A Haunted Halloween Give Away!!!!!!

Ohhh it's almost here...what you ask?
The time of year all of us Halloweenies wait for! That one night of the year that is ours! It's gets here, then poof it's gone! Then we sit and wait another year.....oh the days drag by........
OK! OK! Enough of that!

I am going to have a GIVE AWAY! What am I giving?



One of these will be sent to a winner.
Ornaments are made from a Haunted Swamp Gourd! Noses, ears or hats are made from a over baked clay and painted by...me!
If there are more then 4 winners another Gourd ornie will be sent that's not pictured here... I have more! HAhahahahhhaaaaaa


Four winners will be needed! Maybe more!
For every 5 people who post 1 winner will be drawn!
15 people = 3 winners
20 people = 4 winners
25 people = 5 winners....and so on!

How do you get a chance.... or two?
All you have to do is post here for one chance....
Blog about this Give Away on your Blog and you will be put in for a second chance!
Names will be drawn on Oct 24....thirteen days from now!

Byrum Art is having a Give Away!

Byrum Art is having a Give Away to celebrate Halloween!

First Prize will be a Original Painting with a black frame with the corners washed in orange!

Second Prize will be a print from our most popular print "Autumn Dance", size 5" by 7" with the mirrored glass frame.

So hurry over and check it out at
http://byrumart.blogspot.com/

Please let her know you found her Give Away here!

OK Get going, get over there, fly away!
Lynda

A Haunted place to share

My Friday night story wasn't scarey....it just touched me and I wanted to share.

Now I ask...did you grow up in a haunted house? I would love to hear your stories.
Here are some of mine.... just things that happened to me in my life....and what a life it is!

My great-grandmother,grandfather, uncle and , mother all died at home. My dad almost did too, but he's there still at 'home'....yes the house I grew up in. My son now lives in the very same house.
Not many people stayed the night, my house was too scary. Sometimes the water would come on all by itself, or the T.V. came on and blasted! We would hear footsteps upstairs when no one was there.

The upstairs living room was always the creepiest place to me. It just had a air about it. You know that odd feeling? There was this Cinderella clock in that room. It had stopped the minute my grandfather died and never ran again. I had to pass through that room to get to my bedroom upstairs. As soon as I stepped foot in that room that clock would chime! How I hated to go through that room. This didn't happen every night just 3-4 out of seven.

In that same room there was this shadowbox on the wall that held some nicknacks. I swear they would turn and look at you. Once I had some friends over....well let's say they saw it too. I never saw a pack of people run out the door so fast in my life!

I was only about 10-12 when my grandfather died. But almost every night I woulod hear footsteps coming up the steps....I new it was only grandpa coming to check on me, it was OK.
My grand daughter lives there now with my son. She stopped one day and pointed at a picture on my wall and said " That's Grand-Dad he talks to me sometimes at home." Now she had never met my dad, he had died before she was born....hmmmm makes you wonder.

After my dad died we rented the house out for a short time, this was before Tom, my son bought it, the tenet left about midnight one night. She did later return for her things, in the daylight. She said she kept seeing a woman in the house, just glimpses. On that last night that woman wouldn't let her alone. She was banging on the bedroom door. That's the night she left. She later discribed the 'women', she discribed my mom right down to her glasses! Guess mom didn't want her there!

This is just a tiny bit about my haunted house that I grew up in. I could tell you stories....so many stories!
Eveb to this day they are still there. Just ask my son and his family!

Come share your story!
Lynda

Last Ride .... Friday night story

(this is a story I retelling that I heard sometime ago as well as I can remember it)
This story I have added some artwork of mine from past years.


The old women peered out her grimmy window into the bright sky lite by the full moon.
What a perfect background for Halloween!

Her blcak cat leaped onto her lap and purred loudly. Oh so pleasent to her ears.

The cat stared into her green eyes set in a wrinkly face.
She rose from the chair and walked to the old trunk filled with the tools of her trade.
Rummaging through the odds and ends she finds what she was searching for. This will do fine she says in a whisper.. She pours the dried contents into liquid and it begins to bubble. hmmmm.... she drinks deeply... a bitter tast.

(
She hobbles over to the fire, a liquid green mixture boils in her cauldron.
Stiring the mixture she says....... Double, bubble, toil and trouble!
The shadow of her cat grows in size, a howl is heard outside in the woods, she shouts in response.

A gust of wind slames again the old house. Saddnes crosses the old womans face. Rejoice in the night for when the sun comes up we must return.
The old woman opens the closet and reaches inside. She pulls out and old cloak as dark as night. Tears trickled down her worn face. She pulled it tightly around herself. Next she she reached up and removed a old pointed hat from the dusty shelf, she brushed away her silver hair as she placed it on her head.

She looked around her dim room thinking of fond memories with no regretes. Her eyes landing on her cat. 'Now my dear friend for all these years, we will answer the call of this night'

She spread her arms wide as the wind began to blow harder. Her broom seemed to float towards her. " It is our time! My sisters await!"
It was Halloween night and spirits were waiting.
She sat upon her broom and took flight. This was her last night as Coven leader, a new one would be sworn in this Hallow's eve.

For the last time on this magical night she would ride into the night sky. This was her last ride.

Ohhh Soooo Spooky!!!!! The life of a Haunted Swamp Gourd

I listed this fellow last night!

I love using my gourds but, at the same time I hate seeing them leave my home!

This gourd has spent about 2 years in my loving care.

From seed to Halloween Ornament!

First year of life he went from seed to a little seedling.

The vine grew and grew , then one day a flower appeared!

A little baby gourdlet was being created!

As the spring and summer marched on, the little gourdlet got bigger and bigger!

August came and he was all grown up.... well almost!

September and October came, it got colder, then a frost!

Oh My!

All the vines looked dead! But there in the mess there he was.

The vine browned, it was time to be picked!

He layed out in the weather all that winter.

Spring came with rains and warmer weather,

awwww the feel of the sunshine drying him out more.

He was moved to a dryer spot to continue his journey.

As summer came he was almost dry....almost.

He got to see the new life of more gourds begin, just like he did.

Then he was checked again, shaken and looked at from top to bottom.

Yes!

He was dry! Off to a nice hot bath!

He got to linger for alittle while soaking the grime and dirt from his shell.

Awwww what a nice soak....then..... Lynda comes in with a copper scrubby!

Oh Nooooo!

She adds more soap and starts scrubbing, rinsing, scrubbing.

Look ! All nice and clean...... hmmmm what's that I smell?

Bleach!

Dunk, dunk, dunk. Swish, swish, swish.

A bleach bath!

Lynda takes me out and lays me on a nice dry towel..... I feel so clean!

Now a new life begins.... Lynda sets me on her art table and looks me over and applies some paint.

I whisper to her.... "I wanna' be a Halloween Ornament."

She looks me over again, awww she thinks "this would make a fine Halloween Ornament!"

She paints and designs and paints some more. Hours and days go by.

She adds beads and foo-foo to make me all pretty.....but I am still scary!

She holds me up and nods her head and gives me a twirl then I hear.

I think this one is done!

Getting ready....am I crazy!?

Well....I started pulling all the Halloween party decorations out! Am I crazy??? I don't even know where to begin this year! The weather seems so unpredictable... is it going to be rainy, cold, wet, dry, too cold..... or just right for a outside party? Where do I begin!??!!
I have ..... 14 bins and three plies of Halloween stuff! That's not counting the 30+ tombstones!
I am hoping for dry weather, it can be chilly but dry!
Where, oh where do I begin?

A New Award *** Over The Top!

What wonderful Award!

I recieved this award from Sherry at http://byrumart.blogspot.com

(wish I knew how to do those neat links...so suffer along with me)

I am to pass this Award along to six wonderful Artists!

Here are the rules for the Over the Top Award.

Copy and change the answers and paste the it on your blog. One word answers! Once you have filled it out pass this award to 6 others. Alert then that they have been awarded! And have fun!

1 Where is your cell phone? Car

2 Your hair? Short

3 Your mother? Ashes

4 Your father? Ashes

5 Your Favorite food? Pizza

6 Your dream last night? Nothing

7 Your favorite drink? water

8 Your dream/goal? Sell

9 What room are you in? Artroom

10 Your hobby? Life

11 Your fear? Alone

12 Where do you want to be in six years? Alive

13 Where were you last night? Garden

14 Something that you aren't? Hungry

15 Muffins? Blueberry

16 Wish list item? Website

17 Where did you grow up? Ohio

18 Last thing you did? Catlitter

19 What are you wearing? Jeans

20 Your Tv? On

21 Your pets? Cats

22 Friends? Hmmmm

23 Your life? Boring

24 Your mood? Glum

25 Missing someone? No

26 Vehical? Mazda 5

27 Something your not wearing? Shoes

28 Your favorite store? PatCatins

29 Your favorite color? Purple

30 When was the last time you laughed? Yesterday

31 Last time you cried? Awhile

32 Your best friend? Hubby

33 One place that I go over and over? Pond

34 One personwho Emails you regularly? Sister

35 Favorite place to eat? Anywhere

OK that's it!

I am passing this award to

(This is the hard part)

http://theplayoflightandshadow.blogspot.com

http://lisanelsonart.blogspot.com

http://curnowart.blogspot.com

http://magicbrushstudio.blogspot.com

http://paintmisbehavin.blogspot.com

http://wimsyfolkartist.blogspot.com

Friday Night Ghost Story

Black Aggie
retold by
S. E. Schlosser


When Felix Agnus put up the life-sized shrouded bronze statue of a grieving angel, seated on a pedestal, in the Agnus family plot in the Druid Ridge Cemetery, he had no idea what he had started. The statue was a rather eerie figure by day, frozen in a moment of grief and terrible pain. At night, the figure was almost unbelievably creepy; the shroud over its head obscuring the face until you were up close to it. There was a living air about the grieving angel, as if its arms could really reach out and grab you if you weren't careful.

It didn't take long for rumors to sweep through the town and surrounding countryside. They said that the statue - nicknamed Black Aggie - was haunted by the spirit of a mistreated wife who lay beneath her feet. The statue's eyes would glow red at the stroke of midnight, and any living person who returned the statues gaze would instantly be struck blind. Any pregnant woman who passed through her shadow would miscarry. If you sat on her lap at night, the statue would come to life and crush you to death in her dark embrace. If you spoke Black Aggie's name three times at midnight in front of a dark mirror, the evil angel would appear and pull you down to hell. They also said that spirits of the dead would rise from their graves on dark nights to gather around the statue at night.

People began visiting the cemetery just to see the statue, and it was then that the local fraternity decided to make the statue of Grief part of their initiation rites. "Black Aggie" sitting, where candidates for membership had to spend the night crouched beneath the statue with their backs to the grave of General Agnus, became popular.

One dark night, two fraternity members accompanied new hopeful to the cemetery and watched while he took his place underneath the creepy statue. The clouds had obscured the moon that night, and the whole area surrounding the dark statue was filled with a sense of anger and malice. It felt as if a storm were brewing in that part of the cemetery, and to their chagrin, the two fraternity members noticed that gray shadows seemed to be clustering around the body of the frightened fraternity candidate crouching in front of the statue.

What had been a funny initiation rite suddenly took on an air of danger. One of the fraternity brothers stepped forward in alarm to call out to the initiate. As he did, the statue above the boy stirred ominously. The two fraternity brothers froze in shock as the shrouded head turned toward the new candidate. They saw the gleam of glowing red eyes beneath the concealing hood as the statue's arms reached out toward the cowering boy.

With shouts of alarm, the fraternity brothers leapt forward to rescue the new initiate. But it was too late. The initiate gave one horrified yell, and then his body disappeared into the embrace of the dark angel. The fraternity brothers skidded to a halt as the statue thoughtfully rested its glowing eyes upon them. With gasps of terror, the boys fled from the cemetery before the statue could grab them too.

Hearing the screams, a night watchman hurried to the Agnus plot. To his chagrin, he discovered the body of a young man lying at the foot of the statue. The young man had apparently died of fright.

The disruption caused by the statue grew so acute that the Agnus family finally donated it to the Smithsonian museum in Washington D.C.. The grieving angel sat for many years in storage there, never again to plague the citizens visiting the Druid Hill Park Cemetery.