Paul Laurence Dunbar

The grave of poet Paul Laurence Dunbar
Dayton, Ohio

The Zombies - This Will Be Our Year

Gypsy Queen

Marion, Ohio

Jumpin' Gene Simmons - Haunted House

The Five Jones Boys - Mr. Ghost Goes To Town

Vincent Price - How To See Ghosts Or Surely Bring Them To You

John Buzon Trio - Mr. Ghost Goes To Town

The Five Jones Boys version is a scratchy old doo wop tune; the Buzon Trio's is a bossa nova instrumental. It is also an earworm.

Come On Over and Set a Spell!

Looks comfy, huh?

Wooster Cemetery

Voltaire is a very funny man, and if you like Jonathan Coulton's twisted sense of humor, you'll like these too.

Voltaire - Cannibal Buffet

Voltaire - When You're Evil

The Rich,

The poor, the haughty die
And all in dust without distinction lie

Green Lawn Cemetery
Columbus, Ohio


And now a few new favorites from various Halloween-a-thon participants:
Judy Garland - Purple People Eater
Dorsey Brothers Orchestra - My Friend The Ghost
The Five Jones Boys - Mr. Ghost Goes To Town

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.

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 Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me

Ok, I know how inappropriate this is, but this angel ... much like this guy, he seems to be trying to seduce somebody.

I'm at a loss to understand how the sculptor didn't look at this and think "Hmm. Maybe not."

Oak Grove Cemetery
Delaware, Ohio

Barry White - You're the First, the Last, My Everything

Thy Will Be Done

Enterprise, Ohio

Jelly Roll Morton - Dead Man Blues

Well, This Certainly Changes Everything

Greenwood Cemetery
Zanesville, Ohio

Tom Waits - Way Down in the Hole

Pic - Angel

Angel on a grave
Huntsville Cemetery
Huntsville, Ohio

Pic - A Captain's Grave

Stage Stand Cemetery
Homosassa, Florida

Pic - Florida gravesite

Stage Pond Cemetery
Homosassa, Florida

Pic - Annie Oakley & Her Husband Frank Butler

Brock Cemetery
A few miles north of Greenville, Ohio

Pic - St. Joseph Cemetery

St. Joseph Cemetery
Columbus, Ohio