real leaves against my real window, and the warming sound of every voice that haunted my home tonight, still in my ears -- a last, thin-wick'd candle flickering in one last jack o'lantern.

Happy Hallowe'en.

Good night.

Dumdumshrrrzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Happy Hallowe'en.

2011-10-31T01:00:00.002-05:00

It is here.

Our day, and most thrillingly, our Night.

It is the New Year celebration of an ancient world, and an ancient celebration of what has come and gone, what may lie ahead, and what our place will be in whatever comes.

It is the birthday of childhood fears, but the anniversary of casting those fears away, all at once.

Even as it changes with time and tide, it has never disappointed.

It calls us to come out and play again, to talk and laugh and scream and chase and run as the children we still are, will always be, no matter how we try to hide it.

It sets the sun a pumpkin orange, carries leaves on a woodsmoke wind to tap our windows, scratch our memories, to tickle and reawaken our love -- our need -- for the Tall Tale, the Scary Story, the Fright.

It is yours, and it is mine, and it connects us across miles.

It does not teach us to fear -- we already know fear quite well. It doesn't say 'See? Here are horrors you wouldn't know but for Me.'

No. Like all Fantasy, which is itself a child of our darkest primal nights, it does not teach children that there are dragons. They already know that.

It just shows us all that dragons can be slain.

It is our secret satisfaction at the puzzle unsolved, our continuous joy at the Great Mystery, for it is the stating and confronting of our most primal fear... and because it is the facing of our own death, it boldly and blessedly reminds us to live while we are alive.

It is Hallowe'en.

It is today, and tonight. God, what a gift.

The Skull & Pumpkin wishes all of you a meaningful, magical, and mystical Hallowe'en, wherever you may be.

A toast, raise them up high now:

DUMDUMSHREKPOP!

Diggin' up goodies...

2011-10-29T19:51:00.001-05:00

... and settin' up for spooky fun!

Oh wait, I found this old picture in the attic and knew I had to put it up for the weekend for loyal S&Per DeeDee:

And fellow S&Pers, let's give a warm Skull & Pumpkin welcome to our newest loyal pubgoer, Katie! She runs the sweet Little Barn Owl blog, and is definitely one of us crazy Autumn People. Free rounds for Katie all weekend long.

So...

Two days away.

DDSusPense!

Making Hallowe'en still.

2011-10-25T23:57:00.001-05:00

I think I want to keep them set up in my room for the rest of the year.

My animatronic family, minus the Great Pumpkin and Uncle Forry, while I program a few greatest hits into them.

Making Hallowe'en...

P.S. I notice the S&P has somehow lost a Follower. I wonder if we said something wrong? Oh well -- more libation for the rest of us.

DDSPluggingalong!

The Big Night.

2011-10-25T13:22:00.000-05:00

It just keeps creeping closer... closer... closer...

DDSusPense!

Digital Hallowe'en, on the air.

2011-10-24T14:22:00.000-05:00

It's begun, fellow S&Pers!

SiriusXM just rolled out their SCREAM Channel (145) about ten minutes ago, and they're running until 3am November 1st!

Songs, stories, sound effects, just spooky fun!

We'll have it on at the S&P for the rest of the week.

Now back to making Hallowe'en... with a cool soundtrack!

DDSProgramming!

Making Hallowe'en.

2011-10-23T17:41:00.000-05:00

DDSProgress...

Diggin'...

2011-10-22T13:11:00.000-05:00

Heading to storage today...

Now -- where's my Hallowe'en stuff... ?

DDSPrep!

Sincerity.

2011-10-19T23:07:00.001-05:00

A skull and pumpkin.

2011-10-17T16:52:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a bit of a Pumpkin Carving Day.

Kiara the Great was in rare form, using a Pumpkinmasters kit to whip up some design I'm still trying to decipher. But she loved every second of it!

The lovely V procured four or five excellent raw jack o'lanterns, and I chose the one I thought would make the oddest looking chap.

Here you can see I have already done the eyes, but I wanted you to see the warts and scars on this wonderfully warped little fellow. All of his odd features make for a glowering, grotesque but grand little gourd!

When I brought him to the S&P, he immediately began to grumble and shift, and leaving him to his own devices for a time, I eventually found him here:

... on the windowsill at the top floor landing. He obviously knew his place.

And by nightfall, well...

Now that's a skull & pumpkin!

I'm enjoying him immensely, and am quite certain the rest of our menagerie has welcomed him with open... whatever they may have.

Hallowe'en on the way... yikes!

DDSGrumble!

Grandness.

2011-10-13T13:19:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's a grand thing to be a grandparent (step- or otherwise).

V and I are always delighted by our granddaughters, at every moment, for every reason.

Yesterday, our 6 year-old grandgirl, Kiara and her 1st Grade class were celebrating Grandparents Day, and we spent an hour in her classroom poring over their accomplishments, listening to storybook readers, and generally being as proud of our grandkid as every other grandparent there was about their grandkid.

What I loved most, though, was how the classroom was modestly but earnestly decorated for Hallowe'en!

They had the kids make these really cute construction paper spiders to hang from the ceiling...

You can see the pumpkin/witch/skull lights to the far left, too!

What we couldn't get pictures of, though, was their 'smartboard' -- it's essentially a computer on a projector that acts like a giant, animated chalkboard -- where the kids all wrote things about their grandparents.

When we read "We play scary games on the computer" and "We like to make Halloween crafts", we immediately knew who had written it! I couldn't have been more proud.

That is, until I read this page in the little book each child had written about their grandparents...

Yes!

Not that I know who Van Vampire is (she tells me she merely forgot how to spell vampire then wrote it correctly). But HOW COOL IS THIS? What she wants to let everyone know is that she and I love to read monster books!

She also made a card for us, and made sure to inform us she used our favorite Hallowe'en colors!

My little Monster Kid (wearing her purple-black skull hair clip procured at Monsterpalooza!):

Happy, happy Pa.

DDSProud!

More genius from Jason Willis.

2011-10-11T14:25:00.002-05:00

So... do you remember last year's amazing musical video treasure from Jason Willis? I posted it and gave my glowing review in November -- and I still watch it often. I hope you do too.

Well.

This year, just in time for the ol' All Hallow's, Jason has once again outdone himself with a stop-motion montage set to H-A- Double L- O, W- Double E - N Spells Hallowe'en, the first song on the popular 1969 album Halloween: Games, Songs & Stories by Wade Denning and Kay Lande (the story behind the album can be read in Jason's own words on his famous Scar Stuff blog).

This is a popular song -- if you search it on the ol' FaceTube you'll see lots of people using it for their own videos.

But THIS version tops them all. It was done entirely on an iPhone with the Hipstamatic application.

Do it up, Jason.

And just in case you didn't remember (or didn't want to click the earlier link to) his other amazing video, I'll post it again. It's so worth having twice at the ol' Skull & Pumpkin.

So fun.

So Hallowe'en.

And thank you again, Mr. Jason, for another bit of brilliance. Your drinks are on the house 'til New Year's!

DDSP!

"Give this man satin undies...

2011-10-10T11:32:00.000-05:00

... a dress, a sweater and a skirt, or even the simple lounging outfit he has on...

... and he's the happiest man in the world!"

Today we celebrate the birth of one Edward Davis Wood, Jr., the man directly responsible for some of the greatest film moments of my life.

He challenged our notions of personal liberty and social acceptance as both Glen and Glenda. He turned the San Fernando Valley into spooky gator and octopus filled swamp land while giving the Monster a Bride. He bravely forsook exalted alien ruler tradition by jumping over Plans 1 through 8 and going right to Plan 9!

This was a great man. And there's not a statue, or a plaque...

Hey, he wasn't very good at what he did.

That's not the point, though. He LOVED what he did, and LOVED what he tried to do, and LOVED that he even tried.

Obviously, he wasn't afraid to love, or to try. I think more people should live by his teachings. Well... at least what he taught before he became really sick.

Eddie, I'm going to do my best to tribute you this year. It won't look great, which will be just perfect. It will look spooky.

And hopefully, some guests will walk away realizing, as you did, that perfection is in the mind of the beholder.

Edward D. Wood Jr.

(1924 -- 1978)

And for everyone else following along, please head to The Ed Wood Project Fan Page on Facebook. We're trying to raise funds to give Eddie a cenotaph (that's a headstone or marker even if there's no remains) at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where his wife Kathy Wood is buried. The land has been generously donated by the owner of the cemetery, we just need to purchase/create the cenotaph itself.

A toast... Happy Birthday, Eddie!

DDSP!

A (not so) brief rambling.

2011-10-08T23:43:00.001-05:00

Welcome, S&Pers, welcome.

Thank you for coming to visit and enjoy our little pub, even though there hasn't been too much 'new stuff' to see, hear or ponder. So much work, so little time...

I finally had some time to come hang out at the S&P myself tonight, and wanted to just wax philosophical for a moment. No pics, no distractions, just my thoughts.

Don't worry, you can still listen to the music and the old radio -- never mind me, I'm just holding up the bar and thinking about Hallowe'en, and our devotion to it, and the remarkable restorative power of Autumn and Hallowe'en in our often busy, topsy-turvy lives.

As I've mentioned previously, this year I haven't had nearly the time to produce the kind of Hallowe'en display I normally do, and while part of me is truly panicked, I mostly feel sort of resigned and happy.

I know, weird, right?

But if you think about it logically, the panic is truly needless. I can't change the situation, and it's not like I'm not going to have a display filled with amazing homemade figures no one else in the world has, doing goofy things and being cool and spooky on Hallowe'en night -- so what if all my plans can't be accomplished? I still have a singing skeleton quartet. Two comical pirates and a raven straight-man.

My beloved Great Pumpkin, for the love of All Hallow's.

Maybe I'll have to just rehash last year's routines. Maybe I'll have to stick to a few songs and a few jokes and leave it at that.

Maybe I'll just put out everything, let it run until it all collapses.

Or maybe I'll just carve a gigantic jack o'lantern and set it in an empty yard with a big candle and a glass of wine and simply say 'I DO THIS FOR MY UNDYING LOVE OF THE SINGLE GREATEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR AND NOTHING I CAN OR CAN'T FINISH CHANGES ANYTHING."

Because how can life be difficult, how can I be sad, if there's still going to be an October 31st? The entire day will still feel as beautifully different as it has since I was a little child. The sunlight, the clouds, the air, everything will still be Hallowe'en.

And why should I compare what I do with what anyone else does, and find myself wanting? If all I ended up doing come the 31st is decorating inside with my family and friends, and running a few routines on the Pumpkin and playing a few DVDs, I would be just as happy, this year.

But the real point for me is this:

D'you know why we Autumn People 'do' Hallowe'en the way we do? With the passion, the magic, the fire for it, year after year after blessed year?

Because WE ARE HALLOWE'EN.

You, me, them, everyone who makes Hallowe'en... we are Hallowe'en.

It is us, we are it. There is no Hallowe'en without us.

Ponder it for a bit.

Rather than feel like we've let some external celebration pass us by, or that we've let someone or something down by not being able to give it everything we have before, we need to know that it's internal, that anything we do to celebrate Hallowe'en is in itself the prime creation of Hallowe'en.

We connect with the beauty of Autumn's leaves, the sun, the rain, the light and the dark, the smells and sounds and sights of our most loved Night, and that is the restorative power, the magic, the renewal, right there: we can always make it because we are made of it.

Ah, well... I ramble.

But if I somehow cannot do everything I thought would be cool, then I choose, here and now, to not only not beat myself up over it, but to laugh and enjoy the fact that life got in my way so much that it made me see the true depth of my love for Hallowe'en... and therefore my love for myself.

To just learn that lesson.

To just relax and be the Hallowe'en that I am.

Well... we'll see what happens, but I know one thing:

I'm alive to see another October 31st. And that's an excellent, excellent thing.

I propose a big toast -- to all of us who are not just Hallowe'en Makers, but who realize we are Hallowe'en itself.

DUMDUMSHREKPOP!

Old tubes, All Hallow's.

2011-10-04T23:51:00.000-05:00

So last night after adjusting the jukebox here at the S&P, I began to notice (as I usually do) some strange crackling, whining murmurs from the old Hallowe'enith console radio at the other end of the bar... and I knew if I just let things alone, there'd be some spooky fun available for our listening pleasure.

I was right.

First, we have a zany episode of the classic Jack Benny Program (J-E-LL-OOOOO!) from Hallowe'en of 1941, starring the smooth-mannered and equally smooth-voiced Basil Rathbone.

The contrast of Benny's ensemble and Rathbone's inimitable style is priceless, and worth your time.

Next up, a truly spooky episode of the always intriguing series Dark Fantasy, this time from 1942. A sweet and scary little outing titled The Headless Dead, this tale follows a skeptical fellow who does not believe that anything haunts the Tower of London. Well...

Yeah. We know how this is going to turn out. And we love it!

Finally, a good bit of otherworldly research and recitation about the history and lore of vampirism, first broadcast as a special treat on Hallowe'en night, 1973, on WKBW 1520 in Buffalo NY.

Vampires explores the myths, legends, superstitions and facts about the long and complex subject of vampirism throughout history. WKBW stalwarts Jim McLaughlin and Arlene Bunis are wonderful storytellers, and the surprising tales they recount are sure to delight as deeply as they chill.

There's at least two hours of spooky listening pleasure, just for you, just to the upper left of the main page here.

Please give a listen.

I know you'll enjoy all of it.

Until next time...

DDSP!

At last.

2011-10-03T22:16:00.002-05:00

October has arrived, at last.

And I am posting about it... at last.

A lot of work, planned and unplanned, has taken me away from the S&P and other Autumn delights lately. But I'm not complaining about any of it, no sir. It's incredibly good to have gainful employment, especially these days.

I'm just glad I finally have a few moments to share a toast with all of you patient and loyal S&P'ers, to the greatest month of the year!

With each new month, of course, comes new music to our little jukebox over there to the right.

Now, we do our best to keep it stocked with Autumn goodness all year long, perpetually featuring our official incidental score, the beautiful Pumpkintime from the Anger-Higbie Quintet, and as ever the official theme song of the Skull & Pumpkin, Vince Guaraldi's The Great Pumpkin Waltz.

For the Hallowe'en Month, I thought a continuance of the 'theme' theme was in order.

First comes my solo piano version of Grim Grinning Ghosts, the theme to the greatest dark ride in the world: Disneyland's Haunted Mansion!

It's not as rockin' and swingin' as the ride's original soundtrack, but it's mine and I like it and I'm in charge so there.

Then we have to get back to basics with another Vince Guaraldi treasure...

Just think of your youngest trick-or-treat memories, the cloudy sky, the leaves, the pumpkins, always the pumpkins... and realize that the Opening Theme from our favorite Peanuts Hallowe'en special was playing the whole time.

Next up, a theme that is near and dear to my heart this year, in fact near and dear to the heart of any fan of Ed's... the Theme from Plan 9 From Outer Space!

Now, Ed Wood never had a professional composer or arranger for his films, and stock music from various libraries are a hallmark of his works. This piece was originally titled "Grip of the Law", and was composed by Trevor Duncan for his Impress Music company.

Then, we had to add a tune that's been on the player before, but never the worse for wear. A nod to the classic horror monsters of our Hallowe'en-lovin' childhoods, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, better known among Monster Kids as the Theme from Dracula, is always welcome in October.

Finally, another selection once on the player but too perfect for October not to repeat: Louis Armstrong's incredible number from the 1936 film Pennies From Heaven -- The Skeleton in the Closet! Satch just kills it in this bit of swingin' spookiness.

Man, now that's a Hallowe'en band!

That's it for now, but perhaps if time allows I'll add more before the Big Night.

Until then, enjoy your October. I'm not building much that is new this year -- I'm mostly dolling up my existing figures -- but I'll post what I can, when I can.

In the meantime, I'm hearing some crackling and humming from the ol' Hallowe'enith radio...

A toast -- to all of us, a Happy Hallowe'en season.

DUMDUMSHREKPOP!

Almost...

2011-09-30T08:54:00.001-05:00

October smolders, crackles, flies, floats, breezes to the door.

Almost here.

One more night.

The waiting is almost over...

The spirits will be rising very, very shortly.

Enjoy the last of September, S&P-brains!

DUMDUMSUSPENSEPOP!

Autumn is here.

2011-09-21T13:17:00.002-05:00

Well... it's here.

For Autumn People, the finest, grandest, subtlest, simply the greatest season of the year.

Even the gnarled old bridge and path to the front door of the Skull & Pumpkin is glad...

In honor, I have added to the jukebox a solo piano piece I composed and subsequently recorded quite some time ago, during a crisp, thundery, bright-dark Fall afternoon, when the sun lit the treetops on fire, but the clouds blackened the skies beyond, and the rain only occasionally made it to the rooftop.

I have called it Autumn Storm.

You may call it whatever you wish, as long as it makes you feel the way I did that day, and every day like it (and blessedly, there are many in Autumn).

Progress on Plan '11 continues.

I'll update soon.

In the meantime, enjoy the weather, the music, and each other -- Autumn People, this is our time to shine.

DDSPiano!

Plan '11 for Hallowe'en, pt. 2

2011-09-13T22:06:00.002-05:00

Well... sort of.

I must apologize to my faithful followers, all of you wonderful Autumn Folk who frequent this homely house.

I have been so stupidly busy with work and other commitments that I haven't been a very good pubkeep.

The thing is, this is the first Autumn in a long, long time that has me working morning and night, and it does not leave me much time for updating and picture-taking and all the fun things I've usually done this time of year here at the ol' S&P.

Now, this does not mean I am not working on things -- oh no, Hallowe'en is definitely in the making here...

I am building and designing and deciding and digging and gluing and bending and painting and generally being the madman I tend to be for Hallowe'en...

... but this year it's all coming quite a bit later than usual, and I find myself more than a little concerned that I have let too much time go by to really give it all my all.

I don't have any worries that I'll miss Hallowe'en -- that will simply never, never happen -- but I got taken out of my usual game this Summer and things will be a little more old school, a little less savvy, but surely a bit more analog... and perhaps, simply, a bit more fun.

A bit more Ed, I guess I can say.

We're working on it.

It won't be a new animatronic figure, but what the hell -- I have pirates, a skeleton band, a raven, a Great Pumpkin and an Uncle Forry -- who's going to gripe?

Back to basics, back to fun, back to making magic whenever, wherever, however we can, right?

Don't worry... the monsters will arrive on Lone Pine this year...

They always do.

DDSProgess...

Plan '11 for Hallowe'en, pt. 1

2011-09-04T13:06:00.001-05:00

"Alright Bela... action!"

"Lobo! You vill gather for me... de materials... to bilt a Hallove'en display!

Do as I commant!"

"Bgaahaggghhhg!"

"Later -- that very evening..."

"Bgaahahaagggh!"

"Yessss! Dis vill be a Hallove'en display... vich vill conquer de vorld!"

"I sure hope they know what the hell they're doing..."

DDSPlan9!

Embers of Summer.

2011-09-01T22:59:00.001-05:00

Ah.

We enter the 'Embers.

And say goodbye to the embers of the previous season.

The sun sets on Summer...

... and rises in orange, leafy glory on Autumn.

I will not load the player with all manner of Septemberish tunes like I did last year.

That was fun, but this is better.

I have been so busy and stressed lately that many of my life's loves have been nearly -- but never fully -- forgotten.

Yet now all I need do is look at these images, and listen to the three piano solos in the ol' player, and all is again right and whole.

From George Winston's beloved and influential 1980 album Autumn, come my three favorite pieces: Colors/Dance, Longing/Love, and the perfect meditation on a breezy, balmy Fall evening, Stars.

Simple.

Just... find your favorite Fall things.

Surround yourself with them as you listen to these solos.

And for sure... light a candle.

It's only three weeks away.

Welcome, Autumn.

Peace.

A quick request...

2011-08-23T16:47:00.006-05:00

UPDATE: As of last night, the funds came through, the Bob & Kathy Burns documentary is going to be produced! I appreciate everyone who visited the site and donated.

I look forward to this film so much... I hope you do too!

Thanks again!

--------------------------------------------------------
Hello, loyal patrons.

Don't get up, please stay in your chairs, on your stools, wherever you are currently lounging here at the ol' S&P.

I just want to ask you all to think about visiting a Kickstarter page for this amazing new project/film:

The one and only Bob Burns has been a hero to all of us Monster and Hallowe'en Kids for decades. His work in early genre films as an actor, effects man and make-up artist (and most notably as Kogar the Gorilla in numerous films, shows and ads) deserves high praise, and his collection of movie memorabilia amassed over a lifetime is second to none.

This movie MUST get made.

Here's a few snippets of bio straight from Bob Burns' website:

BOB BURNS has a long and varied career in the horror and science fiction field. He began as an apprentice to legendary makeup man Paul Blaisdell in the mid 1950s. Burns helped build the monsters in Invasion Of The Saucermen, The She Creature and It Conquered the World...

... Considered the godfather of Halloween by his many fans, Burns spent over 20 years creating Halloween extravaganzas in his hometown of Burbank, California. The elaborate shows became the proving ground for some of today's biggest names in special effects including Academy Award winners Rick Baker and Dennis Muren.

I could go on, but the point is, Bob Burns, his wife Kathy and their incredible story is being turned into a documentary helmed by the also-incredible artist Frank Deitz, and only our help can bring it to life, and they only have eight more days to get the remaining 30 or so percent raised. Otherwise no one gets anything, and the world will be short one wondrous documentary it desperately needs.

This is a very worthy project. We need this film!

I hope you'll consider it.

As you were. Back to the mellow madness of the S&P...

DDSP!

Bradbirthday.

2011-08-22T01:51:00.000-05:00

Most of you Autumn Folk who frequent this humble establishment know very well that we love our Hallowe'en library.

Our shelves strain under the weight of fine fantasy, horror, and dark beauty dressed as poetry, prose, philosophy, and other pages that enchant and inform.

Among the stacks and shelves reside the collected works of one of the world's most celebrated writers, who also happens to be (arguably) the greatest champion of Hallowe'en and lover of all things spooky in American literature.

And today he celebrates his 91st birthday.

Is it really possible he's ninety-one? The Perpetual Kid is this old?

Then again, is it possible he was ever this young?

Dear God. Ray Bradbury.

Friend of one Forrest J Ackerman, from whom Ray received early help in publishing, and with whom he shared a long and wonder-filled friendship.

Ray (L) and Uncle Forry in costume.

So many words written.

So many dreams he has dreamed.

So many dreams his dreams have caused me.

So many enriching, inspiring, impacting images he has granted the world...

His own painting of The Hallowe'en Tree, 1960

It is quite simply impossible for me to overstate his influence in my creative life as a writer, musician, painter, sculptor and most blessedly as a Hallowe'en artist, an Autumn Person.

My love of his work is pure and boundless, and my gratitude for his existence is exceeded only by my inability to properly express it.

Raise 'em high, fellow Autumn People...

A toast -- I don't know how tired you are after such a remarkable life, but here's to hoping you see at least a few more Hallowe'ens, Ray.

You've given so many of us so much Hallowe'en magic.

Happy birthday.

DDSP!

Four Hundred.

2011-08-17T23:51:00.001-05:00

#400.

Unreal.

This is the Skull & Pumpkin's 400TH POST.

Twice two hundred.

CD (could be CCCC as well, but that looks too Soviet-ish, and this is a politics-free zone).

In honor of this almost relevant, not quite important, nearly meaningful milestone, and in honor of Black Cat Appreciation Day, I offer our own dear Hallowe'en, or 'Hallie'...

She is very nice. Because she's a black cat and all black cats are nice.

And she's cute. Because all black cats are awfully cute.

Aw, li'l Hallie.

Still... at a Hallowe'en pub, every day is black cat appreciation day, so I don't want to linger too long on this one. Suffice to say I will always be happy she came to stay with us.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few posts back, I made mention of our fears and the events or images that trigger them, and asked you for some of yours -- this is a public house concerning itself with all things spooky -- and I've received a number of replies.

Some can be read in the comments of said post, but I thought I'd highlight them, and a few others who wrote via email rather than commenting.

First up, our own dear Chris, Her Majesty The Frog Queen, admits to her own fear of Lady Elaine Fairchild, the creepiest resident of the Land of Make Believe (creepier than Prince Tuesday or Bob Dog, by multiples). But then, of course, comes dear Chris's pet neurosis:

"I remember the time I leaned against a post in the barn of an old house we lived in and several baby black widow spiders came crawling down my head and all over me. Definitely the reason that I am afraid of spiders today."

Shiver!

The Frog Queen also admits,

"Going to catholic school and seeing The Exorcist as a kid was the earliest and so far the last time I was really frightened by something that is made up."

Me too, your Highness. Me too...

Jules opened up and let us all in on some of her most memorable, lingering, illogical fears; fears with which I can readily sympathize:

"Things that were in my dreams AND in real life: Carol Channing (or does that fall into the "clowns and spiders" category?)."

It does, but in the right way. She proceeds to mention, among other things,

"... the "bingbong" of "It's 10 o'clock, do you know where your child is?" I obviously was at home, watching that, but I shivered every time -- up too late, and what if I WAS out in the scary post-curfew timezone?"

Oh yes.

I get it. And I remember it very well.

Best of all, she finishes,

"... but my scariest, periodically in my nightmares thing was/is a dead body made to look as if it's moving. Like propped up, dancing, like a puppet. Sometimes with the eyes opened. Not a zombie, but a delusional maniac animating a dead person (usually someone they killed) to make them "alive" again...something between Norman Bates' Mother idea, and Debbie Reynolds in What's the Matter With Helen?(SHUDDER!)"

Oh my. Total shudder, indeed. I'd nearly forgotten about this movie. Yikes!

Baron No One informs us via email that he "used to run behind his mother's rocker and hide every time the theme for The Outer Limits came on the TV! I didn't mind most of the aliens and scary stuff, it was the damn song that did it..."

"... I still get a chill every time I hear it -- on the DVD set I watch almost every day!"

Yep! Who ever said Autumn People don't love to scare themselves silly? Keep it up Baron (and whaddayaknow, a Queen and a Baron -- the ol' S&P's attracting royalty and nobility!).

I think the most chilling admission (so far, keep 'em coming!) of an untraceable, unexplainable childhood fear that can still manage to disturb has to come from loyal S&Pbrain Kent Mason, who simply writes:

"... I used to see people coming in and out my bedroom door as I slept. They did nothing to me, just moved through as if heading elsewhere, not making a sound. All in black, like dead shadows, featureless, and the only noise they really made was a kind of squeaking whisper. By morning they were gone, but I have that dream every so often even now at 26."

Kent, I have to say I didn't even go scouring for an image to go with that. Total nightmare!

Well, there you have some of them, good S&Pers. I really enjoy reading and sharing them at the bar, passing around the stories and letting our common passions and understanding laughter calm our nerves, exorcise (sorry Chris!) a few fears, and remind us how far we've come since our childhood nights...

... but those creepy dark figures moving through the door... I'm going to lock up early tonight!

DDShadowPeople!

A hard working human.

2011-08-16T15:23:00.001-05:00

He was indeed a hard working human.

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó

20 October 1882 – 16 August 1956

I know everyone else in the world remembers August 16th as the day Elvis died, but Lugosi has always meant so much more to me than any amount of hair grease, swinging hips and deep fried peanut butter-banana-valium sandwiches.

Not that Lugosi didn't have his own demons, but The King of the Vampires is, even today, no less a worldwide cultural icon, no less recognizably himself, than that other King, even if his funeral wasn't quite as large...

You can barely see, just to the upper right, that one of Bela's pallbearers was the one and only Ed Wood, another hard working human (and original writer of the phrase "hard working human").

I love segues...

Lately I have been a hard working human, it's true.

And unfortunately, none of that work has been here at the ol' S&P.

Oh, I'm not complaining. I'll take every cent I can get these days. But it leaves precious little time for relaxing with all of you fine Hallowe'en lovin' friends.

And Hallowe'en is indeed sneaking up on all of us, tapping at our nighttime windows, insinuating itself into our dreams...

It has been a little disturbing to me that I usually have my theme well in hand and half built by this time each year but for some reason, this year has been racing by so quickly, it nearly passed me by.

Not to worry, though.

You see, I did recently hit on what I think is a very fun and silly and wonderful Hallowe'en display theme, and it has everything to do with Bela... and Eddie.

Yes, for the dozen or so folks who will actually get every joke and reference, this year's display will be a loving tribute to that maven of movie mediocrity, the inept, inane, incomparable Edward D. Wood Jr.!

C'mon. More Bela and Ed is a good thing.

And can't you just see it? All the usual spookiness of my haunt endowed with Wood's mighty creations, speaking his jumbled wisdom, garbed in pink angora, reveling in the awful wonderfulness?

I mean, the Raven must be able to do a pretty fair Criswell...

And can't you just see Capt. Lantern loving this get up?

And how could Ficketts not get a kick out of being the screen's least amusing comic relief, Kelton the cop (to the right)?

And there are some other characters to play with...

And not a few amazing prop ideas...

I mean, it's not like it has to look good. And I already have the rotten cemetery anyway!

As I say, only about a dozen people will truly get every reference, every gag.

But they'll be the right people, so I don't find myself terribly concerned. I find myself happy.

Besides, I'm still going to have my Pumpkin, and the Lean Bros. & Ghoul, and all the other spooky delights I have every year.

You can't really argue with the idea.

I mean, future events such as these will affect you, in the future.

Onward.

Upward.

Edwood.

DDSuPernaturalthriller!

Again with the basics.

2011-08-10T03:43:00.001-05:00

Hello, loyal S&Patrons (like how I did that?).

Looking at the big old grandfather clock in the foyer, I see it's a bit of a late night for your humble pubkeep, which isn't unusual -- if Autumn People aren't generally night people, I'm a vermicious knid -- but it is a little annoying.

I suppose I shouldn't be all that bothered by being awake. I don't often get to bed much earlier than this.

But the reason I am currently awake and not sleepy is mostly because of a week's worth of an annoying warm-weather cold (oh my! the irritation at that one, ruined all kinds of plans) and because of the recurrence of a nightmare with which I've had a love-hate relationship since I was a very little pubkeep.

OH, I'm not awake from fear. Not really.

I am up with my mind running through other old nightmares, just for the nostalgic fun of reliving them.

Haven't you ever done that?

I have no hang ups about such things. I enjoy talking about what scared me as a kid (isn't that most of what we're all doing with our Hallowe'en Lovin' Ways anyway?), and I'd like to admit a few to all of you.

I'll exact payment for your ridicule when I'm finished...

First up, the very dream I had for the first time in years, but one I've had off and on since early childhood.

There's no real story to this. It's just a sort of mental loop, a perpetual animation of a creepy old thing walking through a long, dimly green decrepit hallway like this...

... and he just keeps opening these doors every twenty paces or so, fumbling through a giant key ring with his bony fingers, opening and closing (with ungodly echoes and creaks) each door, while he cackles and grumbles about something troubling him.

He looks, to the best of my late-night graphics tabletability, a little like this:

I've tried to create this nameless creep many times since childhood, and he never comes out looking like he really looks in the dream. Here, he's nearly cute, an odd little mix of a Mystic from The Dark Crystal and one of the little buggers from Critters. He has gnashing, spiky teeth, wrinkless all over, and wiry hair all shocked out and sweaty. His voice alternates between a high-pitched, creaky whine and a low, gutteral sort of belch.

For some reason, this vision haunted me in a dream when I was little and I not only never forgot it but keep seeing it every once in a great while. Just following this freak as if I were a camera to his lower right, as he walks, gnashes, opens, walks, gnashes, opens... It's dim, dark, echo-ey and very disturbing. Who in Hell is he? What's he doing? Where is it? Will it ever end? Total terror for little me.

But I think there are a few other concepts that can make me shudder just as I did as a kid, and this is only the most personal (and internal -- I have no idea where it came from but the actual dream doesn't look like anything I've ever seen before).

Another of these notions is the zombie.

No, I loves me my zombies, as you all know very well.

But I always think, in real, real life, if I suddenly stumbled onto this horror one quiet, breezy night...

... I'd really just be frozen with real terror. No music, no sound but the wind. They're just walking, not even making noise. And they're dead. And they want to eat me.

Terror.

Another concept I've previously mentioned as being terrifying to me is Possessed Girl. I addressed it better and more completely in the post I just linked, so you may visit it more fully at your leisure. But the concept still manages to unnerve me.

I have also found, even though it's kind of a rare image, the notion of a headless woman.

I don't know why, but the idea of a woman being headless but still in a dress or walking, or otherwise full of life, just freaks me out just as it did when I was a kid. I remember having a hot, sweaty Summer nightmare about a headless woman in my closet rocking side to side, waiting for me to open the door. Shiver!

Then that October, I saw an episode of Happy Days called 'Haunted' where just such a nightmarish vision comes downstairs to frighten Hallowe'en revelers...

TERR - IF - IED me! Even when it turned out to be some kid having fun pranking his pals on Hallowe'en night, I was just shuddering at how creepy this was, and how it was so like my nightmare some months before.

Now, I'm not saying I spend any meaningful amount of time or energy on these notions at any given moment. They're just there, under the surface, whenever I consider being truly frightened of anything that isn't real.

Not real. I mean, all of us feel real terror about how the world can be, the horrendous things life throws at us, throws us into, makes us do and takes from us. Any of us can name any number of horrible realities we'd just as soon never think about that keep us awake and sweating in the lonely watches of the night, those dark moments as parents when we think of all the things that can go wrong for no other reason but that things go wrong... but that sort of terror is not at all what I'm referring to here.

No, these are the things that have little logical basis, no real weight, no basis in reality. Things like one of my friends being terrified for some of her early years by a moving ball of yarn and needle, or the giant hands that would come out of the ceiling to grab another of my friends on a fairly regular basis.

They just scare me, and can still scare me like they did when I was a kid.

And oh, don't get me started on her...

Pure terror. Lady Elaine would somehow kidnap me, take me away from my parents, and make me live with her in her Museum-Go-Round subsisting (I always suspected) on things like corn nuts and asparagus, making me cut my hair and wear false lashes and rouge on my nose.

So, after you've all had a laugh, I demand reparation.

Any serious childhood 'scaries' you still feel? Or can at least remember?

Now, I don't mean the movie(s) or book(s) that scared you (like they were supposed to), or common phobias like clowns or spiders (I'm lookin' at you, Frog Queen!) or even favorite monsters. I don't mean grown-up fears either. I think we've covered some of those in our other 'Fear For Thought' discussions.

I mean the lifelong, illogical, no-one-else-would-possibly-find-it-scary secrets you've kept since you were first terrified by whatever it was/is?

I challenge you all for stories, pictures if possible but at least some comments and stories of the crazy thing or things that drove you to your parent's bedroom when you were young.

C'mon... I know you each have at least one thing that can still bring you to your childhood knees in abject terror, even if you can't possibly explain, even to yourself, just why.

Free drinks all around for every story.

Get crackin', get dreamin'...

DDSP-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-oooooky!

Old tubes, vacation edition.

2011-08-02T12:58:00.000-05:00

Well, it looks like there are some rather sinister little things crawling around in there...

Not that they're unwelcome at the S&P, of course. I just hadn't seen them before when cleaning. Perhaps, like so many in August, they're just visiting.

Vacationing.

Every month when I change up the jukebox, I hear odd little electrical crackles and whines coming from the old Hallowe'enith console radio, and I know that we'll soon have a few new items for our spooky listening pleasure.

Sure enough, there are two new old shows there for our listening delight, each having as its starting point a traveler, and vacationer, a person or people who have set off for an adventure, and get one they didn't at all expect.

First up, a family rents a creepy old house and for some reason won't believe the tales and warnings the old caretaker offers in The Organ, another beauty from the legendary Lights Out! program, originally broadcast in the summer of 1943.

Then, a strange visit to a strange friend on a strange island -- from August of 1942 and the Dark Fantasy series comes W Is For Werewolf.

Two delightful little trips about two delightful little trips.

Grab your favorite repast, and refreshment, settle into your favorite nook and listen for an hour.

You've only got a month or so, then they change again. But I hope those little creeps will stay in the radio. Goodness knows they're very welcome to live here.

Enjoy!

DDSP!

Die she must...

2011-08-01T02:27:00.000-05:00

August.

Summer does have to end, and with the record number of 100+ degree days and 80+ degree nights in our neck of the woods this year (and all that lovely accompanying humidity), I am quite ready for Summer to wind down.

Still, August is the kid not wanting to go back to school yet, knowing there's still time but starting to panic a little inside that there hasn't been enough relaxin'.

To aid in these last Summer days of easing back, a few new sounds have been added to the player on the right, as we do every month.

Accordingly, the first new song for the ol' jukebox is a little jazz lick composed by the late, legendary sax giant Charlie "Bird" Parker, who knew all about relaxin'. Relaxin' In Camarillo, that is. In 1947, Bird spent time in, what shall I call it? A facility, in Camarillo, for various drug-related problems. But the head he wrote soon after being released from said 'resort' is sensational, and smooth, and has become a bop standard for jazz musicians ever since. This 1959 version (off the album Good Pickin's) is from the guitar guru Howard Roberts, with Bill Holman providing some Bird-tribute sax, Pete Jolly on piano, Red Mitchell on bass, and Stan Levy on the backbeat.

The next song I've added for August is a nice piece from the original Beach Boy and insane musical genius Brain Wilson and his long-time collaborator Van Dyke Parks. From their 1993 album Orange Crate Art comes the sound of a romantic correspondence across the miles -- Palm Tree & Moon delivers some nice changes, typically brilliant lyrics from Parks, and Brian Wilson's unique, complex and lush vocal arrangment. Time for love to find ya, right August?

(I took this pic at a friend's home in SoCal... knew I'd use it here at the S&P one day!)

Then, realizing this is the month when most families traditionally get their fullest vacation time, I felt a mix of some classic 1950's family travelogue music would be absolutely perfect. The mid-'50s stock library music is a blast (I adore the genre) but I wasn't clever enough to give my homemade medley a better title than Vacation Music. But since that's exactly what it is -- play it, you'll understand immediately -- I can't complain. Happy trails, families of Summer travel...

And speaking of American institutions of the mid-20th century, the last song I've added for this month is a little more personal, and entirely fitting.

Yep. Back in 1964 when the four Lennon Sisters were temporarily three (Aunt Dee Dee was off making a family and home with Uncle Dick), my mama (Peggy) and aunts Kathy and Janet released #1 Hits of the 1960's, a title which seems a little odd given that the decade was not quite half passed, but no matter. The classic Theme From A Summer Place, with its wistful lyrics and soothing, evocative melody is a perfect Summer ender for my little pub.

But of course, August is still an entire month, and Summer is not over yet.

Not by a long shot.

The August Moon still has plenty of balmy nights to dazzle and daze, to cause all kinds of romantic mayhem to late Summer beach roamers, deck loungers and backyard vacationers, all looking to either find or rekindle a warm, summery love before all the relaxin's through.

Plus, there's still so much Summer to enjoy yet.

More fun in the sun...

More time for monster surfin'...

More time for romance...

More time for cookouts...

More time for a dip in the pool...

More time for a cold one...

... to go with that stake...

And let's not forget, the peak of the season for that Great American Pasttime...

Yep.

Still time.

But barely.

Don't waste any of it. Get out and enjoy.

I'll join you presently... but I think I hear that crazy old radio starting to crackle and hum...

DDSP!

Now playing...

2011-07-29T01:33:00.001-05:00

... on the Philco Predicta TV above the bar.

A back to basics bit of B-movie beauty.

Edward D. Wood Jr.'s 1959 masterpiece:

Oh, now, don't worry. I won't make all of you sit through it.

I mean, you can find it freely viewable all over the 'net -- it's in the public domain -- but I imagine, or rather hope, that anyone visiting the S&P already has at least one copy on DVD (and probably VHS!) in their library.

This film brings me back to summer midnights with a black & white, 9" television and the feeling that I would have understood this filmmaker. That he would have 'gotten' me. And that holy the heck, even *I* could make something spooky and cool.

I mean, Plan Nine's lack of technical prowess was (still is) funny, but it also offered a kind of glimpse into how the movie was made, and that anyone could do it. I could see the bad sets and the props made of things I recognized and it all felt like one could go into the garage and whip up something no worse, and maybe better!

Talk about a film that practically begs you to pick up a camera and make anything you wish, with no money but with reckless, enthusiastic abandon.

It inspires creation -- the creation of spooky things.

'Cause it's got Bela, Tor, Criswell and Vampira... come on!

And the dialogue... oh my God.

Eros: First, you had your firecracker, a harmless explosive...

Lt. Harper: One thing's sure: Inspector Clay is dead — murdered — and somebody's responsible!

Eros: Those whom we're using cannot think. They are the dead, brought to a simulated life by our electrode guns. You know, it's an interesting thing when you consider: the Earth people, who can think, are so frightened by those who cannot — the dead.

Larry: Strange. If someone had broken in, the dirt should be piled up here somewhere. It looks like it's fallen in, into the grave.
Lt. Harper: Larry, you'll be out of that uniform before you know it.

Criswell: My friend, you have seen this incident based on sworn testimony. Can you prove that it didn't happen? Perhaps on your way home you will pass someone in the dark, and you will never know it, for they will be from outer space. Many scientists believe that another world is watching us this moment. We once laughed at the horseless carriage, the aeroplane, the telephone, the electric light, vitamins, radio, and even television! And now some of us laugh at outer space. God help us... in the future.

And is it solaranite? Solarbanite? Solanite?

OH, we all know how terrible it all is. It's supposed to be the worst film ever made, right? Well... I disagree. The cardinal sin of a film is to be boring, unentertaining, uninteresting. As bad as Plan Nine can be, it is certainly never any of those things.

So yeah. We're watching it all night.

It makes me want to make Hallowe'en.

And yes, Criswell...

God help us... in the future!

DDSPlan9!

More back to basics.

2011-07-28T02:11:00.001-05:00

Because it's what we need.

We're here because of Hallowe'en.

Here at this pub, yes, but for most of us, here in life because all the things we hold dear that are so wrapped up in the magic of Hallowe'en are what sustain us, are what keep us desiring, achieving, moving forward in difficult times.

And anyway, a good look at the more classic aspects of our shared madness for Autumn's Holiday is always in order.

This time, a brief look at old ways to dress for All Hallow's.

These can all be seen around the 'net, and one or two have already been seen here before. I don't claim to own or know the real history behind any of them.

Other photo blogger types have done the 'vintage costume' thing so many times and so much better than I could ever try... but what of it? Each is so creepy, so perfectly symbolic of so much that is inherent in Hallowe'en that we should all do it far more often.

Just look at the simple, nameless, purely Hallowe'en-derived awesomeness in these few images...

This last merely casts in cold iron a point made terrifyingly clear to me in each of these photos -- even as a grown man, I have no problem admitting that if I was approached by ANY of the costumed revelers in these images I would be running very, very fast in the opposite direction.

Seriously. Go back and look carefully at each face. Freaking terrifying.

Especially this last.

So yes, every one of these masks is just perfect.

Perfectly Hallowe'en.

Basic is so very good.

DDSPICS!

Back to basics.

2011-07-25T17:38:00.002-05:00

Hello, fellow Skull & Pumpkinites!

Long time no post, I know.

I've been busy, and life has been funny, and things just happen. It's all just fine though.

Now that I'm back here for a bit, I find so many things I've left undone so far, and this place desperately needs a bit of a dusting and some fresh air.

I can clean while we hang out, so relax. I won't dust too much, anyway. A little layer of mystery is good for the ol' place.

Today, I think it's a perfectly perfect idea to shake off some of the hot, humid, Summer blahs and get back to the basics.

The basics of what makes us happy.

What makes us Autumn People so... us.

Let's have a little storytime, okay?

--------------------------------------------------------------------

From my beautiful 1967 first edition hardcover comes the story and pictures from It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Oh, I know you all know the story by heart.

That's hardly the point.

We're getting back to the fundamentals of Hallowe'en Spirit.

Put yourself back into a stuffy school library just after lunchtime on a warm September afternoon. Recall the scent of pages, of bindings, the feel of cloth-covered treasures, the ones you took to the windows to get a breeze and see the illustrations in an orangey, near-Fall stream of sunbeams.

Just let it flow, let it glow, let it go...

There was a general feeling around the neighborhood that Linus always acted a bit peculiar during the month of October. Each year he got a piece of his nicest stationery and wrote a letter to someone
he called "the Great Pumpkin."

It really annoyed Lucy, his sister, because she thought it made her look bad. Snoopy thought it was the funniest thing he had ever heard.

The only person who thought Linus just might be right about the Great Pumpkin was Sally. She listened very carefully as Linus explained the whole story to her.
"Each year on Hallowe'en night, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere and flies through the air with his pack of toys for all the good little children in the world."

The other kids on the block were much more interested in making costumes to wear when they went out that night for Tricks or Treats. Charlie Brown had intended to look like a ghost, but he had a little trouble with the scissors and ended up looking more like a peeled potato. Lucy was proud of her witch's mask because she always said a person should choose a costume that is in direct contrast to her actual personality. The most original costume, if you want to call it that, was worn by Snoopy, for he had found a flyer's helmet and goggles and a beautiful scarf. He looked exactly like a World War I flying ace.

Now, Linus had convinced Sally that going out for Tricks or Treats was not only a waste of time, but was downright wrong, for he maintained that the only way to celebrate Hallowe'en was to sit in a pumpkin patch and wait for the Great Pumpkin. He told Sally that a person had to be very sincere in his waiting and never say "If the Great Pumpkin comes," but always "When the Great Pumpkin comes." "One little slip like that," declared Linus, "can cause the Great Pumpkin to pass you by!"

They looked around the field where they were crouched, and Linus declared, "The Great Pumpkin just has to pick this pumpkin patch because it is very sincere. In fact, there is nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see."

Lucy, Charlie Brown and their friends had just finished knocking at the door of a house asking for Tricks or Treats. Lucy had asked for an extra apple "for my stupid brother who can't come along because he's sitting in a pumpkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin."

Each looked into the bag he was carrying with him. After the others had said they had found things like cookies, candy, gum and apples, Charlie Brown said "All I got was a rock!"

No one noticed that Snoopy was missing. He had gone off by himself and had climbed on top of his doghouse, which he pretended was a World War I flying plane.

"Here's the World War I flying ace taking off in his Sopwith Camel." In his imagination he zoomed through the sky while anti-aircraft shells burst all around him. Just then he spotted the enemy plane he was looking for. It was the Red Baron!

Before Snoopy could turn his plane to the attack, the Red Baron swooped down upon him and riddled his plane with bullets.

Smoke poured from behind, and Snoopy fought desperately to control his plane. With amazing skill, he guided his badly damaged Sopwith Camel to a crash landing, and leaped out before the enemy could find him.

Now he had to make his way back across no-man's land to the aerodrome.

In the meantime, Linus and Sally were still scanning the skies for the appearance of the Great Pumpkin. "I hope you haven't been trying to fool me," warned Sally, "and if you try to hold my hand I'll slug you!"

"Listen!" cried Linus. "I hear something!" There was a low rustle in the grass around the pumpkin patch.

Suddenly a strange silhouette appeared before their eyes. "It's the Great Pumpkin!" cried Linus. "He is rising up out of the pumpkin patch!"

He toppled over backward in a faint.

"I've been robbed!" shrieked Sally. "I waited all night in a pumpkin patch, and all I saw was a stupid beagle!"

She grabbed Linus by the front of his shirt and shool him until his eyes rattled. "I believed in you! I missed Tricks or Treats to sit in this pumpkin patch! You owe me restitution!"

Sally stalked off in anger, and Linus was left alone.

About four o'clock in the morning, Lucy woke, and decided to see if Linus had come in yet.

His bed was empty.

She put on her coat and went out to the pumpkin patch. There was Linus, curled up on the ground with his blanket. He was so cold, he was shaking all over.

Lucy led him back home and helped him to get into bed.

The next morning, Charlie Brown and Linus were leaning on a wall, staring into space.

Each was thinking about last night. "I went out for Tricks or Treats and all I got was a bag of rocks!" moaned Charlie Brown. "Did you ever get to see the Great Pumpkin?"
"Nope," said Linus. "He never showed up."
"Well, don't be too disappointed. I've done some stupid things in my life too."
"STUPID?!" shrieked Linus. "What do you mean, 'stupid'? Just wait until next year! I'll find a pumpkin patch and it'll be a sincere pumpkin patch, and the Great Pumpkin will come! Just you wait and see! I'll sit in that pumpkin patch, and I'll see the Great Pumpkin! Just wait until next year!"

Charlie Brown sighed.

THE END

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See?

As easy as it can be to lose sight of some things in the turmoil of daily life, it is at least as easy to snatch them right back, and to promise ourselves to hold onto that thing ever more tenaciously the next time mundane burdens come knocking.

You can save you from you, just by getting back to being you.

Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see...

And thank God for all things All Hallow's.

DDSPUMPKIN!

Another Alien-iversary.

2011-07-18T03:31:00.000-05:00

Oh, I know it's not really all that Hallowe'en-ish.

Not at first glance anyway.

But you can't deny the impact this film made on Hallowe'en costuming... for 25 years.

Yes, it's been TWENTY-FIVE YEARS to the day since the unveiling of the incredible sci-fi-horror-action rollercoaster ride, Aliens!

I saw it that very night at one of our area's very first all-stereo-THX-big-screen theatres, with half a dozen friends, and will never forget that night. Pure adrenaline, pure admiration, and pure Ripley magic.

Classic.

From various Alien lifeforms to Space Marines to the superheroine Ripley herself, Aliens has certainly, inextricably woven itself into the fabric of our fantasies, and that easily includes Hallowe'en costumes, themes and effects.

There are guys making their own powerloader suits for various conventions and yes, for Hallowe'en.

Aliens. 25 years of Game over man! and Get away from her you bitch!

Of course, we'll have this one running all day long here at the ol' S&P.

To you, Ripley.

Happy anniversary.

Mostly...

DUMDUMSHREKPOPCULTURE!

50,000?!?

2011-07-09T01:44:00.000-05:00

Really?

Fifty thousand hits?

Eh, no pics, nothing important... but 50k visits to the ol' S&P is something.

Fascinated and proud.

Happy 50,000th visit, you old Skull & Pumpkin.

Wow.

DDSP!

43.

2011-07-07T03:41:00.002-05:00

Forty three.

Not old, surely.

Not young either, of course.

Just how it is.

I think I am one of the luckiest people in the world, and I know that a large part of that luck has to be the wonderful friendships I have been able to enjoy and maintain over these long years.

So... a toast.

Happy birthday to me, sure -- your humble pubkeep, crazy Hallowe'en guy, musician, singer, builder, silly person.

Happy Friendship to each and every one of you.

And thank you.

DUMDUMSHREKPOP!

It's the little things.

2011-07-06T16:12:00.002-05:00

Welcome, loyal S&P-brains!

I sure hope a fun and festive Fourth of July weekend was had by all. I know we had a marvelous time here at the S&P.

One thing I've always loved about July 4th is that it's only three days out from my birthday.

As a kid, this was a real boost. Everyone was together enjoying family fun and when it had to end, I'd just think that's okay, in a few days I'm going to celebrate all over again! and any sadness about wrapping up Independence Day was gone.

So... tomorrow's the big day.

But last night my lovely V and Kiara and the family put together a very nice evening of food and fun that I was not at all expecting.

They even pulled out the Hallowe'en decor just for the occasion, right in the middle of Summer.

So... d'you think these people know me?

Two of my favorite tablecloths.

My nephew, the famous Mr. Jack, picked this other Jack to be my drink goblet all night.

The same Mr. Jack also put this pirate skull together for a beautifully

buccaneerin' centerpiece.

I have to admit, though, my favorite thing all night had to be

this truly unique pumpkin cake made mostly by hand

mostly by my granddaughter Kiara!

No, I did not make her put 43 candles on it.

But look at this thing:

Atop the cake is an iced marshmallow stem, and the surrounding images

are a bat (upper side) and the pumpkin's jack o'lantern face at the bottom (he has

very purpley-black rouge cheeks, don't you know?). It was a bundt cake, so

she filled the center with a mix of icing, mini marshmallows and graham

crackers... delicious!

Pirate skull, Kiara and a spoooooky pumpkin-faced cousin o'mine await the

carving of the Great Pumpkin Cake.

I really am a lucky fellow. To be surrounded by loving family and friends who know and understand my love for Hallowe'en is fortunate enough; to have them share that love is a true blessing.

Hallowe'en in July. Just one of the perks (and quirks) of living the life I live.

I just wish it didn't have to be so humid and hot.

DDSPerspiration!

2011-07-04T02:56:00.002-05:00

Happy Independence Day.

Midsummer.

2011-07-02T15:11:00.002-05:00

Ah, July.

The hot, heady month at the heart of the season.

Full of sweat, sand, sandals, flips and tops, dips, dives, dogs, beer, burgers, barbecues, and all that other alliterative stuff we all hold near and dear when Summer is in full swing.

Oh, and fireworks. Gotta have fireworks.

Amen.

July is the month when Americans become a little more American, our thoughts a little fuller of apple pie, baseball (well, some of you anyway) and all the other icons of our national identity.

You think those don't look right? Unpatriotic? Hey, NO holiday is more American than Hallowe'en.

"You're darn tootin'!", says Other Skeletal Uncle Sam Picture.

A new month brings a few new tunes to the ol' jukebox, as always.

Now, Summer is Summer is Summer, and many of June's summery tunes are going to remain in the player for the duration. Nothing wrong there.

I had to add a few slightly more July-ish, patrioticky tunes.

First, one must agree that America's Heartland seems to constantly express it's love for all things American, and in my home state of Missouri, there's a little burgh that epitomizes the small town America we all wish we could have spent our growing years.

In this town, they create musicals about the greatness of small town America.

Let's hear it for Blaine, Missouri and the Overture to their sesquicentennial masterpiece Red, White & Blaine!

Nothing says 'America' more to me than Blaine!

Of course, not all of Summer is holiday panic.

Sometimes, especially in the Hot Times, you gotta cool off.

Be cool.

Joe Cool. A bit more Vince Guaraldi Peanuts magic is always welcome here. Just for a rest before we head back to Blaine again for their patriotic Blaine Panthers Fight Song!

Lastly, we have another Fanfare from our beloved Mad Monster Party (1967) soundtrack, chosen because it's what's playing right as the island... wait, have you seen it yet? I don't want to spoil anything!

Just know that this music is perfect for firework-ey explosions!

So.

July is Summer, which is Party Time, which is so perfectly America.

Enjoy your holiday weekend, everyone.

And enjoy the season... because it won't last.

Fall is only sleeping.

DDSPop!

A bow to a master.

2011-06-26T14:34:00.001-05:00

Hello, S&Pers.

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend and your Summer so far.

Things are keeping your humble pubkeep quite busy, but I had to make time today for a celebration of one of the most pioneering, legendary makeup and effects masters in the history of television and cinema.

Folks, raise your glasses -- a birthday toast to the one and only

Dick Smith!

Dick is celebrating his 88th birthday today!

Wait, you're not asking 'Dick who?', are you?

This is the man who brought the world such incredible characters, such memorable faces, as:

Dustin Hoffman's Little Big Man (1970)

Max Von Sydow as Father Merrin, and

Linda Blair as Regan, and

Eileen Dietz as Pazuzu/Captain Howdy in The Exorcist (1973)

The incredible Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone, and

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972)

Robert DeNiro's insane Travis Bickle, the Taxi Driver (1976)

Scads of gory ghosts in Ghost Story (1981)

Oscar-winning makeup sessions for Oscar-winning actor F. Murray Abraham, as

aging composer Antonio Salieri in the brilliant Amadeus (1984)

Oh, we could go on for days .

He did so much to advance the art of film, television and stage makeup and effects in his long career, not only earning Oscars, Emmys, Saturns and other awards but influencing an entire industry with innovative techniques, new ideas and time-tested methods.

He also advanced the awareness of and enthusiasm for special effects and makeup for kids and young adults in a series of handbooks and makeup products in the '60s and '70s.

I believe I've already told you the story of my history with this revolutionary

magazine. This little '60s tome may have single-handedly created all the

major makeup artists working in the industry since the '70s. No joke.

In the '70s, Smith's line of do-it-yourself makeup kits inspired and excited

every monster and horror geek in Monster Horror Geekdom, and provided

effects and results that had previously been unobtainable to Hallowe'en Kids.

A treasure trove.

The genius of Dick Smith. But for you, so much that makes our Hallowe'en special would be gone. You created monsters and mad men, helped us create them too, and then taught and inspired the makeup masters who gave us so many more monsters and mad men, and aliens, and demons, and...

Again, raise a glass, everyone --

Happy birthday, Mr. Smith!

DUMDUMSHREKPOP!

Our Second Hallowe'eniversary!

2011-06-21T02:40:00.001-05:00

Oh it's time for some joy!

A happy birthday to my little sister Betsy, of course.

And a happy Summer Solstice to you all.

But mostly...

It's high time for a celebration!

Well, loyal S&Pers, it's hard for me to get my brain around the fact, but something

remarkable has happened.

As of today, this little Skull & Pumpkin pub is

TWO YEARS OLD!

Free drinks all around!

Yes, two years ago I thought I'd try my hand at this blogging thing, and carve out a little place for my own silliness in the online Hallowe'en and haunting community, and I simply cannot believe I not only did it and kept it up, but that we're now celebrating two years of S&P goodness!

I have been so gratified and humbled to have made so many new friends because of our li'l pub, and you've stuck around even though you know very well how much permanent damage all the Hallowe'en madness can inflict...

Even as monstrous as some of you may be, you are all the real jewels of this place, and I thank each of you from the bottom of my Hallowe'en Lovin' heart.

As a small token of appreciation, I have given the ol' place a minor clean-up, removing some old imagery and replacing it with... well, with more old imagery, but a little more personal and special to me. Look around, click what's new. See where it takes you.

I have also added a few little gems of spooky, old school Hallowe'en joy to the ol' radio we have been enjoying for so long now.

First, a mid-70s LP version of what has to be a favorite of any Hallowe'en fan: Ginny Tyler as Witch Hazel in Disney's cartoon classic Trick Or Treat!

Then, a creepy little tale about the passing of years and the growth of twisted roots and branches -- a 1941 offering from the popular series Dark Fantasy aptly titled The Demon Tree...

So wow.

Two years since I found the pluck to scribble my very first post.

Two years of twisted growing, delighted exploring, nostalgic recalling, excited traveling, stupid joking, philosophically waxing and most importantly, friend making.

I never follow through on things so it's damn near a miracle.

And while things have been busier and a little less focused this year, I still plan on continuing to bring all of you loyal S&Pbrains the fun, freaky and festive offerings you have come to expect from this humble house.

There's still so much to celebrate.

A toast, to two years, to another trip around the Sun celebrating the dark beauty of the Moon.

Come on... say it, shout it with me...

DUMDUMSHREKPOP!!!

Worship.

2011-06-15T02:52:00.002-05:00

Hey, everyone, sorry for being absent lately.

So much life has been happening and I have a lot of things to do, and I've really missed the old place, and all of you.

I hope to get back to a little more regular posting soon but I did wish to pass along this incredible image, so perfect for all of us here...

I cannot find an artist's name nor the background of this piece, so if anyone can help me find that information I'd be eternally grateful -- not only to credit the source but to be able to contact the artist and pick his or her mind about this remarkable work!

UPDATE 6/17: Loyal S&Per 'Anonymous' (there are many of them!) informs me that this is the work of one Radojavor on DeviantART. The piece is called Pumpkins (of course!) and can be seen at Radojavor's DeviantART page along with his other incredible work. This one was done in Photoshop on a Wacomm tablet. Radojavor, you absolutely KILL it when it comes to Autumn scenery. Every one of our patrons needs to go see his stuff now!

But the instant I saw it I knew I had to procure a print to adorn the walls of the S&P.

Just look at it fertheluva All Hallow's! A magnificent piece.

It's us, isn't it? A symbolical adoration of the fiery spirit at the core of our Hallowe'en Lovin' lifestyle, right?

We kneel, bow, praise and delight in the Great Pumpkin, the Giant Scarecrow, the grinning, glowing, gigantic jack o'lantern at the very heart of our collective worship of Hallowe'en... because all of it is what we create and celebrate and carry on for ourselves, our families and friends, our children and grandchildren.

Here's to Radojavor's work of obvious love and talent, and to the true fire of we Autumn People, and to doing all we can to keep it alive for generations to come.

Here's to our Hallowe'en spirit.

DUMDUMSHREKPOP!