Nominated for Best Short Doc at Tribeca, Raindance UK, Hot Springs, Nitehawk Shorts, Rhode Island Arts and Design and Winner at Morbido in Puebla, Mexico, I describe this film as a kitten fighting its way through a jungle of bigger films with nasty claws... The film's subject is the work of the enigmatic Walter Potter, whose life's work was placing dead animals in human poses and situations. The film focuses on 5 collectors who acquired his work when his museum went up for auction.
The films in this series focused on the Morbid Anatomy quest to give new life to those things which fell through the cracks of history.
Collector Brandon Hodge explores his massive collection of spiritualist and occult 'technology', in particular the Planchette.
Author Mervyn Heard talks about the Phantasmagoria shows of the 18th century. These shows combined magic and the new Magic Lantern projector to invoke fear and panic in spectators.
Dr. Stanley Krippner discusses his experiments in thought telepathy, specifically his work at the Maimonides Dream Lab.
Karen Bachman relates relics and reliquaries to the fascinating art of Victorian hairwork.
The Midnight Archive web series was launched in 2011 and was a collaboration between filmmaker Ronni Thomas, Morbid Anatomy creator Joanna Ebenstein and The Brooklyn Observatory. The series profiled collectors of strange ephemera, arcane objects and practices and eccentric lifestyles. In the collection of films you'll meet a pet mummifier, explore a home filled with ancient human remains, learn about the victorian 'art' of spirit photography and explore the wild and fascinating history of the strange and the sublime...
Photographer Shannon Taggart discusses the history of the Spiritualist practice of photographing the spirit world.
Phantasmaphile creator Pam Grossman discusses art and its relationship to the occult.
Artist and collector of human and animal anatomy, Ryan Cohn discusses his interest in the subject matter and unique talent.
Obscura co-founder and co-host of the series Oddities, Evan Michelson discusses her interest in the dark and shows off her wonderful home.
Tim Mullen shows off his home collection of early radios, televisions and medical apparatus.
Artist Sigrid Sarda explores her fascination with wax as a form of sculpture. Her home is a virtual wax museum of her own creation.
Author and occult historian, Mitch Horowitz, explores the very strange history of the popular Parker Brothers Ouija board.
Collector Ronni Thomas explores his collection of Stereoscopes focusing on early 3D visions of ghosts, strange scenarios and the ever elusive French Diableries which depict Satan's daily life in hell.
Morbid Anatomy founder, Joanna Ebenstein explores her fascination with the intersection between death and beauty.
Author of Occult America and One Simple Idea, Mitch Horowitz takes us on a tour of the Occult history of New York City. Part 1 of 2
Author of Occult America and One Simple Idea, Mitch Horowitz takes us on a tour of the Occult history of New York City. Part 2 of 2
Author Mel Gordon tells us about the 19th century grindhouse Parisian theatre of sex and violence; The Grand Guignol.
Author Paul Koudonaris explores the many charnel houses and ossuaries around the world. Koudonaris documented these monuments in human bone in his book Empire of Death.
Curator of the Guinness collection of Automata at the Morris Museum in New Jersey explores the history of early mechanical wonders.
The Soreceress Cagliastro exhibits her work as a pet mummifier.
Tattoo artist and amateur taxidermist, Sue Jeiven, explains the art of anthropomorphic taxidermy which puts the animals in human situations.
A surreal collaboration between The Real Tuesday Weld, FX Artist Shane Morton, The Witch director Robert Eggers and the very talented Vickers Gringo, this film is a tribute to the underground and the wonders it produces when nobody is looking ;)
Music by Whispering Jack Smith... This is how I heard this song... for better or for worse.
A film done for Time online which documents artist, Fred Kahl, in his attempts to 3D print 1920s Luna Park, Coney Island.
