The Faces of Man: A Mini-Essay

     From Baccio Bandinelli’s untitled sixteenth-century sketch to Anne Bradstreet’s seventeenth-century poem “The Four Ages of Man,” humanity has continually reflected on the inevitability of aging.[1] Some, like Aristotle and Giles of Rome have taken more philosophical outlooks of the process, whereas others – such as Titian and Sir Anthony Van Dyck – have approached the topic from an artistic lens.[2] In Mesoamerican communities, the subject takes the form of las edades del hombre, ceramic masks where a skull symbolizing death breaks open to reveal the faces of old age and youth. Regularly seen in contemporary artwork, some of the earliest renditions come from the pre-Columbian culture of Teotihuacan, with one such artifact dating to roughly 1300 C.E. housed in the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.[3]

Works Referenced

González Gómes-Cásseres, Patricia. “La muerte/Death, Then and Now.” Death and Dying in Hispanic Worlds: The Nexus of Religions, Cultural Traditions, and the Arts. Ed. Debra Andrist. Eastbourne: Sussex Academic Press, 2021. 38-50.

Joannides, Paul. Titian to 1518. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001.

Lepore, Jill. The Mansion of Happiness: A History of Life and Death. New York: Vintage Books, 2013.

Price, David. History Made, History Imagined: Contemporary Literature, Poiesis, and the Past. Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1999.
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[1] Lepore, 64.
[2] Price, 61; Joannides, 197.
[3] González Gómes-Cásseres, 49.

Industrial Monster

$25 - $30 (based on 2020 prices)
Makes one cloche

Every year, I have one prop which becomes my favorite build of the season. For 2020’s mad scientist theme, this industrial monster was that prop. I wanted to make something to accompany the heart cloche, using the same random assortment of bolts and screws. I was impressed with the outcome and, after a few slight modifications, entered the prop in the 2022 Colorado State Fair, where it lost the People’s Choice Award by only three votes.

• One human-sized plastic skull
• One plastic cloche with detachable base and handle (roughly fifteen inches tall)
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in metallic bronze*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in olive*
• One sheet of white copy paper (8 ½” x 11”)
• Four tablespoons of black tea (e.g. Darjeeling, Earl Gary, English Breakfast)
• One pan large enough to soak the copy paper
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• One 8 oz. can of oil-based interior wood stain in Jacobean*
• A random assortment of bolts, caps, rollers, and screws
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*

1. Disassemble the cloche and, on a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, apply an even coat of black 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 black will be covered by the other paints.

2.  Once the paint dries, detail the base and handle by applying a layer of metallic bronze. You want to give the illusion of worn metal, so gently brush the paint along the raised portions in a quick, back-and-forth motion. It may work best to experiment with a scrap of cardboard first. Also, to enhance the aged patina, randomly smudge olive paint onto the surface with either a paper towel or sponge.

3.  Boil enough water to completely submerge the paper and pour it into the pan. Add the tea. The longer you allow the tea to brew, the darker the stain will become. 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.

4.  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.

5.  To make the skull appear aged, paint it with the wood stain. Apply a thin coat, ensuring the liquid settles into all the cracks and fissures, and allow it to sit for a few minutes. Then, wipe it clean using paper towels.

6. Accent the skull with a variety of bolts, caps, rollers, and screws. To ensure they remain in place, use an industrial-strength glue and, for the bolts and screws, drill holes into the bone and glue the items in place.

7. To mask the glue and give the prop an additional level of grime, stipple black paint around the blots and screws. You could also use a deep brown for this process.

8. Center the skull on the base and glue it in place. Depending on the height of the cloche, you may need to adjust the skull’s position so it properly fits under the enclosure before permanently affixing it.  

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.

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 cloche to the base; however, this will make it difficult to access the skull.  

11. To cater the prop to your haunt’s theme, the prop can be enhanced further with additional details, such as a specimen label or biohazard sign.

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

"The City of Dreadful Night" (A Poem)

Originally published in the National Reformer in 1874, James Thomson’s lengthy poem “The City of Dreadful Night” paints a graphic image of a ruined city, where the narrator encounters tormented souls presided over by Melancolia.[1] Although the poem makes clear references to elements like German artist Albrecht Durer’s 1514 engraving Melencolia, what city Thomson alludes to is left vague, leading some scholars like Cheng Chu-Chueh to postulate it is a bleak image of industrial London.[2] Below is section four, where the narrator stands in the middle of the town’s square and surveys the horrors of its contents.

 

He stood alone within the spacious square

Declaiming from the central grassy mound,

With head uncovered and with streaming hair,

As if large multitudes were gathered round:

A Stalwart shape, the gestures full of might,

The glances burning with unnatural light:

 

As I came through the desert thus it was,

As I came through the desert: All was black,

In heaven no single star, on earth no track;

A brooding hush without a stir or note,

The air so thick it clotted in my throat;

And thus for hours; then some enormous things

Swooped past with savage cries and clanking wings:

But I strode on austere;

No hope could have no fear.

 

As I came through the desert thus it was,

As I came through the desert: Eyes of fire

Glared at me throbbing with a starved desire;

The hoarse and heavy and carnivorous breath

Was hot upon me from deep jaws of death;

Sharp claws, swift talons, fleshless fingers cold

Plucked at me from the bushes, tried to hold:

But I strode on austere;

No hope could have no fear. 

 

As I came through the desert thus it was,

As I came through the desert: Lo you, there,

That hillock burning with a brazen glare;

Those myriad dusky flames with points a-glow

Which writhed and hissed and darted to and fro;

A Sabbath of the Serpents, heaped pell-mell

For Devil’s roll-call and some fête of Hell:

Yet I strode on austere;

No hope could have no fear.

 

As I came through the desert thus it was,

As I came through the desert: Meteors ran

And crossed their javelins on the black sky-span;

The zenith opened to a gulf of flame,

The dreadful thunderbolts jarred earth's fixed frame:

The ground all heaved in waves of fire that surged

And weltered round me sole there unsubmerged:

Yet I strode on austere;

No hope could have no fear. 

 

As I came through the desert thus it was,

As I came through the desert: Air once more,

And I was close upon a wild sea-shore;

Enormous cliffs arose on either hand,

The deep tide thundered up a league-broad strand;

White foambelts seethed there, wan spray swept and flew;

The sky broke, moon and stars and clouds and blue:

And I strode on austere;

No hope could have no fear. 

 

As I came through the desert thus it was,

As I came through the desert: On the left

The sun arose and crowned a broad crag-cleft;

There stopped and burned out black, except a rim,

A bleeding eyeless socket, red and dim;

Whereon the moon fell suddenly south-west,

And stood above the right-hand cliffs at rest:

Still I strode on austere;

No hope could have no fear. 

 

As I came through the desert thus it was,

As I came through the desert: From the right

A shape came slowly with a ruddy light;

A woman with a red lamp in her hand,

Bareheaded and barefooted on that strand;

O desolation moving with such grace!

O anguish with such beauty in thy face.

I fell as on my bier,

Hope travailed with such fear. 

 

As I came through the desert thus it was,

As I came through the desert: I was twain,

Two selves distinct that cannot join again;

One stood apart and knew but could not stir,

And watched the other stark in swoon and her;

And she came on, and never turned aside,

Between such sun and moon and roaring tide:

And as she came more near

My soul grew mad with fear. 

 

As I came through the desert thus it was,

As I came through the desert: Hell is mild

And piteous matched with that accursèd wild;

A large black sign was on her breast that bowed,

A broad black band ran down her snow-white shroud;

That lamp she held was her own burning heart,

Whose blood-drops trickled step by step apart;

The mystery was clear;

Mad rage had swallowed fear. 

 

As I came through the desert thus it was,

As I came through the desert: By the sea

She knelt and bent above that senseless me;

Those lamp-drops fell upon my white brow there,

She tried to cleanse them with her tears and hair;

She murmured words of pity, love, and woe,

She heeded not the level rushing flow:

And mad with rage and fear,

I stood stonebound so near. 

 

As I came through the desert thus it was,

As I came through the desert: When the tide

Swept up to her there kneeling by my side,

She clasped that corpse-like me, and they were borne

Away, and this vile me was left forlorn;

I know the whole sea cannot quench that heart,

Or cleanse that brow, or wash those two apart:

They love; their doom is drear,

Yet they nor hope nor fear;

But I, what do I here?[3]

 

Works Referenced 

 

Drabble, Margaret, ed. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 5th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987. 

 

Chu-Chueh, Cheng. “The Importance of Being London: Looking for Signs of the Metropolis in James Thomson’s ‘City of Dreadful Night.’” Literary London: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Representation of London 3.1 (2005). 

 

Thomson, James. “The City of Dreadful Night.” The City of Dreadful Night and Other Poems. London: Bertram Dobell, 1899. 1-48.

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[1] Drabble, 979-980.

[2] Chu-Chueh.

[3] Thomson, 10-15.

Biohazard and Radioactive Signs

$10 - $15 (based on 2020 prices)
Makes eight signs

Simple details can have a huge impact when establishing the mood of a haunt, which is why I take time to build what some would consider trivial props to help tell the haunt’s story. For 2020’s laboratory, I made these eight signs to hang in random spots on the walls and nestle among the towers of equipment. To help keep costs down, I used sheets of cardboard; however, you can use plastic or even metal to create something more substantial.

• One sheet of cardboard (roughly 8’ x 7’)
• 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 green
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in metallic silver
• Four sheets of pink copy paper with biohazard labels printed on them
• Four sheets of yellow copy paper with radioactive labels printed on them
• At least four tablespoons of dark roasted coffee grounds
• One pan large enough to soak the copy paper
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• One 6 oz. can of clear acrylic spray sealer
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in glossy red*
• Eight feet of steel wire

1. Cut the cardboard into four sections that measure nine and a half inches by twelve inches and four sections which measure six inches by nine inches. These sizes can be altered to make the signs smaller or larger to correspond with your haunt’s needs.

2.  On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, build up layers of black and metallic silver spray paint to give the signs the look of steel. I found it works best to apply a base coat of black 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.

3. Boil enough water to completely submerge the copy paper 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 paper in the coffee mixture and soak it until it reaches the color you desire. I soaked mine for eight hours and scattered the coffee grounds over the top to add spots. Remove the paper from the water and allow it to dry. Although it can be time consuming, this process works best if you stain each sheet individually.

4. After the paper dries, cut out the labels, leaving a small border around their edges. To roughen the labels’ appearance, use sandpaper to fray their sides and create holes. You can also crumple the paper to produce creases. Once you have achieved your desired level of distress, center the labels on the signs and glue them in place. You can also use olive or vegetable oil to add further stains, applying a small amount of oil to your index finger and patting it onto the paper.  

5. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give each sign a coat or two of sealer. This will help protect the props from the elements and give them a glossy finish to mimic the look of metal. Although I used a glossy sealer, you can use mat to cater the signs to your haunt’s aesthetics.

6. To add additional detail, dust the radioactive signs with light coats of black, brown, and green spray paint. Then, dust the biohazard signs with black and brown spray paint and use glossy red paint to create blood splatters and handprints.

7. Cut the steel wire into eight twelve-inch sections and use them to create hanging hooks on the backs of the signs. This will make it easier to hang them in the display; however, you can also use adhesive strips.

8. The signs can be enhanced further with additional elements, such as swarms of insects or cryptic warnings scribbled across their surfaces.

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