Anonymous Halloween photographs from c.1875–1955—truly haunting Americana, with a foreword by David Lynch
The photographs in Haunted Air provide an extraordinary glimpse into the traditions of this macabre festival from ages past and form an important document of photographic history. These are the pictures of the dead: family portraits, mementos of the treasured, now unrecognizable, and others. The roots of Halloween lie in the ancient pre–Christian Celtic festival of Samhain, a feast to mark the death of the old year and the birth of the new. It was believed that on this night the veil separating the worlds of the living and the dead grew thin and ruptured, allowing spirits to pass through and walk unseen but not unheard amongst men. The advent of Christianity saw the pagan festival subsumed in All Souls’ Day, when across Europe the dead were mourned and venerated. Children and the poor, often masked or in outlandish costumes, wandered the night begging for “soul cakes” in exchange for prayers, and fires burned to keep malevolent phantoms at bay. From Europe, the haunted tradition would quickly take root and flourish in the fertile soil of the New World. Feeding hungrily on fresh lore, consuming half–remembered tales of its own shadowy origins and rituals, Halloween was reborn in America. The pumpkin supplanted the carved turnip; costumes grew ever stranger, and celebrants both rural and urban seized gleefully on the festival’s intoxicating, lawless spirit. For one wild night, the dead stared into the faces of the living, and the living, ghoulishly masked and clad in tattered backwoods baroque, stared back.
Non-Fiction Book Review Blog: Haunted Air
Take a trip back in time with Ossian Brown’s Haunted Air, which is a collection of Halloween images that date back from 1875 to 1955. The images, without any doubt, will instill a sense of creepiness, or, a Haunted Air!
I often find myself asking, “What happened to Halloween?” As the years go by, and as I get older I suppose, Halloween seems to be less and less about the ghosts and ghouls and the fear instilled by them and more and more about the colorful and glittery, cutesy stuff. The “scare factor” seems to be almost gone, non-existent! And frankly, it upsets me to see Christmas decor on the shelves before Halloween has even arrived!
In case you were wondering, I am a huge fan (lover) of Halloween and it deeply saddens me to feel that it has almost become a ‘blip’ on the calendar. Yes, I am aware that sales for Halloween decor, merchandise, and candy are right up there with the rest in terms of sales, but still, I feel that it has been regulated to just one day of “celebration” as opposed to the entire month, or two coughs and clears throat) Christmas!
Even the quality of Halloween decor seems to have taken a nose-dive. I was recently inside a Halloween store, looking for some decor, and left empty-handed as nothing in there really impressed me. My wife turned and asked me what would impress me as an animated Wicked Witch of the West activated at our presence and commenced with its programmed jargon. I turned to face the “animatronic” witch, shook my head, and responded with, “Authenticity.” Of course, this does not go to say that I am in search of an official haunted artifact. However, I would much rather look for a metal candelabra as opposed to a cheap, plastic one sold in Halloween stores at what I would call ridiculous prices! And since when is the Wicked Witch of the West of the Wizard of Oz scary?!
But, back to the book! Flipping through the pages of Haunted Air I am taken on a trip, back in time, that would make any Halloween aficionado jealous. The book is more of a Halloween photo album consisting of found photos with very little text in it. Children and adults alike are featured donning some of the most awkward and visually disturbing costumes. Attribute it to the times, but many of these costumes spew an air of discomfort and down-right creepiness!
Haunted Air features an array of photographs and is a must-have for any fan of Halloween. It truly captures the essence of Halloween and I am a proud owner of the book.