Wednesday, 23 October 2024

Scary Skeleton Benches

 I have a bone to pick with The Day of the Dead.


http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/dreamanatomy/images/

It's meant to be a solemn occasion but it's way, way too scary. 




It's giving me a headache. 


https://www.flickr.com/photos/baggis/4329993236/

In fact, it makes me very much afraid.



Much Afraid from John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, 1683


Well, I'm glad I got that off my chest.


https://memegenerator.net/Waiting-Skeleton

Now I'd like to get on with my skeleton benches and all their funky bones.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funky_Bones

There are 22 bone benches in this sculpture. The human body has 206 bones, including 80 bones in the axial skeleton (skull and torso) and 126 bones in the appendicular skeleton of the arms and legs. Did you know that each of your feet has 26 bones and . . .

Yeah, ok, that's enough anatomy. I've got to find some more Day of the Dead benches.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/jotpeh/133475559/


The skeleton benches came out of the closet for Halloween. 



https://www.flickr.com/photos/phidauex/4465124089/

We had loads coming to the door asking for treats.

One of them asked to use my skeleton toilet.


Oh, that old trick: popping into the loo for a cigarette.

                                     Head of Skeleton with Burning Cigarette 1886, Vincent Van Gogh

Can I light that for you?

Vincent Price, 1960s film

Some people argue that whatever skeletons get up to, they aren't that scary because you can see right through them.

That's a bone of contention. 

And skulls aren't so good either. They're usually signs of danger.


www.etsy.com/shop/signfail

They just rock up anywhere.

Carved wood rocker, 19th century Russian

Even when you just want a taco.

Sign Appreciation Society, Facebook


Although you don't want to over think your fears.

Monkey with Skull, 1893, Hugo Rheinhold

In fact, you could argue that skeletons are rather cuddly and cute.



https://www.flickr.com/photos/mliu92/3013958299/

And make no bones about it, some of them are a real laugh.



https://www.flickr.com/photos/doublecompile/14446642564/ 

In the scary stakes, skeletons don't hold a candle to vampires or witches or clowns.

Yes, they do.


photo by Joanna Michalak

Skeletons, we salute you.




I don't know what goes on inside their heads though.

L'Assiette au Beurre 1904, Gustave-Henri Jossot


Skeletons are very musical apparently. Some of them play the trombone.

This one plays a mean banjo.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeepersmedia/13663658613/

He's playing on his own. I guess he had no body to play with.


photo by Joanna Michalak
  
By the way, I saw a great trio the other night.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/8141311057/


And there was a cracking skeleton duet down at the Fibula's Arms.


www.thrillomatic.com

They're back tonight for the Day of the Dead. 

Las Calacas are very big in Mexico. 


https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/BonesNelson

This is the artist Drida Kivera and her husband Friego. What a love story! 

I know many a woman who has waited a long time for the perfect man.


https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/splendorlocity


It's my best friend Miggy. She's been waiting a long time so she's trying online dating.

Apparently she keeps meeting a lot of clowns.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/valeriebb/3137649302/

Miggy says a wishbone isn't going to help her find a good man.

Even online dating isn't going to help.





Don't give up hope though, Migs. Your perfect guy is waiting on a bench near you. 


https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/splendorlocity

You'll be together forever. 

Although having been married myself, I'm not sure that's a good thing.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/peterkellystudios/190417556/


Love is in the air; I can feel it in my bones.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/24931020@N02/16461750339/

Here's a knight in shining armour. He's riding on a bench!


https://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/4106823451/


The knight seems to be alive, more or less. But the horse is a skeleton.

I think Miggy is maybe being too fussy. There are loads of nice men out there.

What about these two guys at the library?


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild.

Dead. Both dead.

What about this guy on a stone bench?



http://www.flickr.com/photos/garydenness/


Too thin. Positively skeletal. And dripping with blood. 

At least he's got some colour though. The trouble with skeletons is, they're almost always black and white.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/mieke/

Black and white is ok though. This skeleton bench is gorgeous! 

I like this one too. 



Er, this isn't a skeleton though.

But doesn't a pop of colour make skeleton benches more attractive?


https://www.flickr.com/photos/klg19/8133357262/

Miggy says no. 

She says if you want something lovely, look at these beautiful skeleton leaves.


https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SkeletonLeafJTL

These really warm the chilly autumn of my bones.

And now I need to put the brakes on this story about skeleton benches.

Miss Unsafe Brakes, 1938

The story's a bit thin though, isn't it?  


                                                            Man Geht Mil 1916, Hannah Hoch


Positively skeletal. I guess it's more of an outline.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/glenneroo/ 

I'll just have to pray that it's ok.


https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cheselden_t36_prayer.jpg


I'm going dancing later.

                                    A Party on Mobilisation Day 1936, Daniel Sabater


And now I'm going out to supper. 

Maybe a little pumpkin souffle?





Bone appetit!


www.marenakos.com


Credits

If you don't find skeletons terrifying enough, have a look at our previous Benchsite Halloween story. You'll find plenty of ghosts, ghouls, goblins, zombies, and other horrors at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/terrifying-benches-for-halloween.html


The first skeleton sitting on a stone bench seems to be picking a thorn from his foot, so no wonder he looks miserable. The lithograph is from Elementi di Anatomia dating back to 1837-39. The source is   
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/dreamanatomy/images/1200%20dpi/III-A-12.jpg 
and the authors are Francesco Bertinatti and Mecco Leone at 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:III-A-12.jpg

Travis is an archaeologist who is originally from Long Beach, California, though he has also lived in Seattle, Anchorage and North Carolina. Borracho is his photo of the drunk skeleton on a bench, which was taken at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History in 2009. https://www.flickr.com/photos/baggis/4329993236/

Much Afraid is a character from John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, 1683

The skeleton sitting on a bench with a prominent ribcage is a meme generator from July 2011. https://memegenerator.net/Waiting-Skeleton What did people come up with for the waiting skeleton? Well, the usual stuff really. 1) Hello, customer service? Yes, I'll hold. 2) She said "I'll be ready in five minutes." And my favourite: Waiting for affordable healthcare.

The public artwork Funky Bones is an outdoor sculpture by Atelier van Lieshout, a Dutch artist collective led by Joep van Lieshout with a studio in Rotterdam. 
http://www.ateliervanlieshout.com  The sculpture was created in 2010 and is the site of a romantic picnic in the novel The Fault in Our Stars. Currently located in the 100 Acres Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park within the grounds of the Indianapolis Art Museum.  Made from fiberglass, plywood and concrete, the Funky Bones sculpture consists of 22 white and black bone-shaped benches. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funky_Bones

The little skeleton looking for something is a performing skeleton which Jot Peh saw at Las Ramblas in Barcelona way back in 2006. Jot is a Dubliner who is much, much travelled. Check out his albums at  https://www.flickr.com/photos/jotpeh/133475559/  And speaking of Ireland, we have some very green St. Patrick's Day benches at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/st-patricks-top-o-irish-benches.html

The skeleton looking into another skeleton's head is an illustration from a French anarchist magazine published in 1904. The illustrator is Gustave-Henri Jossot (1866-1951

The two headless skeletons are on a CNC cut red bench based on "PlayaTech" collapsible bench designs, used for Burning Man 2009, and Pandora's Fix-It Shoppe and Lounge. They were photographed by Sam Ley at https://www.flickr.com/photos/phidauex/4465124089/  Sam is a renewable energy engineer from Boulder, Colorado.

The skeleton in my ensuite is from the wonderful Powerhouse Museum Collection on Flickr Commons. http://www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/2980051095/ It's a plate glass negative, taken about 1900, entitled Portrait of an articulated skeleton on a bentwood chair. It's a gift of the estate of Raymond W. Phillips, 2008.

Yes, Head of a Skeleton With Burning Cigarette is by the great Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890). It was created in 1886.

Sign Fail is one of the brilliant discoveries I have made on etsy. Michael Bancroft from Melbourne makes funny sign replicas inspired by real-life hilarity - the best of Chinglish and Engrish on handmade funny signs, cards & magnets. There are loads of Sign Fail signs on Benchsite. They're quirky, cool, inexpensive, great fun. www.etsy.com/shop/signfail

The little red skeleton child on a bench was in San Diego way back in 2008. The photo is by Mike Liu, a dad who fancies himself a writer. He describes himself as an occasional oversharer, in the classical internet-neat-stuff-curation sense of the word. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mliu92/3013958299/  

In 2015 two skeletons in Portland, Oregon seem to have tickled the funny bone of a man on a bench https://www.flickr.com/photos/doublecompile/14446642564/   The photo is by an extroverted software engineer, outdoorsman, role-player, and otaku who communicates mostly in movie quotes. Here's looking at you, kid. 

Joanna Michalak sent me the skeletal hands holding up candles, and the skeleton head with a very flimsy body which looks like it might be made out of a hessian bag. I know Thin is Good and all that, but really, it's not much of a body, is it? 

The two saluting skeletons holding candles are in the wonderful Franche Compte museum at the Citadelle in Besancon, France. This quirky museum shows all facets of rural life in Franche Compte.  

The skeleton looking into another skeleton's head is an illustration from a French anarchist magazine published in 1904. The illustrator is Gustave-Henri Jossot (1866-1951

The skeleton playing  a banjo is an animated Halloween decoration from Walgreens for Halloween 2013. It's from the collection of Mike Mozart of TheToyChannel and JeepersMedia on YouTube. I saw it in Mike's Flickr photostream at https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeepersmedia/13663658613/ 

The skeletons playing the piano are from the National Archives UK, 1893. 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/8141311057/


What is it with skeletons playing musical instruments?  The Day of the Dead skeleton couple are from www.thrillomatic.com I really like them! They have featured on Benchsite before, at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/gambling-on-love-in-las-vegas.html 

The Frida Kahlo/Diego Rivera second wedding photo is by Bones Nelson in Canada. Sherri Nelson makes all kinds of dazzling folk art, including this brilliant portrait print photo. Her etsy shop is at https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/BonesNelson and her website is at www.sherrinelson.ca  She sells a wide assortment of Day of the Dead psychedelic art prints, custom portrait paintings, kids' clothes, sugar skull ornaments, gothic art, rockabilly art , necklaces, printable cards, PDFs and home decor.

Calaca is a colloquial Mexican Spanish name for a skull or skeleton. Calacas are prominent in Mexico and are especially used as decorations for the Mexican Day of the Dead festival on the first of November. Let Drida Kivera Frida Kahlo and Friego Rahlo Diego Rivera show you the magnifico fiesta of Mexican benches we found at 

Gone are the days when wedding toppers were scared grooms and bored brides. At Splendorlocity in Stone Mountain, Georgia they have all kinds of amazing wedding toppers, including themes with lots of people sitting on benches. Day of the Dead Goth themed wedding toppers? No problem. A skeleton bride who has waited for ever for the right man? Yes, definitely. And much more besides. https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/splendorlocity

Peter Kelly is a business analyst from Sound Beach, New York. He went travelling back in 2002 and saw lots of bizarre things, including the skeletons in love on a bench; they were in a very strange sculpture park in
Nong Khai, Northeast Thailand. https://www.flickr.com/photos/peterkellystudios/190417556/ 

Valerie Everett lives in Tuscumbia, USA and is a frequent Benchsite contributor. She was out and about on Christmas Day in 2008 when she photographed Ronald McDonald on a bench in Indianapolis.  https://www.flickr.com/photos/valeriebb/3137649302/

In his album Words, Ozzy Delaney spells out words using, um, the stuff that the word is about. So, the word Orange is made from slices of carrot. Fire, cheese, popcorn, toothpaste, nuts and bolts, guess what? With bones, don't worry, it's not human bones. It's vertebral chicken bones. https://www.flickr.com/photos/24931020@N02/16461750339/


Pascal likes benches and he likes skeletons. His skeletal horse on a bench with a knight was a photo for Bench Monday back in November 2009. Pascal says that the advantage of being undead is that you always get the bench you want for Bench Monday.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/4106823451/ 

The skeletons sitting at a table (in the library?) are from the Bundes archive Bild in Berlin's Arbeitsschitz Museum in 1931.  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-
11038,_Berlin,_Arbeitsschutz-Museum.jpg 

Gary Denness is a British expat who used to live in México scraping a living as a TEFL teacher. He photographed the skeleton on a bench and has a set called Mexile 365 with a Mexican picture for every day of the year. He and the delightful Paola seem to spend a lot of time travelling. http://www.flickr.com/photos/garydenness/


I was intrigued when I saw Studio Job, the black and white bench of animal skeletons by Mieke Tacken in Amsterdam. Mieke's photostream shows a real commitment to design: she goes to all the design shows and takes photos of amazing things. Like some other people I know, she seems to have an interest in photographing seating of various kinds. Chairs? There are thousands. And quite a few brilliant benches too.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mieke/

The zebra is from Jolly Roger Ltd. Lifesize Models in the UK. http://www.lifesize-
models.co.uk  They have thousands of quality resin and fibre-glass 3D life-size models, figures, signs, statues, props, furnishings, etc. Their showroom has over 2000 themed models, which include animals, people, and everything from counter-top coffee beans to fullsize elephants. Their Facebook page shows some of the models in amazing situations https://www.facebook.com/TheJollyRogerLtd  You will also find them talked about on Twitter at https://twitter.com/lifesizemodels

Karen Green is a librarian in Manhattan. She says that the red, white and black Halloween skeleton bench is her kind of bench. She photographed it in Hopewood, New Jersey in 2012. https://www.flickr.com/photos/klg19/8133357262/   We're very literary here on Benchsite so you'll find plenty of book benches to suit any librarians. http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/world-book-day-dewey-need-library.html

Samantha Lyth runs Skeleton Leaf Craft Supplies in North Yorkshire in England. https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SkeletonLeafJTL  She makes skeleton leaves, bodhi leaves, and mixed colour packs, such as the lovely autumn leaves shown in the story. The leaves look delicate but they are very durable and great for crafting, printing, card making, gift tags, table decorations, scrapbooks & wedding invitations etc. Just by chance, a friend gave me a lovely pair of earrings this week, stuck into a gorgeous turquoise skeleton leaf. Samantha's skeleton leaves are from the Pará rubber tree, skeletonised, and dyed in a variety of hues including yellows, reds, and various shades of brown to look rather like fallen autumn leaves. If, like me, you've fallen for autumn benches, see  http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/falling-for-autumn-benches.html
  

Stick People Dancing on a Bench is a work of light graffiti by glenneroo, who is 
currently based in Vienna. glenneroo does a lot of portraits and he gets around; he has sets from all sorts of places, and a whole set of light graffiti photos as well. http://www.flickr.com/photos/glenneroo/  For a whole alphabet of dance benches see http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/an-alphabet-of-dance-benches-for-world.html

The praying skeleton is entitled Osteographica or The Anatomy of the Bones, published in London around 1733. It is an engraving from Gerard Van der Gucht (1696-1776) and the image is in the public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cheselden_t36_prayer.jpg   The author is William Cheselden (1688-1752).

Miss Unsafe Brakes appeared at the Chicago Auto Show in 1938. I guess it makes some kind of sense.

The very, very thin couple walking together are not skeletons but they are seriously thin. The work is called Man Geht Mil and I have not been able to get a sensible translation of this. It was created in 1916 by German artist Hannah Hoch.

The dancing skeletons are a painting by Spanish artist Daniel Sabater (1880-1951). Made in 1936 at the start of the Spanish Civil War, it's called A Party on Mobilisation Day. No political metaphor there then.


A dogbone bench comes in handy when you have a lot of hungry dog benches to feed, as I did when I wrote the Noah's Ark story on Benchsite . The Tenino Dogbone bench is from Marenakos in Preston, Washington. They make a variety of granite dogbone and other types of benches.  www.marenakos.com  And who'd have thought a dog bone bench would be so useful? If you're into bones and anatomy, there are some very nice medical dogs on Benchsite at  http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/feelgood-medical-benches-for-world.hthttp://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/feelgood-medical-benches-for-world.html ml   And indeed some very nice dog benches too. 

Harrowing Benches for Halloween

    It's Halloween and the scary benches are out. 

                                                    Vintage Halloween costume 1930s

I mean realllllly scary.


http://www.steelheartlimited.com/


There is every reason to be much afraid.

Much Afraid from The Pilgrim's Progress 1683

Creatures from the edges of beyond are everywhere. 

They emerge from the souls of drowned benches . . . 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnonolan/

they occupy the living benches in public parks . . . 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hortulus_Dobrzyca


. . . and they even swarm around the benches in your sitting room.

www.etsy.com/shop/stickerhog

I was terrified by this skeleton in my ensuite. 

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/

He said he'd just nipped in there for a quick cigarette.

                            Head of a Skeleton with A Burning Cigarette 1886, Vincent Van Gogh

Can I light that for you? 

Vincent Price movie still

Meanwhile, his mates had taken over my piano.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/8141311057/

There was some dancing going on. 

                                          Party on Mobilisation Day 1936, Daniel Sabater
            
Some of them look friendly enough


www.thrillomatic.com


but you don't get the feeling you want to reach out to them.


photo by Joanna Michalak

You certainly don't want them giving you a massage.



If you don't like skeletons, it's best to avoid benches in cemeteries.



I'm avoiding benches in parks too. 

You get those smiling zombies who sit beside you on a bench and try to chat about the economic crisis. 


http://www.flickr.com/photos/johntavaresjr/  

This zombie girl tried to befriend me by asking for advice about makeup.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanhayes/


Take care! They weave a web of deceit.

http://www.boisedailyphoto.com/

I am particularly careful around witches.  

I know there are good ones, like this one playing with her dog in the park . . . 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cresny/


. . . and this little one I saw in the bike shop.


But next thing you know, they're leaving their spoons in your coffee . . .

www.etsy.com/shop/milkandhoneyluxuries

and parking their brooms near your lovely orange bench.

 www.etsy.com/shop/wordybirdstudios

They fly off and you never know when they're coming back.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/riapereira/


Dare to complain and you'll get threats.

www.etsy.com/shop/2chicksandabasket


Coffee anyone?


www.etsy.com/shop/milkandhoneyluxuries

It's no wonder people are terrified.





And no one will hear you scream. 

                                                  The Scream 1893, Edvard Munch


Beware of demons sitting on benches, even if they appear to be just sending a text.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/treenaks/

And take special care with people who are absorbed by light.  

                                                       Absorbed by Light 2018, Karoline Hinz


Watch out for vampires who want to suck your blood. 

City Vals 1910, Sven Brasch

This woman may not realise the danger she is in. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theroyallibrarydenmark/8043671034/


This girl though, seems more alert. 

Plus the vampire is small and very cute.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alleykitten/

Some scary creatures will jump out at you and yell BOO.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drew-o-rama/

That's not so bad. Lots of these are just pumpkinheads. 

vintage Halloween card c.1900-1918

It's the murderers you have to watch out for.

The Murderer 1910, Edvard Munch

And the ghosts. 


They fade in and out and surprise you when you least expect it.




No bench is safe from these ghostly figures. 

                                        Die Nacht 1922, Aksel Waldemar Johannessen

With terror like that, it's no wonder this fellow lost his head.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xrrr/4060860832/


It's important to keep calm and scary carry on. 

Here in Fribble we had a Halloween party where everyone dressed up as people from different countries. It was meant to be fun rather than frightening.

Innocent wore her new designer pumpkin frock. She and her cat look innocent enough on their Halloween bench.




Her husband Root was a little weird in a Greek toga and Tamsin was an Egyptian mummy. But the scariest it got was Lord Brassica as Zog, King of Albania.





Far worse are the people who sit on benches without heads . . .



http://www.flickr.com/photos/wunderlich/

. . . or the ones who have a head but lack anything substantial in the way of a body . . .


photo by Joanna Michalak

The problem with skeletons is, they're just too thin. 

But not as thin as wire people. 

                                                    Man Geht Mil 1916, Hannah Hoch


The Brassicas had another Halloween party over at Drizzly Manor which, I gather, was more sinister. 



My imaginary friend Miggy turned up shrouded in secrecy. I don't even know which one she is here. 


                                        Time Guards, Manfred Keilnhofer, my photo 2009


With a seasonably on-trend spider fascinator on her head Lady Jessica Brassica was a very elegant and dignified Morticia Addams.





Not so dignified was Eddie, my Inner Editor.




We wondered why on earth Eddie dressed himself as a baby. He says he can't imagine anything scarier.

Johnson & Johnson Baby Lotion ad, c. 1944


Eddie explained that babies remind him of creepy crawlies.  You can see what he means.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanhayes/

Which leads me to a question: whatever happened to Baby Jane?

www.etsy.com/shop/uneekdolldesigns

I was going to ask my clairvoyant group this question but our meeting got cancelled.

The Great British Grammar Police, Facebook

Yes, I know, the punctuation on this notice is shocking.

But now for something truly frightening. Are you ready?



Ever heard of coulrophobia?

You haven't? 

Well, if you're scared of clowns, look away now.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/gfoster67/


Der Krampus is very creepy indeed. 

As are groups of clowns hanging around benches.

Mascherine, Renato Natali (1883-1979)


The only thing worse would be a clown zombie. 


http://www.flickr.com/photos/soul_stealer/

Zombies do not eat clowns though; apparently they taste funny.

My imaginary friend Miggy is terrified of zombies and clowns. She is frightened out of her wits by Der Kraumpus. She says if she saw him she would leave home and run away to a motel. 

But it's no good going to a motel, Miggy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jabbex/7817593030/

There'll be a clown in every room.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/librarianguish/


It's no good trying to lock yourself in the room and settle down with a book.




You won't be able to sleep.

www.etsy.com/shop/kohakul16


Miggy found herself a simple non-clown motel and she likes the retro car.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenjavier/ 

And what's this? A good-looking young man who owns the car. 

Name of Norman . . . 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenjavier/ 

Norman? 

Bates Motel? 

Hmmmm. Something about that rings a bell.

Migs! Whatever you do, don't take a shower! 

www.etsy.com/shop/customshowercurtains

And don't even think of calling for help.



Credits

The alien creature on the little whicker bench is a vintage Halloween costume from the 1930s. I saw it on Bored Panda, where in 2020 it was rated as Number 1 creepiest of all the creepy vintage costumes. 

The large spider bench is from Steel Heart Ltd. in Illinois http://www.steelheartlimited.com/  They make stylish and unusual home and garden products from cast iron, metal and other materials. 

Much Afraid is a character from John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, 1683. 

The drowned bench and the girl coming out of the water is a photograph called Broken by John O'Nolan, 2010. and I saw it at http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnonolan/  John  is from Lincoln and is a passionate web designer, as well as an entrepreneur, programmer, blogger, & author. He's also a member of the WordPress UI Team. There are some stunning portraits on his photostream too. 

The witch on the bench is by MOs810 in Poland, taken in 2013. It was taken at the beautiful garden Hortulus Ogrody Tematyczne in Dobrzycy. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hortulus_Dobrzyca_(12).jpg

I just love these decal bats flying around the elegant bench sofa. They're from Sarah at Stickerhog in Massachusetts. Sarah sells all kinds of wall decals and vinyl graphics for the home; indeed there are decals for every room in the house. Love the cup of steaming coffee!   www.etsy.com/shop/stickerhog

The skeleton in my ensuite is from the wonderful Powerhouse Museum Collection on Flickr Commons. http://www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/2980051095/ It's a plate glass negative, taken about 1900, entitled Portrait of an articulated skeleton on a bentwood chair. It's a gift of the estate of Raymond W. Phillips, 2008. 

The skeletons playing the piano are from the National Archives UK, 1893. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/8141311057/

The dancing skeletons are a painting by Spanish artist Daniel Sabater (1880-1951). It was painted in 1936 at the start of the Spanish Civil War. No irony there then. 

What is it with skeletons playing musical instruments?  The Day of the Dead skeleton couple are from www.thrillomatic.com I really like them! They have featured on Benchsite before, at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/gambling-on-love-in-las-vegas.html   

Joanna Michalak sent me the skeletal hands holding up candles, and the skeleton head with a very flimsy body which looks like it might be made out of a hessian bag. I know Thin is Good and all that, but really, it's not much of a body, is it?  

The very, very thin couple walking together are not skeletons but they are seriously thin. The work is called Man Geht Mil and I have not been able to get a sensible translation of this. It was created in 1916 by German artist Hannah Hoch.

I photographed my local cemetery just a few days ago here in Fribble-under-Par. Fribble dates from the 14th century so this is a nice old cemetery with lots of Victorian headstones still just about standing. The weeds have taken over, which adds to the atmosphere, and the bench too is in a state of decay. For more about Fribble-under-Par and my paradise island see http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/my-paradise-island.html

John Tavares Jr. lives in Toronto and uses his photos to document and report. The zombie girl and the man with his newspaper on a bench is apparently Another Quiet Afternoon at Nathan Phillips Square, which suggests that zombies normally inhabit this park. If I'm ever in the area I'll pop along and see one. http://www.flickr.com/photos/johntavaresjr/  

The intricate spiderweb bench featured as a Boise Daily Photo back in September 2008. It's from Debbie Coulson Smith, the Boise Diva, who posts pictures at  http://www.boisedailyphoto.com/  As it happens, this bench was not for Halloween; it was in front of a tattoo shop.

The witch and her dog in the park (2007) are by David Creswell, who lives in New York City but is very well travelled, as reflected in his Flickr photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/cresny/

The little witch in the bike shop and the ghost later on are both Miggy's niece Lettie. Like most kids, Lettie loves Halloween and now that she's older, she still carries on the tradition of dressing up. Lettie has a baaaaad sheep bench story to tell at 

The two scary spoons are both from Sarah Parker in Virginia. Her etsy shop has handstamped silverware, etched glass and other unique gifts.  www.etsy.com/shop/milkandhoneyluxuries

The broom parking sign is from Wendi West at Wordybird Studios in Utah. Wendi makes wall decals and stickers for every occasion. There are 11 pages of them in her etsy shop, all beautifully photographed against some eye-catching furniture. The orange bench is brilliant so I'm not surprised a witch would wan to park her broom there.  www.etsy.com/shop/wordybirdstudios

Ria Pereira from Miami took the Happy Floating Halloween image of Oliver the cat on the broomstick. Love the socks. Ria also has a way with coffee; her photos of cappucinos are enough to make me get on my broomstick and fly down to the nearest coffee house.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/riapereira/

The Don't make me drop a house on you sign, as every witch lover will know, is from the Wizard of Oz. I recognise the socks. It comes from 2 chicks and a basket, who make primitive handpainted and handcrafted signs in their cozy workshop in Pennsylvania. There are plenty of signs for witches, as well as for Christmas and other holidays. www.etsy.com/shop/2chicksandabasket

The demons sending a text are by Martijn van de Street, photographed in 2005. Martijn reckons they were reading a map. http://www.flickr.com/photos/treenaks/ I saw them at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Demons_on_a_bench.jpg?uselang=en-gb

The three people on a bench with their phones are a sculpture by Berlin-based artist Karoline Hinz. The sculpture, Absorbed by Light, was created by Hinz and designer Gail Lucas for the Amsterdam Light Festival in 2018. 

Edvard Munch's painting The Scream (1893), is one of the most recognizable works in the history of art. His later works proved to be less intense, but his earlier, darker paintings ensured his legacy. A testament to his importance, The Scream sold for more than $119 million in 2012. His other painting, The Murderer (1910), is less well known but nevertheless very disturbing. 


No vampires are involved in the photo of the man and the woman; it's actually ghosts which are the problem here.  The woman is actress Betty Nanser, performing in the Ibsen play Gengangere (Ghosts) in 1925. Her co-star is Henrik Bentzon. I can't help thinking she looks a little drained of blood, but perhaps that's the fear of ghosts. The photo is from The Royal Library of Denmark at   http://www.flickr.com/photos/departmentofmapsprintsandphotographstheroyallibrarydenmark/8043671034/

The elegant woman in the green dress is actually not the victim of a vampire; the man is merely kissing her neck. City Vals was created in 1910 by Danish graphic artist Sven Brasch (1886-1970). 

The little vampire and the girl on the bench were photographed in California in 2008 by Stacey Taylor-Kane. The vampire may look cute, but the photo is called Looking Tasty, which suggests the pretty girl is in some danger from the young vampire.  No wonder she looks worried. The photo is from Stacey's photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/alleykitten/

The pumpkinhead in a kimono is a vintage Halloween card from somewhere between 1900 and 1918. There was a huge fashion trend for kimonos at that time. Sorry, that's all I know. 

Boo! is the man in the mask standing on the bench. It's from Drew's Kitschcafe at http://www.flickr.com/photos/drew-o-rama/  Drew does a lot of Bench Mondays with this same bench. He likes french fries and vintage clothing and housewares. His photostream is full of colour: dishes, yarn, quilts, food, fabrics - all sorts of bright and brilliant things. 

The ghost poem is William Blake’s painting The Poems of Thomas Gray Design 31 (A Long Story), painted between 1797-1798. Blake lived 1757-1827. This is a Google Art Project. The painting is now in the Yale Center for British Art, but, as with most ghosts, not on view. I found it at  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Blake_-_The_Poems_of_Thomas_Gray,_Design_31,_%22A_Long_Story.%22_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg?uselang=en-gb

The ghostly woman beside the blue bench at night is a painting by Norwegian artist Aksel Waldemar Johannessen (1880-1922). Looks like the painting was done in the year of the artist's death. It's called The Night

The man holding his own head is Simon Greig (xrrr), who is an IT architect and part-time photographer. He has made this photo available via Flickr Creative Commons at  http://www.flickr.com/photos/xrrr/4060860832/  It's called Happy Headless Halloween and apparently it only took him 15 minutes to make.   

The pumpkin head beside the headless body is by Ex-pat Winnipegger John Wunderlich, who now lives in Toronto. His photostream includes great Halloween photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/wunderlich/ 

The shrouded women are Time Guards, sculptures I saw at Cass Sculpture Park in West Sussex during a visit in 2010. (I have also seen them entitled Guardians of Time - not sure which is correct.) Either way, they are stunning. The work is by Austrian sculptor Manfred Kielnhofer and this year the sculptures have been on tour. This month they have been at the Festival of Lights in Berlin, looking somewhat different from when I saw them.  http://www.artpark.at/2013/10/04/festival-of-lights-berlin-guardians-of-time-by-manfred-kielnhofer-contemporary-modern-light-art-festival/

Here in Fribble and Drizzly we take Halloween very seriously. There are lots of parties and people enjoy getting out their costumes. Some are spine-tingly, others are entirely benign. For example, here's Ursula Makepeace, our Unicorn in Residence. She decided to come to the Halloween party wearing the same thing she wore for World Peace Day back in September.




Baby Jane is a Uneek Doll Design from Debbie Ritter's shop in Alabama. www.etsy.com/shop/uneekdolldesigns Debbie makes dolls for all kinds of historic and literary figures, including this Bette Davis doll from her role in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (date) To my mind, this film is still one of the scariest ever. 

The Giant Scary Baby Things were photographed by Ryan Hayes in Prague in 2009. He saw them on the Mala Strana. Ryan is from Austin, Texas originally but now lives in London. He photographs a lot of creative people, including the Burning Man festival in Nevada, Halloween, and makeup artists at work. The zombie girl asking for makeup advice at the start of the post is also his. Ryan's photostream is oneflameinthefire at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanhayes/

Der_Krampus is a candy coloured clown I found on Flickr Creative Commons. http://www.flickr.com/photos/gfoster67/  He's by George F, perhaps he even is George F. I'm not coulrophobic but Der Krampus is very scary indeed. If you don't believe me, have a look at the set of photos of what clowns get up to on their holidays. Elsewhere, George F has some gorgeous, haunting photos of abandoned institutions; these really are the stuff of nightmares.

The coulrophobia badge is by Amber in Atlanta, Georgia. I thought this badge summed up coulrophobia rather succinctly. Apparently the term coulrophobia is a recent one, used mainly on the internet and not derived from any specific psychiatric condition, though it is well-established in research that many people, especially children, have a fear of clowns (Miggy included). A few years ago the Bestival had to change their theme when it became clear that many Bestival-goers are coulrophobic. Amber's etsy shop sells pinback buttons, magnets, photoprints and art glass penants. https://www.etsy.com/uk/people/kohaku16

The clown zombie is from Soul Stealer, who took the picture at World Zombie Day in London in 2012. There are a huge number of brilliant portraits on Soul Stealer's photostream, including goblins, steampunks, goths, zombies and some really creepy dolls. It's Halloween every day at http://www.flickr.com/photos/soul_stealer/     

The joke about zombies not eating clowns is by Rulfus The Undead Poet. 

The Clown Motel is in Tonopah, Nevada and it is very much photographed. According to Trip Advisor in August 2011, its rooms are clean and comfortable. Despite this recommendation, Miggy won't be going there. This photo is by Jon Jabbex, taken in 2012 for his Flickr photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jabbex/7817593030/  Jon did not find the motel creepy at all, but didn't like the cemetery right behind it. 

The seated clown with another clown in his lap is also from the Clown Motel; I recognise the photos on the wall behind them. This photo is by librariananguish, who describes herself as a librarian crimefighter. She visited The Clown Motel in 2010 and lived to tell the tale. You can see more photos of the Clown Motel and other scary stuff at  http://www.flickr.com/photos/librarianguish/with/5070021196/

Here Be Clowns is a book I found in an antique shop. It is an anthology edited by Dorothy Davies and published in 2012. I don't know anything about the plots of the stories but the front cover is enough to send Miggy screaming to the Bates Motel. 


The Bates Motel is at Universal Studios. It was photographed by Loren Javier in 2011 and appears on his photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenjavier/ If you know Alfred Hitchcock's movie Psycho, you'll know all about the Bates hotel and what happened in the shower there.  Loren lives in LA and has an annual pass at Disneyland. But he has loads of photos from Universal Studios too, including a whole collection of Norman Bates and the Bates Motel. 

The Psycho shower curtain is one of the many fabulously creative shower curtain designs from Joe. I don't suppose many motels buy them.  Joe's shop is at www.etsy.com/shop/customshowercurtains

The final Halloween party picture shows Fribble residents, from left to right: Cora Boran (with mask and walking frame); Tamsin Pink (wrapped in shroud); Garcon Orange, a French orange dressed as himself; Tamsin's baby with a spider on his head. In the middle row our Engineer Emily has a bowl of fruit on her head and is supposed to be Carmen Miranda. The wrench in her hand doesn't help. My two cats Rosie and Melissa are at the back, then our police constable Wyme the Crime under the ghost head. He couldn't be scary if he tried. Root, son and heir of Lord Brassica, is wrapped up in a green net (good place for him) and his mate Sk8T is upside down for some reason. In the middle is a little angel called Angela, who appears to be a party-crasher as no one knows who on earth she is.