The Annual Return of Juliet Tewsley: A Mini-Essay

     Located on the banks of England’s Great Ouse river, the Old Ferry Boat Inn is rumored to be among the nation’s oldest hostelries, with alcohol supposedly being served at this location as early as 560 C.E., yet the establishment’s fame spawns from an event which allegedly occurred over five-hundred years later. On March 17, 1078, the young Juliet Tewsley was jilted by her lover and, overcome with sorrow, hanged herself. Upon discovering her body, the grieving paramour cut down Juliet and buried her where she died, marking the grave with a granite block over which the Old Ferry Boat Inn was later built.[1] Since her death, Juliet reportedly returns to the world of the living each year on the anniversary of her hanging, which has spawned a festive tradition at the inn as locals and tourists gather each year on March 17 for a party awaiting Juliet’s arrival and the potential to witness her ethereal presence.[2]

Works Referenced

Jones, Richard. Haunted Britain and Ireland. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2002.
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[1] Jones, 82.
[2] Jones, 82-83.

Floating Ghosts

$25 - $30 (based on 2018 prices)

Makes three ghosts

For the ghost theme, which was part of my office’s annual decorating competition, I decided to fabricate three hanging specters to haunt the hallways and I wanted them to look like the floating white sheets often depicted in vintage supernatural short stories and movies. To make them appear ancient, I coffee stained the fabric to give it an aged patina, but you could stick with the classic white.

• Six white sheer curtains (54” x 84”)
• One yard of white sheer ribbon
• One yard of twine
• At least four tablespoons of dark roasted coffee grounds
• One pan large enough to soak the fabric curtains
• Three Styrofoam skulls
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• Six sheets of cream-colored creepy cloth
  

1. To prevent myself from coffee staining each curtain individually, I balled up the panels and bound them with twine. This allowed me to fit all six items into the pan with the ribbon resting below them.

2. Boil enough water to completely submerge the curtains and ribbon 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 items in the coffee mixture and soak them until they reach the color you desire. I soaked mine for four days and scattered the coffee grounds over the top of the fabric to add spots. Remove the items from the water and allow them to dry. If you plan for a more traditional ghostly white, you can skip these first two steps. Likewise, you can purchase curtains and ribbon in an off-white color to achieve the same aged patina without the effort.

3. Center the skulls on the first set of curtains and, starting at their face, glue the cloth to them. 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.

4. Once the glue has dried, smudge black paint around the eyes, mouths, and noses to give the skulls a smoky appearance. You may want to experiment with a scrap of cloth before applying the paint to the fabric.

5. Center the skulls on the second set of curtains and glue the fabric to the tops of their heads. You want this particular layer to be free flowing, so do not glue the cloth to the face.

6. Cut the ribbon into three twelve-inch sections, form a loop, and attached it to the crowns of the skulls. Depending on how low you want the ghosts to hang, you can adjust the measurements to fit your needs.

7. Adhere two sheets of creepy cloth to each ghost – one on the front and one on the back. Akin to the second layer of curtains, you want this additional coat to be free flowing, so only attach it to the tops of the skulls. You can embellish the ghosts further by adding dustings of brown spray paint to simulate dirt and shredding the ends of the curtains to form tattered edges. I, however, elected to maintain a cleaner appearance to correspond with the haunt’s theme. 

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

“‘Tis so appalling – it exhilarates –” (A Poem)

Written in 1862, Emily Dickinson’s “‘Tis so appalling – it exhilarates –” is one of many pieces composed by the poetess that deals with death. As August Nigro argues, the work, and several of the others which share the same theme, represents a very nineteenth-century English perception of pessimistic thinking which is also displayed in the literature of Henry David Thoreau: “to see through crumb rather than banquet, pain rather than pleasure, intimations of mortality rather than immortality, and consequently dying rather than living.”[1] Indeed, Thomas Cooley expands this concept to contend this cynical view of death is uniquely English. For Americans, as expressed in the works of Edgar Allan Poe, there is a tendency to willingly resign to the darkness of mortality; whereas, for the English, there is a vehement fight against its encroaching presence.[2]

‘Tis so appalling – it exhilarates –
So over Horror, it half Captivates –
The Soul stares after it, secure –
A Sepulchre, fears frost, no more –

To scan a Ghost, is faint –
But grappling, conquers it –
How easy, Torment, now –
Suspense kept sawing so –

The Truth, is Bald, and Cold –
But that will hold –
If any are not sure –
We show them – prayer –
But we, who know,
Stop hoping, now –

Looking at Death, is Dying –
Just let go the Breath –
And not the pillow at your Cheek
So Slumbereth –

Others, Can wrestle –
Yours, is done –
And so of Woe, bleak dreaded – come,
It sets the Fright at liberty –
And Terror's free –
Gay, Ghastly, Holiday![3]

Works Referenced

Cooley, Thomas. The Ivory Leg in the Ebony Cabinet: Madness, Race, and Gender in Victorian America. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2001.

Dickinson, Emily. “‘Tis so appalling – it exhilarates –.” Emily Dickinson’s Poems: As She Preserved Them. Ed. Cristanne Miller. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2016. 179.

Nigro, August. The Diagonal Line: Separation and Reparation in American Literature. Selinsgrove: Susquehanna University Press, 1984.
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[1] Nigro, 128.
[2] Cooley, 209.
[3] Dickinson, 179.

Circus Sign

$15 - $20 (based on 2017 prices)

Makes one sign

For this project, I employed the years of experience my brother and I gained crafting tombstones out of insulation foam and created a themed sign to greet visitors and set the haunt’s tone. In 2020, the haunt focused on a twisted carnival (a concept, due to its hackneyed nature, I am not very fond of). To overcome this distaste, I decided to draw inspiration from turn-of-the-century travelling shows. I wanted something that looked vintage and did not relying too heavily on clowns.

• One 2’ x 2’ board of foam insulation
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in nutmeg*
• 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 green*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat navy blue*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat orange*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat pink*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat purple*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat red*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat turquoise*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat white*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat yellow*
  

1. Draw your sign’s design onto the insulation board. If you feel comfortable free handing the outline, use a pencil or pen to lightly sketch the shapes. If not, create a pattern with paper and trace it onto the foam.

2. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give both sides of the sign three even coats of paint. To maintain the travelling show motif, I used traditional red-and-white stripes for the border and a warm yellow for the sign’s face; however, you may utilize the colors which work best for your haunt’s theme.

3. Use black paint to outline the stripes. This will both enhance the colors and mask any uneven lines.

4. Sketch the lettering onto the sign. As with step one, you can free hand the design or create a pattern using paper. Since I wanted to experiment with the text’s layout, I created a pattern which allowed me to do this and then transferred it onto the sign.

5. With a fine-tipped brush, paint over your markings using your chosen colors. To perpetuate the carnival theme, I used bright hues, including green and turquoise, but you can utilize muted shades to correspond with your color scheme. Once the paint has dried, outline the lettering in black to highlight the colors.

6. You can embellish the sign with further details, such as an elephant or other circus-related elements. For this specific version, I picked a laughing clown. As with the sign’s pattern and the lettering, you can free hand the image or trace it from a pattern. To complete the graphic, begin by filling the entire shape with white paint to provide a basic background. Then, trace its outline in black. Lastly, use paints of your choosing to provide the facial features.

7. If you want the sign to have a clean appearance, stop at this point. If you want to give it a grimy appearance, dust the sign with a light coat of nutmeg spray paint. To give the appearance of dirt, hold the can over twelve inches away from the surface and make quick flicking motions. You can also apply a flecking of black paint and smears of brown paint to enhance the weathered patina. To cater the prop to your haunt’s theme, you can incorporate additional factors, such as bloody handprints or swarms of cockroaches.

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