Sometimes we come across materials in the archives that maybe weren’t originally intended to be creepy, but we still think they kind of are! One of our favorites is a postcard showing the La Sousa Clown Band, a regular attraction at West Seattle’s Luna Park during the summer of 1909. According to newspaper reports, the band performed two-hour comedic and “grotesque” concerts imitating the music of John Philip Sousa.
Another unintentionally creepy find is this hand-painted lantern slide, taken circa 1930 for City Light as a display to demonstrate lighting in the home. We’re not sure why the light is positioned under the bed but it’s giving us some seriously scary vibes.
Other photos in the same series feature similar interior scenes, some with people posed doing everyday activities while framed by dim lighting – like this one showing a woman washing dishes in a mostly dark kitchen while a single light bulb casts a faint, eerie light behind her back.
We also think the photo below is pretty creepy, plus it’s a bit of a mystery to us! We discovered the print in box of miscellaneous Seattle City Light materials and have no information about it – who is in it, when or why it was taken, or generally what is going on. We suspect it may have been taken at Seattle City Light’s Newhalem company housing, though we don’t know for sure.
If you have any information or ideas about what’s happening here, we’d love to know! Please send us an email at archives@seattle.gov with your guesses.
Happy Halloween!