The Horrors Of It All Lyric Challenge Contest

If you are here because you're a reader of my friend Karswell's kickass blog The Horrors of It All (and if you aren't a reader yet, whyever not? Do you know what you're missing out on?) and you're interested in the photography part of the Lyric Challenge Contest prizes, welcome!

Winners will receive an 8 by 10 (how many for each prize to be determined) of the photo of their choice, within my discretion, of anything I've posted to my Flickr photostream or this blog.

Some suggested spooky choices from AEAE are here and some from Flickr are here.

If the winner chooses a Holga or other square print, size will be determined after checking to see if it's even possible to ship a 10 by 10 print flat. :)

Thanks for coming by and best of luck with those lyrics.

Bunnies

Dublin, Ohio

Manheim Steamroller - Carol of the Bells

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Well, this is it. The big day! It's hard to believe this Halloween month is already almost over, and yet I can't wait until I can post a picture of anything I want ... :)

If you go to my Flickr site, You'll see this photo of a very well-known family crypt in Green Lawn Cemetery; it's not only the largest private crypt in Columbus, not only the resting place of a rich and prominent Columbus family, but also ... it's supposedly haunted!

From Andy Henderson at Forgotten Ohio (that link will take you to a page devoted to this crypt) "They say that, if you knock on the mausoleum's door, the spirits will respond with a knock of their own--and, if they're particularly active, a more substantial manifestation."

Well, neither my friend Susan nor I knocked. We didn't need to; for the first time I've ever seen, the inner door beyond the gates was ajar! I don't know why, but I don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I DO, however, most certainly look a gift mausoleum in the door. Or, uh, something.

So here it is, the interior (or part of it, anyway) of the Hayden Mausoleum:



As you can tell, I'm pretty excited about finally getting a decent peek inside.

And now for the musical portion of our program, what else for today but
the Citizens of Halloween with "This Is Halloween."

And here's the video of it, because it just doesn't get any better than this.



Finally, here is my Halloween "Mix" for 2007 - really, it's just every song I've posted this month, plus a few extra goodies thrown in.

Dane's Halloween Mix 2007

Thanks for all the fun this month, everyone - I enjoyed every post I read, every comment I read, every song I downloaded ... I appreciate both my visitors and my fellow bloggers.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Pearls

Green Lawn Cemetery
Columbus, Ohio

Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party
The Simpsons - Halloween Special Theme

Her Eyes Seem To Follow You

Green Lawn Cemetery
Columbus, Ohio

Thanks for the heads up on this one, Susan.

Voltaire - Cannibal Buffet
Like Jonathan Coulton, whose songs I posted last week, this guy sings songs from the intersection of horror and humor. This one, about a poor guy who washed up after a shipwreck on an island full of cannibals, is ridiculously catchy; I haven't been able to get it out of my head for two weeks.

...if you're wondering what's eating me
it's cannibals on the coast of Barbary...

Ok, so a few days ago, I posted the updated blog roll for the Halloween-a-thon. Well, having swiped it whole from Todd at Neato CoolGhoulville, I therefore used a list that didn't include him.
So I'm linking & plugging his site here.

Go see Todd. For reals. Everyday he seems to uncover a forgotten and happy part of my childhood. Maybe yours too.

Finally Inside the Locked Mausoleum!

Amaranth Abbey
Columbus, Ohio

Phantom Planet - The Living Dead
Atlanta Rhythm Section - Spooky

Consort

Oak Grove Cemetery
Delaware, Ohio

I know, I know, but they were all so gorgeous, how can I choose? "Consort of" - that seems so judgemental, and yet she died "a saint." What did this poor woman go through?

FYI, this Halloween thing won't only be pictures from this cemetery! I'll post videos here and there too, as we get closer to the big day.

Continuing the Jonathan Coulton kick, here's "Creepy Doll."
Jonathan Coulton - Creepy Doll

Weeping Willow

Oak Grove Cemetery
Delaware, Ohio

These very old stones, from the 1700s/early 1800s, with the folk art and the weeping willows (I really like this highly stylized one), always put me in mind of Halloween. It's a link to the old graves of the colonial era (and the following early years of the country), the time period of Washington Irving and his fictional Ichabod Crane.

Speaking of very old stories and legends, there's the story of Marie Laveau, a Voodoo queen of old New Orleans, which at the very least, makes for interesting reading.

And interesting listening: here, Dr. John sings about her.

As long as we're on the subject, here's one I really like - Redbone's Witch Queen of New Orleans. One of the things I like about it is that you just don't hear the word gris-gris often enough, let alone in Top 40 songs.

It's Curtains

Ohio Theater
Columbus, Ohio

While I was up there on the second floor shooting away during a recent Flickrmeet, I kept attempting to get this right. The rest of the grand old theater looked beautifully and primly Victorian, but this curtained second floor area with nothing but darkness behind, looked like Dracula was going to glide forth any moment. (I know Dracula's of the Victorian era too, but ... oh, you know what I mean. There's prim, shiny Victorian, and there's dark, creepy Victorian.)

Oh and sorry about the punny title.

The following are tracks from the soundtrack to a computer game; American McGee's Alice, a creepy, dark take on Alice In Wonderland. The score is done by Chris Vrenna, and can also be bought through Amazon.

Village of the Doomed
The Funhouse
Time to Die

Ruins

Griggs Reservoir Park
Columbus, Ohio

Donovan - Season of the Witch
Possibly my favorite song that could be called a Halloween song. It's gentle and mysterious and the very soul of autumn.

Graveyard, Old School. Real Old School.

Oak Grove Cemetery
pioneer section
Delaware, Ohio

The Revels - Midnight Stroll

Over at the Drunken Severed Head, Max was kind enough to give me a shoutout here, and one I couldn't be happier with. He said, "Here are two more TDSH quality-tested and approved sites: Branded in the 80s (no, it's not about elderly folks into S & M body modification; it's a cool pop culture blog), and All Eyes and Ears. (Sounds like a supply source for mad scientists, but it's actually an attractive photography and music blog.)"

Not only is "an attractive photography and music blog" a very nice compliment, but I like the supply source bit too. Thanks, Max!

I love this group Halloween blogging thing. Every year, I find more fun blogs to enjoy.

Pic, Music, Videos - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Abandoned caretaker's house
Woodlawn Cemetery
Zanesville, Ohio

Download a zip of every song I've uploaded this month right here, here, & here (Three separate zip files).

The Abominable Dr. Phibes Movie Trailer

The trailer for one of my favorite horror movies. Enjoy the old school gore!

Dawn Of The Dead Trailer

WARNING: EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF VERY OBVIOUSLY FAKE GORE.

This is my favorite of Romero's zombie movies, and not for any of the reasons people usually mention about it being an allegory of consumer culture.

No, personally, I would love to live in a mall. In fact, one thing I love about the movie is that it's surprisingly warm-hearted toward its protagonists and optimistic about humanity's ability to both adapt to any situation and forge familial bonds from disparate groups. Living in the mall is part of that -- the four heroes enter that mall panicking and helpless, but some time later, they've adapted the mall offices into a cozy three bedroom apartment and have bonded as a family. They use every inch of that mall's space as creatively and cleverly as they can. They never stop training or planning, and they never give up.

All this, good writing, and some damn fine gore, sometimes even delivered with humor. What more do you want?