"Der Erlkönig" (A Poem)

I first stumbled on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's poem, "Der Erlkönig," over a decade ago when I heard it recited in French at a local open-mic night. Although the individual was exceedingly melodramatic in his recitation and the atmosphere was heavy with pseudo-intellectualism, the haunting imagery of Goethe's text - a testament to the author's talent - overpowered everything: "Mon père, mon père, n’entends-tu donc pas...." Written in 1782, the work utilizes the longstanding myth of der Erlkönig - the King of the Alders who haunts the gnarled woods of Germany and claims the hapless souls who venture into its darkened recesses - as a means to explore the menacing encroachment of death. More than that, though, the poem, as Marina Warner emphasizes, "personifies death as a danger above all to the young, who are credited with more intense perception of the other world in the first place; this intimacy with the supernatural makes them vulnerable to its charms and its desires." Presented here is Sir Walter Scott's definitive English translation from 1797.

The Earl-King

O who rides by night thro' the woodland so wild? 
It is the fond father embracing his child; 
And close the boy nestles within his loved arm, 
To hold himself fast, and to keep himself warm. 

"O father, see yonder! see yonder!" he says; 
"My boy, upon what dost thou fearfully gaze?" 
"O, 'tis the Erl-King with his crown and his shroud." 
"No, my son, it is but a dark wreath of the cloud." 

          [The Earl-King Speaks] 
"O come and go with me, thou loveliest child; 
By many a gay sport shall thy time be beguiled; 
My mother keeps for thee many a fair toy, 
And many a fine flower shall she pluck for my boy." 

"O father, my father, and did you not hear 
The Erl-King whisper so low in my ear?" 
"Be still, my heart's darling--my child, be at ease; 
It was but the wild blast as it sung thro' the trees." 

          [Earl-King] 
"O wilt thou go with me, thou loveliest boy? 
My daughter shall tend thee with care and with joy; 
She shall bear three so lightlyt thro' wet and thro' wild, 
And press thee, and kiss thee, and sing to my child." 

"O father, my father, and saw you not plain 
The Erl-King's pale daughter glide past thro' the rain?" 
"Oh yes, my loved treasure, I knew it full soon; 
It was the grey willow that danced to the moon." 

          [Earl-King] 
"O come and go with me, no longer delay, 
Or else, silly child, I will drag thee away." 
"O father! O father! now, now, keep your hold, 
The Erl-King has seized me--his grasp is so cold!" 

Sore trembled the father; he spurr'd thro' the wild, 
Clasping close to his bosom his shuddering child; 
He reaches his dwelling in doubt and in dread, 
But, clasp'd to his bosom, the infant was dead. 

Works Referenced

Scott, Walter. "The Earl-King." The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott. Vol. 5. Ed. John Dennis. London: George Bell and Sons, 1982. pp. 139-140. 

Warner, Marina. Monsters of Our Own Making: The Peculiar Pressures of Fear. Lexington, KY: The University of Kentucky Press, 2007.

Twisted Candles

$2 - $4 (based on 2014 prices) 

Makes five candles

This project began as an accident: I left several candles in the backseat of my car and the heat from the sun melted them into bizarre shapes. After a little experimentation, I was able to replicate the results with a hairdryer. If you already have the hairdryer and work gloves, this project is surprisingly inexpensive. You can find cheap candles on clearance or at second-hand stores. Purchase thinner candles, since they heat up faster and are easier to mold.

• One package of taper candles in desired colors (roughly five candles per pack)
• One standard hairdryer (1875 Watt)
• One pair of heat-resistant work gloves

1. Bring the hairdryer to a moderate temperature and make several passes over the candles, holding the device a few inches away from their surface. This process will warm the wax, making it malleable enough to form curves and twists. You may have to play with the hairdryer’s temperature until you find the level of heat which produces the best results without melting the wax. You can also drape the candles over the edges of boxes or other items and allow them to take these shapes as they melt. Always keep safety in mind: wear heat-resistant work gloves while molding the hot wax and do not heat the candles around flammable items.

SPECIAL NOTE: I would not recommend using a heat gun for this project. These devices reach extreme temperatures and will melt the candles. On the other hand, hairdryers prove ideal because the moderate heat they produce will warm the wax enough to make it pliable without melting it.

Walpurgis Night: A Mini-Essay

     In Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s tragic play Faust (1808), the demon Mephistopheles takes the studious Heinrich Faust, who has sold his soul to the devil, to the highest peak of the Harz to witness witches celebrating Walpurgisnacht. Although Faust is shocked by the wild revelry of the witches, he would be even more struck by how commonplace their festivities have become in northwestern Europe. Known as Walpurgis Night – or Witches’ Night – the holiday, a springtime festival occurring on April 30, is celebrated with banquets, bonfires, masquerades, and pranks. The eve of the feast day of Saint Walpurga, Walpurgis Night holds, as E. Michael Iba and Thomas Johnson highlight, a distinct correlation with Halloween and All Saints’ Day: “Unique to both Halloween and Walpurgis Night is the feeling of two traditions colliding, one pagan and one Christian.” In fact, this distinctive nature, which places Halloween and Walpurgis Night betwixt Christian and pagan beliefs, extends even further when taking into account the historic roots embedded in both holidays.   
     For the Celtic tribes of Britain and many Germanic tribes across northwestern Europe, two major events marked the passage of the seasons: Samhain, signifying the close of bountiful fall and the encroachment of frigid winter, and Beltane, signaling the end of bitter winter and the emergence of fertile spring. As Linda Raedisch emphasizes, these transitional periods, for the people who celebrated them, were more than just a commemoration of seasonal changes: “Just as the cervix thins in the moments before birth, the usually impenetrable veil between the worlds is drawn back at these two important points in the year.” Hence, for these individuals, Beltane and Samhain became two rare moments during the year when the wall separating the living and the dead was dismantled. During both events, this merger of the mortal and the immortal was observed with banquets, bonfires, and festivities. As the Roman Empire spread and, later, the Roman Catholic Church solidified its hold over Europe, these celebrations merged with Greco-Roman festivals and Christian holidays, adopting elements from both and evolving. Eventually, Samhain developed into Halloween and Beltane grew into Walpurgis Night. Although the contemporary manifestations are far more commercial than their predecessors, the events, for some, are still a time when the veil between the real and the mystical temporarily fades away. 

Works Referenced

von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang. Faust. 1808. Trans. Walter Kaufmann. New York: Anchor Books, 1990.

Iba, E. Michael and Thomas Johnson. The German Fairy Tale Landscape: The Storied World of the Brothers Grimm. Niemeyer C.W. Buchverlage, 2015.

Raedisch, Linda. Night of the Witches: Folklore, Traditions and Recipes for Celebrating Walpurgis Night. Woodburry, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2011.

Disheveled Crows

$7 - $10 (based on 2014 prices)

Makes six birds 

Black crows are everywhere during the Halloween season – clustered on the shelves of stores or perched menacingly in the naked trees. Although not nearly as frightening as their real-life counterparts, those store-bought fowl hold tremendous potential. With just a few extra feathers and some glue, you can transform their pristine plumage into a chaotic tuff, making them worthy of stalking any unkempt graveyard.

• Six decorative birds
• One 0.49 oz. bag of black feathers
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• One pair of scissors

1. Give the birds extra bulk by gluing additional feathers along their backs and tails. Although these areas are already covered in most store-bought versions, this coverage tends to be rather sparse. Hence, you want to use the extra feathers to give the bodies a fuller appearance and increase the wingspans for a menacing look.

2. Fray the ends of the remaining feathers and adhere them to the breasts and bellies of the birds. Because of the area’s curved shape, it helps to apply the glue along the feathers’ shafts and press them against the body for a few minutes. You may need to build up several layers of feathers, depending on how broad you want the breasts to appear. 

3. Use scissors to prune the extra plumage. You can leave the frayed feathers along the breasts alone – giving the creatures a truly tousled appearance – or trim them – creating cleaner, but more robust birds. 

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

Voodoo Beads

$5 - $7 (based on 2015 prices) 

Makes one strand of beads 

I bought several Halloween-themed necklaces a few years ago because I wanted their large spider emblems for a crystal ball project. After removing the spiders, I was left with numerous strands of beads. Although their designs were fun, I hated their neon-green color. Since last year’s yard haunt was a Creole Voodoo theme, I decided to give the discarded strands a fresh coat of paint. The project was a little tedious; however, an old jewelry stand was an invaluable assistant during the entire process.

• One strand of Halloween-themed beads
• One 8 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying latex paint in flat white*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat brown*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat gray*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat red*
• One 0.44 oz. bottle of clear nail polish
  

1. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, lay the strand of beads out and apply several even coats of white paint. I used two coats; however, you may want more or less depending on your preferred coverage. To make the painting process more manageable, hang the strand from a cheap jewelry stand with metal rungs. 

2. Once the white paint has dried, coat the beads with your desired colors. I chose red for the rounded beads, gray for the bones, and kept the skulls white. Again, it helps to use the jewelry stand during this step. Also, focus on one color at a time, rather than alternating paint as you work down the strand.

3. To give the beads a glossy appearance, apply a coat or two of clear nail polish. Here, too, the jewelry stand will prove highly beneficial.

4. Using a brush with splayed bristles, pat the brown paint onto the beads. Try to concentrate on spots where dirt would naturally accumulate: along the base of cracks and deep within holes. It might take a few coats and some modifications to the paint’s shade to achieve your preferred look.  

 

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

"The Haunting" (A Poem)

Since childhood, I have always been fond of spirits and haunted houses. When I stumbled upon Richard Jones’ Haunted Britain and Ireland (2002) over a decade ago, I was immediately drawn to his opening poem, "The Haunting." In four short stanzas, Jones captures, for me at least, many of the qualities I find alluring about those phantasmal abodes and their otherworldly inhabitants.

In screaming woods and empty rooms 

or gloomy vaults and sunken tombs 

where monks and nuns in dust decay 

and shadows dance at close of day. 

Where the bat dips on the wing 

and spectral choirs on breezes sing; 

Where swords of ancient battles clash 

and shimmering shades for freedom dash. 

Where silver webs of spiders weave 

and blighted lovers take their leave 

Where curses lay the spirits low 

and mortal footsteps fear to go. 

Where death holds life in grim embrace 

its lines etched on the sinners face 

Where e’er the march of time is flaunted 

voices cry – “this place is haunted.”

Veiled Death Shroud

$20 – 25 (based on 2014 prices) 

Makes one garment 

I made this costume a few years ago for Fasching (see the mask that accompanied it). The idea was to create a ghostly figure that embodied elements of an abandoned house: moth-eaten textiles, tattered curtains, and peeling wallpaper. The former two components worked their way into the costume, where I used layers of ragged cloth and a dusting of brown spray paint to replicate the appearance of aged and discarded fabric. Although the garment – in comparison to the mask – was a quick project, it possessed the same visual appeal as its time-consuming counterpart.

• One hooded shroud
• One yard of white tulle cut into strips (optional)
• One pocket knife or other cutting device with serrated edges
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat brown
• One sheer curtain panel (40” x 84”) in cream or yellow color
• One needle and thread to match the shroud’s fabric
  

1. To give the garment an ethereal appearance, sew strips of tulle around the collar and sleeves, building up layers and allowing some of the fabric to drape freely. Although this step is entirely optional, it adds a level of detail which greatly enhances the visual impact of the final product.

2. Use a knife or scissors to distress the shroud, creating holes, slits, and tears. I found that using a pocket knife with a serrated edge works best: the jagged blades are ideal for replicating moth holes and, when dragged across the fabric, producing runs. To make the project more manageable, employ a dressmaker’s dummy or old prop to support the shroud.

3. Undo the hemming on the sheer curtain with a seam ripper and repeat the distressing process. Don’t worry if the threads along the ends begin to unravel (it only adds to the disheveled appearance).

4. Hang the curtain and shroud in a well-ventilated area and mist their surfaces with the tan spray paint. You want the paint to look like a light dusting of dirt. To achieve this, stand a foot or two away from the items and make wide, sweeping strokes with the can. You may want to practice on a few scraps of fabric first, playing with the technique until you attain the desired appearance. 

5. After allowing the items to dry overnight (or for several days to give the smell of spray paint time to abate), sew the curtain to the shroud. Again, you may want to utilize a dressmaker’s dummy or old prop to make this procedure easier. You want the curtain to serve as more of a veil than a cape. I sewed mine into the top of the shroud’s hood and anchored it to both shoulders.