Stephen Gammell Illustration

Terrified in my younger years, I would crawl up in bed, under a tent made of blankets and would try to go to bed reading the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series, like I said try is best word. Reading by the glowing light from my small lamp, I would always be afraid to reach over and turn out the light, terrified of a slimy skeleton hand reaching from under my bed and dragging me into the nether realm. The frightening folklore ghost stories by Alvin Schwartz never failed, and none without the companion hand drawings of Stephen Gammel.

The real truth of the matter is that I've been haunted ever since but in a good way, I cannot forget the awful tragic revenge and the dripping flesh decay inspiring my madness for the macabre. As I look back now, no wonder children were so afraid, the monsters always kept me intrigued even though I would be afraid to turn the page. Stephen Gammel is my all time favorite illustrator, I am in awe of his skills and the fine details of his pencil drawings; I admire cracks in the skull, stringy hair, mist with lurking shadows and who cannot forget the goo, there is always strands of it everywhere. His work is of gory organic forms nestled with foggy dark backgrounds, never knowing what will be at the next turn. I was always chilled to the bone with screaming faces and odd lumpy creatures, the splendid drawings perfect the mood of every scary story, many of which I take inspiration. Some of my favorites are The Haunted House, High Beams, The Big Toe, and Room for One More. Last year I created a painting called The Bride for my Skeleton Krew Collection, inspired by the story about a bride who falls into the childhood fun of hide and seek, never being found until months later after getting locked inside of an old wooden chest. The painting features cob webs, a wedding ring and Victorian two faced bride starring out at the viewer; this painting will be featured in my upcoming show in January.

At a ripe age of 27, I still bust out the old tattered books looking for a few scares and a rattle of my bones. Check out some other children's books that feature the art of Stephen Gammel, not all are so scary:

Monster Mama, Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust, Twig Boy, Halloween Poems, and Where the Buffaloes Begin. 

The Haunted Stanley Hotel

I have always longed to stay in room 217 of the haunted Stanley Hotel, best known as an inspiration for the "Overlook Hotel" in Stephen King's novel The Shining. The 138-room Georgian hotel in Estes Park, Colorado was built by Freelan O. Stanley of the Stanley Steamer. The Stanley has hosted many guests over the years but still holds several permanent guests, the supernatural kind that is!

Many believe this famous hotel is haunted, having reports of a number of cases. Freelan Stanley has been spotted in the lobby and his favorite room, the Billiard Room. Sounds of discordant grand piano notes can be heard from the Music Room, said to be played by Stanley's wife, Flora. Guests also have reported seeing a man standing over their beds then disappearing in the cupboard, how about waking up to that? There has been claimed that an apparition is responsible for stealing jewelry, watches and luggage that have gone missing. And children can be heard during the night and some have claimed to have seen a red ball moving up and down the hallway, like it was being passed between two curious children playing. Room 418 features odd noises and impressions on the bed when no one was in the room, that would terrify me, but a part of me has always wished to see a true form, much like the ghoul shadow people from Ghost.

On the second floor, Stephen King supposedly even witnessed an apparition of a young child calling out to his nanny. Many guests request room 217, in which King stayed in. Some of the more interesting sections of the hotel are stairs to the bell tower, in which voices are heard yet no one is allowed up there. Also be sure to check out the underground tunnels beneath the hotel, where tree trunks rise out of the cement foundation, and where an apparition of a little girl can repeatedly be heard playing.

Believing in the paranormal and the unseen, I often get inspired by true hauntings or dark tales such as Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark illustrated by the fabulous Stephen Gammell. Combing found objects often leads to a story in itself and hoarding single pieces eventually find companions.

A new arrival this week is named after the Haunted Stanley Hotel, the necklace features brass chain met with three mysterious pieces. A flat round metal piece possibly from an industrial pipe features an engraved Fluor 920, almost reminds me of a number plate on a hotel room door. An antique skeleton key hangs from knotted chain, this key is actually a twin of two, said to be two identical security guard keys, I purchased from this old spanish man at the local flea market. Hanging from the clasp features a small relic from the Fairmount Ave flea market that surrounds the haunted Eastern State Penitentiary, a dark shielded relic for such a dark place of penitence.

These things are interesting phenomenon, one could never know without a true personal experience. Do you believe in the paranormal or have ever had a haunting experience? We'd love to hear your story!