HERE’S a handful of adverts, records and photographs which probably didn’t plan on having a disturbing or sinister element, but there it is. The passage of time has lent them an air of mystery to 21st century eyes. I won’t claim these will cause you to shriek uncontrollably and alarm your co-workers; but I do guarantee a brief spell of heebie jeebies.
If the sight of a demonic clown maniacally biting a lion doesn’t chill the blood in your veins, there’s not much that will. This is the kind of thing that pops up in nightmares when you’re running a dangerously high fever.
In fact, this is a movie still from Fearless Fagan (1952) which appeared on the inside of cover of the Fagan comic book (no doubt traumatizing untold numbers of children not accustomed to seeing clowns behave like they’re on bath salts).
Let’s face it. Clowns don’t have to be gnashing at lions to be frightening – they’re just inherently evil. Take for instance the “found photograph” above. Have you ever seen anything so horrific? We can safely assume this is a very sick man off his medication. This family would do well to create a diversion and run for help.
The trouble with “found photos” (i.e. photographs you come across at an antique store or thrift shop) is that you don’t know the context. There has to be a rational explanation for this limping grotesque figure who’s about to close in on these ladies. Can we assume at least one of these women will die?
There’s nothing scarier than an ordinary scene being disrupted by the sudden realization that there’s something sinister lurking in the shadows. I think that’s why the Three Men and a Baby ghost was such a phenomenon – the movie was the very definition of ordinary, and yet you are struck with the image of a ghoulish child in the background. See if you can spot The Lurker in the advertisement above.
There he is, and he’s obviously Heino’s evil twin – a villainous mastermind who is the arch nemesis of C.L.A.P. From the looks of him, he has a very cunning and diabolical plan waiting to unfold. Where is Steed when we need him?
Yes, let’s sing along with the Rowdies, and pray the lurker in the background doesn’t follow us home and kill us. He resembles a bearded Sasquatch-like hunchback. If we could focus in on this creature better we’d probably find he has tusks.
And speaking of lurkers on album covers…
Take a look behind the foliage in the upper left. What demon haunted mind lurks within that darkened cell? (shudder) The Corner Grocery Store is a place where evil dwells. Stay away.
As for the child wedged below Raffi, I don’t know what he’s doing, but I believe it’s a cry for help of some kind.
This 1975 Easy Bake Oven comic book ad is utterly disturbing. Check out this sinister peeping tom lurking in the shadows watching this young girl bake.
“Mmmmm,” says the demented pervert, crouching in the darkness, eyeing this innocent child. Is this a horror film or a toy advert? Answer: It’s a little bit of both.
This December 1977 Jet magazine cover spooks the hell out of me. Never mind OJ, what gets me is Elizabeth Montgomery’s wicked-ass stare. Move your head from side to side, walk around – her eyes seem to follow you wherever you go. It’s unnerving.
Too bad this wasn’t a publicity shot for a new season of Bewitched with OJ as the husband. If Endora was having a hard time with Darren, wait till she meets this guy!… and Larry Tate is going to want to maybe take it down a notch with the Juice.
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