Calaveras alive! (31DoHM +)

Thanks to Matt and Laurel for sharing these photos of calaveras come alive!

How to make sugar skulls (31DoHM +)

Okay, so Halloween's over, but we can still celebrate Día de los Muertos. Click here to learn how to make sugar skulls for your Day of the Dead festivities.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

I hope everybody had as much fun as I did during the 31DoHM. After all the craziness this month, I thought I'd ease out with something a little more mellow. This film is short but mesmerizing. A must see!

Happy Halloween,
Tiki Chris

Le Halloween est mort (31DoHM Day 31)

Day 31: Goofy article about Halloween in France

Halloween Declared Dead In France
Parmy Olson
Forbes
10.31.06, 12:04 PM ET

The major dailies Le Monde and Le Parisien reported on Tuesday that following some short-lived popularity, the Halloween holiday has been "pretty much buried."

Click here to read the complete article.

Did Germans invent Halloween? (31DoHM Day 31)

Day 31: Did Black Forest witches celebrate the first Halloween?

Germans lay claim to 'invention' of Halloween
Ernest Gill
Mail & Guardian
31 October 2006 05:16

"People here didn't call it 'Halloween' of course, they called it 'Ruebengeisterschnitzen', which means 'gourd-ghost-carving' ... "

Click here to read the complete article.

Dubious distinction (31DoHM Day 31)

Day 31: Dubious distinction

I was checking my blogs' stats this morning (yes, I'm watching you!) when I discovered that the top search result on Google for "Halloween Cannibal" is (yep, you guessed it) this blog. Much of the credit for my rise to the top is owed to Pint Champion for providing me with his review of Cannibal Holocaust as part of the 31DoHM.

Cheers!

Crux-o-Lanterns? (31DoHM Day 31)

These crux-o-lanterns (or would they be Jack-o-fixes?) were photographed in 2005 in the town square of Allenhurst, New Jersey, "where the country meets the sea." They look like some weird fusion of Halloween and Easter tradition to me.

Photography by Tiki Chris and Emiana © 2005

My creepy London neighborhood (31DoHM Day 30)

Day 30: My creepy London neighborhood

Here are some photos taken at an old cemetery eerily near my flat.























Photography by Tiki Chris © 2006

Weird NJ (31DoHM Day 30)

Day 30: What's weirder than New Jersey?

Nuthin.

See what I mean at WeirdNJ.com.

When fembots attack (31DoHM Day 30)

Day 30: When fembots attack




















What could be scarier than faceless fembots? The following scene from the Bionic Woman really messed with my head when I was a kid:

Halloween Funnies (31DoHM Day 29)

Day 29: Halloween Funnies

Thanks to Bob and Joe and to Laurel for sending along these Halloween pics from Funnies.com.

Online pumpkin carving (31DoHM Day 29)

Thanks to Kimberly for leading me to an online pumpkin carving "simulator." Here's one I carved:

Click here to carve your own.

Chapel of Bones (31DoHM Day 29)

Day 29: Chapel of Bones

One of the creepiest places that I have ever been is the Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones) in Evora, Portugal. The chapel is the creation of a 17th century monk who wanted to comment on the transitory nature of mortality … while scaring the shit out of people. The following words are engraved at the chapel’s entrance: Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos (We bones that are here, for your bones we wait). All the walls of this 200 square meter chapel,as well as its eight pillars are covered with the bones and skulls from thousands of corpses exhumed from graves (usually without consent or knowledge from anyone).

Photography by Emiana © 2003

The Devil's Violin (31DoHM Day 28)

Day 28: The Devil's Violin














Last night, Emiana and I caught a performance by the Devil's Violin at the Barbican Centre. Wow. Spooky, enthralling, poignant, and dynamic.

The Devil's Violin is a quartet comprised of a violinist, an accordianist, a cellist, and and storyteller. This Welsh group performs "long forgotten Gypsy tales from Wales and elsewhere with music inspired by the passion and energy of the Gypsy tradition."

I wish I had known about them earlier as I think that knowledge would have created a much creepier tone to my 31DoHM. Oh well, there's always next year.

Until then, click here to visit the Devil's Violin website.

Jack-o-Madness (31DoHM Day 28)

Day 28: More Jack-o-Lanterns

"Here's a picture of our pumpkins from last year ... The kids designed them, Amy carved them and I took the photo."

pumpkins
Photograph by Mannequin Snow © 2006

How to scare my wife (31DoHM 27)

Day 27: How to scare my wife

I dare say there's not much in this world that's more frightening to my dear lovely wife than me wearing this shirt, except maybe me wearing this shirt and doing the robot.

photograph by Trader Woody © 2006

ontoLondon's spooky photos (31DoHM Day 26)

The 31DoHM are oozing over to my other blogs too. All of October's Weekly Photos posted at ontoLondon have been selected for their particularly spooky look. Thanks to Emiana and to Laurel Parker for their contributions.

Strong Selling Point
Thursday, October 5, 2006
Photograph by Emiana © 2006






Portobello Road
Weekly Photo (12 October 2006)
Photograph by Tiki Chris © 2006






Scary Halloween Lady
Weekly Photo (19 October 2006)
Photograph by Laurel Parker © 2006










Pink and Creepy
Weekly Photo (26 October 2006)
Photograph by Tiki Chris © 2006

Disneyland's Haunted Mansion (31DoHM Day 26)

Day 26: Disneyland's Haunted Mansion

This clip takes viewers through Disneyland's Haunted Mansion ride. The Haunted Mansion at Disney World scared the living daylights out of me when I was four. Now I can enjoy the fright from the comfort of my own home.

Are those lima beans coming back to haunt you? (31DoHM Day 25)

Day 25: Are those lima beans coming back to haunt you?













Click here to learn how to make Lima Bean Ghosts, as well as all sorts of other cute and easy Halloween crafts.

The Loch Ness Geek (31DoHM Day 24)

Day 24: The Loch Ness Geek

Among the many unexplained mysteries in the world is why a documentary about this guy was ever made: