Ghost Upon the Floor

 You know you're born this way from a very young age. I can remember being a kid, just in grade school, and checking out the ghost story books in the library. Anxiously awaiting a new episode of "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" on Nickelodeon. And knowing there were things out there far scarier.

 Submitted for the approval of our Midnight Society, tonight I give you the episode of the Nickelodeon show, "Are You Afraid of the Dark?," which ran from 1990-1996 on the children's programming channel in the United States and Canada, that most had its effect on my young subconscious.

 Perhaps no episode had the impression on me that "The Tale of the Manaha" did. Years later, when I saw "The Blair Witch Project" in the theater for the first time with my friends, and was so terrified I couldn't sleep that night at a friend's house at a sleep-over party, I'd remember this episode, and where the fear of what happens when you're lost in the woods first comes from.

 It's a pity that kids today don't have shows anywhere near the like of this one.



YouTube User: ClassicSlime

 And now, for something different. As any reader of my postings here knows, I love Forrest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, NY. Over 269 acres, Forrest  Lawn stands in the heart of my city, a Frederick Law Olmstead designed park begun in the late 1800s. I try to get back there as often as I can, taking my camera through the sprawling hills, towering monuments and simple stones. 


http://www.forest-lawn.com/

Good evening, all. Looking for advice? Normally, I don't like to follow up a video post with another video post, but when I clicked on this animated short gem, I knew the short film was too good not to post right away. The original video was uploaded a few years back, and somehow I missed this until now.

 Without further adieu, I give you... "How to Cope With Death."



YouTube User: kenhaun 

 I decided it was about time I dusted myself off, opened that creaky cobwebby coffin door, and came above ground to post again. My deepest, most sincere apologies for letting the (after) life get in the way of my posting.

 As you can tell here, Season of Shadows is one of my absolute favorite Halloween blogs on the net. I don't know how John finds and collects the content he does-- but I am eternally grateful for him. Tonight, I give you another gem of a short film, with a special thanks to SoS for bringing this to my attention.

 As a cat lover, I hope you enjoy the deliciously spooky short "The Cat with Hands." 



YouTube User: 4mationsTV

 One of my top goals this year is to finally make some of my own large, more elaborate Styrofoam tombstones. I've had it in my mind to incorporate some kind of angel at home in a cemetery into one, and I think I may have just found her at Big Lots among the spring garden statues.

 If you're thinking of picking up this tomb-making hobby in your spare time, here's a beginner's article on the art of the Styrofoam tombstone.

My ultimate tombstone goal is to recreate a version of Terra's from the Halloween Forum "Beloved" Stone. Here's to hoping this new year brings the time to start some of these projects.

Spring Selection

 Happy Birthday, Edgar. Today marks the day when Edgar Allan Poe turns 201 years old. And it appears that the traditional Poe toaster may have followed Lenore.

 Once again, the "Poe toaster," the mysterious man dressed in all black but a white scarf who leaves a half empty bottle of cognac at the visionary's grave, did not make an appearance during this morning's early morning hours. The toaster made these nightly appearances yearly from 1949 until last year, as I blogged at the time.  

 Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe House and Museum in Baltimore, has been quoted as saying "I think he's done." Jerome has been present for Poe toaster watching events since the 1970s. 

 The crowd gathered for last night's no-show included visitors who had made their way from as great distances as France and Russia. The international crowd watched as numerous "faux toasters" attempted to take the place of the traditional visitor, something Jerome stops from happening by keeping certain details of the toasters' visit secret. Makes one wonder as to the value of keeping the tradition going versus preserving the event's purity, and how to keep all the masses from becoming the toaster.

 I will say that I hope the tradition of the Poe toaster watches continue, if only for the selfish reason that I someday hope to be in Baltimore's graveyard in the middle of the night on January the 19th.

Image: user: rainbow532 on Fanpop.com.

This week, I was fortunate enough to stop by an open cemetery on a very heavy, snowy evening. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me. But we did manage to take some interesting shots with camera phones... and found more than one orb floating around the graveyard, as you can see in my gallery.

In this very much older cemetery, there is a large house by the gate, inhabited with working lights on, that absolutely belongs in a cemetery. I took a closer picture that sadly did not come out. But you can see it in the background here.


 I so desperately wanted to capture how the mausoleum, pictured here, looked at me from between the trees. I could hear Robert Frost's words. "The only other sound's the sweep/ of easy wind and downy flake/ The woods are lovely, dark and deep."

Stopping By Graves on a Snowy Evening