This Spooky October: One Hundred Ghosts

When I was once again cornered into producing a Hallowe’en-adjacent post, I naturally opted for ghosts as a topic, probably my second favourite mainstay of the season (the first being black cats, naturally). I received 100 Ghosts: A Gallery of Harmless Haunts as a gift sometime last year, and this cute little book was just biding its time until now.

“Doogie Horner” is a heck of a name, so you won’t be too surprised to find out that the author of all these ghosts is a comedian on top of being an illustrator/cartoonist. Go check his Instagram account here.

I won’t include the captions under each image so you can try guessing what kind of ghost is pictured — answers are at the bottom of this post!

Answers, as promised: clumsy ghost, ghost full of bees, genie ghost, nudist ghost, llama ghost, marsupial ghost, ghost eating spaghetti, used car lot ghost, and last but not least, ventriloquist ghost. If you guessed them all, I owe you a ghost cookie (which is either a cookie shaped like a ghost, or one that’s actually the lingering memory of a cookie eaten last year).

Here’s a little musical bonus:

~ ds

Hallowe’en Countdown VI, Day 16

« Trouble with you is the trouble with me / Got two good eyes but we still don’t see / Come round the bend, you know it’s the end / The fireman screams and the engine just gleams » — Robert Hunter

Better watch your speed.

Another quite slight tale, but I’ve always loved this one for its nocturnal, storm-tossed ambiance. And it takes considerable illustrative skill to bring to life such a compact vignette with clarity and visual interest. Especially while hobbled by pedestrian colouring and hazy printing.

While the scripter goes uncredited (though it’s presumably editor Murray Boltinoff), the artist is Rodolfo “Rudy” Florese (1946-2003); he was one of the band of solid Filipino craftsmen that brought extra style and diversity to the US Comics industry in the 1970s. The lion’s share of Florese’s American contribution went to DC’s Tarzan titles. Take it away, boys!

Yeah, that’s right: in such stories, Death always betrays himself by picking an oddball moniker like “Mort Todd” or some such dead giveaway. To be fair, Satan and Dracula also indulge in the corny practice. Dr. Shreck, anyone? Think it never happens in “real” life? Let us consider the case of smarmy Albertan reprobate Pierre Poilièvre, whose name basically translates as Pierre Pea-Hare.

The Roaring Coffin originally saw print in Ghosts no. 40 (July 1975, DC), which bore this enticing Luis Domínguez cover.

-RG