Spooky Portraits
I go for a hike nearly every day. Usually it’s two or three miles, although sometimes it's further. It’s become a nice routine, and I don’t really think about not doing it; I follow whatever trail looks interesting.
Lately, though, I’ve given myself a new reason to pay attention to the different trails. I’ve started looking for spots that could look spooky. I’m not wandering through the woods hoping to discover the Blair Witch or a haunted Pet Cemetery, though that might be cool.
I’m talking about completely ordinary things that suddenly look sinister when photographed in black and white. I’m calling them my Spooky Portraits.
If I spot a crooked tree with a hole in it like a portal to another world, I take a photograph. A trail disappearing around a bend is another great option. Finding an old, weathered sign is super fun. These things wouldn’t look particularly frightening in real life, but through a different filter, their perspective changes.
On one of my most recent hikes, I came across a weathered sign that read: DANGER DAM AHEAD. In color, it’s just a sign. In black and white, surrounded by all the trees, it looks like the opening shot of a horror movie warning you to turn back.
As a fiction writer, I’m already inclined to wonder what happened in this particular place. Who walked this trail before me? Did they make it past the dam? Some great story ideas come from my hikes, especially now that I'm looking for them.
Can I find something ordinary that looks vaguely haunted? The answer has been yes. I find something every hike. That’s the best part. It gives me something to look forward to outside of the hike.
It’s also taken me down some different trails I hadn’t explored before. The world doesn’t actually have to be frightening to inspire a little mystery. Sometimes all it takes is a change in perspective.
So until the spooky season is upon us, I will be posting my spooky portraits on my social media. I spend a lot of time trying to make fictional places feel mysterious. Now I’m discovering that the real world is perfectly willing to do some of the work for me.
Though you won’t find me walking past that DANGER DAM AHEAD sign after dark!