The Corpse as a Warning: A Mini-Essay

     In Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, Sir Beaumains, on his way to a rescue Dame Liones, encounters the bodies of fellow knights hung from the limbs of trees, their shields draped around their necks and their swords dangling from their heels. Unnerved by the sight, Sir Beaumains learns that the hapless souls were killed by the Red Knight in their efforts to save the damsel and their corpses were boldly displayed to warn others attempting the same feat.[1] The Red Knight’s actions are not a lone occurrence. Indeed, history is filled with instances of displayed corpses serving as a warning to others. During the eighteenth century, at the height of pirate activity, the corpses of executed swashbucklers were chained into iron cages, known as gibbets, and publicly displayed as forewarnings to other potential criminals.[2] The tight-fitting gibbet, which prevented family members from removing the body and burying it, was custom made for each criminal and period accounts recall how the measuring process for this device was often more dreaded than the execution itself.[3] In fact, the gibbets proved an intimidating sight – crows picked the flesh off the dead and the sun bleached their remains to a ghastly white.[4] A century later, the scene was repeated numerous times throughout the developing territories of the western United States and in the racially charged southern states: the former using the hung outlaws, like those of pirates, to sway lawlessness and the latter sadly utilizing the bodies of lynched individuals to reinforce segregation.[5] The most famous employment of the corpse as a warning occurred during the fifteenth century with the Romanian leader Vlad Ţepeş, who, according to recounts penned by Chalcondyles, impaled the bodies of defeated armies on wooden stakes and used them to terrify his enemies, including the Turks.[6] 

Works Referenced

Florescu, Radu and Raymond McNally. Dracula, Prince of Many Faces: His Life and His Times. New York: Hachette Book Group, 1989.

Litwack, Leon. “Hellhounds.” Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America. Ed. James Allen. Santa Fe, NM: Twin Palms Publishers, 2008. 8-37.

Malory, Thomas. Le Morte d’Arthur. 1485. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2015.

Rediker, Marcus. Villains of all Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004.

Tarlow, Sarah. The Golden and Ghoulish Age of the Gibbet in Britain. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.
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[1] Malory, 218-220.
[2] Rediker, 164.
[3] Tarlow, 20-23.
[4] Rediker, 164.
[5] Litwack, 13-15.
[6] Florescu and McNally, 148.

Stigmata Statue

$40 - $50 (based on 2017 prices)

Makes one statue

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

• One twenty-four-inch resin garden statue
• One 10 oz. cans of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in desert bisque
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in cherry cobbler*
• 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 flat gray*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat white*
• One 0.44 oz. bottle of clear nail polish*
  

1. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the statue an even coat of desert bisque spray paint. Depending on the type of stone you plan to emulate, you may want to select a darker or lighter hue. Likewise, you could elect for a smooth surface or one with a stippled effect.

2. Dry brush gray into the nooks and crannies of the statue. You want to focus on areas where weatherization would occur and sediment would accumulate: in the folds of fabric, the curls of hair, and the creases of fingers and facial features.

3. Repeat the procedure in step two with black paint, ensuring you center your application on portions which would normally experience exposure to the elements. Although I worked from light to dark to achieve a heavily weathered appearance, you could work from dark to light (flipping steps two and three) for a milder aging process.

4. Gently dry brush white over the surface of the statue. You want this coverage to lightly accent the black and gray, so be sparing in your application. If it helps, practice on a piece of cardboard first.

5. Create a wash of brown paint and allow it to run down the statue. As with the previous steps, you want this to mirror what occurs in nature. Hence, concentrate on portions where rain would typically flow. The shade of dirt depends on your ratio of paint to water: less water will produce a darker brown; more water will yield a fainter hue.

6. Use red paint to darken the eyes and create a dripping effect. Try to simulate running mascara by exaggerating the streams and bringing them down toward the jawline. Repeat the process with the hands, tracing strands between the fingers and allowing them to run along the curvature of the forearms.

7. 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.

8. If you plan to display the prop outside for an extended period of time, consider applying a sealer to prevent the weather from damaging the paint.

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

Pumpkin Dolls

$20 - $25 (based on 2017 prices)

Makes four dolls

The farm theme for 2016’s haunt left me with numerous pumpkins and I have spent the last few years finding ways to repurpose them. For this prop, I decided to fabricate dolls out of the mini-pumpkins purchased to accentuate portions of the display. Creepy dolls are always a nice addition to several yard-haunt themes, especially since many people find them unnerving.

• Four twelve-inch dolls with vinyl limbs and heads 
• Four stout mini-pumpkins 
• Four tall mini-pumpkins 
• One 8 oz. bottle of wood glue* 
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in au natural* 
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black* 
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in hot cocoa* 
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in spice brown* 
• One package of white pipe cleaners (one dozen per package) 
• One ten-yard roll of brown duct tape 
• One 10 oz. cans of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in nutmeg

1. Dismember the dolls and remove their clothing. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, 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 prop. 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 all the pieces at once.

3. Let the glue sit for a minute to become tacky and then cover the limbs with hot cocoa 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.

4. Once the glue and paint have fully dried, brush a light coat of au natural and spice brown paint onto the pieces 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 ears and mouths. NOTE: reserve the hands for another project.

5. Detail the faces with various elements: fashion eyes with buttons, seam mouths closed with safety pins, draw astrological symbols across surfaces, and create a dripping effect with black paint. You can make each doll unique or give them a unified appearance.

6. Use pipe cleaners to create the armature for eight sticks. You will use one long piece to form the main staff and attach smaller strands to fabricate twigs. To save time, you can use real sticks and skip steps six through eight.

7. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the sticks an even coat of nutmeg spray paint. 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 and much of the paint will be covered by darker colors.

8. Give the sticks a smudging of au natural, hot cocoa, and spice brown to replicate the look of natural sticks. Depending on your chosen appearance, you can work from either light to dark or dark to light. Once the paint has dried, accentuate the sticks with brushings of black lines.

9. Cut the stems off of the stout mini-pumpkins to form a base and either hot glue or superglue the tall mini-pumpkins to them to construct torsos. If you plan to display these props outdoors in windy conditions, give them additional weight by hollowing out the stout mini-pumpkins and pouring sand or rocks into them.

10. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the pumpkin bodies a dusting of nutmeg and a splattering of brown to replicate dirt. You could also apply a flecking of black to enhance the appearance.

11. Attach the heads to the bodies with either hot glue or super glue. Depending on how small these items are, you may have to remove the stems from the tall mini-pumpkins as well.

12. Punch holes into the torsos and glue the sticks in place. Their positioning depends on your chosen appearance of the prop. Use the wire armature inside the sticks to bend them into your desired shapes. If possible, try to make them appear as though they are reaching menacingly outward.

13. You could embellish the props with additional elements – chicken feathers or dried corn husks – to amplify their frightening appearance.

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

“Dusk in Autumn” (A Poem)

Dusk is a reoccurring theme in the poetry of Sara Teasdale – “Central Park at Dusk,” “Dusk in Autumn,” and “Dusk in War Time.” In “Dusk in Autumn,” the poetess weaves a collection of seemingly mismatched symbols (the Masonic scimitar, crescent, and star alluded to in the first stanza[1] and the Christian soul cakes referenced in the second stanza[2]) into a vague tale of a coven’s autumn meeting and the narrator’s desire to join their festivities.

The moon is like a scimitar,

A little silver scimitar,

A-drifting down the sky.

And near beside it is a star,

A timid twinkling golden star,

That watches likes an eye.

And thro’ the nursery window-pane

The witches have a fire again,

Just like the ones we make, –

And now I know they’re having tea,

I wish they’d give a cup to me,

With witches’ currant cake.[3]

Works Referenced

Bogle, Joanna. A Book of Feasts and Seasons. Herefordshire: Gracewing, 1986.

Prescott, Winward. Masonic Bookplates. Boston: The Four Seas Company, 1918. 

Teasdale, Sara. “Dusk in Autumn.” Sonnets to Duse and Other Poems. Boston: The Poet Lore Company, 1907. 35.

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[1]Prescott, 11. 

[2] Bogle, 174.

[3] Teasdale, 35.

“Sissy” Mask

$10 - $15 (based on 2017 prices)

Makes one mask

I normally craft my own mask and costume for each haunt to correspond with the theme. Working on a haunted house in 2017 presented me with the opportunity to costume not only myself, but a collection of scare-actors. To achieve this, I made several doll masks for each one to wear and help unify the motif.

• One plastic doll mask
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat gray*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in steel gray*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat white*
  

1. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the mask four coats of white paint. Although I used four coats, you may want more or less depending on your desired coverage.

2. Detail the mask by building up layers of smudged gray and black around the eyes, mouth, nose, and along the edges of the cracks. To enhance the mask’s visual impact, move from light to dark.

3. Accentuate the features with black paint. You want to trace the lines of the cracks and create a dripping effect around the eyes, mouth, and nose. Try to simulate running mascara, exaggerating the streams and bringing them downward at varying lengths.

4. If the mask did not come with tie strings, you can fabricate some with yarn or replace the existing elastic band with a makeshift twine version for additional creepiness. Also, consider using cherry cobbler paint to write sissy across the mask’s forehead to complement the “baby” mask.

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