My Black Pony!

Back when I was a little girl on the farm, I so wanted a pony. I guess I was not any different than hundreds of other little girls that wanted a pony but I figured since we already lived on a farm..a pony was sort of a necessity. What made my whims different was the fact that I already knew exactly what the pony was to look like! Oh, he was a fine figure of a horse! He was to be black from head to toe with no markings what so ever! His mane and tail would long and flowing and always be tangle-free! And..he was to be no ordinary pony but one of those high stepping, nimble creatures from the old western movies. You know..the one that the hero would ride! Yep..that was my pony!..My beautiful jet black, high-stepping pony! I dreamed of the day when I would be riding this pony!

Today, I was cleaning the living room when I spied something curious. There, between a layer of sheetrock dust (from the ongoing hallway renovation) and the shelf was my pony! A small plastic horse from my brother's playset when we were kids. It was this horse that was the inspiration in a small girl's mind! My brother had given me his prize horse! One cowboy or Indian from the playset would have to walk! This horse would have no rider until the one day that I could ride my real pony! When we would play with his toy cowboys and Indians, my pony would just trot around free as a bird! He would never stay in the "corral" that my brother would make from twigs. Not my pony! He was meant to be free! I loved that little plastic horse and to this day, it sits on the shelf in my living room! His little high-stepping foot is still raised in midair! I never got my real pony..I just had to imagine what it would be like having a friend like the little plastic horse. My dream horse! The little plastic horse was dusted and placed back on the shelf..let my kids figure that one out some day when they have the job of sorting though all of my treasures!

Feathers! Today's cheapo Halloween decoration, includes black feathers! Feathers can appear to have been dropped by a raven and well, after Vincent Price's rendition of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven", a single black feather can evoke all sorts of creepiness! I admit that I have a house full of weird and unusual items (or could that be unusable!) and can pull together enough odd things to create an eerie vignette but adding a few black feathers can add a good bit of ambiance. That ambiance is what we are striving for when decorating. Things can appear eerie enough without all of the "blood and guts" that most people think of when doing a "haunted house". I am just not into that aspect of decorating and tend to depend a bit more on insinuation. One might call my haunted parlor a bit more mysterious than creepy! So pull together items that are old, dark in color or merely have an unusual appearance about them. Then add a few feathers..the raven is surely around somewhere chanting his "Nevermore!" Actually, an old bird cage is another mysterious prop used in the decorations. Leave the door to the cage open and add numerous faux crows about the room! The crows are $1 a piece so depending on how many you use, this can be rather inexpensive. Feathers...another cheap (or free if you have chickens!) decoration element!

Just a hint..lighting is everything when striving for the "creep factor". Keep the lights dim..rely on strings of white lights that can be hidden..and use flicker candles. Another method is to use "up" lights. Placing small lights on the floor behind furniture and focusing them up, gives quite the eerie effect. The picture of the birdcage above has far too much lighting since I had to use the flash on the camera. Poor lighting and lots of shadows are the way to go if you are planning a haunted parlor!