It’s not Halloween anymore, but I must call attention to this site I saw on The Art of Darkness.
Take Back Halloween is a self-proclaimed “costume guide for women with imagination.” I adore costumes that rally against the idea that women MUST use Halloween as an excuse to flaunt their sexuality.
Not sure what else to be because stores ONLY stock inane sexy costumes? Try a scientist! A mythical woman! A goddess!
Ada Lovelace:
Pele:
Persephone:
Work those brains, girls!
This is always a bittersweet day to post, since I know there are about a thousand more things I’d like to add…and even more that will turn up over the next day or two.
YES! On not only do we have this treat from the National Banana Association…but now we’ve got the WEENIE WITCH flying into town!
This sad ghost (found here) is a wonderful sad ghost…as far as sad ghosts go.
I was linked to this sombre EP by Forest Mountain Hymnal. Soft, gloomy atmosphere (really, how many times can you hear “Monster Mash” this time of year?). Pause that party mix and give THIS a try.
And for educational purposes we have this richly detailed Movie Monster chart (click here for the full version):
Yes, I always thought Frankenstein’s monster’s only real trouble was his hair.
I know it’s only “street art,” but I kind of want to crawl inside…
I actually found some new additions to my vintage Halloween ad collection in this post. Cigarettes!
I’ve got to hand it to Heidi Klum for not only being really into Halloween, but opting to show some muscle instead of skin:
(Source)
Let these busts from the Haunted Mansion sing you off into a lovely evening.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
I have hundreds of vintage Halloween images collected. These just happen to be floating around my desktop right now from the last day or so (which probably says something about my voracious image hoarding habits).
I love this one. There’s something almost melancholy about it…
I know I already posted some Halloween wedding cakes, but I couldn’t resist snagging a few favorites from the Cake Wrecks Sunday Sweets collections.
I’d like to see a lineup of Universal monster busts from this creator:
Coulrophobia (fear of clowns) is supposedly rather common, though I can’t imagine why.
It’s rare to find a cake this conceptually original. Fantastic!
Some nice Jack-O-Lanterns…
And last but not least…if Dr. Frankenstein were a pastry chef…
I really like how the creator opted for subtle airbrushing over straight up gore. So much more unsettling. Brilliant!
If you want to go ALL out, and decorate your sleep chamber with something undead, there are a number of options out there.
Sin In Linen now has a line of skull bedding:
Ooh, it seems someone has started a whole site dedicated to Skull Bedding.
Skulls made of flowers…slightly Day of the Dead-ish:
Believe it or not, this set comes from Walmart:
There are plenty of cutesy designs like this one, if that’s your cup of bony tea.
Incidentally, this came up in my image search. Somehow, putting skulls on a Snuggie makes it look even LESS tough than usual…if possible.
Here are a few of my favorite picks from Grandinroad’s Halloween Haven this season.
Skeleton hand wall mounts:
Or witch hands, if you prefer:
This tree is incredible:
I think it’s actually the flowers that are for sale, but I can’t take my eyes off the mummies:
Ah yes, here they are…
Skulls and tapers sold separately, but it’s a nice combo:
They also have life size animatronics and animatronic accessories. I’m actually partial to the crawling hands and dancing broomsticks:
See more here.
Pumpkinrot pointed me to the Halloween collection of sketches, paintings and sculpture from children’s book artist Rhode Montijo.
I love this image:
Bat wallpaper…always a plus.
See more here.
Brooklyn’s MF Gallery is currently featuring a Halloween group show with some nifty, spooky pieces.
I wish I could have attended the opening (especially to support my friend Kathy Hayes…the awesome setup above is her handiwork).
See the show online here.
This little baby buggy tends to circulate every year on various sites. Awww…precious.
Swoon-worthy decoration…
I’d like to see real photos of these:
These as well…
A lovely sculpture by Kate MacDowell:
Ugh…there were always the dreaded houses that dispensed awful Brach’s candy when I was a kid. No one even wanted to trade this stuff.
And arguably even worse…
(I’m not anti-raisin, but this is HALLOWEEN…who wants to gather typical lunchbox fare?)
Definitely an inspirational image for awesome kitschy decoration:
Best passive-aggressive note card ever:
Well, hello there.
One lump, or two?
This is either pretty great, or a sad sign made by a dyslexic man named Brian:
Hang on while I hyperventilate because this collection is so fantastic (wish I had the source!):
Groovy retro style pattern:
Not intended for Halloween…but amazing:
Also unrelated, but this octopus looks monstrously friendly. He’s smiling. At you.
This was by far the most fun post to put together in ages. For the first time in 20 years, I dug out my old sticker collection from the 80’s! Here are some Halloween selections to take my fellow children of the 80’s down memory lane.
Remember Stick-R-Treats? Hallmark released a variety of these circa 1984, ostensibly to hand out to Trick or Treaters. I don’t think I ever got one on someone’s doorstep…which was fine, because I wanted the candy.
A couple of the pumpkin stickers were actually scratch n’ sniff. So was the skeleton on top, which is “old bone scent” (can’t personally say how reliable their rendition of the fragrance is…but it ain’t too pleasant).
On the bottom, you’ll find the “cutesy” Stick-R-Treats, which I believed were a giant waste of time. People could collect unicorns and rainbows anytime. Halloween was for SPOOKY things. Even at five years old, I found these stickers to be a betrayal of the Halloween spirit. I gave most of them away and kept the spooky ones for myself.
These are from the Grossman’s Halloween sticker collection (1981). Grossman stickers were quite plain, but could be pretty slick. They had a certain understated charm.
I loved these as a kid, from Hallmark (1983):
(I seem to have fashioned a mini book by stapling some of these together. That’s obviously a ghost in a graveyard that I drew on the front of it. Dig my toddler art skills.)
I was never a huge fan of Peanuts stuff (which might be why I did such a bang up cutting job on these). Images were actually from 1952-1962, but stickers were released in the early 80’s:
A few Sanrio cuties (1985):
Quotes and funny faced ghosts (date missing because I clearly couldn’t resist anything with perforated edges and simply HAD to separate all the stickers in the sheets):
A delightful glittery appetizer for what’s up next…
Sheets aplenty! (1981-1986)
I feel all warm and fuzzy inside now. And I humorously noticed myself organizing these afterward in the same exact way I meticulously organized my sticker albums as a very young child. Perhaps I’ll post the “stragglers” later in the week.
Did you have any of these stickers growing up? I’d love to see your photos of ones I didn’t have, too.
SheWalksSoftly 
