I’ve been watching this one house out by Where-I-Work, following the gradual evolution of its Halloween display. The decorating is of the sort I most enjoy - a visual display that demonstrates creativity and effort, with an output that someone has clearly put thought into ... and had a lot of fun doing.
First came two tall figures, skeletally thin with ravaged faces (courtesy of some deftly painted mannequin heads.) No sheets here, either - these spirts are properly attired, draped in wispy, tattered white clothing and straggly white wigs. A ghoul that looks like a risen “Johnny Depp as Willie Wonka” strides across the back of the yard. In front of him, Miss Haversham curls over in distress, keening into the wind that whips spirals of her decaying wedding dress around her.
Day at a time, the scene grows:
Faceless villagers begin to populate the ground…
Spiderwebs appear in the corners…
Green eyes glow from the branches of the tree…
Tombstones pop up like mushrooms…
It is the most wonderfully evocative “creepy but not outright frightening” bit of Halloween decorating that I think I’ve ever seen - not to mention superb theater, the way the scene unfolds piece at a time. I've been thoroughly enjoying the show whenever I go past.
In today's driveby, I noticed that the latest evolution of the scene was up and consisted of…
two battered old plastic rocking horses…?!?
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| Not the actual horses- these come from Ponyhenge, but you get the idea... |
They’re definitely part of the mise en scène (no sane parent would let their child bounce on a hill that steep so close to the road) but I'm a bit uncertain as to what part they are meant to play.
I guess I’ll swing by in a couple of days and see if they’ve doubled in number... in which case, I’ll know I've witnessed the Four HobbyHorsemen of the Apocalypse!
5 comments:
Heeheehee! That last line had me glad i'd already swallowed the water i was drinking.
Please, if you get a chance, take and post pictures.
Hi Jz - not sure I'd like to be there in the dark of the night - let us know how it goes ... enjoy the build up ... Hilary
mm-
My brain occasionally surprises even me with the stuff it comes up with... but I'm glad you enjoyed it. :-D
H-
I agree. I'll be it's pretty creepy in the dark. :-)
would love to see more pics of the decor!
s-
You know, I thought of that. But yesterday, I was so late getting out of work, I'd flown past the place before I remembered I'd wanted to stop. And altho' I thought of it in plenty of time today, we were having an October snowstorm (ne of those wet, clingy buggers) and it wreaked havoc on the display. All the clothing was sodden, bedraggled, and flapping against the obviously stick underpinnings of most of the figures... and the marvelous detailed heads all looked buffoonish, with mounds of snow obscuring the features and making them all resemble Olaf from "Frozen"...
I was downhearted, I can tell you! (I can only imagine the poor people who put so much into this must have felt!) However, if it's still up on Monday, it should be thawed and dried and back to creepy, so I'll see what I can do then!
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