The Cardiff Giant: A Mini-Essay

     In the autumn of 1869, individuals throughout the state of New York and beyond flocked to the small town of Cardiff to witness firsthand the peculiar giant described in local newspapers. After paying their fifty-cent admission fee, each person shuffled into the staid silence of a dim tent and peered down into the shallow grave holding the curiosity.[1] Found by a team of workers while digging a well on the property of William Newell, the ten-foot creation sparked instant interest among the population and drew such prominent figures as Andrew White, the president of Cornell University, and P.T. Barnum, who vainly attempted to purchase the oddity from Newell.[2] As the attraction grew, so did academic efforts to identify the object. Four physicians from neighboring counties examined the form and determined it was a petrified corpse while a prominent doctor from Syracuse contended that it was a stone statue possibly produced by Jesuit priests who had once occupied the area.[3] Despite its questionable nature, the crowds continued to build and a group of businessmen purchased the giant for $30,000 and had it exhumed and transported to Syracuse for a more prominent exhibit.[4] Refusing to be outdone, the irked Barnum had a replica produced and began displaying it as the original Cardiff Giant.[5] Around this same time, as public interest reached a fevered pitch, details began to emerge from Newell’s neighbors. Locals from Cardiff expressed that they remembered a massive ironbound box being delivered to the farm a year before the figure’s discovery and two sculptors confessed that George Hull, Newell’s relative, had hired them to carve a brobdingnagian body out of a huge block of gypsum.[6] Indeed, the artists’ claims were supported by Othniel Marsh, a professor of paleontology at Yale University, who confirmed that the giant was nothing more than a gypsum sculpture that had been artificially aged with a sulphuric acid bath.[7] With that, the crowds suddenly stopped and the Cardiff Giant slipped into obscurity, passing from owner to owner until it found its way to the New York State Historical Association in 1948.

Works Referenced

White, John. American Vignettes: A Collection of Footnotes to History. Convent Station, NJ: Travel Vision, 1976.
____________________
[1] White, 81-82.
[2] White, 82.
[3] White, 82.
[4] White, 82-83.
[5] White, 83.
[6] White, 82-83.
[7] White, 83.

Stigmata Bust

$25 - $30 (based on 2017 prices)

Makes one bust

This prop was featured on the altar in 2017’s haunted house, where the opening room was decorated like an old Spanish church. To add eerie touches and enhance the atmosphere, I emphasized certain elements of Catholicism. In the case of this bust, I replaced the blood traditionally seen on stigmata with blackened goo. Consider purchasing the statue at a second-hand store or on clearance to cut the project’s cost.

• One polyresin bust (roughly twelve inches tall)
• One 10 oz. cans of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in metallic copper
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in grasshopper*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in hunter green*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in olive*
• One 0.44 oz. bottle of clear nail polish*
  

1. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the bust an even coat of copper spray paint. Although I only used one, you are free to apply additional coats based on your desired coverage. 

2. Mix grasshopper and hunter green paint together to achieve and aged patina and pat it onto the bust. You could use a brush with splayed bristles, a stippling sponge, or crumpled paper towels for the application. As you do so, focus on areas where oxidization would naturally occur: across the surface of the face, along the curves of the hair, and throughout the top of the head.

3. To add further age and additional depth, dab olive paint onto the statue. As with step two, focus on places where continued exposure to the elements would weather the copper. Be modest with your application during this process. You do not want to overpower the other colors with this darker tone.

4. Complete the aging process by flecking the bust with black paint. You can do this by either quickly flicking a paintbrush or using an old toothbrush and strumming your finger across the bristles. Since this process flings paint everywhere, it’s best to perform it outside. If you want a grimier appearance, brush brown paint along the statue’s surface to simulate dirt.

5. Use black paint to darken the eyes and create a dripping effect. You want the final version to look like blackened evil is pouring from the bust’s eyes. Try to simulate running mascara by exaggerating the streams and bringing them down toward the jaw line.

6. Use clear nail polish to give the paint a glossy appearance. I used two coats; however, you are free to apply as many coats as you feel necessary.

7. If you plan to display the prop on a surface you do not want to damage, consider applying squares of felt to its bottom, especially if your statue was designed for outdoor decoration.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.

“The Spider and the Ghost of the Fly" (A Poem)

Published in 1915, Vachel Lindsay’s poem “The Spider and the Ghost of the Fly” possesses a strangely erotic tone. Although the seduction and destruction of the fly can be read literally, many critics, including Franz Link, take a more figurative stance, viewing the process as a metaphor for such themes as the pangs of love and humanity’s devastation of nature.[1]

Once I loved a spider
When I was born a fly,
A velvet-footed spider
With a gown of rainbow-dye.
She ate my wings and gloated.
She bound me with a hair.
She drove me to her parlor
Above her winding stair.
To educate young spiders
She took me all apart.
My ghost came back to haunt her.
I saw her eat my heart.[2]

Works Referenced

Lindsay, Vachel. “The Spider and the Ghost of the Fly.” The Congo and Other Poems. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1915. 99-100. 

Link, Franz. “The Spider and Its Web in American Literature.” Literaturwissenschaftliches Jahrbuch. Ed. Theodor Berchem. Berlin: Duncker and Humbolt, 1995. 289-314.
____________________ 
[1] Link, 296.
[2] Lindsay, 99-100.

Creepy Doll Wreath

$15 - $20 (based on 2017 prices)

Makes one wreath

To build on the haunted house’s La Llorona theme, I incorporated elements from La Isla de las Muñecas and filled the haunt with dolls. Back in 2015, I created three voodoo talismans and was thoroughly impressed with the results. I decided to replicate the props using a wreath rather than stars. Although not as striking as the originals, this version made a creepy addition to the random assortment of dolls.

• Two twelve-inch vinyl dolls
• One grapevine wreath
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat brown*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flesh tone*
• One 8 oz. bottle of wood glue*
• Two yards of light brown twine
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• One ½ oz. bag of feathers
  

1. Dismember the dolls and remove their clothing. On a newspaper-lined surface, paint their limbs and heads black. Although I only used one coat, you may want more depending on your desired coverage. Keep in mind, though, that this is the base coat for the crackle paint and much of it will be covered up by the second layer. While I chose black, you can use a different color to tailor the props for your specific needs.

2. Once the paint has dried, use a thick brush to apply a smattering of wood glue to the props. Try not to over think your application (a random pattern produces the best results). Also, it may be easier to work with one limb at a time rather than attempting to glue and paint the entire lot at once. Let the glue sit for a minute to become tacky and then cover the limbs with the flesh-tone paint. Here, too, I only used one coat; however, you may want more. As the glue and paint dry, they will form cracks, making the base coat visible.

3. Once the glue and paint have fully dried, brush a light coat of brown paint onto the props to simulate dirt. During this process, try to focus on areas where dust and grime would normally accumulate: in the lines between fingers and toes, along the creases of elbows and knees, and inside the ears and mouths. If you want to give the props a creepier appearance, cut out the eyes and darken the holes with black paint.

4. String up the doll’s torso in the center of the wreath. Wrap twine around the body numerous times. This will not only provide additional support, but add extra detail to the prop. If both of your dolls have torsos (one of mine had a cloth body), consider repurposing the second one for another project or melding the two together to form a freakish hybrid to showcase in the wreath’s center.

5. Arrange the limbs onto the wreath and glue them in place. To give the prop further detail, alternate the items. Although I only used one doll’s head (I utilized the second for another prop), you are free to attached both.

6. Wrap twine around the limbs and grapevine to make it appear as though the dolls have been lashed to the wreath (the glue will hold them in place). Trim the excess and glue the knots to reinforce them.

7. Glue feathers under the head and inside the torso’s openings. For visual interest, vary their colors and sizes.

8. If the wreath did not come with hanging loops, you can create your own with the extra twine, knotting the ends and gluing them for reinforcement.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.