Welcome, 2012!

Happy New Year! Okay group, after a few weeks' hiatus, we have returned! We staggered through the holidays and now we're ready to hit the ground running and get our plans for 2012 underway. And this year, we're going even bigger!

So to start, I'm really excited because the mailman finally delivered the goods:

Today I unwrapped my brand new copy of The Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses, by Paul Koudounaris. (To see some of the photos from this amazing book, head over to my wonderfully witty Dear Santa post). Apparently Santa got my list too late, so I had to order it myself...

Anyway, this book is absolutely incredible. Beautiful pictures throughout, and with each page I flipped came a new idea for this year's home haunt (which by my count, is down to only 292 days!). I can't wait to sit down and carefully read all of the information contained within. I was pleasantly surprised by the size, fit and finish of this book. It is the new crown jewel in my small collection. This is the perfect photo reference for all of my upcoming "corpsifications"...

Also, for anyone in the Northeast Ohio area (and beyond), the word has gone out that the Northern Ohio Haunters group will be getting together for their first Make & Take of the year. And this one is going to be special. Be sure to clear your calendar on Saturday, February 4, because the first M&T of 2012 is going to be held at Forsaken Haunted House in Mentor, Ohio. Sweet! I can't wait to get a behind-the-scenes tour of a pro haunt. I will be taking copious notes and photos and will report back as soon as I can. The wheels are really starting to turn for Halloween, 2012!!

Moving right along, Scrapes and I have both been monkeying around with a cool, new iPhone app called Instagram. We've taken some of our old photos and imported them into this program, complete with different photo exposure textures and borders. Tons of users posting up tons of beautiful photos. I'm there representing the home haunters!!

And finally, I can't close this post without realizing the date on today's calendar. So for all of you horror fans, I present the single greatest scene from any of the Friday The 13th film franchise...

Dear Santa...

7 more days until Christmas, and I've finally figured out what I want from you. If you check your lists, you will most assuredly find me on the "Nice" list this year, as I tried not to terrify too many children this year at the Cemetery, I obeyed my parents and I always ate my vegetables. So if you could find it in your jolly heart, I only want one thing under my tree this year...

I REALLY want the book, Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses, by Paul Koudounaris.

Thank you, Santa!

Love, Highbury

From Amazon.com:

From bone fetishism in the ancient world to painted skulls in Austria and Bavaria: an unusual and compelling work of cultural history.

It is sometimes said that death is the last taboo, but it was not always so. For centuries, religious establishments constructed decorated ossuaries and charnel houses that stand as masterpieces of art created from human bone. These unique structures have been pushed into the footnotes of history; they were part of a dialogue with death that is now silent.

The sites in this specially photographed and brilliantly original study range from the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Palermo, where the living would visit mummified or skeletal remains and lovingly dress them; to the Paris catacombs; to fantastic bone-encrusted creations in Austria, Cambodia, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and elsewhere.

Paul Koudounaris photographed more than seventy sites for this book. He analyzes the role of these remarkable memorials within the cultures that created them, as well as the mythology and folklore that developed around them, and skillfully traces a remarkable human endeavor. 290 photographs, 260 in color.


I could think of no greater gift to a Halloween haunter like myself than a book such as this, just chock full of incredible information and absolutely beautiful photography. This would be a centerpiece of reference material sure to take Highbury Cemetery to the next level in 2012.

As an added bonus, you too can see the incredible collection of photographs at the book's accompanying website, Empire de la Mort. I visit this site regularly, perusing the beautiful photography and each time my mind races, planning to replicate every shot in next year's home haunt. All photos below are from Empire de la Mort. Do yourself a big favor and take a few minutes to check it out.