The Mysterious Man in the Mask: A Mini-Essay

     In his diary, which recounts his experiences in the infamous Bastille prison from 1690 to 1706, Lieutenant Etienne du Junca describes his bizarre encounter with an unknown masked prisoner confined to the third floor of the Bertauderie Tower who, according to du Junca, was well treated by the prison staff and behaved like a complete gentleman.[1] Unlike the other prisoners, the mysterious individual was permitted to attend Catholic Mass on Sundays and wore a black velvet mask until his death in November of 1703.[2] Outside of his genteel compliance and baffling accessory, du Junca knew nothing about the man and his identity, made famous by Alexandre Dumas’ fictionalized account in The Vicomte of Bragelonne (1847), has plagued historians for centuries. In 1771, Voltaire postulated the enigmatic figure was the brother of King Louis XIV, sequestered to the prison to prevent doubts about the French monarch’s legitimacy. Additionally, he replaced the fabric mask with an iron contraption with a movable jaw. Three quarters of a century later, Alexandre Dumas perpetuated the legend in his novel. Since then, hypotheses have ranged from the playwright Molière, the illegitimate son of English King Charles II, the deceitful politician Antonio Ercole Matthioli, the valet informant Eustace Dauger, and the bastard progeny of English ruler Oliver Cromwell.[3] One of the more interesting theories proposes that Dumas and Voltaire were correct about the rightful king’s imprisonment and, during his incarceration, he fathered a child with a female attendant who fled to Corsica and raised their son under the surname Bonaparte, thus solidifying the famed stateman’s claims of being a legitimate inheritor of the French throne.[4]

Works Referenced

Briffault, Frederic. Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte: His Life, Captivity and Escape from the Fortress of Ham. 2nd ed. London: Thomas Cautley Newby, 1852.

Dumas, Alexandre. The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later. 1847. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

Voltaire. Les Questions sur l’Encyclopédie. 2nd ed. 1771. Paris: Robert Laffont, 2019.

Weir, William. History’s Greatest Lies: The Startling Truths Behind World Events Our History Books Got Wrong. New York: Crestline, 2009.
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[1] Weir, 144.
[2] Weir, 144.
[3] Weir, 145.
[4] Briffault, 351-352.

Framed Doll Faces

$25 - $30 (based on 2018 prices)

Makes three frames

In addition to the witch den for my office’s annual decorating contest, we also selected a ghost motif, complete with hanging phantoms and haunted portraits. I saw this concept on several crafting sites and decided to give the project a scarier look and incorporate it into the theme. Although I made each face unique, you can stick with a more uniformed design to provide consistency.

• Three ornate picture frames (roughly 13” x 9”)
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat black
• 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 cherry cobbler*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat gray*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat white*
• Three twelve-inch vinyl dolls
• One yard of white fabric
• At least four tablespoons of dark roasted coffee grounds
• One pan large enough to soak the fabric
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• Ten plastic spiders

1. Remove the backings and any glass from the frames and, on a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, apply an even coat of black 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 black paint will be covered up by lighter colors.

2. Dry brush the frames with a layer of white paint and, once that has dried, a layer of gray. Concentrate your application on the raised surfaces and leave the deep lines black to give the illusion of grime. If you want to enhance the distressed finish even further, smudge brown paint in random places to mimic dirt.

3. Remove the dolls’ clothing and dismember them. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give their heads and limbs an even coat of black spray paint (you will only use the heads for this project; the limbs will be utilized for a different prop). Since the heads will be covered, this step is entirely optional; however, it unifies the prop and prevents bright tones from appearing through the fabric.

4. Once the paint has dried, center the heads on the backings and glue them in place. For a sturdier hold, us superglue. As with step three, you can elect to apply a coat of black paint to the backings to create unity and avoid any unnecessary colors from showing.

5. Boil enough water to completely submerge the fabric and pour it into the pan. Add the coffee. The longer you allow the coffee to brew, the darker the stain will become. Likewise, greater amounts of coffee will produce a richer stain. Submerge the fabric in the coffee mixture and soak it until it reaches the color you desire. I soaked mine for four days and scattered the coffee grounds over the top to add spots. Remove the cloth from the water and allow it to dry.

6. Cut the fabric into squares large enough to thoroughly cover the heads and backing (I cut mine into 12” x 12” sections). Center the cloth on the prop and, starting at the face, glue it in place. I found that this step works best if you move in stages: apply a layer of glue to one section, hold the fabric down until it sticks, and then repeat the process. You may need to apply ample amounts of glue in the eye sockets and nasal cavities to get the fabric to hold their forms. Once this is done, fan the fabric out along the edges of the backing and glue it down.

7. Detail the faces with various materials. For one face, I used cherry cobbler paint to give the illusion of blood seeping from the eyes and mouth (a coat of clear nail polish makes the paint appear wet). For another, I adhered eight plastic spiders and accented the face’s features with a dry brushing of brown paint. And, for the third face, I cut out the eyes and mouth and darkened their openings with black paint (apply a heavy amount of paint along the edges and quickly swipe the brush outward).

8. Attach the backings to the frames and, if you would like, finish the props with additional elements, such as spiders crawling along the surfaces, a few blood splatters, or some clusters of aged bones.

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

"The Vampire" (A Poem)

In 1897, the same year Bram Stoker published Dracula, English artist Philip Burne-Jones unveiled his salacious painting The Vampire, which depicts an undead seductress straddling the body of an unconscious man, at London's the New Gallery.[1] Interestingly, it was not the artwork's sexually charged imagery which prompted public backlash, but rumors the actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell, with whom Burne-Jones was believed to be having a torrid affair, had posed as the vixen which sparked scandal.[2] Despite the disgrace, the painting did motivate Burne-Jones' cousin, the famed author Rudyard Kipling, to compose a poem inspired by the work of art.[3]

A Fool there was and he made his prayer
(Even as you and I!)
To a rag and a bone and a hank of hair
(We called her the woman who did not care)
But the fool he called her his lady fair -
(Even as you and I!) 

Oh, the years we waste and the tears we waste
And the work of our head and hand,
Belong to the woman who did not know 
(And now we know that she never could know) 
And did not understand! 

A fool there was and his goods he spent
(Even as you and I!) 
Honour and faith and a sure intent 
(And it wasn't the least what the lady meant)
But a fool must follow his natural bent 
(Even as you and I!) 

Oh, the toil we lost and the spoil we lost 
And the excellent things we planned 
Belong to the woman who didn't know why 
(And now we know that she never knew why) 
And did not understand! 

The fool was stripped to his foolish hide
(Even as you and I!) 
Which she might have seen when she threw him aside - 
(But it isn't on record the lady tried) 
So some of him lived but the most of him died - 
(Even as you and I!) 

And it isn't the shame and it isn't the blame
That stings like a white-hot brand.
It's coming to know that she never knew why
(Seeing at last she could never know why)
And never could understand.[4]

Works Referenced

Kipling, Rudyard. The Vampire: A Poem. Washington: Woodward and Lothrop, 1898.

Skal, David. Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1990.
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[1] Skal, 28-29.
[2] Skal, 28-29.
[3] Skal, 28-29.
[4] Kipling, 7-9.

Black and White Potion Bottles

$10 - $15 (based on 2018 prices)

Makes five bottles

For the witch den, which was part of my office’s annual decorating competition, I unified the theme by incorporating alchemy symbols into many of the props. These potion bottles were part of this endeavor and I created two versions to accent the altar: the version featured here with twine wrapped around the bottles’ necks and a version with fake candles (which will be presented on a later date).

• Five glass bottles in varying sizes
• One pack of forty- to sixty-grit sandpaper
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat black
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat white*
• Three to four yards of light brown twine
• Five small plastic skull beads

1. Thoroughly wash and dry the bottles. If there is any sticker residue, use rubbing alcohol to remove it (soak a paper towel in the solution, let it sit over the area for a few minutes, and wipe away the remaining glue). After cleaning the bottles, roughen their surfaces with coarse sandpaper to help the paint adhere.

2. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the bottles an even coat of black spray paint. I used one coat, but you can apply more based on your desired coverage.

3. Draw alchemy symbols onto the bottles with white paint. You can add the markings randomly or put them in strategic places. While I elected to use alchemy symbols to unify the haunt’s theme, you could modify the prop by writing spells across the surfaces or using patterns of your own design.

4. Wrap the necks of the bottles with twine and knot the ends, trimming one and leaving the other with a two- or three-inch excess. Thread the beads onto the excess strand. It may help to use a needle and pliers during this process, utilizing the needle to guide the twine through the beads’ holes and the pliers to pull the twine through. Tuck the excess strand into the bulk of the wrapping and glue it in place.

5. Age the corks by giving them a wash of black. To achieve this, water down black paint and brush it over their surfaces, ensuring the liquid settles into all the cracks and fissures (you can also use a spray bottle for the application). Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes and then wipe it clean. You may want to experiment with the consistency prior to doing this: the more water you add, the fainter/lighter the wash; the less water you add, the deeper/darker the wash.

6. You can enhance the props by incorporating additional elements, such as aged bones, feathers, or drips of candle wax.

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