Now Playing: Everything Fades

By Ostel.

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Old School Halloween

Long live those Haunts with guillotines.  With their soft cardboard blades and their bright red blood.  

Images by John W.

Hexeglaawe: Bloody Mary

There is much debate on the origins of the folklore ritual which attempts to invoke the appearance of Bloody Mary.  While staring into a mirror in a dark, candle-lit room, say her name three times and she will appear.  Descriptions vary, though typically she is described as being a corpse, a witch, or a ghostly form - often covered in blood.  

A number of historical figures have been cited as the possible source, including Mary I of England, who put to death over 300 Protestant dissenters during her reign in the 1500's.  In the 17th century, Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian countess, allegedly tortured and killed over 600 young women, bathing in their blood to keep herself young. On American soil, Mary Worth is a strong contender for the legend.  She was rumored to have killed slaves escaping the South via the Underground Railroad.  

Pennsylvania has its own tale, offering another origin for Bloody Mary.  Her name was Mary Gansmueller.  In the late 1700's, in a village in Lancaster County, children began to disappear.  An investigation led to Mary's small cottage in a wooded area nearby.  Mary was an elderly woman who sold herbal remedies to the surrounding villages.  During the search, townspeople noticed her appearance had changed - she was now much younger.  Unmarked graves were discovered in the surrounding woods.  She had murdered the children and used their blood to regain her youth.  

She was dragged from her home and burned at the stake.  Before her death, she screamed a curse from the flames.  If anyone mentioned her name before a mirror, she would avenge herself upon them.

Despite the nebulous origins of the urban legend, it's a genuinely spooky concept.  Once, when I was very young, my sister must have learned of Bloody Mary and wanted to see if she was the real deal.  With a keen sense of self preservation, she placed ME into our family's upstairs bathroom, lit a candle, turned out the lights, and forced me to call to Miss Bloody Mary.  I was horrified and truly believed I was about to see some horrid ghost in the mirror.  I said her name three times. 

Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary 

Thankfully, no one showed up.  

My sister was extremely disappointed.  

Oak Lane Cemetery

Click below for an absolutely wonderful Home Haunt...

Witch Hollow

More images here.

HAXAN Leftovers

Up o'er the hill and broken wall

There stole a weird form, bent but tall;

And softly through our unlatched door

She crept unbidden, and before

The hearth-fire crouching, gazed upon us all.

- George Houghton 

Poem here.

B&W Halloween

Images by Dallis Willard.

1976 Halloween

Images by sephisunset.

Hexeglaawe Review

Some photos from our Pennsylvania Folklore series.  

Read about them here.

Trailer: Oddity

My highest recommendation for this gem currently streaming on Shudder.  Oddity is everything I needed a modern horror movie to be.  We watched it last night and it was delightfully terrifying. 

Click below for the trailer (thankfully, it doesn't give away the entire film)... 

Sometimes Dead Is Better

Image source.

The Witch

I have walked a great while over the snow,

And I am not tall nor strong.

My clothes are wet, and my teeth are set,

And the way was hard and long.

I have wandered over the fruitful earth,

But I never came here before.

Oh, lift me over the threshold, and let me in at the door!

The cutting wind is a cruel foe.

I dare not stand in the blast.

My hands are stone, and my voice a groan,

And the worst of death is past.

I am but a little maiden still,

My little white feet are sore.

Oh, lift me over the threshold, and let me in at the door!

Her voice was the voice that women have,

Who plead for their heart's desire.

She came—she came—and the quivering flame

Sunk and died in the fire.

It never was lit again on my hearth

Since I hurried across the floor,

To lift her over the threshold, and let her in at the door.

- Mary Elizabeth Coleridge

Image by Jeff Bradley.

Motion

Image by Gerrit-Jan Visser.

Happy New Year

Hoping everyone's 2025 is better than their 2024, loaded with health and happiness.  And packed with creepy things - the good kind.

Hexeglaawe: River Witches

While most people think of Salem as the home of Witchcraft in America, Pennsylvania has a rich, but lesser-known history of Witch folklore.  Most notable is Emma Knopp (also known as Nellie Noll) - the River Witch of Marietta.  In 1928, her instructions to break a curse placed upon John Blymire resulted in Blymire and two accomplices committing the murder of Nelson Rehmeyer.  

In Fayette County, Mary “Moll” Derry, the Witch of Monongahela, was believed to have the ability to fly, and her curses could cause the death of anyone who crossed her.  Rattlesnakes were said to guard the door to her home along the Monongahela River.

In a wooded area by Ridley Creek, at the edge of the Delaware River in Eddystone Township, the Legend of the Witch of Ridley Creek is told.  Accused of causing sickness and death of local livestock and appearing to witnesses in ghostly form, Margaret Mattson stood trial for her crimes in 1683.  Thanks to the involvement of the colony's proprietor William Penn, Mattson was found guilty of having the reputation of a witch, but not guilty of bewitching animals, and was released.  A popular legend tells of William Penn dismissing the charges against Mattson by affirming her legal right to fly on a broomstick, saying "Well, I know of no law against it."

Pennsylvania's colony was founded on religious tolerance, and accusations of Witchcraft were treated far differently than in Salem, Massachusetts.  This tolerance may have made the Commonwealth a haven for those who practiced, leading to a surge in strange sightings and occurrences, with many still being reported even today.  

Now Playing: Escape

By Carbon Based Lifeforms.

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Halloween Porch

Image by Chris Jack.

Trailer: The Damned

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Thinking Of Halloween

As Christmas moves off into the past, I wanted to share some cozy Halloween atmosphere from K.O.'s The Skeleton Key blog.

Click below to watch the video...

Merry Christmas!

Hoping everyone is having a wonderful Christmas and a terrific holiday season.  

We were fortunate enough to have some light snow fall on Christmas Eve, so I set up a little festive Christmas scene in the backyard.  

On Earth Peace, Good Will Toward Men.

Now Playing: I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm

A really great remix of an old classic.

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And click here for the song on youtube.

Night Monsters

More images here.