About ten years ago, I created an entry in this Web log about “witch house” music. Since then, I’ve discovered a lot more things that fall in that category. I guess it’s become one of my favorite genres, though I’m still not sure exactly how to define it.

The following are a few things I’d recommend to someone curious about this type of music.

Some witch house music combines modified versions of existing songs from various genres with additional layers. Lovedied is a good example of this. Unfrotauntely, this Australian artist took his life not long before I stumbled upon his music.

Here’s another example of that approach by another musician, using a Ladytron song. (The original song is good, too. As is most everything by Ladytron.)

(Dark Sea)

My favorite tracks by this artist are the comparatively long ones.

I could go on listing musicians, but I’ll just end with a few selections from a series of compilations on the МYТАНТФАНK (Mutantfunk) record label. Some of these compilations are free and each of them includes a generous number of tracks.

The image at the top of this entry is an image that I generated using Midjourney. (I also got some nice haunted houses from that prompt.)

I like to see examples of using a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) to create images. This Person Does Not Exist, for example, features realistic AI-generated human faces. And Janelle Shane’s “AI Weirdness” Web log is consistently entertaining.

The more powerful systems are not available to the public, though as of this writing I’m on a waiting list for one that I’d love to try (DALL·E 2).

But there are more limited applications that can be used by anyone, and they get better all the time. Here are a few of those. For each, I’ve included examples of things that I’ve entered when I tried them.

This application enhances line drawings. However, I think it’s no longer available because it became too popular for the host to afford.

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This one produces abstract images based on text prompts. For example:

“a monster coming through your bedroom wall at night”


“a man robbing a candy store”


“who actually greets you when you get to heaven”

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This one produces slightly less abstract images. For example:

“a shopping mall flooded with oatmeal”


“fish swimming in cheese dip”


“the most beautiful skeletons travel”

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This is a limited version of DALL·E. It also uses text prompts and I find it impressive. For example:

“Robocop fights Ed-209 in a Hieronymus Bosch painting”

“Katamari Damacy as a Katsushika Hokusai woodblock print”

“Katamari Damacy as a Junji Ito drawing”

“Katamari Damacy as a Roger Dean painting”

“Dark Souls birthday party”

“Silent Hill water slide”

“The Exorcist Saturday morning cartoon”

Jim Woodring’s comics capture dream atmosphere and logic more effectively than any other I’ve come across (with the possible exception of Jesse Reklaw’s “Slow Wave,” which I would also recommend but which is a little different in that it illustrates dreams submitted by the public).

Most of Woodring’s books involve the adventures of a character named “Frank,” who looks almost like something you’d see in a Disney or Looney Tunes cartoon. But while there are amusing moments, these wordless comics tend toward the phantasmagorical.

For a good introduction to Woodring, I’d look for either “The Frank Book,” a large collection of short stories and other art, or “Weathercraft,” a shorter book that tells a single story.

If you’re already familiar with Woodring, what motivated me to create this post now is a new documentary. The film consists primarily of Woodring discussing his art and his background as he works. I found it fascinating. You can watch it for free online if you’re so inclined.

The Illumination of Jim Woodring from Chris Brandt on Vimeo.

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Detail from one of my favorite pieces by Woodring: