LONG BEACH, CA - A PARKING LOT AT MIDNIGHT

Who among us doesn't fear the walk through an empty parking lot late at night? The familiar becomes the strange and the shadows hold a thousand moving possibilities. It's a scary place, for reasons both real and imagined. Our imagination works overtime, but caution is more than warranted.

In the October Country, anything can happen.

BRITISH COLUMBIA - FOREST FOR THE TREES

Can you tell I'm really, really looking forward to Halloween this year? For me it isn't the evening itself, though that can be a lot of fun. It's the run-up to the night. I love watching the scary films, the marathons of shows like Buffy, The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits.

For me this is a season, not just one night. In the next few days my wife and I will have the annual screening of SLEEPY HOLLOW, which the is official start to our Halloween Season. Yeah, there are already decorations up in the yard, but the movie just seems to be the right jumping-off place for all things that go bump in the night.

Or the forest. Have you ever noticed how many scary things lurk in the forest? There's always something there, just out of view, watching you.

October Country picture of the day: Forest for the Trees.

SKAGWAY, ALASKA - DIGGING UP THE DIRT

In keeping with the October Country thematics, this is the cemetery in Skagway, Alaska. A land where thousands came seeking their fortunes in gold and more than a handful found nothing but dirt instead.

I wandered up to the cemetery very early one morning, with not another person within a mile or so. Profoundly quiet, other than the sound of a waterfall off in the distance. 

For some the dirt simply didn't pay off. For others, well. The dirt was a bit more final.

PRINCEVILLE, HAWAII - THERE'S A KNOCK AT THE DOOR

Another stylized October Country image.

The story begins as "There's a knock at the door..."

JEROME, ARIZONA - THE JEROME GRAND HOTEL

One of the reputedly "most haunted" places in America is the small hillside town of Jerome, in Arizona. Multiple haunts are noted in this former mining town which clings almost precariously to Woodchute Mountain with a spectacular view of the world famous city of Sedona many miles to the east.

Of all Jerome Landmarks, the imposing Jerome Grand Hotel, once at the town's medical center, stands tall. Many tales of eerie happenings, incidents and occurrences dot the building's history, and continue to this day.

Just another stop in our journey through October Country.

LONG BEACH, CA - THE OCTOBER COUNTRY

Ever since I read Ray Bradbury's THE OCTOBER COUNTRY and discovered Edgar Allen Poe, I have long associated the month with tales with mystery and imagination.

The weather cools. The moon seems to shine with a slightly colder glow. The nighttime breeze rustles the leaves with just a hint of foreboding. It's one of my favorite months of the year.

There's a chill in the air. Shhhh. Is that something in the dark right behind the door?

Happy October.

Pic of the Day: Into the Spirit

I was walking my dogs this morning and was disappointed with the relatively few houses that are decorating (so far) for Halloween. This is among my favorite times of year, when the world is full of mystery again. So far nobody's got that October Country spirit going.

Then again, it might be the 100F weather we're having.

Yeah. Could be.

(These post-sunset trees were photographed on the western shore of Lake Tahoe.)