Halloween Countdown, Day 22

[eldritchhobbit]

Ever since I moved far from home to go to college a couple of decades ago, I've had a thing about snailmail. As much as I enjoy the ease of communication in the internet age, I really love finding something in my mailbox! Sixteen months ago I joined Postcrossing, which allows you to send a postcard and receive one back from a random person somewhere in the world. I've been thoroughly enjoying the experience. It's especially fun to send postcards to students around the globe whose classes participate in Postcrossing.

Of course, one of the kinds of postcards I request are spooky, eerie ones. Here are some of the wonderfully Halloween-appropriate postcards I've received.

This one is from Germany.



These are from Lithuania and Japan, respectively.



These are from Russia and Germany.



“Henderson sighed. There was a time, he reflected, when the coming of this night meant something. A dark Europe, groaning in superstitious fear, dedicated this Eve to the grinning Unknown. A million doors had once been barred against the evil visitants, a million prayers mumbled, a million candles lit. There was something majestic about the idea...”
― Robert Bloch, "The Cloak" (1939)

Comments

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

I love the one from Germany. It would actually make a great icon. And though the idea has been around for a long time, it's sort of timeless, isn't it?

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I love it too! You're so right: it's timeless.

[jan-u-wine.livejournal.com]

they're all just great.......it's a sort of psychology, isn't it, to make light of what you fear (or put it right out on display, or even .....befriend it, make it your own)?

We won't go gentle into that good night.
But we may well have a sense of humour, rather than horror, about it.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

it's a sort of psychology, isn't it, to make light of what you fear (or put it right out on display, or even .....befriend it, make it your own)?

Beautifully put! I think you've put your finger on it.

[jan-u-wine.livejournal.com]

Amy, if I were to write a poem to the peacock pic, would it be ok to use the pic?

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Oh, absolutely! *is very excited*

[jan-u-wine.livejournal.com]

well, i put this in a pdf, but if there's a way to do that, i don't see it! So, here you go:



Sew up the eyes of the dead.

Lock them up tight with criss-crossery,
blind them with the fishnet –stocking’d
hem of forever.

Ah, no.

Open them wide,
those windows from which
no one may ever look again.

Open them,
for what may they have seen,
in that last moment,

with bone’d fingers about a throat,
with the certain laugh of protracted
destiny

belling with sombre certainty…..


Frame a victor’s wreath about the terrible beauty of them:
Feather-flowers of blue-gold-green,

Oh, fragile
Cabaret eyelashes for the Dearly Departed:

Invite us within this proper peacockery of passing.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Oh, well done indeed! *massive applause*

I absolutely love this. It's properly chilling all the way through. Great imagery: "fishnet-stocking'd hem of forever," "certain laugh of protracted destiny," etc.

I especially love that last line with its "proper peacockery of passing."

This is seriously fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing it!!! *hugs*

[jan-u-wine.livejournal.com]

*hugs* back. Massively appreciated. I would be glad if anyone enjoyed, but most especially someone whose art I admire!

[quietselkie.livejournal.com]

There's a whole creepy book in The Girl with the Peacock Feather Eyes.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Yes! There definitely is.

I keep staring at her... and she keeps staring back.

[quietselkie.livejournal.com]

And she never, ever blinks.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

So true. *shivers*

[abbie culbertson (from livejournal.com)]

That is AWESOME! I especially like the one from Japan. So subtle and unexpected.

I'd never heard of Postcrossing, thanks for the introduction!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about the one from Japan. It was such a lovely surprise!

I'd never heard of Postcrossing, thanks for the introduction!

My pleasure! I've had a lot of fun with it. It's fascinating to read other people's profiles and see what they'd like to know (what your weather's like, or your favorite recipe, or a book recommendation) from you on a postcard. It's a very small thing to do to brighten someone else's day, and at the same time, it's touching to find that other people across the world are seeking to do the same thing for you.

[equusentric.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing this...it sounds fantastic and I definitely going to sign up! As soon as I can find a place that sells decent postcards, that is.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

My pleasure! I heartily recommend it. I've had a lot of fun with it.

I now try to grab some postcards whenever I'm in a touristy place, but I've also had good luck finding books or boxes of postcards online from sellers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I was surprised and pleased, for instance, that Barnes and Noble's website carries a lovely book of postcards with photos of places near us (the Blue Ridge Parkway, to be specific) - postcards I'd never seen for sale anywhere on/near the Parkway itself. Very convenient!

Postcard book club!

[(Anonymous)]

*\o/* Postcard love!

I get antique postcards by the lot from ebay. I can sometimes find 250 postcards for less than $30, which is a great deal, considering that -even as many postcards as I send out- it will take a long time to use up that stack. Plus, its fascinating to see little bits of our world that is quickly fading to the permanent past.
-Elizabeth

Re: Postcard book club!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

YAY! :D

That's a great tip for postcard buying! The vintage postcards you send are brilliant little bite-sized pieces of history.

[ace hamilton (from livejournal.com)]

I love this postcard from Romania:

http://s287.photobucket.com/user/anagahan/media/Romania/Dracula.jpg.html