Halloween Hauntings-A Peek-a-Boo Project

This is Jon David Lowe for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts, as you well know Halloween is our favorite holiday and we believe it should be celebrated year round. But what you might not know is that I use to be a ghost tour guide in a small historical town in Maryland, named Ellicott City. I was in their media promotionals featured on a billboard, postcards, posted on backs of local buses, featured in a newspaper article and even filmed for a local news story. All of these have faded much like the ghosts in the stories I told. These are the inspirations for this artwork.

1.  Gather Supplies.

2.  Measure a 6.5 by 7.5 Inch Substrate- I Used Bookboard.

3.  Find a Magazine Landscape Picture of Your Choosing.

4.  Glue Picture to Substrate Using a UHU Gluestick.

5.  Once Fully Dry Distress the Edges With a Sanding Block and Gently Over all of the Image.

6.  Use TH Pumice Stone Distress Stain to Add Patina to the Picture.

7.  Seal With DecoArt Matte Gel Medium.

8.  Use a Variety of Markers and Highlighters to Color GSLC Haunted House Oval, Creepy Sign Post and Rickety Fence with Cats.

9.  Add Highlights with Neon Acrylic Paints

10.                Once Fully Dry Glue all GSLC Pieces to Substrate with Weldbond.

11.                Dry Pressed Completely Flat and Weighted Down. 

Some Final Thoughts.

Back to my ghost tour days, excerpts from The Washington Examiner article, Ellicott City: Hotbed for the paranormal: "JD Lowe looks like an extra from a Marilyn Manson music video, with a close, blond crew cut and goatee.He's wearing all black, a leather coat, leather boots and a kilt, and his temples and forehead are painted with icons of the sun, moon and stars. A healthy portion of glitter is sprinkled over his body.

The ghost tour snakes through the town and stops off at destinations that are supposedly haunted.

Only five people on the tour admit to actually believing in ghosts, which Lowe said is about on par: "Most people are skeptical." However, two stories capture the crowd's attention: the tale of the murdered woman at the Tiber River Tavern and Al the car mechanic.

The woman at Tiber River Tavern has been seen by many restaurant employees and patrons including Lowe. She dresses in white Victorian-style clothing and is prone to crouching in a tavern corner, as if mourning, Lowe said. According to legend, one evening an audacious tavern employee who was closing down the restaurant alone decided to test the woman.

He called out to her: "If you are really there, why don't you come out and have a drink?"

He reportedly heard a woman's voice yell back: "Line them up!"

Since then, no Tiber River Tavern employees has been allowed to close the restaurant on their own, Lowe said. He also tells the crowd about Al, the owner of a local garage who died of a heart attack while working on a car. Al has been known to haunt the current tenants of his old garage, which until recently was the furniture shop What's In Store.

Al reportedly also likes to walk around with the Ellicott City ghost tours after the stop at his garage.

Two 13-year-old Elkridge boys roll their eyes at that anecdote.

But by the end of the night, Baltimore resident Jessica Nelson says she thinks she's captured some ghosts on the tour. She proudly shows off a photo from her digital camera of a cobblestone alley, where a Confederate soldier was supposedly shot to death.

There is a tiny ball of white light floating on top a nearby staircase.

"I love it," Nelson said. "I'm a believer."

When the Ellicott City tour ends, several people noticeably quicken their pace back to their cars. Running late for dinner, perhaps? Or meeting friends? Or maybe they don't want to give Al the mechanic a chance to jump in their back seat.

Happy Hauntings, may your Halloween be full of Magical Surprises.

Halloween Wishes-A Poem

Since this is the time for goblins and bats,
Halloween spirits, ghosts and cats,
Weird-happenings and witches brew,
These are the things I wish for you.

May the only spirit you chance to meet,
Be the spirit of love and warm friends sweet.
May the tricks that you are asked to do,
Be a trick to help you gain a friend or two.

So, by tomorrow, pick three friends sweet,
And give them all a Halloween treat.
You only have one day, so hurry!
Leave a treat on the doorstep, then flee in a hurry! 

Supplies:  Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Haunted House Oval, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Creepy Sign Post, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Rickety Fence with Cats, 6.5 by 7.5 inch substrate- I Used Bookboard, Magazine Landscape Picture, UHU Gluestick, Sanding Block, , DecoArt Matte Gel Medium, Paintbrush, Variety of Markers and Highlighters, Neon Acrylic Paints, Weldbond

I cannot wait to see your interpretation of this project. Share it on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Craft Group Page on Facebook. I would love to see what new creations you are working on!