Pumpkinrot's "The Hollowmen: Year of the Scarecrows"

Ho-lee crap...

You HAVE to see what 'Rot did this year. Totally blown out.

The Hollowmen: Year of the Scarecrows

As usual, a superb and disturbing yard display. He would probably never admit to this but Pumpkinrot routinely sets new standards for frightening and artistic haunts. I know that his work has been a huge influence on mine, at least, and I don't know of anyone out there in the home haunt world who can compare.

I mean, come on...

(Photo straight-up ganked from Pumpkinrot's site because I'm a spaz like that. Sorry.)

For my money, that's the creepiest little patch of front lawn out there.

Beksinski would be proud.

Keep your eyes open for more photos and a video this week on pumpkinrot.com.

How About a Box o' Halloween Awesomeness?

I recently ordered a tiny, twisted, handmade jack o'lantern from the Pumpkin Hollow Shop (an Etsy shop). This is what arrived yesterday:

The little guy with the hat in the foreground is what I actually ordered. Also pictured are two Halloween compilation CDs, a package of Ghostly Glow incense (which smells absolutely amazing, by the way) and a couple of Halloween pencils secured with two plastic rings: one skull and one bat.

These other items were thrown in for free by the artist and accompanied by a very gracious note of thanks for my purchase. I have to tell you that this is about as much fun as I've ever had opening anything. From the moment I saw the pumpkin and bat stickers on the outside of the box I knew that care had been taken to make this package special.

Pumpkin Hollow is run by Pumpkinrot (whom I've mentioned here numerous times) and bean, two very talented folks who have much to offer lovers of Halloween, horror and all things grim and gruesome. Pumpkinrot has started selling hand made props and stationery featuring his work while bean keeps a steady inventory of amazing, unique decorative pumpkins like the one that I bought:

If this sort of thing is your bag then I strongly recommend you pay their sites a visit. They never disappoint.

Pumpkinrot.com Unveils The Bog Man

This guy should give away medals at Halloween. Any kid who makes it up those stairs deserves a lot more than candy.

I first learned of Pumpkinrot last year around this time and was greatly inspired by his work. Just amazing stuff. The kind of spirit I hope to capture in this and future Halloweens with my own creations.

Every year, John (the man behind Pumpkinrot) chooses a theme and then creates an amazingly detailed, nightmarish scarecrow which he puts up against much more whimsical entrants in a competition. After horrifying the public and subsequently losing to the assembly of bright colors and smiling faces, that same scarecrow is then featured in an elaborate Halloween haunt in his front yard. Fortunately for those of us who can't see it in person, John takes a lot of pictures and video (including some great music).

This year's theme: THE BOG MAN.

I don't want to post pictures without permission, so you've gotta go check out this site for yourself. Take my word for it: if you're a fan of Halloween you will not be disappointed.

PS - Don't miss the video footage of the less, er, dire scarecrows in the competition. It's a hoot.

**UPDATE**

The man himself was kind enough to grant permission to use his images, so here's a sample of what you can expect to find at Pumpkinrot: