Baba Yaga

Amazing work from scarecrow_atelier.  Feels like another world.  Truly terrifying.

Click here for the gallery.

And click here for his IG.

Elysburg Haunted House

"I don't mind skulls and bones," said Marie. "There's nothing even vaguely human to them.  I'm not scared of skulls and bones. They're like something insectile.  If a child was raised and didn't know he had a skeleton in him, he wouldn't think anything of bones, would he? That's how it is with me. Everything human has been scraped off these.  There's nothing familiar left to be horrible.  In order for a thing to be horrible it has to suffer a change you can recognize.  This isn't changed. They're still skeletons, like they always were.  The part that changed is gone, and so there's nothing to show for it. Isn't that interesting?"

- The Next in Line, Ray Bradbury

Image source.

It's Coming

Images by ChrisTChampagne.

No Trespassing

But had they lived very, very long lives, they could not have expected nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day. For them an idyllic summer afternoon drive became a nightmare. The events of that day were to lead to the discovery of one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

Image by Meridith Jill.

Bleak

Reaper

An old (true) story that inspired a prop...

Giving out candy on Halloween night for as long as I've been doing it has made me something of an observer.  I get to study how adults and children act when approaching my Haunt. If they're the type to pause and appreciate everything, or the sort that rushes up and away without hesitation and without looking back. There are the people that kneel down and study props, tapping lightly at the mache.  And the ones that get brushed with threads hanging down from the porch or trellis like thin spider webs and scream and run off before getting candy.  There are parents that get frustrated with their children who clearly are too terrified to walk onto the porch for candy.  And parents who love to sit back and watch their children slowly approaching the Haunt, with huge proud smiles.

Back when I gave out candy at my parents' house in the old neighborhood, I saw children grow up - going from trick-or-treater to parent.  That was the most peculiar feeling.  I'd see a young man carrying his own child, and I remembered when he was too scared to come up for candy. Crazy.

Then there was something else - Death.  There was a cloaked figure that walked slowly around the neighborhood.  A black hooded cloak, the deluxe variety, and a rubber skull mask.  I'm assuming it was an adult male based on the height and build.  I'm not exaggerating or embellishing in any way - I saw him every single year and had seen him for as far back as I could remember.  I don't know if it was the same guy or maybe a few guys over the years.  But there was always just the one lonely figure, keeping to himself and not stopping at houses for candy.  He was in character too, with a strange slow walk, like a one-man funeral procession.

It's a neat concept, an adult who never gave up on Halloween.  Keeps a cloak and a mask in a drawer or closet all year long. On Halloween night, he leaves work early, has dinner, puts a bowl of candy out on the porch with a "Help Yourself" sign, and then dons a rich dark cloak and an old, tattered latex mask, the kind that smells like new sneakers.  I bet he was smiling under there the whole time.

Or maybe it really was Death.

Southwalk Ritual 2024

One of the most unique Haunts out there.  And click the 'southwalk ritual' hashtag to see previous years.

More images here.

HAXAN Leftovers

Up o'er the hill and broken wall

There stole a weird form, bent but tall;

And softly through our unlatched door

She crept unbidden, and before

The hearth-fire crouching, gazed upon us all.

- George Houghton 

Poem here.

The Haunt Next Door

One of my favorite accounts on Instagram.  Devoted solely to featuring the haunts of others.  Haunts of every variety.  The stuff we grew up seeing... simple ones, extravagant ones.  

More images here.

Trick R' Terror

More images here.

Noir Dark Spirits

Back in February 2023 I blogged about a Scranton, Pennsylvania bar/restaurant called Noir Dark Spirits.  The gothic atmosphere looked to be off the charts.  Since that blog post, Noir moved to a new and larger location.  On Saturday we took a road trip to see if something called Noir Dark Spirits could live up to all the expectations we placed upon it.

It did.

Located in the old lobby area of the historic Ritz movie theater, the bar appeared to be one of those places you'd see in a movie or an old 90's series about vampires - one of those places you'd wish were a real thing.  A real gothic vampire bar.  Something with gloomy red lighting and long dark shadows wherever you looked.  There were alcove booths along the wall, each table with a metal plaque in the center listing one of the seven deadly sins (our table was Pride). 

We ordered our first round of drinks:  The Emperor for me (their version of an Old Fashioned [with a flaming sugar cube]) and for Jenna - The Confessional.  The friendly server informed her that the drink would be served in a small black confessional box.  Upon its arrival, we were told, Jenna would have to confess a sin.  The cocktail arrived in a tiny gothic church-shaped box, glowing red from an LED tea light.  The beautiful drink was bubbling with the help of some dry ice.  The presentation was flawless and hilarious.  

A sin was confessed.

We ordered some more drinks and some eats:  the Devil's Board (a really tasty charcuterie board) and the Phlebotomist Dough Injections (dough skulls stuffed with three cheeses and served with syringes poked through the eyes...syringes filled with marinara diavlo).  The second round of drinks arrived, and you could spot Jenna's from across the bar.  Called The Re-Animator, it was glowing green from a tiny glowstick hoop and bubbling frantically like a potion Grandpa Munster would make Herman drink.  

For dessert - a delicious raspberry cheesecake skull, with a thick outer layer of hardened white chocolate.  It came with a metal mallet...  so you can bash your dessert's head in.  

Despite the theatricality of the cocktails and food, they were actually quite good.  Everything was.  I think I was a little worried it would be style over substance in there.  Every aspect of our visit was a blast, and the best way I could describe it would be that it's like having the option to attend a really hip Halloween party literally whenever you chose to do so.  The mood, the atmosphere, and especially the music, make Noir Dark Spirits a really special place.  We wish it were closer than a couple hours away, but I have a feeling we'll be having this particular Halloween bash about two or three times a year.  It really was that good.

Below are some photos Jenna took, and definitely CLICK HERE to see some more images and a couple of neat videos over at her Instagram.

Click here for their website.