Jorge Mascarenhas - Gymnophobia

Here's a super dooper late post. I chose to illustrate gymnophobia: fear of nudity. Enjoy!

Tim Paul - Childhood Memory

I loved Halloween as a kid. My mom worked in a fabric store and would make all our costumes. Usually the one I would wear was a hand me down, but i didn't care. For kids, they were really good costumes. There were several clown costumes (before clowns became creepy), a green and brown Robin Hood costume and a reg and gold velvet bull fighter.

We'd get dressed up, take a pillow case and go out for hours when it was dark, getting candy.

I actually have one of the clown costumes we used to wear.

Bryndon Everett - Halloween Memory

As A kid I loved the film Forbidden Planet. And Wanted to go as Robby the Robot for Halloween. I made a costume from a box, drier vent tubes, tinfoil, and battery-powered Christmas lights....The illusion was complete!

The green mohawk and black eye had nothing to do with the costume, and everything to do with having cool parents, and being a terrible mother's worry as a 6-year old.

Kristina Carroll - The Face in the Window

The Face in the Window
Charcoal 18 x 24

The Face in The Window

(A quick and dirty Halloween Story and Illustration by Kristina Carroll)

 "Three in the morn. The soul’s midnight. The tide goes out, the soul ebbs. "

-Ray Bradbury from Something Wicked This Way Comes

She lay in bed staring at the ceiling. She could probably move if she wanted to.  She tried to tell herself it was only that she was afraid to wake her husband, not that there was a larger dread lurking at the edge of her vision.  A growing certainty should she turn her head toward the window, there would be something there and the moment she saw it,  acknowledged its existence,  was the moment it would be free to attack.

She turned her head toward the window next to the bed.

A face stared back at her from outside.

She woke up with a start. It was 3am. Again. 

The woman stared at the ceiling for a few minutes but knowing she wouldn’t get anymore sleep that night, rolled out of bed and walked to the living room. She sat on the couch, glanced at her desk in the corner, with its piles of hand-written outline notes and a few chapters stacked around it on the floor. She turned on the TV and sighed. 

The dream had started a few months ago. It was always the same: paralysis, fear, look, face in the window, wake, 3am. It didn’t matter how many times it happened, it was always new in the dream. It was always the same fresh terror. 

The worst part is that it was happening with more and more frequency.

Carly Janine Mazur - Scary Story

9" x 15" oil and acrylic on board

I chose to do a collaborate story/illustration with my boyfriend John taking the role of author and me, the illustrator. Here is his short story:

The Lamppost

The inky black of the side street was broken only by a single light. Its amber glow touched down on the recently disturbed side walk. The concrete had within the circle of light only one tenant, a young man who could barely have stepped foot into his twenties. His solid form created an oasis of shadow contained by the light. The lamppost stood above him, a sentinel in the dark. It was doing its job well.

The lamppost’s warm light fell upon the messy mop of hair that capped the still head of the young man. The light slid deep into his increasingly pale skin, and collected on his cheeks and forearms. He was well lit from above, and not a visible inch of him was outside the reach of the lamppost’s light. The mercury vapor bulb continued to shine. Years of wear had done little to hamper its effectiveness. It was a good lamp; it did its job well.

As the night drew on, the ground beneath the young man continued to darken. This was not by fault of the lamp. The dark spot was fluidic, and flared with the reflected amber light. With deep red hue, the darkness continued to spread. It trailed off beyond the faint boundary of where the light met the dark.

The young man began to stir. Tonight, the constant drone of the lamppost’s bulb was accompanied by a soft gurgling. This could be traced to its source, deep within the lungs of the slumped figure. His tensed shoulders loosened against the grey steel of the lamppost’s supporting pole. It was a very sturdy pole, and it had aided the lamp in its years of hard work. Held aloft by the pole; the lamp shone on in the dark night as it had for years and as it would.

Now the gurgling, caused by the dark hole through his abdomen, slowed. The wound was ragged and deep, and well lit on the surface. The depths of the hole were lost to the pervasive dark. The deep red of his blood seeped into his once white shirt. Perhaps a surgical lamp would have revealed more of the grievous wound, but the lamp had done all it was required to. The lamp was not ambitious, nor was it able to be. It was a good lamp, and it did only the job it was made to do.

The cold sweat of the young dying man slid down from his brow to the end of his sharp nose. Illuminated along its path and reflecting tiny splashes of light across his pale lips and sunken cheeks. His unremarkable brown eyes began to glaze, and the light of dawn swept the sky. His breath rattled once more, a soft vapor caught in the constant illumination. His life left him as the surrounding dark peeled away like an orange, revealing a fresh day. The streetlight fell dark. It was a good lamp; it did its job well, and now that job was done. Now left in the brightening world was a warm corpse against a cold grey lamppost.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

5"x7"

pencil on board

This is my son's costume tonight: 

Batman, Superman, and hard to tell but Darth Vader shoes

Scott Brundage- My Halloween Memory

I'll never forget that time an undead mummified chimp bit my hand off. 

(Grew back just fine.)

Jensine Eckwall- Halloween Memory

Halloween 2001, I was 10 years old and deep in the throes of Harry Potter obsession.  I was living in England (in Surrey, not far from the Forbidden Forest sets) and I had the nerdy mop haircut and round glasses-- gathered from the books, the films hadn't come out yet-- so the stars aligned perfectly for my costume.  Needless to say, I was a little disappointed when my 11th birthday rolled around and I didn't get my Hogwarts letter.

I really enjoyed being a part of this blog, thanks so much to Kristina for inviting me!

Narciso Espiritu - Halloween Memory

My favorite Halloween Memory takes place in 2008. Wait.

It's important to note that I've been attracted to caution tape my whole life. How could you not be? Since I was around 10 or 11 years-old, I loved testing boundaries set by the fleeting existence of yellow vinyl tape. It's not even that I didn't know what was behind them. It was either wet cement, a construction site, a crime scene-- whatever. It was just a thrill, I guess. Maybe I have a problem with authority.

So, then, on Halloween 2008, I decided to dress up my younger brother, four years younger than me, as this caution-tape-clad vigilante. I took picture of him flailing around in the costume throughout the night, and after reviewing the pictures that evening, something clicked. This thing that was kind of lingering in my mind, this "Caution Tape Crusader," was realized right in front of me.

I've been off and on, but I am creating a comic, "Tales of Caution," around this character, who I just call "Caution" these days. I wasn't able to add color to these in time, but I will probably in the near future. The first image is how my brother dressed that night in 2008, and how the character first looked. The second image is a drawing I did of the character in his current form. I've been putting more time into it this year and, I can tell it's going to be a lot of fun. (There's a few illos of the characters on my website, if you're interested in how they look in color!)

Happy Hallows!

Scott Murphy - Happy Halloween!

Dracula Strikes Again!
16"x20" oil on canvas.

Been overwhelmed with work the past few weeks so this one isn't quite on target for todays challenge, but i'd rather post something than nothing at all for the finale. 

This is a painting I just wrapped up for a class assignment with the MFA program i'm doing.
It was for a 1970's Eerie magazine cover.
Also, Dracula has always been one of my favorite characters through his many incarnations.
I particularly enjoy the Christopher Lee version.

Jeanine Henderson—Halloween Memory

Anyone who knows me knows that Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday, though it wasn't actually until art school when I got really into it—I think because I started to hand-make elaborate costumes that I'd plan months in advance. Then, once I got to NYC I kind of took it all to a new level...

There were a few years I lived in a huge, old, creepy Brooklyn brownstone that was pretty much made for Halloween parties—so, of course I threw some huge bashes! I'd choose a theme & hand-make decorations to cover the house top to bottom, fully transforming it into another world. We'd pack a full house, and even created theme-related "photo sets" for guests to have their pictures taken upon arrival. I have to admit, they were pretty kick ass parties!

So, needless to say, I have countless "favorite" Halloween memories—but thought of my Voodoo Halloween party of 2008 for today's image. The house was transformed into a swampy, creepy, fog-filled land of dancing and debauchery. I dressed as a Voodoo Queen: I pinned dreadlocks to my head (bought at my Brooklyn corner store!), strung chicken bones around my neck (real ones I'd bleached), and hung tiny shrunken heads (carved & dried apples!) from my waist. And, we built a life-sized coffin for a creepy, fun photo op. Definitely one my my best Halloweens ever!

Happy Halloween, all! And Thanks, Kristina for putting together and inviting me to participate in this group. It's been a fun month!

Aaron Miller - Happy Halloween!

The Possessed | oil on board | 5x7 | 2013 | Aaron Miller

Happy Halloween everyone! I'm really glad I was invited by Kristina to be a part of this awesome group. (Thanks Kristina!)

I'm sure we'll take a break from work tonight to catch a scary movie. I think I saw Paranormal Activity 4 on Netflix.

Kristina Carroll - Equinophobia

Equinophobia
Charcoal 18 x 24

There are so many interesting phobias out there. Fear of Gravity (Barophobia), Fear of Beautiful Women (Caligynephobia.)... More obscure and one could argue more interesting than the Fear of Horses. But the more I thought about it, the more I just couldn't get the  image of horses out of my head. Between Henri Fuseli's Nightmare horse and the familiar Carousel Horse (why do they always look like they're terrified and screaming?), this one needed to get exorcised. A bit rushed due to a very busy week but I think it does the job nonetheless.

Ricardo Lopez Ortiz- Antlophobia

Antlophobia

An abnormal fear of floods.

Irrational Fear - Engulfment and Abandonment

"Engulfment and Abandonment"

20"x24"

acrylic, watercolor, pen and ink on board

Engulfment and Abandonment are normal fears,

and we all oscillate between the two.

We all want to fit in and be accepted,

all the while being radically different and special.

Tim Paul - Avian Coprophobia

I fear being crapped on by birds (well anything, really) while in public. Heck in private too. Look just don't crap on me period.

Aaron Miller - Childhood Fears

Succubus | Oil on board | 5x7 | 2013 | Aaron Miller

For some reason or another I became afraid of horror movies as a kid. Even lame ones. And at some point I couldn't even watch the Incredible Hulk. I just avoided all contact with the subject.

Recently I came across the show that sparked the fear. It was a Hammer Horror episode, The Two Faces of Evil. The scene where the Doppelganger slits the drivers throat in the car. That was it. 

Years later at a birthday party my friends forced me to watch Nightmare on Elm Street. While I don't remember enjoying the movie it did sort of break the fear of these movies. And I started watching them like everyone else.

Carly Janine Mazur - Trypophobia: Fear of Small Holes/Repetitive Patterns

2.5" x 3.5" oil and acrylic on board

Trypophobia: a combination of the Greek trypo (punching, drilling or boring holes) and phobia (fear/morbid fear).

This particular phobia is very young--coined 8 years ago--in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This particular phobia is also known as repetitive pattern phobia, in which people become repulsed by looking at clustered holes such as honeycomb, lotus pods, coral, et cetera, or repeating patterns seen in large amounts of grains/legumes, amphibian egg clusters, and the like.

It's a very interesting, unique phobia to me, because it is so out of the ordinary. It is mainly described as a primal reaction relating to visual signs of danger. What that danger could be, who knows!

Jensine Eckwall - Frigophobia- Fear of Becoming too Cold

Upon first researching frigophobia, I was surprised and fascinated by its correlation with other, largely gender-based psychological disorders.  It is associated with koro, a culture-specific syndrome where male sufferers believe their genitals are retracting into the body and will disappear.  Coldness is associated with an overabundance of yin, the female element.  

In China and Singapore, when women are notified of the illness (it is traditionally believed that working women are particularly susceptible, triggered by stresses like pregnancy), they tend to withdraw from the workforce, avoid exposure to the elements, and alter their diets as opposed to psychotherapy.

Jeanine Henderson—Pogonophobia: Fear of Beards

This was a phobia I'd not heard of before....but couldn't resist drawing a freaky beard!

Scott Brundage- Zemmiphobia: Fear of the great mole rat

I can see them as being both adorable and the stuff of pure nightmare. 

Narciso Espiritu - My Favorite Horror Story

"CANDYMAN"

I remember, growing up, I wasn't particularly scared by horror movies. Jason and Freddy didn't get to me. Nor did murderous clowns or slimy leprechauns. For a long time, I just didn't get them. Or I hadn't seen one that was well done and had more than one layer. Maybe I have to rewatch some classic horror films.

I watched Candyman in 2006, and I had to take it back. There could be a horror movie that was more than cheap thrills and gratuitous nudity. Candyman was the first movie that really haunted me.

(Runner-up: Funny Games)

Alice Stanne - What Terrified You as a Child?

As a child I was really freaked out by closets, what could be inside them. Different closets had different fears of what could be inside. My bedroom closet had a monster, my grandmother's closet led into  a dark abyss, and maybe giant spiders behind the doors to the eaves. Though now it's mostly just a habit, I still do not sleep with a closet door even the slightest bit of open.

I got a little over ambitious this weekend, decided my idea would best come across in a book so you can open and close the closet doors.