Happy Summerween, and welcome back to Horror Street, my ongoing journey in search of awesome yet spooky graffiti art on the streets and little-traveled corners of New York City!

Back in October 2018, I was wandering the streets of Long Island City, Queens, and came across a mural on display at William Cullen Bryant High School. For the most part, the mural was composed of friendly images and uplifting messages to inspire the students…but then there was that one freaky-looking figure.

The Tree Man.

Is that his real name? Only the artist would know. But given TM’s toes are like roots, and a tree seems to be growing out of the mouth in his stomach, I figure it’s as good a name as any for this nightmarish high schooler.

I don’t know if the Tree Man is still lurking about the school—in all likelihood the murals have been changed one or more times in the past seven years, as murals are apt to do—but should you find yourself crossing paths with the Tree Man of LIC, don’t get too close to his stomach…that thing’s got a nasty appetite!

Stay tuned for further installments of Horror Street—there’s plenty of macabre graffiti art to be found on the streets of New York, if you look in the right creepy places! And be sure to check out my previous HS entries: the Brooklyn Vampire, the demonic D-Rod, Where the Gene Wilder Things Are, the beast called Queens’thluhu, the scarifying Ghoulmobile, the regal Griffin, the Spooky Forest, and the Demon Door!