Bakunawa and the Seven Moons

     Philippine mythology maintains Bathala, the supreme being, created seven moons – each to illuminate one night of the week. However, Bakunawa, the dragon ruler of the seas, became envious of the moons and proceeded to ingest them one-by-one over the course of a week. During the final night, humanity banged drums and pots in an effort to stop Bakunawa from consuming the final moon. The noise, in turn, awakened Bathala who, seeing six of his seven creations gone, forced Bakunawa to retreat to his cave and, to save the final moon, planted patches of bamboo on its surface to make it look spotted and unappetizing to Bakunawa.[1] Prior to the Spanish conquest of the Philippine islands during the sixteenth century, the Ifugao in the Cordilleras region of northern Luzon specialized in hand-carved wood masks which represented Bakunawa and were used in festivities celebrating his retreat and the last moon’s salvation.[2] In contemporary society, though, the Ifugao create these masks as souvenirs for tourists and, for many Igorot Filipino Americans, household decorations to showcase their heritage.[3]

Works Referenced

Deere, Kiki. Journey through the Philippines: An Unforgettable Journey from Manila to Mindanao and Beyond. Clarendon, VT: Tuttle, 2017.

Leo, Mark Sabas. “Igorot Home Decoration.” Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife. Eds. Jonathan H. X. Lee and Kathleen M. Nadeau. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2010. 379-380.

Yoshitani, Yoshi. Beneath the Moon: Fairy Tales, Myths, and Divine Stories from Around the World. New York: Ten Speed Press, 2020.
____________________
[1] Yoshitani, 127.
[2] Deere, 22.
[3] Leo, 380.

Dismembered Patient

$60 - $70 (based on 2020 prices)

Makes one patient

The crowning glory of 2020’s haunt was this dismembered patient. To help reduce the prop’s cost, I purchased the hanging figure during the after-Halloween sales and used the left-over tubing from the mind control device and organ harvesting device. Since I aimed for a violent theme, I made the patient extremely bloody; however, how gory you decide to make the proper is entirely up to you and your haunt’s aesthetic.

• One life-size hanging prop with arms, head, and shoulders
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat beige*
• 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 cream*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat coral*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat white*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in glossy maroon*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in glossy red*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in metallic silver*
• One 0.44 oz. bottle of clear nail polish*
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat black
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat brown
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat olive
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in glossy red
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in metallic silver
• One 20” x 30” foam board
• One 12 oz. can of insulating foam
• One plastic ribcage
• One human-sized plastic heart
• One 8 oz. can of oil-based interior wood stain in Jacobean*
• One 8 oz. can of oil-based interior wood stain in red chestnut*
• Two feet of 1/4” clear plastic tubing
• Four feet of 1/2” clear plastic tubing
• Five feet of plastic chains
• Three plastic syringes

1. Apply three even coats of beige paint to the head. Although I used three, you may want more or less based on your desired coverage. Then, give the face a smudging of coral paint, focusing primarily on the creases. Use your own skin patterns or those found in a medical textbook for reference.

2. Detail the wounds with glossy red paint and use a stippling brush or a brush with splayed bristles to smatter it along the edges. To give further depth, deepen the blood with a glossy burgundy or maroon.

3. Color the band and staples with metallic silver paint. Then, drip streams of glossy red paint down the sides of the band. How much you apply depends on your chosen aesthetic: you could have just a few to serve as a slight accent or dozens for a gorier mess.

4. Give the teeth a base coat of white paint. Once it dries, apply light layers of cream, brown, and black to make them appear rotten. For further detail, darken the inside of the mouth with glossy red paint.

5. To make the mouth appear wet, coat the inside and teeth with one or two coats of clear nail polish.

6. Wrap the head in plastic to protect it from the paint and, on a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, distress the figure’s clothing with a light dusting of black, brown, and olive spray paint. You do not want to make the coverage too thick, so hold the can roughly twelve inches away from the clothing’s surface and make quick passes.

7. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, build up layers of black and metallic silver spray paint to give the foam board the look of steel. I found it works best to apply a base coat of black to the entire prop and then add the sliver, working in quick bursts to allow parts of the black to remain visible. You can also touch up portions with additional blasts of black if the silver becomes too heavy.

8. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the board a light dusting of brown spray paint to simulate dirt. As with steps six and seven, hold the can over twelve inches away from the surface and make quick flicking motions. Once the paint has dried, run watered-down brown paint along the upper edge, allowing the liquid to naturally run downward.

9. Once the figure’s clothing has dried, cut open the back of his outfit, clip the wire attaching his left arm, and remove the appendage. Then, use the padding from the severed limb to give the right arm extra bulk. If you want the patient to possess both arms, this stage can be ignored; merely use extra padding to give both arms added mass.

10. Position the patient on the board and glue him in place. You want to allow plenty of room for the intestines, so situate his head and shoulders toward the upper portion of the board.

11. Spray the insulating foam into the opening of the patient’s chest to create his intestines. Try not to overthink your application. A random pattern produces the best results. Also, keep in mind that the foam will expand as it dries, so do not apply excessive amounts which will overtake the prop.

12. Beginning with a base coat of black spray paint, build up layers of glossy red paint to give the guts depth (the black base coat will help give the red a deeper tone to mimic blood). Akin to step seven, you can always apply bursts of black to the prop if the red becomes overpowering.

13. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, stain the ribcage. I began by giving it a light, even coat. After that, I applied heavy amounts of stain and patted away the excess with paper towels. You want the color to build up in the cracks and fissures. Although you may use whatever color of stain you desire, I chose red chestnut because it gives the bones a fresh, meaty appearance. Once you have achieved your intended look, allow the bones to completely dry. Then, randomly drip globs of hot glue along the surfaces of the bones. This will give the appearance of dripping tissue once the paint is applied.

14. Repeat the processes in step twelve with the ribcage. For the time-pressed haunter, you can skip the wood stain and just paint the bones; however, I found the stain gave the prop an additional level of detail which enhanced the gore.

15. Repeat the methods in step twelve with the plastic heart and, after it dries, position it in the chest where it would anatomically sit, gluing it in place.

16. Nestle the ribcage into the opening, ensuring the clavicle bones align with where they would anatomically rest on the figure. It might prove helpful to consult a medical textbook for this step as well as the placement of the heart in step fifteen.

17. Glue the straight jacket down, conforming it to the outline of the body. After this, cut off the left arm, rip open the jacket to expose the innards, and glue the fabric in place. For visual interest, tatter the edges.

18. Smear glossy red paint along the edges of the jacket’s openings and randomly across the fabric’s surface. How much you apply depends on how bloody you want the prop to appear.

19. Cut the 1/2” tubing into two twenty-four-inch sections and run them, along with the two-foot section of 1/4” tubing, from three of the heart’s valves to the board, gluing them in place and using silver paint to make them look welded to the board. For further detail, smear glossy red paint across the tubes.

20. If the chains were not already black, give them an even coat of black spray paint and then build up layers of brown and red paint for a rusted patina.

21. Remove the plastic wrapping from the head and string the chains between the board and the headband. You can also wrap the chains around the figure’s arms, neck, and shoulders to give the illusion he is lashed down.

22. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, paint the syringes with the Jacobean wood stain. I discovered that applying a thin coat and patting it with paper towels produces a hazed appearance. Then, dab the surfaces with the red chestnut wood stain to create spots of dried blood.

23. Determine where you would like the syringes and, using a 5/32 bit, drill holes into the patient’s head and neck, inserting the syringes and gluing them in place. Following this, paint the junctures where the syringes meet the prop with glossy red paint.

24. Use the remaining chain to create a hanging loop for the prop. If you plan to use the chain itself to suspend the item, I recommend replacing the plastic version with a heavy-duty metal. I added a hanging hook to the back of the foam board which affixed the prop to the wall and used the plastic chain to give the illusion it was suspending the item.

25. Depending on your haunt’s theme, you can enhance the prop with additional details, like a biohazard label or a mortuary tag.

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

“The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point” (A Poem)

Dramatic monologues, where a character speaks to themselves or another character who remains silent, have been a part of literature for centuries and often appear in the works of Molière and Shakespeare.[1] Dramatic monologues involving the dead, where the character speaks to a spirit, is common in classical literature and can be seen in this poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, where a runaway slave speaks to the silent ghosts of the pilgrims and relates to them the horrors their decedents have performed.

I stand on the mark beside the shore
Of the first white pilgrim’s bended knee,

Where exile turned to ancestor,
And God was thanked for liberty.
I have run through the night, my skin is as dark,
I bend my knee down on this mark . . .
I look on the sky and the sea.

O pilgrim−souls, I speak to you!
I see you come out proud and slow
From the land of the spirits pale as dew. . .
And round me and round me ye go!
O pilgrims, I have gasped and run
All night long from the whips of one
Who in your names works sin and woe.

And thus I thought that I would come
And kneel here where I knelt before,
And feel your souls around me hum
In undertone to the ocean’s roar;
And lift my black face, my black hand,
Here, in your names, to curse this land
Ye blessed in freedom’s evermore.

I am black, I am black;
And yet God made me, they say.
But if He did so, smiling back
He must have cast His work away
Under the feet of His white creatures,
With a look of scorn,−−that the dusky features
Might be trodden again to clay.

And yet He has made dark things
To be glad and merry as light.
There’s a little dark bird sits and sings;
There’s a dark stream ripples out of sight;
And the dark frogs chant in the safe morass,
And the sweetest stars are made to pass
O’er the face of the darkest night.

But we who are dark, we are dark!
Ah, God, we have no stars!
About our souls in care and cark
Our blackness shuts like prison bars:
The poor souls crouch so far behind,
That never a comfort can they find
By reaching through the prison−bars.

Indeed, we live beneath the sky, . . .
That great smooth Hand of God, stretched out
On all His children fatherly,
To bless them from the fear and doubt,
Which would be, if, from this low place,
All opened straight up to His face
Into the grand eternity.

And still God’s sunshine and His frost,
They make us hot, they make us cold,
As if we were not black and lost:
And the beasts and birds, in wood and fold,
Do fear and take us for very men!
Could the weep−poor−will or the cat of the glen
Look into my eyes and be bold?

I am black, I am black!−−
But, once, I laughed in girlish glee;
For one of my colour stood in the track
Where the drivers drove, and looked at me−−
And tender and full was the look he gave:
Could a slave look so at another slave?−−
I look at the sky and the sea.

And from that hour our spirits grew
As free as if unsold, unbought:
Oh, strong enough, since we were two
To conquer the world, we thought!
The drivers drove us day by day;
We did not mind, we went one way,
And no better a liberty sought.

In the sunny ground between the canes,
He said “I love you” as he passed:
When the shingle−roof rang sharp with the rains,
I heard how he vowed it fast:
While others shook, he smiled in the hut
As he carved me a bowl of the cocoa−nut,
Through the roar of the hurricanes.

I sang his name instead of a song;
Over and over I sang his name−−
Upward and downward I drew it along
My various notes; the same, the same!
I sang it low, that the slave−girls near
Might never guess from aught they could hear,
It was only a name.

I look on the sky and the sea−−
We were two to love, and two to pray,−−
Yes, two, O God, who cried to Thee,
Though nothing didst Thou say.
Coldly Thou sat’st behind the sun!
And now I cry who am but one,
How wilt Thou speak to−day?−−

We were black, we were black!
We had no claim to love and bliss:
What marvel, if each turned to lack?
They wrung my cold hands out of his,−−
They dragged him . . . where ? . . . I crawled to touch
His blood’s mark in the dust! . . . not much,
Ye pilgrim−souls, . . . though plain as this!

Wrong, followed by a deeper wrong!
Mere grief’s too good for such as I.
So the white men brought the shame ere long
To strangle the sob of my agony.
They would not leave me for my dull
Wet eyes!−−it was too merciful
To let me weep pure tears and die.

I am black, I am black!−−
I wore a child upon my breast
An amulet that hung too slack,
And, in my unrest, could not rest:
Thus we went moaning, child and mother,
One to another, one to another,
Until all ended for the best:

For hark! I will tell you low . . . Iow . . .
I am black, you see,−−
And the babe who lay on my bosom so,
Was far too white . . . too white for me;
As white as the ladies who scorned to pray
Beside me at church but yesterday;
Though my tears had washed a place for my knee.

My own, own child! I could not bear
To look in his face, it was so white.
I covered him up with a kerchief there;
I covered his face in close and tight:
And he moaned and struggled, as well might be,
For the white child wanted his liberty−−
Ha, ha! he wanted his master right.

He moaned and beat with his head and feet,
His little feet that never grew−−
He struck them out, as it was meet,
Against my heart to break it through.
I might have sung and made him mild−−
But I dared not sing to the white−faced child
The only song I knew.

I pulled the kerchief very close:
He could not see the sun, I swear,
More, then, alive, than now he does
From between the roots of the mango . . . where
. . . I know where. Close! a child and mother
Do wrong to look at one another,
When one is black and one is fair.

Why, in that single glance I had
Of my child’s face, . . . I tell you all,
I saw a look that made me mad . . .
The master’s look, that used to fall
On my soul like his lash . . . or worse!
And so, to save it from my curse,
I twisted it round in my shawl.

And he moaned and trembled from foot to head,
He shivered from head to foot;
Till, after a time, he lay instead
Too suddenly still and mute.
I felt, beside, a stiffening cold, . . .
I dared to lift up just a fold . . .
As in lifting a leaf of the mango−fruit.

But my fruit . . . ha, ha!−−there, had been
(I laugh to think on’t at this hour! . . .)
Your fine white angels, who have seen
Nearest the secret of God’s power, . . .
And plucked my fruit to make them wine,
And sucked the soul of that child of mine,
As the humming−bird sucks the soul of the flower.

Ha, ha, for the trick of the angels white!
They freed the white child’s spirit so.
I said not a word, but, day and night,
I carried the body to and fro;
And it lay on my heart like a stone . . . as chill.
−−The sun may shine out as much as he will:
I am cold, though it happened a month ago.

From the white man’s house, and the black man’s hut,
I carried the little body on,
The forest’s arms did round us shut,
And silence through the trees did run:
They asked no question as I went,−−
They stood too high for astonishment,−−
They could see God sit on His throne.

My little body, kerchiefed fast,
I bore it on through the forest . . . on:
And when I felt it was tired at last,
I scooped a hole beneath the moon.
Through the forest−tops the angels far,
With a white sharp finger from every star,
Did point and mock at what was done.

Yet when it was all done aright, . . .
Earth, ‘twixt me and my baby, strewed,
All, changed to black earth, . . . nothing white, . . .
A dark child in the dark,−−ensued
Some comfort, and my heart grew young:
I sate down smiling there and sung
The song I learnt in my maidenhood.

And thus we two were reconciled,
The white child and black mother, thus:
For, as I sang it, soft and wild
The same song, more melodious,
Rose from the grave whereon I sate!
It was the dead child singing that,
To join the souls of both of us.

I look on the sea and the sky!
Where the pilgrims’ ships first anchored lay,
The free sun rideth gloriously;
But the pilgrim−ghosts have slid away
Through the earliest streaks of the morn.
My face is black, but it glares with a scorn
Which they dare not meet by day.

Ah!−−in their ‘stead, their hunter sons!
Ah, ah! they are on me−−they hunt in a ring−−
Keep off! I brave you all at once−−
I throw off your eyes like snakes that sting!
You have killed the black eagle at nest, I think:
Did you never stand still in your triumph, and shrink
From the stroke of her wounded wing?

(Man, drop that stone you dared to lift!−−)
I wish you, who stand there five a−breast,
Each, for his own wife’s joy and gift,
A little corpse as safely at rest
As mine in the mangos!−−Yes, but she
May keep live babies on her knee,
And sing the song she liketh best.

I am not mad: I am black.
I see you staring in my face−−
I know you, staring, shrinking back−−
Ye are born of the Washington−race:
And this land is the free America:
And this mark on my wrist . . . (I prove what I say)
Ropes tied me up here to the flogging−place.

You think I shrieked then? Not a sound!
I hung, as a gourd hangs in the sun.
I only cursed them all around,
As softly as I might have done
My very own child!−−From these sands
Up to the mountains, lift your hands,
O slaves, and end what I begun!

Whips, curses; these must answer those!
For in this UNION, you have set
Two kinds of men in adverse rows,
Each loathing each: and all forget
The seven wounds in Christ’s body fair;
While HE sees gaping everywhere
Our countless wounds that pay no debt.

Our wounds are different. Your white men
Are, after all, not gods indeed,
Nor able to make Christs again
Do good with bleeding. We who bleed . . .
(Stand off!) we help not in our loss!
We are too heavy for our cross,
And fall and crush you and your seed.

I fall, I swoon! I look at the sky:
The clouds are breaking on my brain;
I am floated along, as if I should die
Of liberty’s exquisite pain−−
In the name of the white child, waiting for me
In the death−dark where we may kiss and agree,
White men, I leave you all curse−free
In my broken heart’s disdain![2]

Works Referenced

Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. "The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point." The Liberty Bell. Ed. Maria Weston Chapman. Boston, MA: Andrews and Prentiss, 1848. 29-44.

Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 6th ed. Moston, MA: Longman, 2010.
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[1] Kennedy and Gioia, 417-418.
[2] Browning, 29-44.

Random Parts

$15 - $20 (based on 2019 prices)

Makes one display

To accompany builds like the heart cloche, I decided to create a cloche that contained just a random assortment of eyes, fingers, and teeth to sit among the laboratory’s towers of equipment. Although it was a simple prop, it can be easily modified to fit the needs of your haunt by simply changing which parts are enclosed behind the glass and even adhering a label attesting to their discarded nature.

• One plastic cloche with detachable base and handle (roughly eight inches tall)
• One 10 oz. can 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 flat grasshopper*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat hunter green*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat olive*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat orange*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat tortoise*
• One blank piece of 8” x 11.5” copy paper
• At least four tablespoons of black tea (e.g. Darjeeling, Earl Gary, English Breakfast, etc.)
• One pan large enough to soak the copy paper
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• Five severed fingers (learn how to make them here)
• Six severed eyeballs (learn how to make them here)
• One 0.3 fluid ounce bottle of red food coloring*
• One 4 oz. bottle of clear, all-purpose tacky glue gel*
• One set of resin false teeth
• One 8 oz. can of oil-based interior wood stain in Jacobean*

1. Disassemble the cloche and, on a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, apply an even coat of metallic copper spray paint to the base and handle. 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 copper will be covered by the other paints.

2. Begin the aged patina by building up layers of green paint: grasshopper, hunter green, and olive. You want the metal to appear oxidized, so focus your application on the areas that would be exposed to the elements and work from dark to light. I found that applying small amounts of paint to a stippling sponge and patting it lightly on the surface works best. You may want to practice on a piece of cardboard first, though.

3. Complete the aged patina by applying a light speckling of orange and turquoise to the surface. Akin to step two, use a stippling sponge for this application and keep its coverage to a minimum. You want the colors to accent the oxidization and not be too overpowering. Also, give the base and handle a flecking of 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.

4. Boil enough water to completely submerge the copy paper and pour it into the pan. Add the tea. The longer you allow the tea to brew, the darker the stain will become. Likewise, greater amounts of tea will produce a richer stain. I found that a combination of English and Irish Breakfast brewed for over ten minutes produces a nice, deep brown. Submerge the paper into the tea mixture and soak it until it reaches the color you desire. I soaked mine for eight hours and scattered the loose-leaf tea over the top of the paper to add spots. Remove the paper from the water and allow it to dry.

5. Once the paper has dried, trace the outline of the base onto the sheet, cut it out, and glue it in place. To make the paper appear even more decrepit, crinkle it and create holes before adhering it to the base.

6. Arrange the severed eyes and fingers on the base to form a mound and glue them in place. You do not want them to look neatly arranged. In fact, an uneven and leaning tower will look best.

7. In a plastic container (because the food coloring will stain, use something disposable or that you won’t mind dying), pour in your desired amount of clear glue gel and slowly add red food coloring to the solution until it achieves the sanguine hue you desire. To give the blood further density, add blue food coloring and mix well.

8. Apply the blood glue to the tower, using an old spoon or plastic utensil to smear the liquid into the spaces between the eyes and fingers and create puddles along the base. For addition detail, randomly add the false teeth to the sanguine pools.

9. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, paint the cloche with the wood stain. I discovered that applying a thin coat and patting it with paper towels produces a hazed appearance. Likewise, brushing the rim with a swift downward motion creates the illusion of grime buildup. If there is any remaining blood glue, you can also smear it along the sides.

10. Reattach the handle to the cloche and then reattach the cloche to its base. If you plan for a more permanent display, you can glue the item down. Also, details like a specimen label or biohazard sign can be added to cater the prop to your haunt’s theme.

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