Shivers of Delight

I never thought I would say this, but some year, I want to go to Detroit for Halloween. Well, more specifically, I want to attend Theatre Bizarre . This is an annual costumed adult event with live performances, a ferris wheel(!), and haunted house. The website makes it look like the ultimate Halloween experience. The "masquerade spectacular" encompasses several properties including eight floors of the Masonic Temple and has five main stages. Five main stages, you read that right. There are 19 performance spaces. The producers of the event bring in live music and circus and burlesque performers. I think I need to swoon onto my fainting couch. This year's event "The Illusionists Ball" is on October 18. If you live anywhere near Detroit you owe it to all of us to attend. Why do these activities only take place in October?

Who thinks this stuff up?! ConcaveOblivion does, that's who. I love them. I also love this mirror compact and the thought of sitting on a subway and pulling this out to check for the piece of smut that fell into my eye. No use for a compact? Well perhaps a ring, hair comb or IPhone case would suit you. The stunning accessories are made from dentures. Not real teeth were harmed in the making of these products.

This summer I read a series of books by John Connolly loosely referred to as the Samuel Johnson series. These easy to read novels are darkly funny and just plain silly.  This is not the story of the eighteenth-century author Samuel Johnson, but of a young awkward boy named Samuel Johnson who with his trusty dachshund, Boswell, stumbles upon the gates of Hell being opened while out trick-or-treating. Samuel spends the next two novels battling what escaped into his small English village and following them into Hell. Along the way, he is joined by a few friendly demons, several drunk and ill-mannered dwarfs, and two bumbling police officers. Interwoven throughout is some information about particle physics, Higgs Boson and the Large Hadron Collider. At times, I laughed aloud. Good stuff. Start with " The Gates " then follow with " The Infernals " and " The Creeps ."

"After a series of grisly Thanksgiving murders,  an assassin is hired by Santa Claus to track down  and kill the mythical Krampus." Last week, I heard about a Kickstarter campaign for a new graphic novel called " Malice and Mistletoe ." It looks promising. It's about time Krampus (Saint Nick's side-kick who takes care of the nasty children) is introduced into the American mainstream. Put the fear of Krampus into them, I say! Even better, the novel deals with the over-commercialism/consumption of Christmas.  The graphic novel is by Nathan Graham Davis and Jack Purcell. Davis is a screenwriter and Purcell has worked for Marvel and DC comics. I'll be contributing to this campaign. I have to see how it ends. Join me! They only have 3 days left.

These hysterically morbid silhouettes would be eye-catching in any well-dressed gothic home.  I just ordered six for myself. They come unframed so that you can choose how you wish to display them. Each Killhouette is only six dollars so there is no need to steal them. (Support artists!) Visit the Killhouettes website, check out the spirit board and then purchase at least two. Make sure you have time to linger because there are so many, it's hard to make a decision.

My assignment to myself this weekend is to re-watch the original version of " The Wicker Man ." After thinking about making a twig effigy for our Halloween bonfire, I can't this movie out of my head. It is so unsettling and disturbing that some have called it the "Citizen Kane" of horror movies. If you haven't seen it, don't watch the remake with Nicholas Cage, you have to watch the 1973 version. The images are fantastic. Check out this cool Wicker Man hand candle I found on Etsy. 

A few years ago I saw a photo of a cemetery covered in lit lanterns. This was my introduction to the celebration of All Saints Day in Poland. Much like the Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico, All Saints Day is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd when it is believed the souls of the dead come back to visit. In Poland, lanterns are lit to guide the dead back and graves are covered in flowers and evergreen branches. In more rural areas, a special bread is baked and vodka is left for the dead to drink. Although celebrated as a Catholic tradition these days, I've read that All Saints Day or All Souls Day has pagan roots in a tradition called Dziady. Dziady was a feast celebrating the dead held in the spring and fall. The photos I've seen are incredibly beautiful. Check out Google images, you'll be in awe. Visit Domitp  to purchase some of these beautiful cemetery lanterns called Znicze.