Psychedelic Horror Blog Archive
January 27, 2010
Scary Clowns in Vans
This is kind of a cool urban legend. Across the world there have been “reports” of a frightening clown, dressed in dirty clown clothes, hanging out in weird places and (sometimes) trying to lure children into the van. It’s funny, but the van is often describes as an old dirty-grey van, 1970’s style.
These reports predate Killer Clowns From Outer Space. I wonder if the movie took the idea from the urban legend.
Apparently, police have been called out on several occasions to check out said clown, but he was gone before they got there. Many people are scared of clowns to begin with and real, professional clowns do need a van to carry all their “equipment.”
I like the imagery.
There’s another cool legend about the “Road Troll.” The Road Troll is a big, burly drifter seen walking by the side of the road. He’s described as bearded and shaggy, wearing layers of ratty clothes. Always, he has either a leg in a cast, or his arm in a cast. Truckers have reported seeing him all over America. At one time, they were tracking his sightings.
It’s funny, but I was taking my children’s baby sitters home one rainy night and we saw just such a transient walking down the road. He wasn’t hitchhiking, and there was something decidedly weird about the whole scene. He had an arm in a cast and matched the description perfectly. This is long before I read about the Road Troll.
January 5, 2010
Today brings a brand-new Horror Cartoon Of The Week, and a brand-new Hidden Picture Puzzle Of The Week. I’ve got four writers lined up for the Horror Short Story Of The Week, along with an artist (other than myself). I don’t want this page to be about me, so I’m letting in as many people as I can.
I hate to short-change Ben on the horror story. I’m worried that since he was first a lot of people haven’t found it yet. To rectify this, I’m not going to delete his story at the end of the week. I’ll just add the next story to the top of the page. We’ve got a new story coming this weekend, so check back.
Time for a picture. Deer are difficult animals to draw, especially strange ones with no firm grasp of reality. What do you think of this proud fellow?
January 1, 2010
The “Horror Short Story Of The Week” Page Is Up! I hope you enjoy it. Come back next week to see another.
Happy New Year! I’m hoping 2010 is a happy and successful year for everybody.
December 27, 2009
Today, I finished Gallery 6 and started Gallery 7 (with one picture). I’ve also updated the Horror Cartoon Of The Week, and the Hidden Picture Puzzle Of The Week. Don’t forget to check out my new Haunted Photographs page. I started this one out with the portrait of an actual spirit, The Wisteria Ghost.
As for the biggest news of all, I’ve been talking to some of my horror writer friends. Starting next week, I’m going to begin hosting a Horror Short Story Of The Week page. First on board is Benedict J. Jones, a writer from London. I can’t wait to get started with this. I’m going to feature a different writer each week.
December 22, 2009
I’ve added a page dedicated to hidden picture puzzles. In honor of this auspicious occasion, I’ve included a brand-new drawing. I just finished it last Sunday. I’m planning to post a different one each week. Click here, or go to the main menu:
http://ghastlydoor.com/hidden-picture-puzzle-of-the-week/
The Winter King:
In mythology, the first of winter, the Winter Solstice, is a complicated time for the Horned One, the God of cycles and seasons. The day is at its shortest point and symbolically he must “die.” Remember though, he is always reborn, so that from this darkest day the light gets stronger and stronger each day, as he grows, and as the daylight lengthens.
All his young life (the early part of the year) he must struggle against the night. At last, on the Vernal Equinox, he overcomes the darkness and begins his great reign and journey to the harvest.
As we see, The Winter King is both old and young, old man and newborn babe. He becomes Father Time and hands one year over to the next. Thus he reminds us that everything in this material world has a lifespan. We, as animals, have a pitiful 100 years (if we’re SUPER lucky). The sun itself has only enough hydrogen to fuse for another 5 billion years. Even the universe itself, with the Big Bang, must either come back together and reform, or expand to burned out embers. We all share a lifespan, even if it’s a long one. Time is a circle.
That is the lesson The Winter King brings. No matter how bleak our individual circumstances, death always leads to rebirth. The King is dead, Long live the King!
December 21, 2009
Here we are on the first day of winter. I’ve decided to party down by posting both a brand-new Hidden Picture Puzzle Of The Week, and a Horror Cartoon Of The Week. Be sure to check them both out. They also represent my latest work, as both of them were finished last week.
December 14, 2009
BIG UPDATES:
I’ve added seven new drawings to Gallery 6. That brings me up to 118 total drawings on this site. There may be a couple more I’ve got on backlog, but from now on, I’ll mostly be posting brand new ones.
I got busy Sunday and added a Photos page. Be sure to check it out. I have pictures of my studio and the woods around it. Be sure to look at my Home page photograph. That’s my dog Max making his web debut.
There’s a new Horror Cartoon Of The Week also. You just never know what might happen if you stick around long enough.
HIDDEN PICTURE CARTOONS:
As you can see, many of my cartoons are “Hidden Picture,” drawings. I take a little figure, I call them “Icons,” and hide them around in the picture. All of the drawings with a name like “13 Werewolves,” are hidden picture. That means there are 13 little werewolves hidden around in it. I do them every so often. I think they’re fun.
PSYCHOPOMPS:
Psychopomps are spirits, gods, or familiars, who guide human spirits to the otherworld after they die.
Usually these entities are neither good nor evil, but merely messengers, one of the most ubiquitous psychopompsin horror literature is the Grim Reaper, or Death personified.
We all know that the figure of Death is spooky, but not evil. He does what he has to do and a lot of times he brings relief and escape. That doesn’t mean you’re always happy to see him. He won’t listen to your bargaining, begging, or logic. Most of all, he’s incorruptible. Don’t try to bribe him. It won’t work. In the words of the rock group Kansas:
“And all your money won’t another minute buy.”
Who can forget the image of Charon, the Ferryman? In ancient Greek mythology, Charon is the boatman who carries you across the river Styx. He doesn’t do it for free though. You have to pay him. Some cultures still bury their dead with a coin in their mouth to, “Pay the Ferryman.”
When my grandfather was in his last delirium with cancer, he raved about seeing his own father. He kept saying, “Give me two nickels Daddy, so I can get home, just two nickels.” You can bet I put two nickels in his coat pocket when I went to see him at the funeral home. Since then, whenever a loved one dies, I put a coin in their pocket. I’ve never told anyone that before. I guess the old ways die hard.
A lot of times a psychopomp is an animal. Here in the South, folklore presents them as owls, or whippoorwills. If you hear an owl three nights in a row, look out, someone close to you is going to die.
Whippoorwills have a bit more sinister reputation. They are said to wait and try to capture the spirit of the dying person. If the whippoorwills stop calling, it means that they were successful.
It’s easy to see why birds are often cast in this role. They can fly. In mythology, birds are often the messengers between the gods and the physical world. This is true from the Native American Raven, to the ravens of Odin. Whenever you see two ravens you are to call to them:
“Tell your master what you’ve seen.”
Most of us believe in an afterlife. It’s easy to see why we would want a guide. Not someone to judge us, that’s not their role, just something to guide us safely there.
