Papuan Spirit Boards: A Mini-Essay

     For the indigenous communities of the Papuan Gulf of New Guinea, spirit boards (gope) operate as protection against misfortune and evil beings. Constructed of ibua wood reclaimed from old canoes, gope depict the ancestral spirits (imunu) connected to a village clan.[1] Named after the individual entity and carved to represent them, gope frequently possess large eyes which permit them to watch over members of the clan and a prominent navel that allows the spirit to enter the wooden carving.[2] In villages throughout New Guinea, gope are regularly housed on shrines in the communal longhouses where male clansmen gather and sleep, protecting these individuals from any harm; however, some communities along the Fly River also adorn their canoes with gope to protect occupants as they travel and use the crafts for fishing and transporting goods.[3] Additionally, miniature versions of gope that are not tied to ancestral spirits are given to boys as part of their initiation process, where they hang above their beds and assist in their maturation into manhood.[4]

 

Works Referenced

 

Coe, Kathryn. The Ancestress Hypothesis: Visual Art as Adaptation. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2003.

 

Kjellgren, Eric. Oceania: Art of the Pacific Islands in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007.

 

Kjellgren, Eric. How To Read Oceanic Art. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014.

 

Ryan, John Charles. “‘If We Return We Will Learn:’ Empire, Poetry, and Bicultural Knowledge in Papua New Guinea.” Empire and Environment: Ecological Riun in the Transpacific. Eds. Jeffrey Santa Ana, Heidi Amin-Hong, Rina Garcia Chua, and Zhou Xiaojing. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2022. 94-110.

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[1] Ryan, 103.

[2] Kjellgren, How to Read Oceanic Art, 55-57.

[3] Kjellgren, Oceania, 131-132.

[4] Coe, 34.

Spider Cake

$50 - $60 (based on 2025 prices)
Makes one cake 

In 2022, when I was making props for a local theater’s production of Christmas Belles, the director inquired about the feasibility of creating artificial food to decorate the set during the scene with the holiday potluck. I had seen fake cakes made with foam and spackle, so I told him it would be relevantly easy and bought the supplies. Unfortunately, he changed his mind. Left with the material, I decided to fashion something spooky and this lighted spider cake was the result. 

• Three 5” x 1.5” plastic decorative bowls
• One eleven-inch plastic decorative tray
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• 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*
• One sixteen-inch strand of purple LED microlights
• One 7.5” x 7.5” x 5.9” cylindrical box with lid
• Two to three feet of black wire
• One 2 oz. bag of spider webbing
• One bag of small spiders (roughly thirty spiders per bag)
• One sheet of gray creepy cloth
• One eight-ounce tube of silicone caulk
• Two ounces of air clay
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat blue*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat green*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat pink*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat white*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in glossy orange*
• One six-inch wooden dowel

1. Create the cake stand by gluing one of the decorative bowls to the bottom of the tray, placing a heavy weight atop the items to hold them together as the glue dries. For the time-pressed haunter, you can buy a cheap stand; however, whether you purchase or build it, the stand needs to be made out of plastic because you will drill through it during step three.  

2. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, build up layers of black and metallic silver spray paint to make the tray look like aged steel. This process works best if you apply a base coat of black and then add the sliver, working in quick bursts to let parts of the black remain visible (you can touch up portions with additional blasts of black if the silver becomes too heavy).  

3. Use a 3/32 bit to drill a hole into the center of the cake stand and feed the microlights through the opening, allowing the battery pack to sit inside the small bowl. This will hide the object but also make it still accessible to change the batteries and turn the lights on and off.  

4. With the same bit, drill an opening into the center of the box’s lid and run the microlights through the hole. If you do not plan to use the lid, you can skip this step. Then, center the lid on the stand and glue the item in place. This will form the base for the cake.

5. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, paint the interior and exterior of the other two bowls black. This will darken their surfaces, making it easier to hide them in the cake. Following this, use a 1/16 bit to drill three pairs of holes into each bowl and insert a two-inch piece of black wire into them to form a loop.

6. Wrap half of the LED microlights around the inner circumference of the first bowl, using the three wire loops to hold the strands in place. Then, complete the process with the second bowl. As you do so, you want to leave a foot of slack between both bowls as well as between the second bowl and the cake stand.

7. Glue cobwebbing to the sides of the bowls and stretch it out to create a nest, weaving spiders into the recesses. The level of detail depends on how large you plan to make the holes in step eight. For smaller holes, not much of the nest will be shown, so you can concentrate most of the detail in the center; however, for larger holes, you will want the entire bowl covered in cobwebs because more of it will be seen.

8. Determine where the holes will go on the cake and cut them out. Their size and number will be determined by your chosen aesthetic. For my version, I went with two: one large opening closer to the bottom and one small hole nearer the top.

9. Use a 1/16 bit to drill two holes in opposite sides of each bowl and insert a four-inch piece of black wire into each one. Following this, drill holes into the container to line up with those on the bowls and utilize the wires to attach them to the inside of the cake. This will hold the bowls in place. For added stability, you can also glue the bowls down.

10. Since part of the base could be seen through the holes, I lined it with gray creepy cloth to extend the cobweb aesthetic. If this is not an issue with the version you make, you can skip this step. Likewise, if you plan to display the prop on a shelf or on a table where it will not be observed up close, you can also skip this process.

11. Glue the box to its lid, angling it slightly for visual interest. I did this because I wanted to make the cake look like it was collapsing as the spiders overtook it, but you can keep it upright if that better fits your chosen aesthetic.

12. Put down parchment paper to protect the stand and, employing the same techniques as you would a normal cake, frost the prop with silicone caulk. What design you choose is entirely up to you: you can go traditional with waves or more elaborate with petals. If it helps, consider watching a few cake-decorating videos to give you inspiration.

13. Form decorative elements with air clay and silicone molds. I fashioned roses and leaves to accent the border and top of the cake. As with step twelve, what designs you choose are based on your vision for the prop. You can use balloons, hearts, or stars to cater the prop to your theme.  

14. Glue the flowers and leaves to the cake, use the remaining caulk to create a border, and paint the entire prop: white for the cake, blue for the border, pink for the flowers, and green for the leaves. The time-pressed haunter, though, may consider using colored caulking and clay to bypass this step.  

15. Cut the wooden dowel into three sections of varying lengths. Then, use a 1/16 bit to drill a hole in the top of each section and glue a one-inch piece of black wire into the opening. These will become the candles to top the cake, so you can make them as tall or short as you like.  

16. Affix the dowels to the top of the cake and use hot glue to produce the illusion of melted wax. The process works best if you move in stages, applying one layer at a time and allowing the glue to dry between each application. Also, I found that pumping the glue along the top of the candles and letting it naturally run downward creates the best results.

17. Cover the candles in two to three coats of glossy orange paint and trim the wire to make it look like burnt wicks. For added sheen, you can use clear nail polish or a glossy decoupage medium.

18. Glue the remaining spiders onto the cake, working them outward to make it look like they are swarming out from the holes. NOTE: The particular spiders I used were made with a slick plastic which did not adhere with hot glue. As a result, I used superglue gel to affix them to the prop.  

19. Based on your haunt’s theme, you can further embellish the cake with details like the name of a character or substitute the spiders with other insects, such as beetles or cockroaches.

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

"The Unquiet Grave" (A Poem)

A popular ballad sung on the streets of London during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, “The Unquiet Grave” is a dramatic dialogue between the narrator and the spirit of their deceased paramour. Although several centuries of communal authorship have produced over forty versions of the song, they all possess the same basic story and message.[1] Visiting their beloved’s grave every day for a year, the narrator is eventually confronted by a restless spirit who demands they live their life rather than spend their remaining days on earth perpetually mourning. It is a theme common in many works, from Ecclesiastes to Christina Rossetti’s “Remember.”

“The wind doth blow today, my love,

And a few small drops of rain;
I never had but one true-love,
In cold grave she was lain.

“I’ll do as much for my true-love
As any young man may;
I’ll sit and mourn all at her grave
For a twelvemonth and a day.”

The twelvemonth and a day being up,
The dead began to speak:
“Oh who sits weeping on my grave,
And will not let me sleep?”

“‘Tis I, my love, sits on your grave,
And will not let you sleep;
For I crave one kiss of your clay-cold lips,
And that is all I seek.”

“You crave one kiss of my clay-cold lips,
But my breath smells earthy strong;
If you have one kiss of my clay-cold lips,
Your time will not be long.

“‘Tis down in yonder garden green,
Love, where we used to walk,
The finest flower that e’er was seen
Is withered to a stalk.

“The stalk is withered dry, my love,
So will our hearts decay;
So make yourself content, my love,
Till God calls you away.”[2]

Works Referenced

Koch, Kenneth. Making Your Own Days: The Pleasures of Reading and Writing Poetry. New York: Scribner, 1998.

“The Unquiet Grave.” The English and Scottish Popular Ballads. Ed. Francis James Child. Boston, MA: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1885. 236.
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[1] Koch, 161.
[2] “The Unquiet Grave,” 236.

Funeral Bouquet

$25 - $30 (based on 2025 prices)
Makes one bouquet 

Taking what I learned by creating the cemetery wreath, I decided to create two props with dead flowers to incorporate into the haunt. This first one, which is featured here, is a simple bouquet that I placed atop a coffin. The second is an urn which was nestled among the tombstones. Although I used this prop to add ambiance to the display, it can easily be incorporated into a costume as an accessory for a scare-actor.

• Twenty-four artificial flowers (six camellias, six lilacs, six peonies, and six roses)
• One pan large enough to soak all of the flowers
• At least one tablespoon of dark roasted coffee grounds
• One baking sheet large enough to accommodate all of the flowers
• One standard lighter
• 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 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat brown*
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• One 7” x 3” foam cone
• One 3” x 3” foam disk
• One 33 oz. bag of Spanish moss
• Four feet of steel wire
• One 18” x 21” piece of gray fabric
• One foot of two-inch-wide plaid ribbon
• One decorative brooch and stick pin

1. Remove the flowers from their stems and arrange them pedicel up in a metal container. To make the staining process easier, try to use a vessel large enough to accommodate all of the flowers at once; otherwise, you can repeat steps one and two in small batches.

2. Sprinkle the coffee grounds into the pan and add boiling water, allowing the flowers to soak in the liquid. How dark you stain the flowers will depend on your desired state of decomposition. For a light brown, only use one or two tablespoons of coffee and let the flowers soak for less than a day. For a dark brown, increase the coffee to three or four tablespoons and let the flowers steep in the liquid for several days.

3. Once the flowers have absorbed the coffee, move them to a baking sheet to dry. To expedite this process, set the flowers outside in the sun; however, do not bake them in the oven like those made for the cemetery wreath because it will melt their plastic ends and make it difficult to connect them to the stems.

4. Use a lighter to burn the edges of the flowers. I found that a Butane gas lighter, because of its length, makes the process easier and safer. Likewise, perform this step in a well-ventilated area and near either a sink or pan of water.

5. Use brown paint to darken the pistil and sepal of each flower to make them look withered. For additional rot, you can add slight touches of black around the edges and along the section which connects to the stems.

6. Spread the stems outward to separate the leaves. This will make it easier to paint them. Then, on a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, dust the stems and leaves with lights coats of brown and black paint. For the best results, hold the can over twelve inches away from the stems and leaves and make quick flicking motions. Once they are dry, turn them over and repeat the process on the other side.

7. For further distress, use a lighter to wilt the leaves and burn their edges. As with step four, perform this process in a well-ventilated area and near water.

8. Form the base for the bouquet by gluing the foam cone to the foam disk, creating a ten-inch structure. Depending on how you plan to use the prop, you may want to increase or decrease this size. If you plan for a scare-actor to hold it, you may want something larger to give them better grip.

9. Reattach the flowers to their stems. For visual interest, try not to cluster the same blooms together. Rather, divide them up so that multiple types of flowers are on the same stem. Once you have arranged the flowers to your liking, insert the ends of the stems into the foam structure.

10. Coat the top of the foam cone with a layer of glue and press the moss into it, allowing it to dry. For added detail, you can also glue worms or other insects to the foliage.

11. Cut the four-foot section of steel wire in half and wrap the strands around each other to form one sturdy two-foot section. This will be used to give the edge of the bouquet’s wrapping a bendable structure.

12. Cut a piece of fabric large enough to wrap around the foam cone (mine was 18” x 21”). Following this, glue the wire four inches from the edge. Then, fold the four-inch flap over the wire and glue it down. This will become the upper edge of the bouquet’s wrapper.

13. Starting on one side of the cone, wrap the cloth around the structure, gluing down portions as you go. You want the upper edge to rest just below the flowers and the bottom edge to hang about an inch below the tip of the cone. Likewise, you want a V-shaped opening near what will be the front of the prop.

14. Cut a length of ribbon long enough to wrap around the middle of the cone and glue it in place. You can always position it higher or lower on the prop based on its intended use. If a scare-actor will hold it, you may want to position the band closer to the top to prevent it from catching on their gloves or other parts of their costume.

15. Toward the front of the prop, accent the ribbon with the brooch and stick pin. What accessories you decide to use are dependent on your chosen aesthetic. You can incorporate a larger embellishment like an ornate medallion or simply leave the ribbon unadorned.

16. Depending on your theme, you can add additional touches, like insects crawling out of the rotting buds or splatters of blood.

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