A Spooky Stupor

Autumn—late afternoon or evening is a delicious time to pull out an old anthology of ghost stories or a supernatural mystery. After dinner, you can read yourself into a spooky stupor where the narrative melts into a dream state and you're not sure if you are awake or asleep as you feel icy fingers caressing your neck.

Delphin Enjolras — early 20th century

Enjolras' favorite subject matter was a woman 

reading or writing by lamplight.

Druids

This time of year seems perfect for Druidic Rituals . . .

Sorry, again I don't know the artist or source

Spiders

Spiders are a part of the traditional Hallowe'en mash-up, and I despise spiders. Yet, I'd pay good money for a steampunk brass spider like this guy (if I had good money)...(which I don't). Steampunk and Hallowe'en seem like a fabulous match.

Sorry, I don't know the source of this creation.

Like Some Forlorn Ghost

The old cemeteries are wonderfully spooky celebrations of peoples' lives — with spacious tombs, sculptures that mourn,  and tombstones that portray the deceased, as here. 

It was spooky to stand in front of this tombstone, knowing that this gentleman's 200-some year old bones were 6 feet under me, even as he glowered like some forlorn ghost.

Changing of the Colors

Let's start the countdown with some Autumnal imagery. 

Frank Godwin (Looking ever-so like Maxfield Parrish)

 1919

The Spooky and Strange

Autumn is my favorite time of year, as it is for many. It's a time of embracing melancholy, a time of acknowledging decay and our own mortalities. It's bitter and it's sweet.

©Thomas Haller Buchanan — Autumn — 2014

This year I was going to refrain from posts about Autumn and Hallowe'en. But with encouragement from my cyber friend Tam B, I've decided to really embrace the theme, as my archives are bursting with eclectic images that demonstrate darkness, death and decay, yet many are sparked with accents of light and love. 

I avoid horror and violence in my collections, but I adore the spooky and strange. Some of my images may not be obvious to the theme, but resonate with me in some way. 

This will be my countdown to Hallowe'en. 

Favorite Kind of Princess

A madcap princess is my favorite kind of princess!

Swell Lookin' Frail

A swell lookin' frail in a semi-Art Deco-esque sort of way...

Edward Mason Eggleston — circa 1933

Queen of the Night

Now THIS looks like a sleepwalker, but it's the Queen of the Night!

Charles Folkard — Queen of the Night — circa 1915

Nocturnal Fantasy

A nocturnal fantasy, this is titled "The Sleepwalker", though it seems she's left walking far behind her . . .

Julius Diez — The Sleepwalker — 1907

Now, THAT's Entertainment!

 circa 1900

Seldom Seen

To be perfectly honest, I'm pretty tired of Monet's lily ponds and such, having seen them a kajillion times in my lifetime. Ah, but this seldom seen beautiful painting strikes a resonant chord with me!

Claude Monet

L'Église de Varengeville; soleil couchant

1882

Sweet Profile

A sweet profile painting, without being saccharin. I love the delicate 'lines' — a style used by a number of artists of this era. 

Paul Rink — 1890s

Arcadian Fantasy

Art Deco illustration makes any scene look like an arcadian fantasy.

George Brandt — 1921

Arcadian Deco

Art Deco Arcadia from just about a hundred years ago...

Thomas Baumgartner — circa 1915

Tromping Angels

Illustrations of Alphonse Mucha are very satisfying to my eyes, even when I'm not familiar with the story involved. Here, the young lady hears something...possibly the angels tromping by or the bells swinging like there's no tomorrow. Either way, it's a lovely graphic work, is it not?

If you know the story involved here, please do share.

Where Holy Men Fell to Earth

The old days, the old ways, promoted world travel with most compelling graphics. Travel posters were glorious.

Isipatana means the place where holy men fell to earth, based on the legend that when the Buddha was born, devas came down to announce it to 500 holy me. The holy men all rose into the air and disappeared and their relics fell to the ground.

Sounds like an extraterrestrial close encounter.

This poster portrays a Buddhist pilgrimage to the sacred site. 

Art by Dorothy Newsome — 1930ish

Color Variant

I've seen several different color variations of this piece, 

but this is the most pleasing one for me. 

Alexander Benois — Chinese Pavilion — early 20th century

The Night

This is "The Night", as it was 99 years ago . . .

Gruber_ 1915

Spooky!

I love spooky scenes in art, as long they're not violent. This one is yummy spooky—called Lithuania by Artur Grottger, 1864