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Haunted Air: Anonymous Halloween photographs from c. 1875–1955
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 costume, wandered the night begging "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.
216 pages, Hardcover
First published October 28, 2010
3 people are currently reading
765 people want to read
About the author
Ossian Brown
2 books3 followersOssian Brown is an artist, musician, and composer who was a member of the music group Coil, and is a cofounding member of Cyclobe.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
October 27, 2020
OCTOBER! IS! SPOOKY!!!!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS???
this book is the creepiest shit ever: wonderful and terrifying and absolutely essential if you want to have intensely vivid nightmares. it is KILLING ME!!!
every page of this book features a sepia-toned photograph of a child or adult dressed for halloween (one hopes) in a time before mass-produced plastic, or maybe these just come from some gated community of serial killers and this is how they celebrate the day - by FREAKING ME OUT!
every single picture gives me chills, and there are a TON of them in here. this is just a sampling.
OH MY GOD, RIGHT? WHYYYYYY?? WHYYYYYYYYY?? WHYYYYY ARE YOU SO TERRIFYING???
the scariest thing in this one, to me, is that dog in the background.
i mean, this can't be an accident, right?? these had to be taken to freak people out - this is UNNATURAL!
oh god don't hold hands! that makes it scarier!
there are bodies buried in these basements for sure.
because it's not like any horror movie has ever relied on a mask to make its villain more menacing, right?
and yet these are much scarier because they are less intentionally-unnerving. they project menace simply by standing still and existing. this book is my new favorite thing.
okay but the text? not great. there is an all-caps introduction of sorts by david lynch which is fantastic because a) the all-caps makes me imagine that it is david lynch channelling gordon cole:
and b) because it's just a great example of lynch's singular way of expressing himself. o, to be a fly on the wall watching him encounter these photographs.
but the rest of the text is not great. there's an overwritten tone-piece by geoff cox, with snippets like
With the mocking hybrid phantoms that followed flight across sea and land, like Nosferatu's rats; malign revenants nourished on the lore of the Old Country and leeching off the dark blood of the New, hissing guilt and loss as they come. Decaying hope.
and then a "historical note" about halloween. which, not helpful.
but there's nothing written about the photographs themselves. i understand that these are the private collection of ossian brown, but how were they obtained? how does one even accrue such a collection of creepy, creepy, creepy photographs? how many serial killer dens must one raid in order to obtain so many?
in a way, i guess it's better not to know because the answer is probably RIGHT BEHIND YOU!! the answer is COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE!! the answer is HUMANS CAN LICK, TOO!!
okay, i am suitably creeped-out shivery for the day.
carry on!
come to my blog!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS???
this book is the creepiest shit ever: wonderful and terrifying and absolutely essential if you want to have intensely vivid nightmares. it is KILLING ME!!!
every page of this book features a sepia-toned photograph of a child or adult dressed for halloween (one hopes) in a time before mass-produced plastic, or maybe these just come from some gated community of serial killers and this is how they celebrate the day - by FREAKING ME OUT!
every single picture gives me chills, and there are a TON of them in here. this is just a sampling.
OH MY GOD, RIGHT? WHYYYYYY?? WHYYYYYYYYY?? WHYYYYY ARE YOU SO TERRIFYING???
the scariest thing in this one, to me, is that dog in the background.
i mean, this can't be an accident, right?? these had to be taken to freak people out - this is UNNATURAL!
oh god don't hold hands! that makes it scarier!
there are bodies buried in these basements for sure.
because it's not like any horror movie has ever relied on a mask to make its villain more menacing, right?
and yet these are much scarier because they are less intentionally-unnerving. they project menace simply by standing still and existing. this book is my new favorite thing.
okay but the text? not great. there is an all-caps introduction of sorts by david lynch which is fantastic because a) the all-caps makes me imagine that it is david lynch channelling gordon cole:
and b) because it's just a great example of lynch's singular way of expressing himself. o, to be a fly on the wall watching him encounter these photographs.
but the rest of the text is not great. there's an overwritten tone-piece by geoff cox, with snippets like
With the mocking hybrid phantoms that followed flight across sea and land, like Nosferatu's rats; malign revenants nourished on the lore of the Old Country and leeching off the dark blood of the New, hissing guilt and loss as they come. Decaying hope.
and then a "historical note" about halloween. which, not helpful.
but there's nothing written about the photographs themselves. i understand that these are the private collection of ossian brown, but how were they obtained? how does one even accrue such a collection of creepy, creepy, creepy photographs? how many serial killer dens must one raid in order to obtain so many?
in a way, i guess it's better not to know because the answer is probably RIGHT BEHIND YOU!! the answer is COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE!! the answer is HUMANS CAN LICK, TOO!!
okay, i am suitably creeped-out shivery for the day.
carry on!
come to my blog!
October 13, 2020
First of all I want to thank my GR friend Melki. Without her terrific review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...?
I may never have heard of it, and I've gotten a lot more from her than just this twisted gem.
"Haunted Air" is Martha Stewart's worst nightmare of a coffee table book. "Haunted Air" is the first thing Marie Kondo would insist you get rid of when you de-clutter. There's a weird, wide, wonderful selection of photos of handmade Halloween costumes, some worn by kids, some by adults, in some you can't tell. They were created by people with talent and imagination, some sewing-challenged, some who were possibly disturbed and/or deviant (and I thank them). Like this:
https://images.app.goo.gl/AP3GZyuygv3...
The photos in here are awesome and it's really too bad I can't post any since when it comes to tech I'm a total screw-up. A talented friend came over and did a long photo shoot of my favorites, a true friend, fully aware I'd never manage to post them and taking the time anyway. Thankfully other, more capable reviewers, including Melki, have posted bits of the book and done it perfectly. Here's a link to one of my faves:
https://images.app.goo.gl/YCMNUh6CPZE...
The introduction is by, be still my heart, David Lynch. Of course, because these fit so well in his universe. David Lynch, the only director or human being who could have talked Naomi Watts into wearing a ridiculously uncomfortable, hot, itchy rabbit costume for the entirety of shooting his four-part series "Rabbits" --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxKPB...
-- when she begged to just overdub. Nope, Lynch told her, You have to wear the costume to be fully in character so run along, My Beautiful Big Movie Star, change into that rabbit getup and get to ironing in the corner. (I'm watching "Rabbits" again as I write this, for inspiration and because like this book it's my kind of fun.) His introduction of "Haunted Air" is brief but David Lynch fans will see his sensibility over and over in this book. Who else would Ossian Brown choose to write it. Anyone who can't stand David Lynch and/or his body of work, and I know there a lot of you, please just forget I mentioned him, skip the intro, forget the whole thing, don't even think about who killed Laura Palmer (or whether she's actually dead).
The costumes in the book remind us Halloween was originally brought to the U.S. by Gaelic immigrants used to celebrating Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival on All Hallow's Eve in which the living aim to drive away demons. As is our collective wont, Americans have, in my lifetime, morphed it into a night for adults to party and kids to dress as Disney princesses and Star Wars characters for the purpose of collecting as many fun-size Milky Ways and Skittles as possible in plastic pumpkins. (My sister and I always ran home to spill them out, then ran right back out to fill them up again.) Well, America is only 244 years old and its leader hasn't even read the Constitution, which he's shredding, so let us have our Reese's cups and Kit Kats while we can, because the American Republic may not have long.
As another reviewer has mentioned, there are racist images in here. Black people did not have the vote when these were taken and blackface and other disgusting racism was tolerated. Times are better now (:nose growing: -- and don't say a word, Canadians, because Justin Trudeau). Seriously, they're old pictures. They're not lynching, discriminating, shooting, chanting, disenfranchising, stop-and-frisking or otherwise hurting anyone. Somehow I can't see members of the KKK ordering this book. Can they even read picture books?
I bought this as a present for myself about five seconds after reading Melki's review around Halloween. Few days have gone by when I haven't opened it up to a random page, happily leafed through it and/or shown it to a guest. It's always a conversation piece, some of those conversations being better than others. Those of you who will love the book know who you are -- whether or not you let the world see that part of you.
😁🎁🎃👀🎃🐑🐑
Edited 2/16/20: My and if you're lucky your GR friend Ian, who lives in Scotland and knows a lot about history and culture and plenty of other Stuff, posted in the comments here the link below to a website that shows some of the work of Margaret Fay Shaw, an American who traveled to the Hebrides Islands studying folklore and taking photographs.
In the 1930s she captured in rural South Uist a traditional Halloween celebration and the photos are, as Ian pointed out, strikingly similar to the ones in this book. They're a wonderful add-on which is why I've added them on. If you're reading this you're interested. There are stills and a video, photos of locals in costume including one costume worn by a boy who made it out of -- no; spoilers. The brief video has a traditional song and dance that's awesomely weird.
https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/oidhch...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...?
I may never have heard of it, and I've gotten a lot more from her than just this twisted gem.
"Haunted Air" is Martha Stewart's worst nightmare of a coffee table book. "Haunted Air" is the first thing Marie Kondo would insist you get rid of when you de-clutter. There's a weird, wide, wonderful selection of photos of handmade Halloween costumes, some worn by kids, some by adults, in some you can't tell. They were created by people with talent and imagination, some sewing-challenged, some who were possibly disturbed and/or deviant (and I thank them). Like this:
https://images.app.goo.gl/AP3GZyuygv3...
The photos in here are awesome and it's really too bad I can't post any since when it comes to tech I'm a total screw-up. A talented friend came over and did a long photo shoot of my favorites, a true friend, fully aware I'd never manage to post them and taking the time anyway. Thankfully other, more capable reviewers, including Melki, have posted bits of the book and done it perfectly. Here's a link to one of my faves:
https://images.app.goo.gl/YCMNUh6CPZE...
The introduction is by, be still my heart, David Lynch. Of course, because these fit so well in his universe. David Lynch, the only director or human being who could have talked Naomi Watts into wearing a ridiculously uncomfortable, hot, itchy rabbit costume for the entirety of shooting his four-part series "Rabbits" --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxKPB...
-- when she begged to just overdub. Nope, Lynch told her, You have to wear the costume to be fully in character so run along, My Beautiful Big Movie Star, change into that rabbit getup and get to ironing in the corner. (I'm watching "Rabbits" again as I write this, for inspiration and because like this book it's my kind of fun.) His introduction of "Haunted Air" is brief but David Lynch fans will see his sensibility over and over in this book. Who else would Ossian Brown choose to write it. Anyone who can't stand David Lynch and/or his body of work, and I know there a lot of you, please just forget I mentioned him, skip the intro, forget the whole thing, don't even think about who killed Laura Palmer (or whether she's actually dead).
The costumes in the book remind us Halloween was originally brought to the U.S. by Gaelic immigrants used to celebrating Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival on All Hallow's Eve in which the living aim to drive away demons. As is our collective wont, Americans have, in my lifetime, morphed it into a night for adults to party and kids to dress as Disney princesses and Star Wars characters for the purpose of collecting as many fun-size Milky Ways and Skittles as possible in plastic pumpkins. (My sister and I always ran home to spill them out, then ran right back out to fill them up again.) Well, America is only 244 years old and its leader hasn't even read the Constitution, which he's shredding, so let us have our Reese's cups and Kit Kats while we can, because the American Republic may not have long.
As another reviewer has mentioned, there are racist images in here. Black people did not have the vote when these were taken and blackface and other disgusting racism was tolerated. Times are better now (:nose growing: -- and don't say a word, Canadians, because Justin Trudeau). Seriously, they're old pictures. They're not lynching, discriminating, shooting, chanting, disenfranchising, stop-and-frisking or otherwise hurting anyone. Somehow I can't see members of the KKK ordering this book. Can they even read picture books?
I bought this as a present for myself about five seconds after reading Melki's review around Halloween. Few days have gone by when I haven't opened it up to a random page, happily leafed through it and/or shown it to a guest. It's always a conversation piece, some of those conversations being better than others. Those of you who will love the book know who you are -- whether or not you let the world see that part of you.
😁🎁🎃👀🎃🐑🐑
Edited 2/16/20: My and if you're lucky your GR friend Ian, who lives in Scotland and knows a lot about history and culture and plenty of other Stuff, posted in the comments here the link below to a website that shows some of the work of Margaret Fay Shaw, an American who traveled to the Hebrides Islands studying folklore and taking photographs.
In the 1930s she captured in rural South Uist a traditional Halloween celebration and the photos are, as Ian pointed out, strikingly similar to the ones in this book. They're a wonderful add-on which is why I've added them on. If you're reading this you're interested. There are stills and a video, photos of locals in costume including one costume worn by a boy who made it out of -- no; spoilers. The brief video has a traditional song and dance that's awesomely weird.
https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/oidhch...
October 31, 2019
ALL THE CLOCKS HAD STOPPED. A VOID OUT OF TIME. AND HERE THEY ARE - LOOKING OUT AND HOLDING THEMSELVES STILL - HOLDING STILL AT THAT POINT WHERE TWO WORLDS JOIN -THE FAMILIAR - AND THE OTHER.*
It seems as though Halloween was once a whole lot creepier.
Nowadays little girls want to dress as Disney Princesses, or slutty witches, but there was once a time when the little sacks of sugar and spice dressed like, well . . . sacks of sugar and spice.
Or, whatever the hell these things are supposed to be.
This book features a series of sepia-toned photos of people wearing their Halloween finery. All were taken between the years of 1875 and 1955, and collected by a fellow named Ossian Brown, an English musician and artist.
Some of the photos are rather whimsical.
I like the child's kinda bored looking expression in this one:
And, this youngster's sweet pose, and obvious delight with the occasion.
But, most of the photos are eerie as all get out . . .
The stuff of nightmares and horror films.
Happy Halloween . . . and, sweet dreams.
*David Lynch, from his introduction.
It seems as though Halloween was once a whole lot creepier.
Nowadays little girls want to dress as Disney Princesses, or slutty witches, but there was once a time when the little sacks of sugar and spice dressed like, well . . . sacks of sugar and spice.
Or, whatever the hell these things are supposed to be.
This book features a series of sepia-toned photos of people wearing their Halloween finery. All were taken between the years of 1875 and 1955, and collected by a fellow named Ossian Brown, an English musician and artist.
Some of the photos are rather whimsical.
I like the child's kinda bored looking expression in this one:
And, this youngster's sweet pose, and obvious delight with the occasion.
But, most of the photos are eerie as all get out . . .
The stuff of nightmares and horror films.
Happy Halloween . . . and, sweet dreams.
*David Lynch, from his introduction.
March 10, 2012
amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing
September 14, 2017
Okay. So. Some thoughts:
1) Lotta blackface. Holy cow. Also a lot of redface, but I think I wasn't as shocked at that because of how common it still is at white Greek life Halloween parties all across college campuses. Soooo, heads up. One photo had seven people in it and four out of the seven were in either blackface or redface, and two girls in blackface literally had the letters "MAID" sewed onto their dresses. Jesus.
2) Truly, a marvelous collection of vintage Halloween photos. People dressed friggin creepy then O.o
3) Loved the prose directly before and after the photo collection!!
I would love to give this collection a 5 but it's only getting a 3 because in the "historical notes" page at the end of the book...it said absolutely nothing about the racist shit in these images. Zip. Nothing about "see here in this book that a solid half of these photos feature blackface, redface, and/or the occasional yellowface, and that these reflect the outdated racial attitudes of the time. We shouldn't condone these racist attitudes or behaviors, but we also cannot deny that they existed in the first place". Etc etc.
Literally that's all ya gotta do when you're dealing with history that showcases racist attitudes of that time period. And the author chose not to include that simple little paragraph in the historical notes page at the end of the book, which is honestly not acceptable (especially considering how many white kids still dress up like Native and Latinx folk for Halloween & how whitewashed/eurocentric/colonialist our overall perspectives on history still are in this day and age).
1) Lotta blackface. Holy cow. Also a lot of redface, but I think I wasn't as shocked at that because of how common it still is at white Greek life Halloween parties all across college campuses. Soooo, heads up. One photo had seven people in it and four out of the seven were in either blackface or redface, and two girls in blackface literally had the letters "MAID" sewed onto their dresses. Jesus.
2) Truly, a marvelous collection of vintage Halloween photos. People dressed friggin creepy then O.o
3) Loved the prose directly before and after the photo collection!!
I would love to give this collection a 5 but it's only getting a 3 because in the "historical notes" page at the end of the book...it said absolutely nothing about the racist shit in these images. Zip. Nothing about "see here in this book that a solid half of these photos feature blackface, redface, and/or the occasional yellowface, and that these reflect the outdated racial attitudes of the time. We shouldn't condone these racist attitudes or behaviors, but we also cannot deny that they existed in the first place". Etc etc.
Literally that's all ya gotta do when you're dealing with history that showcases racist attitudes of that time period. And the author chose not to include that simple little paragraph in the historical notes page at the end of the book, which is honestly not acceptable (especially considering how many white kids still dress up like Native and Latinx folk for Halloween & how whitewashed/eurocentric/colonialist our overall perspectives on history still are in this day and age).
April 29, 2015
I wasn't as charmed or intrigued by this collection of old photographs as I expected to be. And what's with the David Lynch intro, which is really only 100 words or so of childlike writing? The afterword essay by Geoff Cox also seems to heap more meaning on these photographs than they deserve. All in all a very shallow attempt at art/meaning/cultural excavation. I mean, hats off to the person (Ossian Brown) who found and collected all these old snapshots of kids and adults wearing Halloween costumes (some of which are indeed creepy, thanks to their handmade quality), but this book is not as rich, not as outre, not as special as its packaging and presentation would lead you to believe.
September 27, 2012
Captivating and transporting, this collection of old Halloween pictures really takes me where I want to be; into a nether world full of intrigue, nostalgia, history, mystery, fright and humor. You can practically smell Autumn when looking through this.These are from the days before vacuu-formed or full-head, super detailed latex masks were mass marketed to folks around the country, so there's a handmade spirit and imagination that permeates the many images. There's makeup, bags and weird masks and costumes; contorted faces, blemished photographs, and all in sepia and black & white which lends to the aura and mood of the proceedings. There is an otherworldly and distant world living between the covers of this book that gives the pictures the ability to startle us as we turn the pages. I can't even articulate it. There is a feeling that comes over you when you look through these. Some are creepy and indeed haunting, some are just plain weird some are moving. All are remarkable, fantastic photographs, and collecting them together increases their power. There is much here to ponder. I think about these people, lost to time, these images lying in wait in dusty boxes, dead to the world, awaiting some ressurection. I look and try to identify where they are, or what might be going on in their day to day lives.; how these pictures came to be and how they came to be together in this book. Admittedly, I feel like this book is aimed directly at me. So much so that I find myself surprised that it actually exists. This book is the perfect companion to " I Hear The Wind That Obliterates My Traces", by Steve Roden, a book that I have similar feelings about. I'll get to reviewing that one later. But I love both of them. It's a fascinating, impressive collection that says more with it's strange images than words and description could ever do justice to.
November 29, 2013
A nice collection of uncommon photographs - some of them quite striking, but many repetitious and none with any information given - well printed in a book with the high production quality one expects from Jonathan Cape. Why only three stars? The text - what there is of it - is useless. Neither the one-page introduction by David Lynch nor the four-and-half-page afterword by Geoff Cox actually contributes anything to understanding the images, the collection, or anything else much beyond their own coy sense of self-importance. There is no information on the photographs themselves, even where there are good visible clues about their origins. The page-and-a-half "historical note" on Halloween isn't even up to Wikipedia quality. This ends up with the feel of a pure vanity project. It's obviously been a popular book - my copy is from the fourth printing - but it won't have much appeal for serious collectors or scholars of photographic history.
March 25, 2012
Haunted and haunting. This set of black and white and sepia pictures from the late 19th to the first half of the 20th centuries is a collection of images of American children and adults dressed for Halloween.
The pictures are presented as is - one to a page - without any additional commentary. The costumes are quite often the stuff of nightmares and the collection could easily be the costume designer's notes for any number of modern horror or serial killer movies. The blank masks and homemade paper or sacking masks are especially disturbing.
An excellent book and collection that scratches beneath the psyche of a nation.
The pictures are presented as is - one to a page - without any additional commentary. The costumes are quite often the stuff of nightmares and the collection could easily be the costume designer's notes for any number of modern horror or serial killer movies. The blank masks and homemade paper or sacking masks are especially disturbing.
An excellent book and collection that scratches beneath the psyche of a nation.
October 18, 2018
If you love images by Diane Arbus, or vintage Hallowe'en, you'll enjoy looking at this book. It features
anonymous, vintage Halloween photos, dating between 1875 and 1955 collected by Ossian Brown, a British musician and artist. Bonus: David Lynch wrote the book's introduction.
There is no context for these images, which piques my curiousity.
Great review on NPR blog:
https://www.npr.org/sections/pictures...
anonymous, vintage Halloween photos, dating between 1875 and 1955 collected by Ossian Brown, a British musician and artist. Bonus: David Lynch wrote the book's introduction.
There is no context for these images, which piques my curiousity.
Great review on NPR blog:
https://www.npr.org/sections/pictures...
October 18, 2018
Like wandering through some weird hinterland where it's always Autumn and Halloween is forever just around the corner.
January 10, 2016
Dude, who the hell is this Geoff Cox guy? At first, I was worried it would be some soft, wanna-be shit, something from the pen of Neil Gaiman, but besides a few strains of repetitiveness, his afterword was truly amazing. I click on his name on GR & get a bunch of technical books, engineering books, random shit - maybe he's just an unknown, a friend of the author, & the Geoff Cox listed is another generic man. Unless this guy did this 'Anna & the Juniper Dog' book - looks likely. Anyway, that's just the afterword, but wow.
Book (i.e. the collection of photos) itself is also great. Some are 'better' than others, but the worst of them become better upon a longer, more intense inspection, & the best of them can just be stared at forever. The group shots in particular seem to reveal a lot - of what, I don't know. There's a lot of rural photos. The ones of the adults seem the least inspired. A lot of repeated themes/similar masks make me think some of this stuff was pre-bought, which makes me wonder why none of the masks we have today are anywhere near as good. Is it literally that the designs were too creepy, too inhuman for our watered-down culture? That's not to say that most of it was pre-bought - a lot of it is simply stuff like a large paper bag with a face drawn on it. One of the photos even looked like a garbage bag tied around the kid's head, which was scary for different reasons.
Well, in any case, everyone I've shown this book to has appreciated it immensely, & I was lucky enough to (unplanned) receive this right before Halloween - it was a hit. Quite a cool book to have on the shelf to whip out that time of year.
Book (i.e. the collection of photos) itself is also great. Some are 'better' than others, but the worst of them become better upon a longer, more intense inspection, & the best of them can just be stared at forever. The group shots in particular seem to reveal a lot - of what, I don't know. There's a lot of rural photos. The ones of the adults seem the least inspired. A lot of repeated themes/similar masks make me think some of this stuff was pre-bought, which makes me wonder why none of the masks we have today are anywhere near as good. Is it literally that the designs were too creepy, too inhuman for our watered-down culture? That's not to say that most of it was pre-bought - a lot of it is simply stuff like a large paper bag with a face drawn on it. One of the photos even looked like a garbage bag tied around the kid's head, which was scary for different reasons.
Well, in any case, everyone I've shown this book to has appreciated it immensely, & I was lucky enough to (unplanned) receive this right before Halloween - it was a hit. Quite a cool book to have on the shelf to whip out that time of year.
December 14, 2013
It might be wrong to say I "read" this, as out of 216 pages there are only about 5 with text. But this collection of anonymous Halloween photographs from c.1875–1955 is the stuff of nightmares.
The old photos - one per page - are creepy, disturbing and fascinating.
As a bonus treat David Lynch (he knows weird) writes an all-caps intro, so there's that.
The old photos - one per page - are creepy, disturbing and fascinating.
As a bonus treat David Lynch (he knows weird) writes an all-caps intro, so there's that.
January 27, 2014
I love love love this book! I know, how can I say I've "read" a book when there's no text? But this truly is the most awesomely weird picture book ever. It is entirely comprised of vintage black and white photos of children dressed up for Halloween, and a more frightening bunch of kids would be hard to find! I may have to actually buy my own copy of this one.
December 22, 2013
A creepy book of pictures taken of people in creepy Halloween costumes from 1875 - 1955.
Man!! Those people knew what scary was! And the black and white pictures sure help :)
A great book to be featured on your coffee table during the month of October.
Man!! Those people knew what scary was! And the black and white pictures sure help :)
A great book to be featured on your coffee table during the month of October.
May 25, 2020
I was simply expecting a book full of cool, creepy old Halloween photographs. I couldn't have been more wrong; this book is so much more than that. The photos in this Haunted Air invoke a feeling in the soul that is extremely difficult to explain, I didn't know why I felt so uneasy - borderline disturbed - looking at these images, but there is undoubtedly something unsettling about the contents of this collection. That being said, there is also something deeply moving and powerful about these images. Looking through them is like being transported to another time, in the true spirit of Samhain the lines between reality and the otherworldly are blurred, for a short time the living and the dead merge together.
The book itself is beautifully bound in black cloth, with an embossed title. Simple yet macabre, no doubt two major themes throughout the process of putting together this exquisite collection. This book includes a short foreword by David Lynch which is essential to read as it does somewhat help to explain the poignancy of the photographs and why they have such a profound effect on the viewer.
I found something so charming about the simplicity of some of the costumes and disguises documented. Costumes worn by anonymous subjects, taken by unknown photographers. At first the idea that anyone could be behind these grotesque masks is almost romantic, but the deeper you contemplate it the more the notion plays on your mind. Literally ANYONE could be behind these costumes, it's not unthinkable that some of these photographs could potentially have sinister backstories, and perhaps it's the ever-present fear of the unknown that creates an eerie vibe and unsettling feeling.
The juxtaposition of quaint, rural Midwestern America and the celebration of the sinister and macabre is a strange concept, but in this case it has been executed flawlessly. This book is a totally unique oddity.
The book itself is beautifully bound in black cloth, with an embossed title. Simple yet macabre, no doubt two major themes throughout the process of putting together this exquisite collection. This book includes a short foreword by David Lynch which is essential to read as it does somewhat help to explain the poignancy of the photographs and why they have such a profound effect on the viewer.
I found something so charming about the simplicity of some of the costumes and disguises documented. Costumes worn by anonymous subjects, taken by unknown photographers. At first the idea that anyone could be behind these grotesque masks is almost romantic, but the deeper you contemplate it the more the notion plays on your mind. Literally ANYONE could be behind these costumes, it's not unthinkable that some of these photographs could potentially have sinister backstories, and perhaps it's the ever-present fear of the unknown that creates an eerie vibe and unsettling feeling.
The juxtaposition of quaint, rural Midwestern America and the celebration of the sinister and macabre is a strange concept, but in this case it has been executed flawlessly. This book is a totally unique oddity.
October 2, 2018
Not so much a book to read, since there's not much text, than a book to leisurely peruse on a dark quiet night. A compilation of vintage Halloween photographs dating back to the late 1800's up to the mid century, Haunted Air is suitably creepy with its black and white images of mostly home made costumes and masks. With an introduction by David Lynch, appropriately enough, Haunted Air's images will stay with with you for a long time.
Reviewed by Victor, Library Page.
Find it in the library, here.
Reviewed by Victor, Library Page.
Find it in the library, here.
February 14, 2020
I guess this was supposed to be spooky, because of all the photos of anonymous people, most likely long dead now, in old-time Halloween costumes. I thought it was quaint at best, and wondered what folks in a century-and-a-half will think quaint about us.
May 14, 2021
Wedding gift from Gary and Tøri.
God, Halloween costumes back in the day were terrifying! All of these photos are super creepy. They remind me of the photos in the Miss Peregrine's books by Ransom Riggs.
And of course there's a foreword by David Lynch, LOL.
God, Halloween costumes back in the day were terrifying! All of these photos are super creepy. They remind me of the photos in the Miss Peregrine's books by Ransom Riggs.
And of course there's a foreword by David Lynch, LOL.
August 15, 2019
Wonderful book of old Hallowe'en photos!
September 15, 2023
For a freebie this was very cool. Inside it has old time black and white Halloween photos. Very, very cool!!
January 12, 2015
So I saw this book on Goodreads and just had to check it out. It looked super creepy and I was not disappointed. There is just something about these old photographs of people in homemade Halloween costumes that ups the creep factor to about 11. I have no idea what most of the costumes are nor do I want to know. The sepia color of the photos makes everything just a little bit more bizarre and demonic. If I saw any of these costumes at my door on Halloween I think I would lock the door and hide in the closet for the rest of the night.
October 24, 2020
The photographs weren't quite as creepy as I had hoped. In spite of this, it's a fun book. There is not much script to read but it was entertaining imagining my own stories for each picture. I especially like the photos of kids in homemade masks made out of brown paper grocery bags. I remember making these masks myself as a kid. It's a forgotten "art". I may have to use this activity to entertain little people the next time I have the opportunity.
December 25, 2012
Amazing!!! Creepy pictures that sometimes make you want to quickly turn the page to get away from the unnerved feeling they leave you with others make you stay on the page staring indefinitely at the image like it's a train wreck. Shudder inducing in a really great way!
December 21, 2015
I can't say how much I loved this creepy little book. The pics were fantastic. I might have nightmares tonight and that's just fine with me. Best coffee table book ever based off of old pictures of Halloween costumes from 1875-1955.
June 28, 2011
Intriguing, sometimes haunting pictures! Really interesting collection!
August 20, 2012
Creepily beautiful images of Halloweens gone-by. This is a must-own by Halloween lovers.
July 1, 2015
o____O
*gasp*
*gasp*
July 10, 2015
This kinda scarred me for life. It was glorious.
August 9, 2022
" ... a glee for somehow stitching a laugh to darkness." - david l.
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