The Aztec Origins of Dia de los Muertos: A Mini-Essay

          Unlike many European cultures, the Aztecs of Mesoamerica did not fear the uncertainty of death. Rather, they perceived death as a release from the burdens of life and honored the god of death, Mictlantechuhtli. According to Aztec lore, there were thirteen levels of the heavens and nine layers in the underworld, with how someone died dictating where they went: brave warriors who died honorably in war ascended to the highest level as butterflies and hummingbirds, whereas cowards who faced death with dishonor were relegated to the lowest level of the underworld. Because the journey to the afterlife – Mictlán – was a long and arduous process filled with trials which lasted four years, relatives of the dead held yearly festivals to honor the deceased on their journey, with one occurring in the fall when it was believed the dead returned to visit the living. Food from the harvest was laid out and relatives remained in a squatting position throughout the night to prevent themselves from catching the gaze of returning spirits.[1] The arrival of Spanish colonists during the sixteenth century and the forced assimilation and Christianization of the Aztecs, in turn, blended beliefs and traditions into a unique holiday: the Christian practice of visiting cemeteries and adorning graves with flowers gave birth to arches of marigolds and the Christian feasts of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day merged into the Aztec harvest festival.[2]

Works Referenced

Williams, Kitty, and Stevie Mack. Day of the Dead. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2011.
____________________
[1] Williams and Mack, 20-22.
[2] Williams and Mack, 26-27.

Wooden Crate

$50 - $60 (based on 2022 prices)
Makes one crate

At the end of 2022, I was asked to make a set of props for a local theater’s production of Christmas Belles. Being unable to make many props for the Halloween season, I jumped at the opportunity to do something creative. For this prop, I used the painting technique for the withered boards to create a wooden crate one of the characters carried offstage. The director wanted something large and heavy looking but extremely lightweight, so I built the entire thing out of foam insulation boards.

• Four 24” x 24” boards of foam insulation
• One package of wooden toothpicks (at least 132 picks)
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• One 8 oz. can of exterior paint in flat white*
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat tan
• 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 khaki*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat tan*

1. Cut one of the foam boards into two 12” x 24” sections and another board into two 12” x 22” sections, reserving the excess for the crate’s trim in step five. How large you decide to make the crate will impact the dimensions of these pieces. For a smaller version, you can go with two 6” x 24” sections and two 6” x 11” sections.

2. Evenly space toothpicks along the sides of the boards, leaving ¾” sticking out. These will serve as nails to help hold the boards in place and give the crate extra stability.  

3. Align the panels along the edges of one of the 24” x 24” boards to form the base of the box. Then, run a small line of glue between the seams and push everything together, driving the toothpicks into the foam. If you elected to make a smaller version of the prop, the board for the base will need to measure 12” x 12”.

4. Repeating the process in steps two and three, line the edges of the panels with toothpicks, run a small line of glue along their edges, and attach the second 24” x 24” board to complete the box. Here, too, you will need to reduce the board’s size to 12” x 12” for a smaller version.

5. Cut the excess foam reserved from step one into four 21” x 1.5” sections, four 24” x 1.5” sections, four 11” x 1.5” sections, four 16” x 2.5” sections, four 21” x 2.5” sections, and four 24” x 2.5” sections. As before, you can cut these dimensions in half for a smaller crate.

6. Glue the four 16” x 2.5” sections and four 21” x 2.5” sections to two of the 14” x 24” ends of the crate on opposite sides of each other, leaving a half-inch overhang. For added support, drive toothpicks into them. Then, repeat the process with the four 11” x 1.5” sections and 24” x 2.5” sections on the remaining two 14” x 24” ends of the crate. Finally, attach the four 21” x 1.5” sections and four 24” x 1.5” sections to the box’s bottom and top.

7. Use the blunt end of a pen to create wood grain, nail holes, and slats in the foam. You can also use a wood-burning tool or soldering iron to do this; however, if you do, ensure you that you wear a mask and perform the task outside because the fumes are toxic.  

8. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the entire box two coats of exterior paint. This will serve as a barrier to protect the foam from the spray paint applied in step nine. For the time-pressed haunter, you can use tan paint for this process and completely skip step nine.  

9. Give the entire crate a light coat of tan spray paint, allowing portions of the white paint to show through. This will help give the wooden patina more depth by contrasting the darker tan with the lighter white.

10. Moving from dark to light, brush hues of brown onto the crate to give the illusion of wood. I found applying several globs of paint to the box and using a paper towel to smudge it works well. Also, for the best results, smear the paint in the same direction to create a uniform grain and add additional paint to certain areas to make discolorations.

11. To finish the patina and add a level of distress, brush black paint between the slits and into the nail holes. You can also smear black in random places to give the prop further depth.

12. Although the director of the play wanted the prop to remain relatively simple, you can embellish it with additional details, such as the word fragile written across the side or weathered shipping labels adhered to its surface, to cater the prop to your haunt’s theme.

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

Voodoo Wreath

$20 - $25 (based on 2023 prices)
Makes one wreath

With one of the wreaths left over from 2017’s haunt, I spent some downtime during the summer of 2023 creating a prop I planned to make for 2015’s voodoo theme but never completed. For a future build, I think it would be interesting to use tarot cards rather than playing cards to cater this prop to a sorceress motif.

• One twelve-inch grapevine wreath
• Two decks of playing cards
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Three twenty-four-inch strands of beads
• Three four-inch ceramic skulls
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat white*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in glossy red*
• One five-pound flour sack
• At least four tablespoons of dark roasted coffee grounds
• One pan large enough to soak the flour sack
• One Styrofoam ball (two inches in diameter)
• One Styrofoam cone (three inches in height)
• Two to three yards of brown twine
• One package of plastic coins (roughly thirty coins)
• One package of rubber snakes (roughly six snakes)
• Two small buttons
• Three small safety pins
• Five quilting pins

1. Reserve the aces and jokers for step two, combine both decks of cards, and shuffle them. Then, beginning along the outer edge, glue the cards to the wreath, building up layers and varying their patterns. You want them as random as possible, so try not to clutter cards from the same suit together. For added visual interest, purchase decks with different colors or designs.

2. Once the entire wreath is covered, use the aces and jokers reserved from the previous step to fill in any gaps at the front. For thematic purposes, I wanted these two cards more visible than the others; however, you can always pick alternate cards – or no cards at all – to be highlighted.  

3. Weave the strands of beads through the cards, using a small dab of glue to hold them in place. Although I made random passes to create a haphazard design, you can be more deliberate for a structured pattern.

4. Paint the ceramic skulls white, accenting their features with black, and then affix them to the wreath, making them as visible as possible. If you want to give the prop additional color, consider using alternate hues that match your haunt’s color scheme.

5. Boil enough water to completely submerge the flour sack 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 sack 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 of the fabric to add spots. Remove the sack from the water and allow it to dry.

6. As the flour sack dries, make a template for the voodoo doll by tracing the outline for the Styrofoam ball and cone onto a sheet of paper. You want enough fabric to thoroughly cover the foam, so give yourself at least a one-inch border around their shape.  

7. Position the pattern on the sack, trace its outline, and cut it out. This will give you two pieces: a front and back. Following this, place the foam body between the two pieces and sew them together, using scraps from the sack as padding to fill the arms and legs. Because the fabric is rather thick, use a darning needle to thread the twine through the cloth. Also, you want the needlework to look messy and uneven, giving the doll a disheveled appearance.  

8. Form the doll’s face with the buttons and safety pins. For visual interest, I used buttons with different colors and sizes. After this, bind a tuft of raffia with black thread and glue it and one of the plastic coins to the doll.  

9. Pour a small amount of red paint into the palm of your hand, spread it around, and use it to pat a bloody handprint onto the doll. For haunters who do not want to get their hands dirty, you can wear a rubber glove during this process.

10. Finish the voodoo doll by inserting the quilting pins into random portions of its body. To prevent the pins from falling out, apply a small dab of glue to their tips before inserting them into the foam.  

11. Attach the voodoo doll to the wreath and finish the prop by accenting it with a random assortment of fake coins and rubber snakes. What you choose, though, is entirely up to your haunt’s theme. For instance, you can adhere tickets and striped balls for a circus motif or dice and mini liquor bottles for a casino theme.

12. If the wreath did not come with a hanging loop, you can create one with the excess twine (or use steel wire for added support).

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

"Ghosts" (A Poem)

Like Emily Dickinson’s “One need not be a Chamber to be Haunted,” Elizabeth Jennings’ poem “Ghosts” employs apparitions as an unconventional metaphor. Rather than remnants of the past haunting an abode, Jennings uses the notion of specters to symbolize remnants of regret tormenting the mind, like the remorse of never telling someone you love them or the pang of missed opportunities.

Those houses haunt in which we leave
Something undone. It is not those
Great words or silence of love

That spread their echoes through a place
And fill the locked-up, unbreathed gloom.
Ghosts do not haunt with any face

That we have known; they only come
With arrogance to thrust at us
Our own omissions in a room.

The words we would not speak they use,
The deeds we dared not act they flaunt,
Our nervous silences they bruise;

It is our helplessness they choose
And our refusals that they haunt.[1]

Works Referenced

Jennings, Elizabeth. “Ghosts.” Collected Poems, 1953-1985. Manchester: Carcanet, 1986. 32-33.
____________________
[1] Jennings, 32-33.

Medical Cabinets

$40 - $50 (based on 2020 prices)
Makes two cases

Using smaller props – like severed ears, eyes, and fingers – I decided to create two large props to add additional specimens to 2020’s laboratory. For this version, I utilized anatomical labels written in Latin to make the build appear like a twisted educational display similar to those seen in doctor’s offices.

• Two 13” x 13” shadow boxes
• 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 metallic silver*
• Three pieces of 8”x 11.5” brown cardstock
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• An assortment of vinyl body parts (five fingers, one ear, and one liver)
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat beige*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat brown* 
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat mustard yellow*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat navy blue*
• 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 glossy maroon*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in glossy white*
• One latex face mask
• One small, white ping pong ball (1 3/8” in diameter)
• One to two feet of red yarn
• One glass doll eye
• One 0.44 oz. bottle of clear nail polish*
• Four small plastic bones
• 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*
• One piece of 8”x 11.5” copy paper with anatomical labels printed on it
• At least one tablespoon of dark roasted coffee grounds
• One pan large enough to soak the paper
• Fifteen 1.5-inch T-pins
• One 0.3 fluid ounce bottle of red food coloring*
• One 4 oz. bottle of clear, all-purpose tacky glue gel*

1. Remove the backing and glass from the shadow boxes and, on a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, build up layers of black and metallic silver spray paint to give them the look of steel. This process works best if you 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.

2. To give the frames a filthy appearance, water down brown paint and brush it over their surface, creating drips down the sides and permitting the liquid settle into the cracks (you can also use a spray bottle for the application). You may want to experiment with the consistency prior to doing this: the more water you add, the fainter the wash; the less water you add, the darker the wash.

3. Cover the backings in a thin layer of glue and adhere the cardstock, using the edge of a card or ruler to smooth the surface and remove any bubbles. For an alternate appearance, you crumple the paper before affixing it to create tears and wrinkles and add spots with dabs of olive or vegetable oil.  

4. On a newspaper-lined surface, apply three even coats of beige paint to the ear and fingers and three coats of mustard yellow to the liver. Although I used three, you may want more or less based on your desired coverage.  

5. Give the ears and fingers a smudging of pink paint, focusing primarily on the raised areas. Use your own skin patterns or those found in a medical textbook for reference. Then, using a brush with splayed bristles, stipple purple paint along the surface of the liver, ensuring you do not cover up too much of the yellow.

6. Detail the fingernails with glossy white paint and smudge red paint around their cuticles. After this, paint the liver’s arteries and veins red.

7. Using a brush with splayed bristles, apply a smattering of glossy maroon paint around the wounds of the ear and fingers and along the surface of the liver. To add further depth to the liver, add a light stippling of navy-blue paint to random spots.

8. Remove the elastic band from the mask, trim its edges to make them more uneven, and, on a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, apply three even coats of beige paint. Akin to step four, the number of layers is based on your desired coverage. Once the paint has dried, smudge the face with pink, focusing primarily on the cheeks, lips, and nose.

9. Complete the mask’s paint job by smudging glossy maroon paint around the eyes, lips, and nose and along the edges. You want to concentrate the application in the crevices of the mouth, the folds along the eyes, and the openings of the nostrils.  

10. Cut a two-inch section from the yarn and fray the ends. These will serve as the veins for the eyeball. Apply a light layer of glue to the ping pong ball and, using a needle or other finely tipped object, spread the yarn strands across it. How bloodshot you plan to make the prop all depends on how thinly you separate the strands: a thorough division will produce a finer appearance; thicker clusters will create a more inflamed looked.  

11. After the glue has dried, adhere the glass doll eye to the center of the ball and coat the entire thing with one or two layers of clear nail polish. To make this process easier, make a small stand out of an upturned paper cup or plate.  

12. Once the nail polish has dried, cut ten strands of yarn in varying lengths and glue them to the back of the eyeball to form the optic nerve. Although this may look goofy now, the effect will be much more impressive after you apply the blood glue.

13. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, paint the bones with the wood stain. I started with the red chestnut as a base and then dabbed Jacobean around the edges to darken them. This gave them a meaty appearance which made them look fresh. Then, I used a 1/16 bit to drill holes into each one for the T-pins in step seventeen.

14. Position all of the specimens on the backings and glue them in place. Try not to cluster them too close together, leaving enough room for the labels.

15. Add the coffee to a cup of boiling water. The longer you allow the coffee to brew, the darker the stain. Likewise, greater amounts of coffee will produce a richer stain. Since I wanted irregular spots rather than a unified discoloration, I placed the copy paper on a baking sheet, splashed coffee and grounds onto its surface, allowed the liquid to sit for a few minutes, and then moved it to a space to dry.  

16. Once the paper is dry, cut out the anatomical labels and glue them to the backings below their corresponding body parts. As with step three, you can distress the labels by crumpling them to create wrinkles and dabbing oil onto their surfaces to fashion spots.

17. Insert the T-pins into the body parts to make them appear tacked to the backings. Because they will need to fit comfortably within the shadow boxes, you may need to insert them at an angle or trim their length to get them to fit without touching or scraping the glass.

18. 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 reaches the sanguine hue you desire. Then, smear the body parts with the glue.  

19. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, paint the glass with the wood stain. Apply a thin coat and pat it with paper towels to produce a hazed appearance and brush the edges to create the illusion of grime buildup. Refrain from making the coverage too thick, though, because it can obscure the specimens inside the boxes.

20. Reattach the backings and glass to the frames, gluing everything in place. To add an extra level of gore, use the remaining blood glue to accent the edges of the frames.

21. The prop can be enhanced further with additional details, like biohazard labels or the name of the specimen written at the top of the frame.

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