Happy Halloween 2015!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The night is still
And the frost, it bites my face
I wear my silence like a mask
And murmur like a ghost

"Trick or treat"
"Trick or treat"
The bitter and the sweet

The carefree days are distant now
I wear my memories like a shroud
I try to speak, but words collapse
Echoing, echoing

"Trick or treat"
"Trick or treat"
The bitter and the sweet

I wander through your sadness
Gazing at you with scorpion eyes
Halloween... Halloween

A sweet reminder in the ice-blue nursery
Of a childish murder, of hidden lustre
And she cries

"Trick or treat"
"Trick or treat"
The bitter and the sweet

I wander through your sadness
Gazing at you with scorpion eyes
Halloween... Halloween

http://juliettebates.com/
http://siouxsieandthebanshees.co.uk/

Vintage Halloween Costumes

1937

1947

1957

1967

1977

Ghosts

Victorian Ghost Photography

In the mid-1800s, Spirit Photography became the rage. Mediums and Spiritists employed a method of double exposing negatives (a process unknown to the public since photography was still a rather new medium) in order to convince people that they were being contacted and visited by the spirits of loved ones. It is easy to see that many people believed in this (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a huge believer) but it's also easy to see that some indulged in this practice with their tongue in their cheek. And some photos, as you can see, were absolutely staged, no doubt as a kind of "business card" for the medium and photographer.

Bat Books

Vintage Halloween Cards and Graphics

BEAUTY: Illustration for Halloween--Mike Koubou

For Halloween, here are the fun hipster skeletons and skulls of illustrator Mike Koubou.

http://society6.com/mikekoubou

'fō

I am absolutely entranced by the darkly beautiful music of 'fō (Josh Cooke). His debut release comes out in a few weeks, on November 10, 2015. Take a listen to these songs from his eponymously titled album and marvel at not only his smooth voice but at the mysterious, chilling music itself. At first, all seems innocent but soon the familiar guitar sound gives way to skittering strings, and a mournful, lamenting bass. A folksy sense morphs into deeper, more somber layers of meaning.

The official video for "North" contains enigmatic images that perfectly support the eerie disquiet.

And here is the arresting, spooky "Sleep."

I can't wait until the 10th when I can hear the entire release.

http://www.hereliesfo.com/

UPDATE: 11/24/15 I have reviewed 'fō's entire album. Follow the link below.
http://ohbythewayblog.blogspot.com/2015/11/fo-by-fo.html

Time For Skulls and Bones

Adorable Fruit Bats

For Halloween...these fruit bats are so sweet...

And this hungry little one is stuffing grapes in its mouth like a hamster!

What a little sweetie!

Halloween Is Coming...

BEAUTY: Painting--Thierry Feuz

The work of Thierry Feuz looks like photographs of botanical studies or images of microscopic slides from pond water with little protozoa and plant life wriggling around. But these images are imbued with a kaleidoscopic sense with fluorescent and neon colors!

Top to bottom: Amazona; Caprice; Meteor; Over The Rainbow; Psycho-Tropical; Thierry Feuz with his work

http://www.thierryfeuz.com/