I found this original pen and ink drawing at a garage sale over the summer. No context other than I believe it's an illustration for a newspaper, specifically, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I have no idea what's going on here. I probably don't want to know. The stains add a level of disturbance.
I say "Post-Dispatch" because that appears to be stamped (partially) on the back:
It's anyone's guess what article the drawing appeared with, but obviously something gruesome. In the drawing, we see what appears to be a shadow, but with attributes of being solid, appearing both in front of and behind the girl. He wears a "paddy cap", indicating he's a criminal. It reminds me of the 1980's "The New Twilight Zone" episode, "The Shadow Man", one of the better episodes of that iteration written by one of the better writers for the show, Rockne S. O'Bannon.
It also reminds me of the more recent "Hat Man" phenomena.
I think I'll use it as decoration on my mantle for this Halloween.
wow, this is really a great piece. i'm trying to figure out if it's physically possible to hold your left arm and hand that way. seem painfully contorted when i try to do it, but i'm not a young girl. creepy!
ReplyDeleteYes, it is an unnatural pose, and don't even ask about The Shadow's hands.
Deletehaha, yeah -- there's definitely something unnatural happening both physically and position-in-space-wise with that shadowy menace.
DeleteThat's a creepy one alright.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has suffered from sleep paralysis and encountered spooky Shadow people, this is suitably terrifying!
ReplyDeleteSweet dreams, Deadpan.
DeleteTerror caught in an illustration. Good save by you. And now it is being seen the world over!
ReplyDeleteI always think about that how the people that created some of the things I show on here never could have imagined hundreds (okay, maybe dozens) of people would see it one day worldwide.
DeleteIt has a 1950s vibe to me. Those hands on the shadow are awfully nonhuman and creepy. I'm trying to fathom what this might have been used for: A piece of fiction that ran in the newspaper? An article about the dangers of leaving your children unattended? Radio serials were still big then, and a lot of them were based around lurid crimes. So maybe it was an article about radio serials. Either way you cut it, I think this would have been aimed at parents; too terrifying for kiddies.
ReplyDeleteAll possibilities Chris, and ones I didn't consider. It would be a tedious task, but perusing the backlog of St. Louis Post-Dispatch on newspapers.com could someday solve the mystery.
DeleteGreat atmosphere and composition! I was thinking of the song Shadow Man by David Bowie.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't familiar with that song, but checked it out. If you take some of the lyrics straight, it can sound ominous. :)
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