Haunted houses are as much a part of Halloween as candy corn, Jack-o-lanterns, and trick-or-treating. Seasonal spooks spring up around the country and year-round attractions amp up their boo factor each fall. These spooky sinister sensations come in all shapes and sizes, some with strong, thematic story-telling and others a creepy collection of scary scenes; all focusing on fear and fun.
Short of a sorcerer’s spell or swift soaring ride on a witch’s broom it’s almost impossible to see all the spook there is to see each season. Fortunately 13 of these macabre manifestations are documented in all of their dark diversity. “HAUNT,” a monstrous masterpiece of photography in the form of a coffin coffee table book, captures these devilish delights in all of their ghoulish glory.
Misty Keasler’s photographs are a stunning display of amazing artistry. Eerie images of haunts and haunters, in crisp color and boo-tiful black and white, practically jump off the pages of large tome of terrorific treats. Haunting images, accompanied by the comments of author Margee Kerr, delightfully draw the reader into a realm of dark and slightly unnerving entertainment.
“Haunt is a portrait of our culture and the study of fear as entertainment in commerical haunted houses. This work took Keasler to 13 haunts throughout the United States over the course of 2 years, where she was given unprecedented access to each location, shooting lengthy time exposures of uninhabited interiors and their facades on film, while additionally shooting formal portraits of their actors in costume. The resulting efforts yielded 146 vividly colorful, yet chilling photographs, that provide the viewer the space to experience the immense detail the proprietors of these haunts pour into them. In her essay, curator Andrea Karnes contextualizes this body of work within the conversation of contemporary photography as well as exploring its ties to the history of painting. An essay by sociologist and author Margee Kerr, provides an insider’s glimpse of everything that makes up a great haunt, from the props to the psychological foundation of a good scare.” Amazon
As a photographer (and former haunt actor) I devoured this book, loving every image and admiring not only the talents that went into creating these creepy environments, but also the skill in which these images are captured.
“HAUNT” is a must own for anyone into Halloween, haunted attractions and powerfully perfect photography.
