Halloween Tingle Without the Tack

No need to look over your shoulder, Halloween has been creeping up on us like a shiver. A number of you will probably resurrect last year's fluffy spiders, stick-on ghosts and daffy ghouls from their boxed-in torpor for the kids, and shake them back into a semblance of duty. Others might renew their stock through a little expense. Hands-on types like the talented girls at A Beautiful Mess will no doubt go all creative over it. While those without young kids or the inclination to go festive, will just brush the thing away like a bug getting too close. Maybe still get candy for the Trick-or-Treaters (and dive in the bowl later!).

As an aside, why go studio when you have the location? If I wish to trick myself into Halloween I haven't much to do because in my old medieval hamlet, there's a bat colony living in an old ruined dwelling across the way, creepy-crawlies with the weirdest physique trying their hardest to crash my place ('tis that time of year after all!) - and yes I have the privilege (or misfortune) to live within walking distance of a handful of ruined edifices (and that includes a ruined castle up the mountain!). Maybe you too live in a place steeped in history and mystique and the last thing you want is put on a Halloween show when you are already 'living the show'!

Reliquary Box, Cloître de Gnadenthal, Canton d'Argovie, Switzerland (pict source)

The last piece on Halloween that I wrote dates back 6 years, a five-post extravaganza gathered together under A Working Week of Spook, an art project which really amused me back then as I compiled a scenario out of every scary movie title imaginable, with atmospheric snapshots to boot.

This time around, I have been looking at giving yet another adult approach to the theme, in a quirky yet light-hearted celebration of sorts minus the kiddie props, dressed-up pumpkins and silly nonsense. I have compiled a short list of simple ideas that I have practiced in my day (except not necessarily on Halloween), should you want a little pulse racing for Halloween without the tackiness or much effort. Please follow your host...


I.  DO THE GUIDED GHOST TOUR OF A HISTORICAL TOWN OR CITY

Nowadays every town and city has guided tourist tours on offer, and those with a troubled past (think Savannah in the Old South) even have ghost tours on their books. Don't do it solo, take your partner, siblings or friends with you, for the more, the merrier! I highly recommend it if just for the experience and fun of it, and for warming up afterwards at a local (haunted) pub over drinks and a platter of antipasti to share! I did the Lincoln Ghost Walk (U.K.), about ten years ago, October time, and our guide was so much fun and interesting! She had all the scary anecdotes, spicy details, the cheeky stone imps, the headless knight on horseback and other Tim Burton-like characters who gently tingled our imagination as we hushed past, from one haunt to the next. The hour-long tour started at dusk, giving old Lincoln's streets and edifices (including the castle and cathedral) a ghostly bias, a creepy ambience nurtured by tales of the unexpected, while the damp weather was closing in on us, slowly sinking into our bones, adding intensity to the shivers....

Foggy Bridge * Explored * (Biarritz, France) by Anth Optic, via Flickr

II.  VISIT A STATELY HOME, ANY STATELY HOME

Ghost or no ghost, I generally find stately homes pretty spooky per se. As soon as you push the door, you enter a different world, almost a static parallel universe. As much as it may look like a permanent show-home or museum (at least the parts of the house open to visitors), the mansion heaves with memories, if only testified by its age, history and historical significance. It is heavy with memorabilia, heavy with mementoes. The place has a soul and it feels like a lot. It feels starched up and stuffy: the high ceilings, the secret door, the solemn arrangements, the cellars, the faded grandeur, the ostentatious artefacts that seem to have sprouted out of the mantelpieces and furniture, the animal trophies on the walls, the cascading draperies, the chandeliers, the rugs that have defied time, the almost rarefied air because those houses are not lived in anymore (or only occasionally). People were born there and they died there. These creepy larger-than-life portraits that stare at you, casting that inquisitive glance in a 'I don't know you' sort of way that follows you around the room. Such encounters are likely to put you in a Halloween mood.

Even Boscobel House looks a little creepy (pict source).

III.  WATCH A FILM NOIR IN AN OLD PICTURE HOUSE

Technology has made it all too easy to tune into in-house on-screen entertainment (Netflix and the likes) to bother going to the movie theatres anymore, never mind the old picture house that has survived redevelopment blitz! Such a shame because these old cinemas are an experience all to themselves: colourful history, architecture and interior design, furnishings, creaky floors, warts et al! Some have been renovated back to their former glory like the Electric Cinema of Portobello Road, Notting Hill, London. Other oldies may still be operating in their raw (unrevamped) state, but don't let it put you off. As you soak in the atmosphere, watching a movie might become secondary! It doesn't have to be a scary movie; a psychological thriller, a film noir classic, or that Hitchcock flick you've meant to watch some day, or even a good comedy that will take on a little edge, courtesy of the location...

The Falcon Maltese film noir by John Huston (1941) is based upon the novel by Dashiell Hammett.

IV.  RIDE AN OLD VERSION OF THE GHOST TRAIN AT THE LOCAL FUN FAIR

So much fun as it goes rickety rackety in its vintage splendour, whisking you around its bends and corners. The ride isn't scary but it is fun to pretend it is, close your eyes and scream and feel liberated! The settings are so kitsch, make sure to snap photos! The ghost train I'm on about hasn't been startled by technology yet, so no laser beams, optical illusions and other special FX! The creatures are straight out of a bad remake of a 1950s low-budget monster movie and that is ace! Some of the mannequins bear battle scars and broken bits: no worries, that's part of the territory (of age)!

[29-Oct-2016 Update] Joel Zika has developed a habit out of the spooky rides. He is on a rescue mission to the remaining few scattered worldwide (some of which clocking up 100 years of age!). He is immortalising those remaining rides through a virtual reality project, a noble and innovative heritage preservation scheme.

You may add a little edible fright to the shindig! Those head out of Biscuiteers' kichen.

P.S: HALLOWEEN BONUS IN PARIS, FRANCE!

Les Catacombes: if you are into morbid art, then this place is a must! At the end of the 18th century, under a public sanitation order, the Cimetière des Saints-Innocents - which had been in operation for 10 centuries (1000 years!) - was closed down. Its remains (skulls and bones) were transfered to a depository - an ossuary - housed in a former limestone quarry (14th arrondissement). Throughout the 19th century, the remains from other central Parisian cemeteries were deposited at the catacombs too. Ultimately the ossuary holds the remains of 6 to 7 million Parisians! The beyond-the-grave showcase (as we are tempted to describe is as) is an artistic skull-and-bone display within a subterranean gallery, a symbiosis of place and content. You may surprise yourself holding your breath as you amble deeper than 6ft under past death personified in a way that might be too close to the bone for some! The popular place certainly isn't for the faint-hearted or the claustrophobic but you sure will get the Halloween tingle! More fascinating details from the illustrated guide.

Crypte Archéologique du Parvis de Notre-Dame: Admittedly the crypt underneath the square of Cathédrale Notre-Dame is neither scary nor does it house a cabinet of curiosity but awe has the power to tingle your spine all the same for building vestiges are holders of truth and mysticism, and imagination may take you places that summon a shiver. Archaelogical excavations (1965-1972) unveiled a condensate of 2000 years of the History of Paris through building foundation vestiges, including a 4th century bath house, with overlapping layers and untangled parts, like pieces of Lego from different eras that somehow managed to intersect and ultimately slot into one another. More fascinating details from the illustrated guide.

A Date with the Halloween Guys!

Come on, we do like to flirt with a little controversy over here on La Baguette! And what's more appropriate to set the date than Halloween? Are you up for it? Dare to introduce that somewhat elusive edgy boyfriend that makes your heart aflutter, that slightly scary-looking 'squeeze' that makes you feel as high as a kite, to the parents and/ or to those conservative biased friends of yours... Tis the night to go the full hog, emancipate those stuffy principles, challenge those unspoken limits, push and shake the clichés, and twist and turn the boundaries around what defines boyfriend material from the rest. Meditate, then take a deep breath, stay cool, calm and collected and take the dare. Expect the odd reservation, timid nod and suspicious glance from your folks, actually they need a little time to adjust. But bear in mind that they might turn out to like loverboy after all and end up getting on with him like a house on fire! Bonus!

You know I know that you know... How mum disapproves of tattoos and long hair on men, and how dad can't stand music that strays one note away from jazz, and that he associates a motorbike owner with the Hell's Angels.... Too bad! Tis the night to prove them wrong. Because often behind the crazy off-centre image, behind the apparent hard-to-crack shell is a good guy with a little insecurity, either still looking for himself or out to stand out to show all and sundry that his exterior is a reflection of his interior: creativity unleashed. Take Rob Zombie: he's definitely one of them... And - despite not being everyone's cuppa - he is definitely cool, edgy and talented! I've got my eye on him! Happy Halloween, you lot!

Rob is as hot as a real life zombie + he's a singer and film-maker!

Benefit Cosmetics via Twitpic

Total Recall - LBM Features

Welcome to Total Recall Day 8! Just so you're aware if you are catching up with us, for the last week we have been rummaging through La Baguette's blog archive (270+ posts) at the pace of 5 posts a day organised around a theme previously covered. So far we have covered ethical food, free spiritedness, travel, love (yes!), media & comms, fashion & beauty, and product reviews. And we'll end our Total Recall today with features.

La Baguette digs typography! (pict source)

At La Baguette, we've run a few features since coming into existence four years ago. And here's our crème de la crème for your eyes only:

• Inspire Aspire (Feb 2013 - ongoing) >> This feature is set to recur and expand, as I am exploring personal development topics in more depth, as part of a personal awareness that turned into a journey and then a lifestyle choice. I have big plans too, which I will unwrap to you guys in due time, so just stay tuned!
• FRF - Five Random Faves (Jan - Mar 2012) >> Each month I raised awareness of 5 faves of mine, in terms of products/ services/ ideas/ campaigns, from a classic film like 'Lost in Translation' to Stella McCartney's Meat Free Monday, via The Elephant March, and more!
• Month in Bloom (Feb - Sept 2011) >> Monthly feature with the local Corsican flora as the star of the show, in a what's in season kinda approach. The photos taken are a tiny sample of a vast plant image bank I have compiled over the last 3 years.
• A Week-End Wonderweb (Nov 2010 - Mar 2011) >> Each week-end I dedicated a pictorial post to the best of web around a particular theme, anything from Typography to Winter Wonderland to Art Deco... It was a short and sweet yet highly visual article, and great fun for me to compile!
• A Working Week of Spook (Late Oct 2010) >> If you want random, this is as random as it gets! A pre-Halloween taster packed-full with cinematographic references to some of the best horror movies ever made, matched by scary photo montages. I had fun like no other on Photoscape, experimenting on pictures I had taken, going low res and high saturation! Amateurish and low budget had never cut it so good!

And La Baguette is curious by nature! (pict via ProGood)

Going forward, new features will come into play in La Baguette, so make sure you don't miss out! In the meantime, that's it for our Total Recall feature. It's been an interesting journey of reminiscence, which I hope you enjoyed as much as I did!

Thanks for your loyalty to this blog and please don't hesitate to drop me a line! Comments, ideas, advice, suggestions, partnerships etc. are soooo welcome!

La Baguette in Ten Bites (Part 2)

In our revisit of La Baguette's best bits in ten bites, we have more goodness in store!

6. Home Truths About What We Call a Home: With La Baguette being a lifestyle blog at large, it goes without saying that home is a key feature. On a personal note, home is even more crucially important, since I am presently living out of a suitcase, in my parents' home, while my little house back in Britain is being rented out.

Dec 2009: Packing up the office for the new French life!

With life as I knew it on hold and the rest of my life somehow in limbo, I am even more keen to sing the praises of having your own space, your own place, somewhere you can be yourself or reconnect with yourself. Right now I suppose that La Baguette has become a virtual home of sorts for my moods, rants, observations and experiences, a way-out. And meanwhile the saying 'you don't know what you've got until it's gone' has never rung so true to me!

7. Smooth Lemon Sorbet: Guys I think I was clear enough from the start that La Baguette was never going to be a culinary blog, despite the best intentions and despite the fact that three of our dessert recipes make it in our Top10 (source: Google Analytics). Incidentally our Lemon Sorbet makes it at #9 as our 3rd most popular dessert recipe, after Caramel Cream Coffee Cups (#7) and Very Strawberry Sorbet (#8)!

One of the many facets of La Baguette embraces food and the odd baking session (without developing any culinary obsessions!). The lemon sorbet produced an incredible tastebud experience, mainly thanks to the use of extra-fresh organic Corsican lemons bursting with aroma. It was the best sorbet I've ever had (coming from someone who is ordinarily no fan of lemon sorbet!). This just proved that high-quality ingredients do all the hard work for you.

8. A Working Week of Spook: In case you hadn't guessed at the time, I am known to be a bit of a horror/ psychological/ spooky film buff, and come Halloween 2010 I had gathered perfect photographic material almost right on my doorstep to purport the ghostly killer sets and moody ambiences to La Baguette's audience. Spook was officially the blog's first themed project, and an experience I was keen to repeat, as projects proved a good fit for the blog, no less to break away from monotony and predictability. I enjoyed Spook very much, and then straight after that moved on to the Week-End Wonderweb project. I have other exciting ideas in the pipeline which the artistic side of me is keen to explore!

9. A Week-End Wonderweb: Originally a project/ challenge I'd set to myself, the Wonderwebs also came to spice up La Baguette's format with a short and snappy weekly visual exploration of the riches of the web, to loosely illustrate a topical (or untopical) theme or mood in mind: anything from Winter Wonderland to Maps, via Typography and Humour.

Originally I'd set myself four week-ends worth of Wonderweb, then stretched it through Christmas and it has been on-going since. Although the idea may appear rather simple at first sight, it can sometimes prove challenging, especially as I am looking to create a certain colour coordination, photographic style or overall ambience.

10. Mirabelle Design Inspiration: It is quite difficult to limit myself to ten bites because you will have realised by now that La Baguette touches on so many different lifestyle aspects. So for this last one I chose to be practical and let my head decide over my heart (do forgive me Tickle!). Mirabelle Design Inspiration is a welcome post to Mirabelle, my visual inspiration labour-of-love blog, and very true to my inner aspirations and artistic inclinations! From a logistical perspective it was a key-decision as whether to launch a second blog, and be ready to allocate sufficient resources into it, without impacting negatively on the first blog nor on personal life commitments. So far I am delighted to say that I have struck the right balance!

I hope those ten scrumptious bites will have made you hungry for more. Take your pick, there are 150 posts to choose from (so far!) and surely one that will tempt you like the proverbial cherry on the cake! And meanwhile onto the next 150 posts!

A Working Week of Spook (Day 5)

Congratulations for having come that far! Good news too, as this is our last day, Friday, and there is light at the end of the tunnel of darkness. But don't fret because Friday doesn't normally bode well... Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but do you remember Jason?

As we reach our final destination, rest assured that we'll end this project on a high note. If you're a metal fan then this truly is your lucky day as we're gonna rock the house down!

Has a metal part just snapped? The Stepford Wives (1975)

But before coming to the surface, there is still, alas, more to explore down the bumpy roads of twisted phantasmagorical fantasy with:

Silent Hill: Down the remote outbacks, clues are there to be seen that not all is what it seems. There is such a thing as Dead Calm, but don't take our word for it... Go see for yourself! This one comes with health warnings: rusty machinery, allegedly leaked substances and cutting instruments... Whatever happens, don't trust anyone's word!

In our revisit, rest assured, no severed limbs, meat hooks or chainsaw-wielding masked American Psycho! The victims are from the man-made order and there is not one pretty sight either! If man is inherently good, how come does he allow himself to be corrupted by his inability to cope with his creations once they take over his life?

Here is, my friend, where casualties of life end up, literally littering the place. It's a tale about the unwanted, the unloved, the deranged, the dispossessed, the battered, the decayed, the socially unfit that eventually find their way down this way: Hell.

Without scaring the living daylights out of you, I am pretty sure some of these will take their revenge one day and end up reincarnated as either Freddy or Sweeney Todd!

But for now our hearfelt congratulations and we may even send you a Valentine's card and Gift if we remember! You have survived our Working Week of Spook. Happy Halloween everyone!

P.S: La Baguette Magique doesn't claim to have seen - nor does it wish to see - every single film listed in the Working Week of Spook. Having said that, its personal 3 favourites are: What Lies Beneath, The Others, and Dolores Claiborne, with a special mention to The Fog, and Fatal Desire.

Further resources:

• Vintage horror movie trailers from the 1950s
• Serious about the genre? Visit this blog or wiki.

All photography except The Stepford Wives © La Baguette Magique 2010

A Working Week of Spook (Day 4)

Can you feel the chill? Atmosphere sets the tone in spooky films, with good old-fashioned suspense, half-spoken or unspoken truths playing wonders on the human psyche, leading your Sixth Sense astray. Imagination is given free rein, courtesy of the film-maker's Craft, and concluding epilogues are rarely products of logic...

Boo! Ethereal and eerie: The Others (2001)

Actually in the horror and psychological thriller genres at large, Stigmata attached to any form of rational logic should be dispelled. There is a Duel of words and actions between good and evil, with deceptive appearances, misleading characters, unforeseen developments and twisted consequences.

So clear all that White Noise from your head because your working week of spook continues right now, with our somewhat oppressing and atmostpheric outdoor location photo montages...

The Blair Witch Project: Not as damp but certainly just as claustrophobic as yesterday's bayous, featuring untamed, unkempt forests, dense scratchy thorny woods, narrow paths that suddenly disappear out of sight, a sensation of déjà-vu and no sense of direction...Soon enough tempers flare in the party and High Tension rises as the seemingly Sleepy Hollow turns Alien.

Going round in circles already, yet we've only been a few hours into our mission, so who are you kidding, man? It's getting dark, so we'll set up bivouac, safe in the knowledge that there is no going back to that cosy city life! But you should see your face though: looks like you've just spotted Hannibal Lecter!

One more thought: is it my imagination or are you being followed? (to be continued)

All photography except The Others © La Baguette Magique 2010

A Working Week of Spook (Day 3)

Don't you give in just yet, because as if this was not enough already, we have more in store until Friday... Now where were we up to? So you want countryside, the great outdoors, wilderness, right? We can't quite promise you the big wide open spaces but here's an offer you can't refuse.

Did we mention mutants? The Fly (1958)

Candyman: The wetland fringed with tangled cane featured here resembles the bayous of deep Louisiana or backwaters of Northern Kalifornia, and for all we know it might as well be...

Note that it can get foggy in here at night too, oh and don't put a foot wrong. You never know What Lies Beneath once you are knee-deep... A snake would be your lucky day, Candyman however a living nightmare! But remember before you embark on your adventure, these backwaters are a beacon for hostility: deep, dense, tense, hypnotic, claustrophobic and generally detrimental to your rationale.

The cane is so tight that you need to Saw your way through it. Never a good Omen though when you are not equipped. And you can Scream all you like, it is doubtful you will get heard! You might as well be stuck in The Hole for this one! You see, this really is a dog-eat-dog situation.

If the bayous aren't bad enough, take a deep breath. If these are supposed to be a piece of cake, then it's best you keep them for afters because you'll certainly need all the energy you can muster to get you over this working week ordeal. Get set! But how ready are you? (to be continued)

All photography except The Fly © La Baguette Magique 2010

A Working Week of Spook (Day 2)

You have survived Day 1 and we are impressed. Needless to say that there's more from our bag of tricks. Trick or Treat - I beg your pardon? Stick to your bravery, you'll need it soon enough!

On the second day came a pure classic of the horror genre. Need we say more? We'll show you the sights first, then we'll explain. After you...

Psycho (1960): Approach the shower with caution!

House on Haunted Hill: Picture the scene. You are driving alone far from home, you are tired, it's almost dark and you decide to pull over at the next hotel. Or tough luck, your car breaks down on the way, down that isolated stretch of the country. It might not be good news on the weather front either with The Fog suddenly making an appearance, but as long as you keep to the road map and don't go for shortcuts or a Wrong Turn, you are bound to stay safe...

As one bad thing never happens on its own, your mobile phone has given up the ghost too and you - yes you - instead of staying put inside your car with your thinking cap on, decide that it will be safer to investigate that derelict place that you've spotted by the roadside, for the night. What on earth possessed you?

Your saving grace is that it looks inhabited, but what do you make of The Hitcher you drove past five minutes ago? And what if The Hills Have Eyes? This road trip was never meant to turn into a Roadkill. It's your call. (to be continued)

All photography except Psycho © La Baguette Magique 2010

A Working Week of Spook (Day 1)

As the long month of October slowly drags to its end, there is a chill in the air, so palpable, an indication of that particular time of year surely... And we are not simply talking about Autumn.

Even it seems a Poltergeist has reshuffled our TV channels to celebrate the psychological thriller and horror genres, in muted tones or full-out gore. You see folks, in the run-up to Halloween things can get somewhat creepy and creaky for the so-inclined. Imagination being limitless, its powers can only be unleashed to trick us into believing in the less plausible.

A classic of the genre: Nosferatu (1922). Source: Photobucket

No stones will be left unturned, no Shallow Grave will lay undisturbed and no skeletons will be kept in cupboards, while we take you along for a Working Week of Spook! Under the compelling spell of Spook, La Baguette Magique will feature until Friday a daily photographic disturbance comprising clever montages captured on location (just not on the original film locations), with two rock-solid guarantees: not one pumpkin in sight, and all cobwebs featured here are real.

Our fear and loathing season kick-starts right away with the appropriately named: Paranormal Activity. Things that go bump in the night, things that are not quite what they seem, things that get animated, like a rocking chair, a crystal chandelier or a doll with rolling eyes... The departed's presence and the absence of life... How prepared are you about facing irrational truths and in the same breath your own primal fears?

Would it not be easier to pretend it's only one of those disturbingly vivid dreams? Yet after all, you've seen it all before on the silver screen and experienced unease from The Mothman Prophecies to Hide and Seek. So if life really is a film, is there any point in us spoiling the fun by telling you the end? Unless of course conspiracy rules of the untold are written to be bent... Meanwhile don't we know that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?

Back to the subject of primal fears, we'll take a tamed approach by daring you to look at those walls closely. Between those stones, in the gaps and the holes, in the dim spaces and over the shadows lurk the Eight-Legged Freaks of your nightmares: poisonous black widows, exotic varieties of spiders, God knows. Lately one of those tarantulas, bizarely oversized, was spotted scuttling across the garden path just before dusk, not the kind you would happily pick up in a glass to release elsewhere! (to be continued)

P.S: Nosferatu is available to watch as a full-length feature film from here. Don't miss out on the chance!

All photography except Nosferatu © La Baguette Magique 2010