Well, hey there, and welcome to The MonsterGrrls' Thir13en For Halloween! I am Petronella Nightshade, but everbody calls me Punkin, and may many blessings be on you and yours this season! We are all in a swivet gettin ready for Halloween, and this year we are doin somethin new on this computer blog which I am speakin to you through. It's called Tales From The Monster Shop, and me and the other Grrls are goin out and doin some interviews, what's that talkin to people who have done somethin with theirself and made some news, and since of course this is about Halloween we are speakin with Halloween folks. So this here will be my first interview as well as my first postin.
My interview was with Mr. Ray O'Bannon, who has made him a right smart website on the Internet called RavensBlight. I have done talked about him before, but since he is always up to somethin new I figured I would speak with him and talk about all the things he is doin. Mr. John who's our Mad Doctor told me that a long time ago there was fellers who got up to all 
sorts of didoes with art and music and inventions and poetry-writin and ever kind of thing, and they would do them all pretty well instead of just doin one thing, and they was called Renaissance men. Well, if there is ever a Renaissance man of Halloween it is Mr. O'Bannon, cause on his site there is all kind of spooky music and writin and paintin and little toys what you can print out and make and such, what Mr. O'Bannon has all made himself, and I swan it is all somethin to see. So now here is everythin we said in our conversation.Howdy do, and thank you for meetin us for The MonsterGrrls’ Thir13en For Halloween. Can you tell us about yourself and your website?
Well, I'm a fellow who enjoys the horror genre a great deal. And as a result of this interest, I maintain a horror themed website which features various things I've created, all free to enjoy.
This here RavensBlight site is a right smart. How did you start it, and how long have you done it?
RavensBlight began as an AOL homepage that featured 12 different paintings each month. I was always very entertained by the paintings shown at the beginning of Rod Serling's Night Gallery television program, and thought it might be fun to create a little 'night gallery' of my own.
Mr. John who's our Mad Doctor likes that Rod Serling too, and I believe I've seen some of them paintins you're talkin about. But what gave you the idea for all them neat little paper toys?When I was young I always got the most satisfaction out of toys I could assemble or paint or somehow take part in creating, so I like to give my visitors something they can make for themselves. Also, I enjoy providing free toys for kids (of any age) to play with. It makes me feel I'm doing something worthwhile with my art.
Now that there is somethin. And it is always worthwhile to make somethin of your own, so I think that's real good. But you write, take pictures, do paintin, compose music, make little movies, and ever kind of thing. What got you interested in doin all them things?I like to experiment with different art forms and media. RavensBlight provides me with a creative focus as well as giving me something to do with all the strange things I create. I feel very fortunate in having found a way to share my music without needing a recording contract, share my fiction without needing a publisher, share my paintings without needing a gallery... I can present most anything I create to an online community that seems to (for some unfathomable reason) welcome my efforts. I'm starting to think this whole 'interwebs' thing is pretty dang nifty.
It sure is, and it's also nifty that you are sharin all these things with us. But what do you do when you ain’t doin RavensBlight?
When not actually working on RavensBlight, I tend to sit nervously in a corner, trembling slightly as I quietly sing various nursery rhymes backwards. Is that a bad thing?
Oh, no sir. We got plenty folks like that round Morlock
Heights--we just don't give them nothin sharp. But what kind of spooky thing inspires you the most?All sorts of things... great writers like H. P. Lovecraft, horror films (both old and new), any good music with a dark undertone, memories of going trick-or-treating as a child, sometimes just a moonlit evening. I also find the artwork itself often leads to further ideas.
What was your favorite thing to do for Halloween when you was little?
That's easy... going trick-or-treating. Half the fun was making a 
costume (and getting to become a monster for the evening) but I also loved the adventure of walking those moonlit streets, gathering my courage to approach those spooky doorways and ring the bell. You knew there wouldn't be an evil witch answering the door, and there weren't really any animated skeletons sneaking around in the bushes, no ghosts peering over your shoulder or anything... at least, you didn't think so... but still....Yup. It's always them neighbors that's real quiet that you got to worry about. But what shall you be doin for Halloween this year?
I'll probably relax and watch a few horror films with my
wife. And eat far too much Halloween candy. Unless the full moon causes my sudden mutation into a horrible shambling monstrosity of some sort, in which case I'll probably run wild through the countryside for a while. But that seldom happens much anymore, so yeah... probably just a few horror films.And that there is why everbody should check their Halloween candy before eatin it! Thank you so much for talkin to us, and blessings be on you this Halloween!
Thanks again for your interest in my stuff. Hope you have a great Halloween season!
So that there is my interview with Mr. Ray O'Bannon, and if you crafty sort of folk are lookin for somethin new, unusual and interestin to do this Halloween, you cannot do better than to drop by RavensBlight. I hope that your Halloween season is a wonderful and blessed one, and I hope that you shall be joinin us next time on The MonsterGrrls' Thir13en For Halloween because there is always one thing and then another. Blessings be on all of you this season!
Sincerely, Petronella "Punkin" Nightshade
