It’s almost the time of year when hedgerows sprout glowing orange pumpkins…
…doorways mysteriously develop intricate cobwebs…
…and the creepiest of visitors start hanging around outside your window.
Yes, it’s almost time for one of my favourite holidays, Hallowe’en; a festival that started back in pagan Ireland and is celebrated now in many corners of the world. If you fancy celebrating Hallowe’en the traditional way, check out the post I wrote last year about the proper Irish Hallowe’en.
I’ve had some thrills and chills this past year – the hair-raising midnight drive along Beartooth Highway, my chilling encounter with the horseman in Sleepy Hollow, and meeting the Van Cortland squirrel murderer to name but a few. But all this talk of Hallowe’en has got me in a spooky frame of mind, so I’ve been looking around for some suitably eerie photographs, and here’s what I’ve come up with.
Driving through Utah under heavy cloud cover, a line of eerily white fog started to creep across the desert brush towards the road. I couldn’t help feeling it was out to get us.
More fog, this time in the depths of the jungle in northern Guatemala, with an ancient Mayan temple looming up out of the mists. Breathtakingly beautiful, ever so exciting and just a little spooky.
The last photo is also from Guatemala. I was visiting a coffee farm just outside of Antigua, and noticed an extensive display of devil masks on one of the walls. They were in all shapes and sizes but the creepiest one of them all was the least ornate; a sparse black mask with unnerving features. Coincidentally, that same night there was a festival in the centre of town where they burned an effigy of the devil. See the whole post here.
So what do you find truly spooky? If you’d like to join in this week’s travel theme, here’s what to do:
- Create your own bone-chilling post and title it Travel Theme: Spooky
- Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
- Get your post in by next Thursday, as the new travel theme comes out on Friday
- Don’t forget to subscribe to keep up to date on the latest weekly travel themes
I’m quaking in my boots in anticipation of the chills and frights you have in store for me.
xxx
Ailsa
Where's my backpack? 
Great idea!!
Thanks vastly, hope you join in the fun! 😉
I will..I have some spooky left 🙂
Great photos, especially of the Bat Man 😀 Creepy dude!
He scared the living daylights out of me!
Yikes!! Very spooky pics indeed!! 🙂
Boo!
😀
Nothing more spooky than creeping fog!
I remember your post last year – enjoyed that one.
Wrote my spooky post “beside her” recently…don’t know if ghosts will visit again
Especially like the pix with the arches
Ha ha, phil, this made me howl (in a good way!) I’m posting a direct link to it here in my response so everyone else can check it out too! Boo to you too, my friend!
http://philosophermouseofthehedge.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/beside-her/
Ahhh! frightening yes, spooky for sure…and certainly timely!
It’s such a fun time of year, I love it! xxx
That photo of the Bat man, could do without walking into that at night…
He gave me the creeps, that’s for sure, it looked far too realistic for comfort!
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Great idea love the haloween theme, here’s my entry http://truetravelings.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/travel-theme-spooky/
Wow, that is haunting, truetravelingtales, that last one in particular. Great post. x
It can be a spooky world no matter where you travel! What a fun post!
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Welcome Home: http://ronmayhewphotography.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/travel-theme-spooky/
Brilliant, Ron, Poe’s Raven gives me the chills every time. Love that witch – she’s quite stylish! 🙂
How apt for this week, Ailsa. Your vampire creature is super creepy! And I love those misty shots. I might pop back with some spooky landscapes of my own. Meanwhile, here’s some pics of my first ever acknowledged Halloween.
http://cinova.wordpress.com/2012/10/27/travel-theme-spooky/
Ooh, I’d love to see some spooky landscapes, cinova. I have to say, your pumpkin carving skills are impressive – mine usually end up looking like someone just attacked a pumpkin with a hatchet (which is probably even scarier than a well-carved pumpkin!) 🙂
Nice to read that you know that Halloween come from the Celtic in heritage. They celebrate it big time in Scotland too .. it was the way to chase all the evils out from the homes before Christmas comes. We don’t have this tradition as such in Sweden, even if we haven started to get Halloween parties. An good excuse to through a good party and we Swede are going for it. I really like you first photo. Thanks for a great post. That figure hanging up side in too spooky for me.
Haha, I agree, viveka, any excuse for a party is a good one – and that creepy guy hanging from the window gave me nightmares!
That I can understand .. smile
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Intertwining challenges this week, I think – with the Weekly Photo Challege of Foreign and this one of Spooky – similarities there, to my (possibly twisted) way of thinging, so here’s my entry for both: http://cjvl.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/weekly-photo-challenge-foreign-and-travel-theme-spooky/
Love it, Carol, those pond shots are definitely spooky, the blob one in particular!
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Great theme, Ailsa! And love your photos, especially the creepy visitor hanging outside the window :). Here’ s my entry: http://esengasvoice.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/travel-theme-spooky/
Eeek, very spooky indeed, Esenga – that Sea Devil is really creepy!
Well… I might be repeating myself by posting a pumpkin photograph to both challenges, but they both proved to be quite difficult as subjects to me. Here’s my entry for the “Spooky” challenge: http://goomfh.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/travel-theme-spooky/
Aagh, that cat is terrifying! 🙂
😉
Thanks! 🙂
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Here you go… http://juliedawnfox.com/2012/10/26/travel-theme-spooky-portugal/
OMG Julie, that first creepy face is just wrong, I’m more than a little weirded out right now! And to answer your question, the painting is creepier than the skulls! 🙂
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Beautiful to ghoulish – unsurpassable collection. I especially like the pumpkins in he hedgerows, but the human chrysalis, now that’s something to contemplate!
Something to contemplate…. from a distance, Wanderlust. It looked so lifelike I didn’t want to get too close for fear it would reach out and grab me! Gulp.
At night, I’d be steering clear, that’s for sure.
Didn’t recognise you there for a moment – you gone all West Coast and Luscious Lips now???? 🙂
Squee – you’re the first one to notice. I was messing around with photoshop and made my very own kiss the world logo. Just sort of slipped it in there to see if anyone would notice!
Cook kisses, eh? It’s very sweet, and displays better than your legs, i must say, Ailsa 🙂 I must pop over and see what the response has been after a few more hours – and to see other posts, too, of course!
This was really hard Ailsa – but fun! http://lucidgypsy.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/travel-theme-spooky/
Wow, scary, Gilly. I would have been a goner back then too, for sure. Something to do with the broomstick I carry around and my predilection for pointy hats.
Ghoulish is the word! these are super spooky and hard to beat Ailsa 🙂
Here is my entry: http://theurgetowander.com/2012/10/27/travel-theme-spooky/#
Aww, Madhu, what a lovely family, and I just love the littlest cutest ghost ever, he’s adorable.
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Here’s Spooky: http://windagainstcurrent.com/2012/10/26/travel-theme-spooky/
Hope you’ve got your hatches battened down ready for Hurricane Sandy. I remember the insanity in New York leading up to Hurricane Irene. Hope this one misses too! xxx
Hi Ailsa,
Great theme again! And that vampire is really adorable!
Here is my entrie for this week. Hope this is creepy enough …
http://dauwpics.blogspot.be/2012/10/caput-mortuum.html
Have a smashing weekend pumpkins!
😉
– Dauw –
I may never sleep again, that is genuinely creepy. Good one, Dauw! xxx
Ah, super! Sorry I´m leaving for Madrid now and will not be able to come up with an entry before Thursday! Good luck to you all – looking forward to see yours!
Have a great trip and see you when you get back
Thank you! I can read and comment from here – but make no entries.
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Your photos are truly spooky Ailsa. Mine are nowhere near as ghoulish but they are from Ireland
http://artifactsandfictions.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/spooky-weekly-travel-photo-challenge/
Ireland has some seriously creepy places – have you ever braved the Hell Fire Club at night? Terrifying. Lovely post, Suzanne, I really liked the sketch outline version of the bottom photo! xxx
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Spooky is as spooky does! What a great time of year, please have a look at
http://acrossthebored.com/2012/10/26/travel-theme-spooky/
Haha, nice one ideflex, that looks awfully lifelike. Great capture, I have to ‘hand’ it to you! Sorry, couldn’t resist.
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http://firstandfabulous.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/travel-theme-spooky/
Here’s my brief look at spooky. 🙂
Nice job, Ailsa. And thanks.
Excellent, Gemma, I knew I could count on you to get a little freaky! 😉
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Hi everybody! BOO!!! Here’s my take on this week’s Spooky Theme:
http://stephenkellycreative.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/ailsas-travel-theme-spooky/
Wrong on so many levels, it’s perfect, Stephen. The lack of eyes is bad enough, but wrapping them in plastic, that’s proper creepy. 🙂
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Got it… I did not have photos readily available for my trip to Scotland. Now that is a place that is gorgeous, but you can feel the tragedy and the haunting from all the wild wars conducted on those hills. http://bit.ly/TIBL8P
Oh Sheri, I agree, The Raven was so scary! Amazing shots of Colorado, and I know what you mean about Scotland. The creepiest place I visited there was Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh – there’s a section off to the side called Covenanters Prison, and I’m convinced it’s haunted. It didn’t help my nerves that I visited it at night!
I’m not sure I want to say I like your photos, because I don’t like being spooked. But I really appreciate your weekly efforts to come up with themes. And at least the theme this week has given me a use for these photos: http://soundslikewish.wordpress.com/2012/10/27/weekly-photo-challenge-foreign-and-spooky/
Good grief, what a spooky place, the blood stained mirrors and girls falling to their death gave me the shivers. I promise I won’t spook you next week!
The third and the last photos would give me nightmares for many months. Here’s mine:http://bebs1.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/travel-theme-spooky-creepy/
I love it, bebs1 – the contrast between the dark spooky ghost and the vividly colourful background is brilliant!
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OMG that bat-man! I actually moved a few inches away from my computer screen at that, holy hell.
Hope you like these! http://seamlessstyle.wordpress.com/2012/10/27/weekly-travel-theme-spooky/
Haha I laughed so hard at your comment, seamless, priceless. Oh, and I have got to get one of those left-handed clocks, they’re too weird for words, I love it! 🙂
Fabulous photos! I wasn’t aware that Halloween began in Ireland, so thanks for passing on your knowledge!
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