Ghoul Gallery

Us-Halloween-Ghouls

A charactor in a ghoulish mask with a cello backstage before the "Halloween Extravaganza & Procession of the Ghouls", 26 October 2007, in The Cathedral Church of St John the Divine (in photograph on wall) in New York. The annual Halloween theme night uses masks and costumes by director and artist Ralph Lee along with dry ice smoke, lighting and organ music. / AFP PHOTO / STAN HONDA

© Agence France-Presse (AFP) - All Rights Reserved

Injured Innocence, 1872. Artist: Joseph Swain

Injured Innocence, 1872. Germany reels at the headline in the newspaper confirming the amount of money that France has raised to pay off her war indemnity. This relates to France's unsuccessful war against Prussia. In the background are the ghouls representing communism, Napoleon III and Germany. France had been charged with making a massive payment to Prussia, but the terms demanded by the newly unified Germany were considered harsh. They included an agreement that France pay a war indemnity of some £200 million. However, subscriptions were received in July 1872 of £1, 720 million in response to a French Loan campaign. Apparently, Germany was disappointed at the speed with which France was able to raise the funds and this emptying of the purses of the French citizens is reflected in this cartoon. From Punch, or the London Charivari, August 10, 1872

© The Print Collector / Heritage-Images