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Just over a week ago, I released my Halloween 2024 single, "Spectre And The Stray". I always have an image or story in mind when creating my instrumental music. I use little to no words or lyrics, but I still like the music "tell a story" in my mind at least. Back in May, I got a cat for the first time in my life. Her name is Topanga. I had been working on a lot of different music, but when it came time to choose what I should focus on to release for Halloween, I took it as a sign that this year is the year for a cat theme. I've wanted to make some kind of cat-based track for a while. Just simply by having a cat and planning this as my Halloween single, I began to think about a ghost appearing to a cat. Read on to discover the story of "Spectre And The Stray".  Click the image to choose where to listen to "Spectre And The Stray". Artwork by Eclipse Afterglow Studios. A stray black cat roams peacefully from town to town. Her eyes, a darkly piercing yellow. So dark they are nearly orange. She enjoys her life just being a cat, wandering around looking for new places to adventure. She is currently exploring the northeastern United States. Animals always know when it's Halloween, it's the time of year where the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest, after all. On this Halloween day, she happens upon an old abandoned farmland that hasn't been tended in decades. After a long day of hunting and playing in the spooky fields, the stray finds a spot to rest for awhile before setting off into the dark of All Hallows Eve. A large barn sits at the edge of the farm near the tree line. She scurries up a wooden ladder into the high up lofted space where she finds an open barn window. There, she nestles into a soft pile of worn hay and straw facing out the window. The oranges and purples of the setting sun create a pleasant atmosphere as she drifts into a nap. The sun falls behind the nearby trees, continuing down until it falls off the Earth altogether as the cat rests. Night sets in. In the distance, an almost musical noise sounding like unearthly windchimes and humming can be heard. It's barely audible to the stray, the noise floats in on the wind and drifts away just as quickly. The sound gradually gets louder, lightly awakening the cat. She is hardly bothered by it, the mysterious sound is actually very pleasant. The cat enjoys another moment of laying in her comfortable spot while she gathers up the energy stored during her power nap. Suddenly, A glowing blue-green light appears just feet away from the cat, shaking her immediately out of her post-nap grogginess. Eyes wide and fully awake, she takes in the sight of a floating spectre forming right there in the sky outside the window. The hazy form took shape as a mostly white figure, emitting a blue-green glow around it. Frightened, the cat lets out a loud, angry sounding "meow!" as the hair on her body completely stands up. The ghost quickly vanishes from sight in a poof, only leaving behind a comet tail of blue and purple sparkles leading out into the nearby trees. The cat runs to the edge of the window and overlooks the comet tail the ghost left behind. Our adventurous black cat is ready for her Halloween Night journey - find the ghost. She scurries back down the ladder and out the large barn door. The fading tail of blue and purple sparkles lead into the trees, the cat follows. She is now in a dense forest, the rising moon showering the forest in light. The thick canopy overhead absorbs the moonlight. The ghostly sparkles have now completely faded, the trail has run cold for the cat. The black cat walks tall through the trees, listening and looking for any signs of this ghost. She thought she saw the shimmering blue-green glow of the spectre, but it was just a stray moonbeam that somehow found its way through the canopy. Bushes rustling and tricks of the light continue to raise the cat's senses. Still, no ghost. Her search continues through the night, listening to any clues the distant owl's hooting may offer. Very faintly, beneath the nighttime sounds of crickets and lonely birds, the unearthly wind chimes and humming noise catches the cat's ear. She cocks her head, hears it again, and takes off into the direction of the sound. The trees thin out into a clearing. A circular meadow, lined by all the trees of the forest appears almost out of place amongst this lush forest. It's as if the Earth forgot to grow trees here. Here, the moon is now almost directly overhead. The moonlight seems to have somehow amplified the sound of the ghost. An orb of blue-green light appears and vanishes right in the middle of the meadow in the blink of an eye. The cat boldly runs over to the exact spot where the orb appeared. The spectral noise hums loud and clear. The cat paces around the area on high alert, certain that the ghost is here. A bright blast of glowing blue-green light appears in front of the cat, she practically jumps out of her skin as she faces the ghost. Out of the glow, the spectre fully forms again. The spirit is mostly featureless, yet gives enough of a shape to form what would pass for a round face. The cat responds with another forceful "meow!" with an added hiss at the ghost. The spirit does not move, only glows brighter in response. The light is bright, but something about the glow and the colors is oddly soothing to the cat. It was a strange thing to notice in this moment of high-alert and fright. The cat jumps backwards, taking caution. With her hair standing up and back arched like the classic Halloween image of a black cat, she slowly steps around the ghost. She was performing all the typical "cat encountering another animal" body language. She finds the perfect moment to pounce onto the ghost, letting out a growl with claws fully out as she lunges towards the spectral shape. The cat plants her paws into the ground and grinds to a sudden stop, a mere few inches away from the ghost. She lowers her head and hisses at the ghost, showing every single one of her sharp teeth. The ghost remained unphased as it floats quietly just above the grass. Its vague resemblance of a face appears to be friendly. The glow emitting from the ghost ramped up even brighter and brighter, now illuminating the entire clearing of the meadow. The cat decides to stand tall as she turns her head upwards to "face" the ghost. She summons every bit of wisdom behind her intensely dark yellow eyes, peering into the soul of the soul in front of her. The windchime and humming noise escalates. The cat's demeanor intensifies. The sounds of the crickets come to a crescendo. The hooting of the owl reverberates from nearby. Only a moment passes during this showdown between the Spectre and the Stray, but the heavy tension makes it feel like hours. With claws retracting, the cat's posture becomes relaxed. Quiet purring takes place of the hissing. She begins to rub her head where the ghost would be if it had any substance on this plane. The ghost manifests an arm-like shape from its form, reaching out to pet the cat. The cat's purring grows louder and more excited, while purple and blue sparkles shower from the ghost in glee. The Spectre and the Stray wander back into the woods together as the moonlight disappears into the canopy once again. The cat bounding along as the ghost hovered just above the grass leaving behind its comet-tail of fading light. Perhaps they will be longtime friends, adventuring together for years to come. Or perhaps The Spectre is only able to stay for Halloween night, when the veil is the thinnest. So that is the story behind my track "Spectre And The Stray". Just to mention briefly, the musical approach and sound was inspired a lot by 2 video games, Hauntii and Luigi's Mansion 2. Another big inspiration is the production work by Mike E Clark.
Oh and of course, the great inspiration and new Executive Producer, @Topanga.Cat.  Yes, I am a cat with an IG account. You may get lost in the forest, or stranded in a bog. But never get Trapped Inside This Blog.
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