Summer always started the season. I can recall childhood summers spent in the cool musty sanctity of my father's studio behind the house.It had an old green shag carpet and a half a skylight, and an old proper easy chair, upholstered in gritty pink fabric.
My father's Aurora monster kits were in there. Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolfman. He did an astounding job painting them, Dracula had Bela's pained expression on his face, Frankenstein Monster's hands were upturned, pleading for understanding.
There was a time shortly after we moved to that house when I was scared of the back end of the place. The backyard seemed to plunge down into a creek, there was a strange red deck, with angled dimensions that made the space feel like a German Expressionist film set.
And the monsters were back there, I imagined them growing to full size and coming to my room near the back of the house.
I spent the summers back there in the studio, reading my father's collection of classic EC Horror comics. In the evening my Dad would get home from work and maybe we'd spend some time working on the sculpt for that year's Halloween mask. I was pretty fortunate in that regard, I got a custom mask for Halloween, heh heh.
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We're working ourselves up for Halloween, it's been tough this year, crunch time hit at work just as the summer started. I doubt I'll have time to do a proper haunt, but I want to make at least one prop this year. Otherwise I want to focus on ambience, what can be done with a roll of dorp and some votives, and a few witch jars.
I found this little yard lantern at the cash king market around the corner. 5$ solar powered. I think it will be a nice addition.
