Season of Shadows Blog

This year’s Pumpkinrot Haunt featured an entire display dedicated solely to scarecrows. Back in September, when I caught a sneak peak of one of the props, I was immediately struck by the primitive and barbaric imagery evoked from the creation. The ‘crow (as they’re often called for short in haunt lingo) looked to be a totem of sorts, almost taunting and warning passersby to turn back or else. Well, after seeing the entire haunt, that initial feeling only grew.

If Jack, Ralph, Piggy and the boys had celebrated Halloween in Lord of the Flies – this is exactly what it would have looked like! As it goes in the novel, there appear to be plenty of offerings for “the beast.” Only, I believe “the beast” would have left the island in fear, had it been occupied by ‘crows ala Pumpkinrot.

The imagery is pure Halloween (as always with his wonderful creations), but within that framework resides a very savage undertone – in a good way. Though each prop is being supported by its post, it’s not that much of a stretch to envision them being impaled instead. If I were a trick-or-treater, making my way up to that house, I would fully expect to meet Vlad the Impaler waiting on the other side of those “corpses on a stick.”

Awesome job, Rot!

Pumpkinrot and the Pumpkinrot Blog are must visits.

Related Halloween Haunt Posts

A Pumpkinrot Halloween
Through the Patch
Beyond the Grave
Haunt Warehouse
Grim Hollow Haunt

The Encyclopedia Britannica is featuring their Haunted Library series, once again this year. They were kind enough to email me prior to Halloween, as this is an annual feature in October at their blog. Unfortunately, I didn’t have an opportunity to post their link sooner because of my haunt prep. The good news is all of the posts are still archived at their site. Each entry features a different section of domestic and international libraries, as well as a small write up on some of the ghostly phenomena occurring at each location. I was happy to see they had included a haunted library in my neck of the woods (New Mexico) as well.

The picture in this entry is of the A. B. Safford Memorial Library in Cairo, Illinois. Here’s an excerpt from the site regarding paranormal events at the library:

“A ghost nicknamed Toby reportedly hangs out in the special collections room on the second floor of this 1883 building. ‘I’m here a lot of times by myself at night, and I do hear many different sounds like someone walking around upstairs,’ director Monica Smith said. ‘Many times I come back and find the lights on that we turned off in that room. I definitely think there is a presence there.’ Former librarian Louise Ogg and another staffer once saw a ghostly light rise up from behind a desk, pass slowly by her office, and disappear into the book stacks. There used to be a rocking chair in the library that made creaking noises by itself, as if someone were rocking it. ‘You kinda get used to it,’ Smith said.”

Related Paranormal Posts

The Strange Figure at Jackson Lake
Featuring Your Ghostly Encounters & Spooky Experiences
Returning to my Family’s Haunted Home
The Ghostly Cannons of Fort Craig
Family Spirits
Family Spirits: Part 2
Haunting of Ramstein