Mom grew up loving the TV show The Addams' Family so when she found the wig at the thrift shop, Cousin Itt came to mind! For those not familiar with the show, Cousin Itt is the diminutive, hairy gibberish speaking cousin of Gomez who often comes to visit the Adams family. Sweetpea was asleep on the chair and Mom dropped the wig and sunglasses on her before she woke up. This is the usual way to get us to wear any form of costume! She got a couple of shots in before Sweetpea made her escape!
Sweetpea backing out from under the wig!
The TV show which ran during the 60's for a few short years was very poplar and based on the New Yorker cartoon by Charles Addams. His work was called many things - bizarre, demonic, humorous and enchanting. People loved his take on life and death with a very black humor.
New Yorker cartoon by Charles Addams
Addams passed away in 1988 but in a style uniquely his: Charles Addams died on September 28, 1988 outside his home. As a lover of cars, Charles went out and sat in his car. After a long cruise, Charles put his head down on the steering wheel, and passed on to the other side as his heart gave out.
He wanted to be remembered as a fun loving artist and had requested a party instead of a wake. At the New York Public Library, a party was thrown complete with a banquet and jazz bands. In a Boston newspaper, a cartoon was depicted in which the cartoon Addams family looked sadly down at a grave, while Charles crawled out from the other side.
Help! It's me, Mamacita, trapped inside the Wicked Witch's crystal ball! The Witch and her her Flying Monkey will keep me in here forever!
I know the Wizard of Oz is not a Halloween movie but wasn't the part at the Witch's Castle scary? When Mom was a kid she would hide when that part came on! For work, a couple of Halloween's ago Mom and her friend Sallie dressed up as a flying monkey and the Wicked Witch respectively. Mom made a great flying monkey and even had wings altho they don't show up in the pics too well. Sallie's witch was scary! Pretty cool huh?
Mom on left and Sallie on right.
Now for some Wizard of Oz trivia.....
Did you know that Margaret Hamilton's portrayal of the Wickedest Witch of the West was so frightening that most of her scenes were edited out? We only see the softer side of her witch!!! Yikes!!!!
Did you know that the crystal ball in the movie was also used as a prop in the movie The Mask of Fu Manchu and Chandu the Magician. The 25" diameter ball sold at auction in May 2011 for $126,500!
Did you know that Hamilton's green make-up was copper oxide and was poisonous? Since it took hours to put on, Hamilton had to be very careful not to ingest it while eating. She mainly lived on a liquid diet while in make-up.
Did you know what words the castle guards are chanting in the scene with the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion watching from the rocks? Some people think they say things like "Allwe own, we owe her." Mom thought they were saying "Or-e-o, oreo." Actually, she was close. They say "O-ee-ya! Eoh-ah!"
It's just little ole me, Minnie, helping Mom unload the groceries - not really demon. But have you heard the story of the the demon cat in the Capitol in DC?
There are many stories circulating about a black cat who appears in the building as an omen before national tragedies like presidential assassinations. As the tale goes, the cat appears as a normal sized black cat to either a night watch person or security guard and grows right in front of them into a large creature with glowing eyes. The legend of the demon cat states that the cat made an appearance before the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations, before the 1929 stock market crash and on 9/10/01. It seems there are even cat paw prints in the cement at the Capitol! So is there a demon or is this just another black cat story gone wild?
We like the idea of a demon cat - stay posted for more spooky stories and photos this week through Halloween!
