The Pumpkin Sellers’ Halloween © copyright by Lew Lehrman for The Haunted Studio
When I was a child, Halloween was magical.
It was never about the candy (ok, never entirely about the candy), but more about the general excitement of the season.
I welcomed the chill in the air, and the skeletal sound of dry leaves scraping across the street.
I’ve always loved all things spooky, and the idea of a night set aside for monsters and witches and ghosts and ghouls to walk their mayhem through the streets lit a fire in my imagination that still burns.
I loved the costumes and pretending to be a creature of the night, something so much bigger, so much more than what I had to be for the other 364 nights of the year.
In fact, the only problem I ever had with Halloween night is that inevitably, the monsters went back into the woods, the witches emptied their cauldrons, and the ghosts were laid to rest for another year. It always came to an end.
Until now.
At The Haunted Studio, Halloween lives year ‘round.
The Homecoming © copyright by Lew Lehrman for The Haunted Studio
Visit www.hauntedstudio.com, and you’ll see what I mean.
Artist Lewis Lehrman creates “haunted art”, and when I first stumbled upon his site, I was amazed at how he had woven the Halloween of my youth into his paintings.
His work is spooky and whimsical, never overly scary or threatening, and captures the spirit and sense of sheer fun of Halloween that I remember from my youth and now share with my children.
Every painting tells a story, and I’ve found more than a little inspiration for short stories of my own while visiting his galleries.
Ghosts of Black Mountain Farm © copyright by Lew Lehrman for The Haunted Studio
The Haunted Studio helps keep the chill in the air even at the height of summer, and I visit the gallery often. When looking through Mr.Lehrman’s wonderful art, I can almost feel the bite in the air, and I can almost smell the leaves burning in a barrel down the street.
Sometimes I wonder what might be behind me, looking over my shoulder, sharing my ghosts of Halloween past.
I encourage you to visit him at www.hauntedstudio.com, and experience it for yourself.
Perhaps you’ll find an image or two that have been haunting your own dreams.
While you’re there, sign up for his free monthly newsletter, “The Halloweenist”, where you can get updates on his newest projects (including how you can commission a haunted portrait of your own home), solve a riddle or two, or perhaps take home some of the spooks you’ll meet there.
I think you’ll enjoy it.
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Thanks for reading my ranting,
Brad
