Thursday, August 29, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
The Last Thing I Hear Every Halloween.
Every Halloween night, just before the clock strikes twelve, I always play this music. It's always the last thing I hear before the magic of the season vanishes like the flame of an extinguished jack o' lantern.
For those of us who claim Oct. 31 as our favorite day of the year, this is always a melancholy moment. At such an hour, I am usually the only one awake, having promised myself to celebrate every last second of Halloween. I walk through the darkness to the window and look out upon the neighborhood. The streets are black and empty. Only dead leaves scratch along the sidewalk where masked-children roamed hours earlier. The houses along the street sit nervously in the shadows of the streetlamps and a red moon rises quietly behind a bank of clouds.
As the music plays, I imagine that from the corner of my eye, I see eerie shapes moving silently through the darkness. Skeletons creeping through the backyards as they quickly make their way back to the graveyard before midnight. This is how Halloween ends for me every year.
For those of us who claim Oct. 31 as our favorite day of the year, this is always a melancholy moment. At such an hour, I am usually the only one awake, having promised myself to celebrate every last second of Halloween. I walk through the darkness to the window and look out upon the neighborhood. The streets are black and empty. Only dead leaves scratch along the sidewalk where masked-children roamed hours earlier. The houses along the street sit nervously in the shadows of the streetlamps and a red moon rises quietly behind a bank of clouds.
As the music plays, I imagine that from the corner of my eye, I see eerie shapes moving silently through the darkness. Skeletons creeping through the backyards as they quickly make their way back to the graveyard before midnight. This is how Halloween ends for me every year.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Halloween Season 2013
The summer is dying.
Leaves of green glow with radiance, but the smell of death is in the air. The assassin rides by the cool winds of night. Darkness prowls the edges of each passing day - getting closer with each sunset.
The Halloween season is beginning...
Leaves of green glow with radiance, but the smell of death is in the air. The assassin rides by the cool winds of night. Darkness prowls the edges of each passing day - getting closer with each sunset.
The Halloween season is beginning...
Friday, November 2, 2012
Goodbye Halloween 2012
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Another Halloween has come and gone. I certainly had a great time with the Haunted Gallery this year - the Gallery's fourth season. I hope you did as well. This year, six new soundscapes were added to the collection as well as a bunch of new spooky artwork. Be sure to go back and check it all out.
For those of you who have been fans of the Haunted Gallery over the years, I want to thank you for always coming back to visit; and for the newcomers, I invite you to "follow me" because although Halloween 2012 has past, great things are happening here every Halloween season.
Once again, the Gallery windows have all been boarded up, the candles extinquished and the front door locked securely. That chilly wind is blowing out of the north again and the skies are dark and grey. I have hidden the old skeleton key to the Gallery under a withered old pumpkin near the front door, so please feel free to come by for a midnight visit if you get the occasional urge to be haunted.
For those of you who eat, sleep and breath Halloween 365 days a year, allow me to offer you directions to the Pumpkin King himself. His realm is one where every day is Halloween. The holiday does not just live there - it thrives.
As for myself - my bag is packed and the wagon is loaded. I'm headed deep into the Everdim, a forest of equal parts beauty and mystery. There will be lots of pictures and artwork to share, so if you feel like an adventure hop in the wagon and come along.
See you all next Halloween!
~ J.P.
Another Halloween has come and gone. I certainly had a great time with the Haunted Gallery this year - the Gallery's fourth season. I hope you did as well. This year, six new soundscapes were added to the collection as well as a bunch of new spooky artwork. Be sure to go back and check it all out.
For those of you who have been fans of the Haunted Gallery over the years, I want to thank you for always coming back to visit; and for the newcomers, I invite you to "follow me" because although Halloween 2012 has past, great things are happening here every Halloween season.
Once again, the Gallery windows have all been boarded up, the candles extinquished and the front door locked securely. That chilly wind is blowing out of the north again and the skies are dark and grey. I have hidden the old skeleton key to the Gallery under a withered old pumpkin near the front door, so please feel free to come by for a midnight visit if you get the occasional urge to be haunted.
For those of you who eat, sleep and breath Halloween 365 days a year, allow me to offer you directions to the Pumpkin King himself. His realm is one where every day is Halloween. The holiday does not just live there - it thrives.
As for myself - my bag is packed and the wagon is loaded. I'm headed deep into the Everdim, a forest of equal parts beauty and mystery. There will be lots of pictures and artwork to share, so if you feel like an adventure hop in the wagon and come along.
See you all next Halloween!
~ J.P.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Happy Halloween!
So it was believed by the ancients, that on this night, the 31st of October, the barrier between the living and the dead was broken; and that the spirit world was free to roam the earth. They would light bonfires and carve faces in candle-lit turnips to scare away malevolent ghosts and serve as beacons to deceased friends and family.
Happy Halloween, everyone!
 |
| Pumpkins are carved, the house is filled with the scent of roasting seeds. Candy bowls are stocked. Ready for the big night. |
Monday, October 29, 2012
Late October Near the Everdim
I've heard strange noises in the foggy shadows of the trees; noises that sounded like unusual laughter ... the laughter of a lunatic.
Thomas Raeburn?
Some of you might be wondering what happened to the Thomas Raeburn story.
Truth be told, I got kind of bored of it. There are fantastic elements from the idea that I will continue on with such as the painting style. Perhaps one day, I will revisit it but I feel there are bigger and better things I could do with the creative elements. I have all of these great pictures that I want to share, but it was becoming too much work to try and incorporate them into a story. I would rather just share the pictures.
In reality, I am lucky enough to live in an area where I am surrounded by a huge mysterious forest. I started getting tired of the story because, frankly, it was not as interesting as the actual world around me. I'd given this forests the nickname "The Everdim" long before I used it in the story on account of its perpetually stifled luminosity. At night the woods are filled with all kinds of strange and haunting sounds, much like the soundscape I made a few days ago. It's a great place for spooky inspiration.
Below is an image I made for a part later in the story. This menacing individual is based loosely off of "Pan" from Greek mythology. He is interconnected with nature just like in ancient accounts, however, this one is way more sinister. Everything has a balance in nature. The forest is a place of overwhelming beauty and its counter balance is this creature. You do not want to cross it.
Truth be told, I got kind of bored of it. There are fantastic elements from the idea that I will continue on with such as the painting style. Perhaps one day, I will revisit it but I feel there are bigger and better things I could do with the creative elements. I have all of these great pictures that I want to share, but it was becoming too much work to try and incorporate them into a story. I would rather just share the pictures.
In reality, I am lucky enough to live in an area where I am surrounded by a huge mysterious forest. I started getting tired of the story because, frankly, it was not as interesting as the actual world around me. I'd given this forests the nickname "The Everdim" long before I used it in the story on account of its perpetually stifled luminosity. At night the woods are filled with all kinds of strange and haunting sounds, much like the soundscape I made a few days ago. It's a great place for spooky inspiration.
Below is an image I made for a part later in the story. This menacing individual is based loosely off of "Pan" from Greek mythology. He is interconnected with nature just like in ancient accounts, however, this one is way more sinister. Everything has a balance in nature. The forest is a place of overwhelming beauty and its counter balance is this creature. You do not want to cross it.
New Soundscape: Blizzard on Mount Anthor
Although this is not entirely a Halloween soundscape, the concept itself is quite scary. For those of you familiar with Skyrim, the reference is pretty obvious. For those of you who are not, I think you can deduce the situation. Enjoy!
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
The Legend of Alexandra and Rose
Monday, October 15, 2012
New Soundscape - The Sewers
I wanted the soundscape to give the sensation of dark and unknown expanses matched with dreary foreground elements. I think very few things would feel more uncomfortable than sewage dripping and spashing all around your immdieate vicinity.
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