The Vampire and Sexuality: A Mini-Essay

     From Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The Vampire” to HBO’s television show True Blood, the vampire has always possessed a sexual underdone. Moreover, it has often been used as a commentary (either negative or positive) on what society perceives as deviate sexuality, specifically female sexual liberation and homosexuality. For instance, film critic Parker Tyler contends early Hollywood used actresses like Theda Bara and the role of the female vampire to personify the wonton seductress, with her sly nudity and alluring manner tempting men away from happy marriages and women into lesbianism.[1] The antithesis of the proper women, who kept her body modestly covered and suppressed her sexuality, the vampire employed her body and sexuality as a means to entice and trap her victims: “She was invariably an accursed and depraved type, however physically alluring, and occasionally she would writhe and clutch.”[2] Likewise, David Foster contends the homosexuality of the vampire became associated with the upper class, where same-sex habits were common in the aristocracy. Like the upper-class homosexual who sought relations with rougher trade in the lower classes, the vampire – frequently a member of the upper class (Dracula, for instance, is a count) – hunts the lower class and inflicts their plight upon them. As Foster argues, the nocturnal hunting of the vampire mimics the nightly cruising of the gay man: “Individuals cursed with the love of other men come out at night to lure unsuspecting victims to their gaudy lairs, where their ravishment initiates them into their perverse form of sexuality.”[3]

 

Works Referenced 

Foster, David William. Gay and Lesbian Themes in Latin American Writing. Austin, TX: University of Austin Press, 1991.

Tyler, Parker. A Pictorial History of Sex in Films. Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press, 1974.

___________________

[1] Tyler, 7.

[2] Tyler, 19.

[3] Foster, 26.

Monster Teeth

$15 - $20 (based on 2024 prices)

Makes one set of teeth

These monster teeth were a project I had intended to make for two haunts (the oddity display in 2019’s creepy carnival and a random specimen for 2020’s mad scientist laboratory), but they never came to fruition during either season. So, to jumpstart the builds for 2024’s haunt, I decided to finally check it off my to-do list.

• Three yards of steel wire
• One 6 oz. container of soft modeling compound
• 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 orange*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat turquoise*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in glossy red*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in glossy white*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in metallic copper*
• One 0.44 oz. bottle of clear nail polish*
• One fake mouth from a dental play kit
• One 4” x 4” wooden plaque
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat black*
• One sheet of cardstock with medical labels printed on it
• At least four tablespoons of dark roasted coffee grounds
• One pan large enough to soak the cardstock
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*

1. Cut the steel wire into twenty-six four-inch sections, fold them in half, and, using a pair of pliers, twist them together to form stands for the teeth. Although they will be trimmed down in step eleven, you want to make them long enough to give you ample room while painting the teeth during steps three to six.

2. Form the modeling compound into the shape of teeth, inserting a steel stand into the base of each one. It may help to consult a zoological textbook during this process to make them look more animalistic; however, you can form the teeth into whatever shape you want your monster to possess. Once this is done, insert the stands into a sheet of cardboard or Styrofoam to hold the teeth upright for the proceeding steps. 

3. Once the compound dries, apply several even coats of white paint to the teeth. I used two, but you may want more or less depending on your desired coverage. For the time-pressed haunter, this step can be bypassed by using white clay.

4. Give the teeth a smudging of brown paint. You do not want an even coat. Rather, you want a series of lighter and darker hues with areas of white still showing. I found that apply a small amount of paint to your thumb and index finger and rubbing it onto the tooth works well.  

5. To give the teeth more definition and additional rot, use black paint to fill in fissures and darken the area around the roots. If there were any cracks formed during the drying process, you can accent them with the paint.

6. Brush the teeth with one or two coats of clear nail polish to give them a glossy finishing that simulates enamel.

7. Hot glue the fake mouth open. You want the space between the upper and lower jaws wide enough to accommodate the teeth. Then, glue the mouth to the wooden plaque to form a display stand for the teeth.  

8. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the prop an even coat of black spray paint. Since this will become the base for the aged patina, you will only need one to two coats because much of it will be covered by the other hues.  

9. Starting with a stippling of copper paint, build up layers of orange and turquoise to give the stand the look of aged metal. How heavy you apply the patina depends on your aesthetic: you can go heavy for an extremely weathered look or light for a softer touch of age.  

10. Use the remaining compound to fashion upper and lower gums. It may work best to insert the teeth into them to ensure each one will fit before allowing them to dry (this is what I did, which is why there are hole in both items). Then, apply a coat of glossy red paint once the compound dries.  

11. Trim the wire short enough to fit into the gums and glue the teeth in place. Following this, affix the gums into the display.  

12. Add the coffee to twelve cups 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 cardstock on a baking sheet, splashed coffee and grounds onto the surface, allowed the liquid to sit for a few minutes, and then moved it to a space to dry.

13. Cut out the dentes label and glue it to the stand. For an alternate look, you can create a specimen tag and attach it to the prop with a strand of twine wrapped around one of the teeth.

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

"Ghost House" (A Poem)

Composed in 1901 and published in 1915, Robert Frost’s poem “Ghost House” uses an old, burned-down house in Frost’s hometown of Derry, New Hampshire, as inspiration for a tale of a ghost who continues to haunt the land of the destroyed dwelling they once inhabited.[1]

I dwell in a lonely house I know
That vanished many a summer ago,
And left no trace but the cellar walls,
And a cellar in which the daylight falls
And the purple-stemmed wild raspberries grow.

O’er ruined fences the grape-vines shield
The woods come back to the mowing field;
The orchard tree has grown one copse
Of new wood and old where the woodpecker chops;
The footpath down to the well is healed.

I dwell with a strangely aching heart
In that vanished abode there far apart
On that disused and forgotten road
That has no dust-bath now for the toad.
Night comes; the black bats tumble and dart;

The whippoorwill is coming to shout
And hush and cluck and flutter about:
I hear him begin far enough away
Full many a time to say his say
Before he arrives to say it out.

It is under the small, dim, summer star.
I know not who these mute folk are
Who share the unlit place with me —
Those stones out under the low-limbed tree
Doubtless bear names that the mosses mar.

They are tireless folk, but slow and sad —
Though two, close-keeping, are lass and lad, —
With none among them that ever sings,
And yet, in view of how many things,
As sweet companions as might be had.[2]

Works Referenced

Frost, Robert. “Ghost House.” A Boy’s Will. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1915. 12-13.

Timmerman, John. Robert Frost: The Ethics of Ambiguity. Lewisburg, PA: Bicknell University Press, 2002.
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[1] Timmerman, 25.
[2] Frost, 12-13.

Framed Newt

$20 - $25 (based on 2024 prices)
Makes one framed ingredient

 

To jumpstart the creative juices for 2024’s builds, I crafted this framed newt using an old anatomical skeleton and a spare sheet of potion ingredients from the sorceress wreath. Due to its simplicity, the prop can be modified in a variety of ways to cater it to your haunt’s theme. Additionally, you can use a collection of animal skeletons – from a bat and frog to a crow and snake – to fashion a series of framed ingredients to decorate the walls of a witch’s den.

• One 9” x 12” oval picture frame
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat brown*
• 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*
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• One sheet of black cardstock
• One sheet of copy paper with potion ingredients printed on it
• At least four tablespoons of dark roasted coffee grounds
• One pan large enough to soak the copy paper
• One anatomical newt skeleton with organs
• Four plastic bones in various sizes
• 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 decorative pins
• One 0.3 fluid ounce bottle of red food coloring*
• One 4 oz. bottle of clear, all-purpose tacky glue gel*
• One yard of brown twine
• Six seashells in various colors and sizes

1. Remove the backing and any glass from the frame and, on a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give it an even coat of brown spray paint. You can always apply additional layers; however, this is merely the base coat and much of it will be covered by other paints.

2. Working from light to dark, build up layers of black and brown paint to make the frame look like wood. For a believable appearance, move the brush horizontally rather than vertically to create wood grain.

3. Cover the backing in a layer of glue and adhere the cardstock, pressing it as smooth as possible to remove any bubbles or creases. Once it dries, trim the edges. Although this step is optional, it creates a basic background in case portions of the backing shows after adhering the potion ingredients.

4. Boil about twelve cups of water and 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. Since I wanted uneven spots rather than a unified discoloration, I placed the copy paper on a baking sheet, splashed coffee and grounds onto the surface, allowed the liquid to sit for a few minutes, and then moved it to a space to dry.

5. After the copy paper dries, tear apart the ingredients and decoupage the backing with the clippings. If you want certain elements to stand out, set them aside and apply them last, which is what I did with the eye of newt.

6. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, paint the bones, newt skeleton, and organs with the wood stain to make them appear aged. I started with the red chestnut as a base and then dabbed Jacobean around the edges to darken them.

7. Position the skeleton and organs on the backing and glue them in place. Following this, glue two pins into the organs to make them appear tacked to the backing.

8. In a plastic container, 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. Then, smear the organs with the glue. Depending on your chosen aesthetic, this step is entirely optional. You can eliminate the blood for something tamer.

9. Glue the bones to the frame (for a sturdier hold, consider using superglue) and then warp twine around them to give the illusion they are lashed to the frame. Do not wrap the twine around too much, though, since a thick cluster of twine will make it more difficult to reinsert the backing.

10. Accent the prop with the seashells, tucking them into the twine to make it appear as though they are bound to the frame as well. While I used shells to correspond with the aquatic nature of the newt, you can use alternate items, such as feathers or wooden beads, to correspond with your ingredient.

11. Reattached the backing to the frame and glue it in place if you plan to display the prop in windy conditions. You can also enhance the prop with additional details, like clusters of Spanish moss or bundles of sticks.

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