Happy Halloween!

How about a little Siouxsie and the Banshees to commemorate the event?

Answer - Tell - Pray

It's fitting Harry Houdini died on Halloween. In 1926, after a student tested Houdini's abs of steel with repeated blows, Houdini wound up in the hospital with what looked like a ruptured appendix. Many believe Houdini had appendicitis before the student punched him in the gut, but was too stubborn to seek medical attention. 

Before his death, Houdini asked to be buried in a bronze casket along with letters written from his mother. He also left a secret code with his beloved wife, Bess, and said if she ever held a seance that he would make his presence known with the code, which was later revealed to be:

 Rosabelle- answer- tell- pray, answer- look- tell- answer, answer- tell.

The name Rosabelle came from a song that Bess sang when she and Houdini first met. The other words related to secret messages used between a magician and assistant during an act. Apparently each word corresponds to a letter, which ultimately spells out the word "believe". 

Every Halloween, Bess would try to contact her famous husband, but to no avail. Finally, after ten years, she threw in the towel, announcing: "My last hope is gone. I do not believe that Houdini can come back to me, or to anyone...The Houdini Shrine has burned for ten years. I now, reverently... turn out the light. It is finished. Good night, Harry!"

Even so, every Halloween there have been seances to try and contact the escape artist. As part of their "31 Days of Halloween", Atlas Obscura has some nice photos of Houdini's gravesite here.  

Cliff Coffins

Did you know that in China, the Philippines, and Indonesia, there are coffins hanging up in the cliffs? Neither did I. According to Atlas Obscura: "The tradition of hanging coffins is quite ancient, in China going back to 772 BC, although it is still practiced in some places, such as Sagada on Luzon Island in the Philippines. The reason for hanging coffins varies as much as the cultures that have practiced the burial tradition, ranging from practical reasons to avoid the dead being disturbed, to more spiritual beliefs like bringing the deceased closer to the heavens."

I think it's definitely better than crowding up the ground with coffins, but I had two other thoughts after reading this story: If you were a mountain climber and was scaling one of these cliffs, how creepy would it be to come across some of these coffins?  And: What if one of these fell?

Jessica Lange to Hang up her Pointy Hat after Season 4 of American Horror Story

Jessica Lange is planning to ride her broom out of American Horror Story next season as her acting career winds down. She told the LA Times: “I am coming to the end of acting. I have a list: another stage production, maybe one or two more movies, one more season of ‘American Horror Story’ … and then that is it for me. Because I think that’s enough. I want to go out with a bang … or should I say, a scare?” 

Let's hope it's a scare. Whether she's wearing a nun's habit or a pair of black stilettos, she's become my favorite witchy woman.

 

Gwar Goes Trick or Treating

Like last year, I got very busy and have been crappy about updating this blog.
So how about some Gwar trick or treating?

Creepy Costumes of Yesteryear

Flavorwire has published 20 Incredibly Bizarre Vintage Halloween Costumes, which begs the question: Why were Halloween costumes so creepy back then? Is it because they were photographed in black and white? Is it because they didn't manufacture slutty costumes for eight-year-old-girls in the old days? Whatever the reason, these inventive and creepy costumes are worth a gander. . .