A quirky sidebar is our fascination with the headless. Perhaps most popularized by the Washington Irving's famous story, "The Headless Horseman", there have been countless images depicting the odd and unsettling juxtaposition of this subject.
The fascination for the headless is particularly embraced by the horror film, as it can represent a violent death and a supernatural ambiance. How many times as Monster Kids did we get the creeps from disembodied heads (or skulls) floating in a scene?
Here are a few images for examples:
 |
| Carnival poster (unknown date). |
 |
| Curse of the Living Corpse (1964) |
 |
| Erich von Stroheim in Mask of Diijon (1956) |
 |
| THE INVISIBLE MAN BBC TV. |
 |
| Paul Lynde on an episode of BEWITCHED. |
 |
| Vintage photo. |
 |
| TORMENTED (1960). |
 |
| Vintage photo. |
 |
| William Castle and "friends". |
Decapitation was and is I suppose a pretty firm way to make sure someone is dead. Heads if criminals and revolutionaries were lopped off and stuck on posts to not only prove someone's death but to show to others who might have similar ideas what happens. To be headless and still be functioning someway is the essence of revolution. It says that the normal authority has no control over one.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite Universal movies is "The Thing the Couldn't Die" from 1958 about a headless devil acolyte who takes mental control of the living when they dig up the box with his head in it.
Interesting points, Rip. Vlad's posting of severed heads on spikes I'm sure struck fear in his adversaries on more than one level.
ReplyDeleteAs for "The Thing", there were a few Spook Stories monster cards back in the 60's that us Monster Kids just couldn't identify. This movie was one of them, and I didn't find out until many years later.