London After Midnight

  While I did mention an incredible dry spell in a previous blog post I did have bouts of creativity within that time period. One of which is the creation of a Lon Chaney Sr. mask for a Halloween costume. I have some experience in working with latex and an intense interest in film SFX (special effects).

  For those who are unfamiliar with "London After Midnight", it is the Holy Grail of lost silent films. The 1927 film was directed by Tod Browning, known for his work with Lon Chaney and eventually went on to create the classic films "Freaks" & eventually "Dracula" in 1931, starring Bela Lugosi. The film "London After Midnight" was lost due to a tragic fire and exists in stills only.

Lon Chaney, Sr. in the lost "London After Midnight"

  My end goal was a latex mask to wear on Halloween which would be a casting from a plaster mold. To make the Lon Chaney mask I first needed to sculpt an original. Using sourced photos of Lon Chaney's make-up, a sculpt was made of clay and plaster poured over to create a negative mold. The mold was dried and latex painted inside the plaster. After drying, the latex cast was removed from the mold and allowed to dry thoroughly again. Next the cast latex was painted with acrylic paints and actual facial make-up applied over the final piece for more realistic skin tones. In order to disappear behind the mask black make-up was applied around my eyes and mouth.

Final Mask painted ~ Credit: Maxx

  Searching around I pieced together a costume that was close to Lon Chaney's original. Together with my wife Paula's Dead Bride costume we were off to celebrate Halloween in style.

Top Hat, Cape & Lantern in B&W photo ~ Credit: Maxx

  Although most everyone who saw us on Halloween has no idea who Lon Chaney Sr. was we managed to scare the bejeezus out of a few kids! We told everyone I had dug up Paula from her grave to be my bride. No one doubted us!

Maxx & Paula Arwen Owen Halloween Costumes

  My first exposure to seeing the original image of Lon Chaney Sr. goes back to my days of reading "Famous Monters of Filmland" which would continually run still images of this lost horror classics as well as the cover painting by Basil Gogos.

Famous Monsters of Filmland ~ Warren Publishing / Cover Art: Basil Gogos

  Find inspiration where you can and run with it. In my humble opinion making dinner is creative and decorating a cake is certainly an art form. Get cooking and get creative!