Spooky Tales

Some spooky (and not so spooky) books I've picked up over the past year.

Carnival of Treats

My wife made this brownie diorama with cake toppers I've found over the years.  It's another tribute to Ray Bradbury.  This time it's "Dark's Pandemonium Carnival" from "Something Wicked This Way Comes".

Fun and Games

Milton Bradley's Which Witch? (1970) was my favorite game when I was a kid.  It was destroyed and thrown away years ago.  I found this one at a garage sale a while back for 75 cents.

Halloween Will Soon Be Leaving

Nobody likes raking leaves (unless you get to jump in them, but then you have to rake them up again!).  But at least these bags make them look fun.

I don't think they're old at all, but I liked the graphics.  Picked up for 10 cents at a garage sale a couple weeks ago.

Looking at the Past through Gauze Filters

I found these masks in a grocery bag among other Halloween masks and items at an estate sale this past year.  I believe the whole bag cost $5 and I was surprised to find 1920's/30's vintage paper and gauze masks inside.  But not as surprised as I was by one of the masks I found among them.  I admit I struggled with my decision to blog about it.

Normally, I like to keep this blog lighthearted.  If anyone is guilty of glamorizing the past and looking past its shortcomings and sometimes outright horrors, it's me, but I've also never been one to ignore or censure these things.  I'm neither praising nor bashing the past here.  I think there are a lot of good things about the past years that we've lost.  But the years gone by are just like any others -- there were good times and there were bad; and there were good aspects and there were bad.  But let's get to the masks and hopefully my babbling will eventually make some sense.

The first mask is made of paper.  It's hand-painted and was made in Czechoslavakia. 

Halloween Life 1960

I found this issue of Life magazine at the library a couple years ago. They were having a big periodicals clearance and I couldn't pass up this Halloween issue from 1960.

Spook the Halls with Bowels of Ghoulies

Due to overwhelming demand (okay, one person asked), I present this year's haunt at my house.