Le Marais de la Feu Follet

Long ago, French fur trappers would return from deep within the marshes of southern Louisiana with strange and terrifying tales. Far from roads and civilization, the men would venture out into the desolation of the swamps. There, beneath the blackened canopies of the cypress they worked with nervous haste as countless reflecting eyes watched motionless from shadows of a meager oil lamp. In the darkness, a sinister chorus of creatures sang their warning to Man;  

"You are no match for us in this place. For we who lurk just beyond the flicker of your fire are are made of shell and scale and claw and barb and fang and venom. We are of ancient kind, much older than man. We survive on the blood of those who fear... just as you do now."

Click on the link below. Envision yourself seated in a small rowboat drifting deeper through the shallow waters of the swamp. Your vessel floats over the glossy, black surface, occasionally bumping against invisible obstacles beneath and sending metallic echos into the night. All around you are the noises of the marsh.  Your oil lantern has been carelessly neglected and should give you enough light for another five minutes... unfortunately for you, your journey is ten.
As your eyes strain to adjust to the darkness, you notice an iridescent mist hanging above the water ahead. The fur trappers have spoke of it before... they call it "feu follet" (pronounced FEE fuh-lay).  It drifts closer and closer, wafting over the edges of your little boat, weaving back and forth through the buttons of your jacket. Heed the advice of the trappers and remain as still as a statue, for they say that if you show fear now - if you try to get away...  Au revoir.   

Soundscape: Victorian Chamber

A big problem with Halloween sound effects is that almost every single track is over-produced with low quality unrealistic sounds. I can't count the number of times I have looked for the ambiance of a haunted house only to be presented with a cacophony of hokey sounds assembled without the slightest concern for order. Werewolves howl into your left ear every five seconds, Tacky thunder barks and snorts across the sky like the lightning it is somehow suffering from sleep apnea. People are clearly screaming, but you are not sure if it is because of the werewolves, the chainsaws, or the terribly synthesized moans. Perhaps it is all of the above, after all, they are all playing at the same time.

I am, by no means, a professional sound designer. But I always wished I could find a great spooky audio clip that I could play over and over as many times as I wanted (maybe while reading a ghost story or two) without losing focus as a result of the audio.

Subtlety is what I am looking for and if I can't find it, I am going to create it...  and if I'm going to create it, I am going to share it because chances are, there are other people out there who are looking for it too. My latest creation is called "The Victorian Chamber". It is made for those of us who have ever imagined sitting in a huge, dark, echoing, Victorian era living area on a cold and blustery evening. A warm fire and a huge leather chair would be your only comforts. Nearby, an ancient grandfather clock ticks the witching hours away all too slowly. Wind howls against the walls of the house as its aging wooden frame strains and creaks like the bowels of an old ship. In the darkness, your ears may detect the occasional aberration, however, it may be only be wind. Have a listen and enjoy a spooky nineteenth century evening complements of the Haunted Gallery.

Download this Soundscape

The 2011 Halloween Season is officially upon us. From now through October, dying leaves, chilly nights, burning wood, and all the other ambassadors of Autumn stoke fires of macabre imagination once again! As you can see, new additions to the Haunted Gallery are already on the way. Here's to another frightfully good season!

It was a dark and stormy night...

I took this picture last night as a thunderstorm was approaching. A little close for comfort.

Along the Hangman's Wold

Back in 1995, I was given my first copy of Photoshop. From that time forward, image manipulation has been the de facto medium for expressing creative ideas in my mind. The internet is full of pictures and photographs that I  can sift through and combine, stretch, distort, recolor, and blend to bring to life a vision in my head. In the last couple of years, the internet has developed a rich collection of audio in addition to the visual. I thought I would take a crack at using the same principles I employ in my image manipulation and try to make audio manipulations. I have enclosed such an audio manipulation. The composition consists of about a dozen different sounds I managed to scavenge from the internet all stitched together to make a final product. After listening to the soundscape, it reminded me of one of my favorite horror poems. An excerpt is included below. Enjoy! 

... There was a strangeness in the horn,

A wildness in the cry,

A power of devilry forlorn

Exulting bloodily...

..."Lord God!" the shepherds said, "they come;

And see what hounds he has:

All dripping bluish fire, and dumb,

And nosing in the grass,

"And trotting scatheless through the gorse, 

And bristling in the fell.

Lord, it is Death upon the horse, 

And they're the hounds of hell!"

- The Hounds of Hell by John Masefield

 

The Condemned Hallway

As you find yourself navigating through the darker reaches of the Haunted Gallery, I would offer this word of caution...
Visitors have occasionally reported rounding a corner only to be confronted with an impossibly long corridor. The paint is peeling, the floors are in disrepair, and some report a chilly wind that whispers incoherently into your ears as it drifts past. Even the most resolute of our guests choose wisely to terminate their progress upon stumbling upon its location. There are some visitors however, who's courage intermingles with insanity, that venture further into the enveloping darkness.
What lurks at the end of the hallway? Nobody is certain, because nobody returns. No blueprint or architectural design makes mention of such a hallway in the Gallery.
But one thing is for sure...if such a sinister hallway exists, it is not the hallway that is condemned.

Music for a Condemned Hallway

13 Steps

The Haunted Gallery is very happy to present a very special item.
After several hours of sifting through forgotten piles of media, I have reclaimed an old college project from the ever present threat of oblivion.

The piece is entitled "13 Steps". It is a poem that I wrote many years ago. What makes it so special though is that it was recorded and edited with lots of eerie sounds and music. For the narration, I enlisted the help of a friend of mine from England who has a wonderful voice. Her accent combined with the sound effects give this poem a wonderfully spooky atmosphere.

The poem is about that terrifying moment you realize that you are in a very dark place... too far away from the light switch.

Welcome Committee

The ambassadors of Halloween. (At least for our neighborhood)

Neighborhood Alert

This year's Halloween theme is Jack the Ripper. This sign is posted out in front of the house.

Samhain Sunset (The First Halloween)

"Even in Autumn, you are not safe. Stay indoors, attend your hearths. Try to keep the night at bay by the telling of your tongue. Remember your kin, honor your ancestors. For at this time the dead begin to stir, riding upon hallowed and familiar roads, galloping through villages and wastes, flying through the forests of the mind. Such raids are reminders that the past is not a dead thing, but may return, like a hunter, to follow us for a time."
                                                               - Unknown 

It's interesting to sit and ponder what the first Halloween must have been like. I've read about the origins of Halloween and just how long ago it began. (Halloween is 1,000 years older than Christmas.) I've learned how many of the traditions we celebrate today derive from ancient customs that held a more serious purpose back then. Halloween was born in a time when man had no explanation for the mysteries of world around him. Very little of our surroundings made sense and without the enlightening virtues of science, man was at the mercy of the dark shadows of superstition and the unknown. 


It's fun to imagine the rituals and the social elements of the earliest Halloween, but my mind always brings me back to a scene that I have always felt best exemplifies the mood of such a spooky time.

I envision a young man on top of a hill. Behind him somewhere off in the growing darkness is a small village. From where he stands he cannot see it but he can hear the distant barking of dogs and the occasional laughter. The faint sounds of his village make him feel even more alone. In front of him lies a rolling wilderness. One day the forests below him will become a patchwork of fields and pastures but in his time nature still holds dominance over the affairs of men. In the distance, the sun has just set behind a line of black hills. The night is chilly and a thick fog settles in the valleys. This evening marks the end of the summer and the beginning of the season of death. The leaves have fallen, the crops have been harvested, the animals in the forest have grown quite. The future is a cold darkness.

The darkness, like a pack of hungry wolves, is creeping towards him. With it manifests the memories and tales of strange creatures and spirits that favor the night and fear the day. This night of all nights, the dead are permitted to return to spend an evening amongst the living. The young man stands near a bonfire prepared to scare away the spirits of evil and beacon those of his ancestors, although the thought of any spirits approaching at all sends a shiver down his spine. His job is to maintain the flame until the sun rises in the morning. In doing so, he will keep his people safe from the darkness.

The ScareJoe

My first scarecrow. Nothing terrifies young Soldiers like a Drill Sergeant.

The Lonley Gallery

Hey everyone,

It's been a bit slow here at the Gallery but I have more great offerings in the works, I promise. I have been devoting most of my free time to decorating and getting ready for Halloween. This Halloween is somewhat of a surprise gift for me this year. Early redeployment from Iraq means I get to celebrate at home! Needless to say, we are pulling out all the stops. There will be plenty of Halloween pictures, artwork and THE BEST Halloween party music playlist ever to share as this awesome month creeps along so please do stay tuned...

Music for a Haunted Gallery - Volume I

As our humble gallery grows, it becomes evident out appreciation for music as both a source of inspiration and accompaniment of composition. Below is assembled a short volume of musical arrangements that can be often heard echoing through the candle-lit halls of the Haunted Gallery, no doubt by some spectral musician who occupies one of the many darkened chambers...


"The children of the night, what sweet music they make."
                                                                           - Dracula

The songs below are linked to youtube videos. The visual content is irrelevant. The videos were only chosen for sound.  

Partita no. 2 for Solo Violin - (the ghost of) Johann Sebastian Bach

New World - Philip Glass

Dumka - (the ghost of) Antonín Dvořák

Danse Macabre - (the ghost of ) Camille Saint-Saëns

Wraithmarsh - Russell Shaw (Fable II soundtrack)

The Greatest Show on Earth

The circus has always had an underlying element of terror in my opinion. I'm sure it has a lot to do with clowns.
This song was playing in my head the whole time I was making this image. It fits the mood perfectly.
I am almost certain the video is going to give you nightmares.