OPEN POST: October Creeper Theme; Memento Mori and Victorian Spooky

M.C Escher, Eye, 1946

Memento Mori: In art and spirituality, memento mori is a symbolic trope or meditative practice that reminds us of mortality and the transitory nature of earthly pleasures. The Latin phrase “memento mori” means “remember you must die.” 

Maria van Oosterwijck, Flower Still Life, 1669

Maybe my Scorpio nature fascinates me with the cycle of life and the idea of what our ancestors thought about death and its symbols-hourglasses, skulls, candles, rotting fruit, dying flowers. I find them sad and beautiful at the same time. October is one of my favorite months, and November is a close second. 

Memento Mori Photograph. Hidden Mother was a Victorian photography technique where they would have the mother hold the deceased child "hidden" or cloaked while keeping the body in place. Children often died before the age of 5 before the 20th century, so these photos were quite popular, though by today's standards, very creepy and horrific to our modern sensibilities. 

It is now the season for contemplation and to walk toward the things that frighten you or get underneath your sensibilities and make you think Michael Meyers could happen for real. Slasher films are boring to me, and I never feel scared; I just believe in the expertise of the special effects team and the work that went into making the movie. I respect them, but they don't frighten me. Psychological horror or supernatural is where I live. 

Karl Marx and George Michael are buried in Highgate Cemetery, which is also supposed to be one of the most haunted cemeteries on the planet. It is indeed eerie and creepy. Suppose you ever go, and you should. In that case, you’ll recognize parts of it if you’ve seen Francis Ford Coppola’s 'Dracula,' or the more recent Diane Keaton movie, 'Hampstead'—featuring Brendan Gleeson as a man living in a shack in the cemetery, which doubles for nearby park Hampstead Heath. It's home to writers George Eliot and Douglas Adams, 60s and 70s punk icon Malcolm McLaren, and painter Patrick Caulfield are among the many buried in the East Cemetery. Laid out in 1839, the foliage-shrouded West Cemetery is the most atmospheric part.

In the 19th century, people spent the day at the graveyard picnicking and strolling sociably, looking at the gravestones and visiting loved ones. It would be unheard of and macabre today, but back then, people lived with ongoing loss, and one way to ease the grief was to find ways to make it a part of living. 

Victorians were fascinated with ghosts, death, dying, and graveyards. It is no wonder. Children often didn't make it to adulthood, and people died from various diseases that we don't even think about today, like typhus and TB. Grieving became an art form. It is why when you think of Victorians, you think of all black, partially because of Queen Victoria and her perpetual grief over the loss of her beloved Albert (she loved that man so much that she had so many kids because they had a lot of sex, she hated giving birth and being a mother, but not enough not to hop into bed as fast as she could with her husband). 

Queen Victoria and Princess Victoria are gazing at a photo of the deceased Prince Albert.

Death dolls and memento mori photos are probably some of the most infamous symbols of Victorian mourning. Someone could make a whole horror movie around them. The Others was like that, but someone could run with them and scare the socks off people who like supernatural horror. Make it look like a daguerreotype photo, and that's scary enough. Everyone looks half-dead after sitting there forever, attempting to stay still to capture the image. 

By the way, Peckerwood is not a new build. You know this, right? Of course, you do. We don't live here by ourselves. So when you hear the faint sounds of a Scottish reel, it isn't your dream; it is the ghosts of those who attended a party in the 19th century. A family from Scotland built the house and had parties for all the recent arrivals. Sometimes, if you listen closely, you can hear the laughter, the clinking of glasses, giggles, and if you dare look out of the window at the maze, you might see bushes rustling. No, it isn't the go-go boys and Bree having naughty fun; those are the lovers sneaking off to get passionate without the watchful eyes of chaperones. Our ghosts are friendly, except for...well, that's a tale for another time. 

Photos:Getty, Cincinnati Art Museum, The Met, various blogs, Highgate Cemetery site.