Haunting Homes

Happy Mid-Ween, also known as noon on Halloween.

I thought I'd share some home haunts I came across this year while out garage and estate saling.  It was actually pretty scant this year, I was surprised.  So not a lot of photos, but some fun ones.  Some of these aren't very clear as I had to take the photo from the street.  I didn't want to just walk up on someone's lawn or to their porch.

Hello Nurse! Happy Halloween!

Well, that went quick.  The big day is here.  Welcome to Halloween all!  Here in the midwest, we've been experiencing an Indian Summer with temperatures in the low 80's.  Not very Halloween-like, but it's supposed to cool down with a thunderstorm in the early morning of Halloween.

This photo was among the lot I bought earlier this year from which I've posted a few photos.  I felt pretty fortunate to find a Halloween photo as they're not terribly common, especially in this size (8" x 10"). The original owner of the photos was a nurse beginning in the 1920's.  The back of this photo is labeled "Nurse's Halloween Party Chicago".

Monster Rally

I found this book over the summer. The "Chas Addams" name was enough to catch my attention, even if it didn't already have me at "Monster".

Zither Magic

I'll admit, I sometimes buy record albums simply for the cover.  Particularly if they evoke something Halloween related.  This album fits that category.

Cat on the Moon

I'm posting this midday to make up for the missed posting yesterday.

The cat on this diecut is perched upon the nose of the moon who doesn't seem to mind.

It's made by Beistle and given it's heavy embossing, guess that it dates no later than the 1940's.

It's actually a swipe of a German design from the 1930's:

Image courtesy of eBay

If an Invisible Weeble Falls Down, Would You Know?

Way back in 2017, I showcased one of my childhood grails, the Weebles Haunted House.  But, there is an even rarer Weeble grail I was only made of aware of in recent years.  It was a promotion with 3M Scotch "Magic Tape" in the 1970's.  You might remember the Magic tape spokesman, The Invisible Man, from the commercials.

At an estate sale this past summer, I was in a crowded basement, both with items and people.  While I was breezing by for a fast pass seeing if anything jumped out, my daughter was digging through a box of small craft items.  She suddenly pulled out a Weeble, but not just any Weeble, an Invisible Man Weeble.

Scratch Cat Fever

While today's die cut isn't as vintage as some I've posted here this season, it is, to me, definitive Halloween.  This classic Beistle Scratch Cat is the one I remember hanging on our classroom wall in Elementary School in the 1970's.  I love its vibrant green outline, its wild eyes, and its polished(?) nails.  Its hackles are raised, its tail in full bushy mode, its teeth ready to bite.

As soon as the teacher brought out this die cut and hung it up, it was "go time" in my mind.  Halloween was almost here and it was hard concentrating on anything in the classroom. Staring at this die cut occupied the time I should have been focusing on the lesson at hand on the chalk board.  I'm not sure if the teacher ever figured that out, but she left the die cut up throughout the season.