Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Haunted House: My Sister's Ghost

I've discovered there are sites out there devoted to posting "dark" themed art. So I decided to join a challenge on Art on the Dark Side, where the current theme is Haunted Houses. Cool!! When I was a kid, there were a couple of "haunted" houses within walking distance of the home where I grew up in Turtle Creek, PA. Mind you, I lived on a street that was a dirt road until I was about 10 years old. So spooky old houses, inhabited and otherwise, were not an uncommon sight. Boy, was Halloween fun in my neighborhood! I had an imagination even then, and when the moon was being driven by whippy clouds coursing across the dark sky, and the wind rattled the dry leaves still on the skeletal trees, I was out on my little broom. Any bit of weedy field became the blasted moors, any bare tree was inhabited by (possibly evil) pagan spirits, and beings of the night were out and about and up to god knew what tricks! I was ready for them.

One of the "haunted" houses, I later learned, was used by a homeless man called Gandy. I never saw him, but I would occasionally invade the premises, heart beating wildly and eyes darting ceaselessly, to give myself a thrill. What I found, was candle stubs. I don't know where the old man got all those candles, but I took a few to burn in one of my own haunts in the surrounding woods. I was forever finding "treasures" like these, bits of cast off stuff, shiny metal, an old empty wallet, a small brass flower pot. I was an avid pack-rat even then, and built myself little nests in the woods to hide my treasures that I wasn't allowed to cart into the house.

I don't actually have a sister (I'm an only child). That being the case, it's easy to pretend I had one who died. So here she is, flamboyantly haunting a house I (probably) never lived in.

5 comments:

  1. Well.....what a spooky child you were!!LOL!! Now you've spilt the beans had we all better watch out on Halloween?
    I have got a sister and she's always been spooky!!
    Hugs
    June xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is fantastic! I love it and I love the image you conjured up of the young Diane - huge smile on my face now.

    Your comment over at mine did make me chuckle. Unfortunately I am cursed, cursed I tell you with friends and family that like cute and nice and pretty. I've tried bringing them over to the dark side but they'll have none of it - so unfortunately most of my pressies end up cute. pah! :P Though my next ducky is a vampire duckie - huzzah! Finally! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great art and great story !! Really cool this :)

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from you!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...