Spider

Weekly while Things 1 and 2 are playing chess, Thing 3 and I read to one another in the library. She noticed the first week that directly behind our chair, just outside the window, was a spider.

These aren't new to me and I've seen bigger, but we did make a discovery last time. When I was a kid we called these garter spiders or writing spiders, and we pretended we knew it was just nonsense when other kids teased that if they wrote your name in the web, you would soon die. Thing 1 (ever the biologist) confirmed for me that it is properly called an "Orb Weaver." I did not really question the "orb" part of the name. Thing 3 and I went outside the library for a better look though, and soon discovered...

Yeah the "orbs" are egg sacs. Our neighborly arachnid is about to hatch thousands of eight-legged horror demons onto the window. Those are nearly the size of ping-pong balls.

Hoping not to see our names written in that garter, and watching her do that vibrate-y keep-the-heck-away thing, we left off.

Thing 3 plucked a dead bluejay while I snapped these but dang if I got pix or video of that.

1974

Here's six panels of a comic (Phantom Stranger #30) that stuck with me in more vivid detail than was actually on the paper. Memory is tricky, and the farther back you go the more unreliable it is...

The Patch is Gone

Where we used to go for pumpkins -- acres of them -- is all corn now.

The Convert by E. Puchades

Here's a few potato-quality photos of some pages (not all) from a memorable short story in Monster Hunters #16 by Charlton Comics in October 1978. You can see a better cover at https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=200801 . One thing conspicuously missing from a lot of old comics is credits! But thankfully we live in the future now so I found out the artist's name is E. Puchades.

Print quality was not always optimal for comics in the 70s, especially if they weren't Marvel or DC. That made it even easier for young and undiscerning eyes to miss the qualities of Puchades. Sketchy styles were done but they weren't exactly popular yet (and wouldn't be until Sienkiewicz's work in the mid 80s, which might sound like a short time away but was truly still an age away, from this consumer's perspective).

Puchades did not feel confined to filling a bunch of rectangles. The work spills from panel to panel in places, giving it depth that helps to immerse readers into the dark atmosphere. Nor did he strictly adhere to a single drawing style, changing it up in some panels. And though the story is remarkably short and simple, it seems like he devoted a notably consistent form to the two characters.

If you dig "old" horror comics (it's only 39 and by no stretch a pre-censorship relic), shell out the $ and order this one to see the other pages. There are two other stories in it as well, including the very inspirational Kilgore Monster.

Back to the Old Drawing Board

If you remember this you are at least in your mid-forties...

PROPNOMICON

If you aren't already aware of Propnomicon, you really need to get over there and check it out. They showcase only the work of the finest propmakers for LARPs, haunting, and film. There's an emphasis on Lovecraft mythos but there's something there for any fan of horror, fantasy, alt history, sci fi, and gaming.

New Mutants Trailer

In 3 hours (12:01 PST): http://collider.com/new-mutants-trailer-release-date/

What are "the New Mutants," you ask? It ain't a reboot of the X-Men. The supernatural was always more than a recurring theme with this one. And my favorite character will be played by no less than Maisie Williams. Been waiting for this one since 1982.

Update -- youTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=bu9e410C__I

They Come by Night

Every October these pop up in the front yard literally overnight.

Halloween Forever Wallpaper

If you haven't played Halloween Forever yet, you really should. It's on Steam right now for dirt cheap.

1957

This edition of Dracula from Permabooks in 1957 cost only thirty-five cents. There's no introduction, no foreword, no About the Author; just one page of summary before the title and Table of Contents, and the last page of the story is the last page in the book. :)

Wands

Here's a small sample of the wands waiting for our Trick-or-Treaters this year.

The Horror (Relic Radio)

http://www.relicradio.com/otr/show/horror/

If you haven't heard it yet, The Horror at Relic Radio is one of the fastest ways to get you feeling the Haunt Season. 

1935

From Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia, 1935 Edition

Hallowe'en

Strange things may happen to one on Hallowe'en, so superstitious folk used to believe; for they thought that witches then rode abroad on broomsticks, elves played pranks on sober folk, and the future might be foretold by jumping over a lighted candle, or by any one of a hundred other magic rites.

Many of these strange superstitions have come down to us from our pagan ancestors of 2,000 years ago and more, for our Hallowe'en occurs about the time of the ancient Druidic autumn festival. This was also the season of the ancient Roman festival in honor of Pomona, the goddess of fruit and gardens; and so, after the Roman conquest of Gaul and Britain, some of the Roman beliefs and ceremonies were added. Later, after the spread of Christianity, November 1 was made a day for the honoring of all the saints, and the eve of that day was called "Hallowe'en (or "All Hallow-Even"), meaning the "holy eve" of All Saint's Day. Many of the old pagan customs were retained, and so we still crack nuts, and bob for apples, and throw apple peelings over our shoulders, and look in the mirror by candle light in a darkened room, as our pagan ancestors did centuries ago.

(Emphasis mine)

That Face When