The Box of Astaroth – The Snake Oil Salesman Killer Edition

The SOS (Snake Oil Salesman) killer was one of the first documented US serial killers to poison his victims. This Wild West version of Dr Harold Shipman would travel from town to town touting his dubious ointments and potions to the gullible revelers. He would then select his victim, usually an attractive saloon girl and administer a carefully concocted dose of his 'Beauty Elixir'. This potion was meant to keep women looking young and youthful however, the deadly mixture contained a time delayed dose of snake venom. The SOS killer would administer the medicine from his wagon and then retire for the evening whilst following his intended victim waiting for the venom to incapacitate them. He would then take them back to his wagon and conduct experimental medical procedures on the victim while they were still alive. His amateur attempts at surgery were so brutal and invasive that the women eventually died a slow and painful death whilst being unable to scream due to the paralysis invoked by the snake venom.

Scores of mutilated girls were discovered across the American Old West as the SOS killer wormed his was across the country until he was finally caught in 1879. He was eventually found to be Irish native Marshal Seeley, a ship builder who took his perverted interest in women and medicine and forged a new killer career. To avoid the gallows he self administered a deadly dose of heroin in jail. It was discovered that he had smuggled the suicidal dose into jail internally. He escaped an official sentencing as he died before his trial and so he vanished into the annals of history. It is rumored that Seeley had murdered more than 89 women during his 6 year killing spree although it is though by history experts to be almost double that.

Although the macabre tale of the SOS Killer has faded into history I have been fortunate enough to obtain some of Marshal Seeley's disturbing tools he used to procure his victims. Maybe if we're lucky we may even be able to talk with one of the spirits of his victims tonight who still wander the Earth in limbo waiting for real justice to be served...

This private commission was created for Paul Noffsinger of The Mystery Collection based in Colorado. He specified a Wild West theme and I had always been fascinated by Snake Oil Salesmen of the American Old West so I thought this was a perfect opportunity to create a box of delights for a devious killer cowboy.

The SOS killer's case contains an array of potions and medicines and antique anatomy diagrams. The Victorian wallpaper design is an exact reproduction of the wallpaper in The Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street in London. I had taken a pretty poor photograph of the original wallpaper but after a bit of tinkering in Photoshop I was able to replicate the design and create my own printable Sherlock Holmes wallpaper.

Original wallpaper in The Sherlock Holmes Museum

As with all editions of The Box of Astaroth it comes with a saloon girl doll who mysteriously moves around inside the box as well as various tools to converse with the dead such as spirit bells and music boxes.

All that's required is a few rusty surgeon's tools and some 'trophies' in specimen bottles and the next mystery for The Mystery Collection will unfold..

The Box of Astaroth – The Houdini Seance Edition

Another box leaves the studio, this time for one of my what I like to call SAS clients (stage and screen).

The design brief was a real head scratcher to the point I nearly had to say it wasn't possible but not being one to disappoint I set about trying to solve this seemingly impossible illusion.

With previous versions of The Box of Astaroth a small doll moves around the cabinet by depositing itself into a glass or cremation urn in the same way an Astro Ball cabinet works. The brief from the client had the same mechanics but included one element I didn't think was possible. The box was to be themed around Harry Houdini and a small doll styled like the man himself needed to be bound, chained and placed into a tank of water to replicate one of his signature escapism acts. The doors to the cabinet would be closed and a few moments later they are opened to reveal that Houdini has picked the lock, unbound himself from the chains AND climbed out of the tank of water! The daring escapism act would then signify that the spirit of Houdini was present and a séance would ensue using spirit bells, music boxes and tambourines to converse with Houdini.

As strange as it sounds the idea I had to engineer the escape worked first time. Maybe Houdini gave me some assistance, who knows!  I plan to post a video demonstration shortly so watch this space.

The Houdini Seance Edition Box of Astaroth, when presented correctly will give the performer a 20-30 minute show incorporating trivia about the great Houdini followed by an actual escape act and a séance. Some say the box was even once owned by Houdini, how much of that rumour is true I don't know however, it appears to be the only proven way of contacting his spirit...

So Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present the world's first ever escapism act from beyond the grave!

Evil Cakes for Kids

It's the summer holidays, schools are out and the house is buzzing with the screams and cheers of two very playful young boys.  As you can imagine it's probably the least productive 8 weeks of the year for me hence the lack of blog posts.  Having a studio in the garden doesn't help matters either but at least I get to spend some valuable time with my children.  Every cloud has a snot and ketchup spattered lining which I am thankful for

In keeping with my boys I thought I would devote this post to them in some way.  As an artist people assume you're good at anything vaguely creative which is how I became lumbered with the bi-annual task of making the kids birthday cakes.  It's something that started out as a task I reluctantly accepted from my wife to an enjoyable challenge I look forward to.

Having previously never baked or even iced a cupcake in my life, over the last 2 years I've discovered that I must have a natural knack.  It could also be down to watching every episode of Choccywoccydoodah, either way I've been bitten by the cake making bug.

Like most of my work, nothing is pre-planned.  I just go for it and hope something good appears at the end of the day.  The pressure with cakes is that you have less than 24 hours to create something for the big day or risk a torrent of tears and several wired and hungry toddlers waiting for a cake fix .

The joy of having boys is that the theme for the cakes is always something close to my heart.   Let's start with dragons....

My first attempt and after 2 hours of sticking red chocolate button scales a sugary Smaug emerged from his lair to be destroyed by a hoard of hungry halflings.

A tribute to the boys favourite film 'Jaws' which in an ironic twist of fate got eaten alive by people.  Hand painted with row upon row of Milky Bar teeth this turned out to be a monster of a cake.  We're going to need a bigger plate...

Most 2 year old boys love trains but not all of them like Halloween.  As you can imagine, being bought up in my house is like Halloween every day so my boys are quite partial to the odd pumpkin and inverted pentagram.  The Halloween Train went down a real treat although Christians refrained from eating the tainted and dark-sided delight which meant more for the heathens!  The White chocolate and marshmallow smoke was my personal favourite and chef's perks!

Taking inspiration from the deleted Octopus scene from The Goonies I set about creating a Kraken sized cake complete with HMS Sebastian carved from a left over Easter egg.     The gallons of blue icing kept the kids awake for days.

Another October birthday and another spooky cake design.  This year Oscar wanted a Scooby Doo themed party so the cake idea was a no brainer - a haunted house!  

Exploring The Upside Down

Magical realms exist in every culture, places inhabited by otherworldly beings where space and time stands still. The prolific accounts of these worlds throughout history begs the question, do they exist and if so where are the entrances to these alternate dimensions or underworlds? Fans of the recent Netflix series 'Stranger Things' will relate to the concept of 'the upside down', a mirror of our own world but dark and inhabited by demons.

This great article from Mysterious Worlds discusses such places. It has always made me wonder why these mystical realms appear easier to get to than to get back from. And even if you do return from your brief visit to find that 7 years have passed in a matter of minutes, what guarantee is there that you've returned to the right dimension?

Mysterious Worlds

Writing in his recent work, Sky Shamans of Mongolia, Kevin Turner tells us that the three worlds or realms of the Mongolian Darkhad shaman don’t consist of a traditional upper, middle and lower world but are instead overlapping dimensional realities, more in line with a holographic outlook. These places are populated by deities, spirits and ancestors. In Irish lore it is the land of Tir na Nog where a race of supernatural beings is said to reside, although this otherworld adapts itself to incorporate the afterlife, the Summerland of Wicca, as well as shamanic realms according to other interpretations.

Often these dimensions are seen to be accessed across an ocean, leading many to associate Tir na Nog with the mythical island of Hy-Brazil, an island that was said to rise from the sea every seven years and which was populated by a race of advanced antediluvian beings.

However, the realm of fairy or the crypto-terrestrial is more often encountered through places considered sacred or having an alignment of some kind in relation to auspicious days in the yearly cycle, such as solstices, equinoxes and new moons. In many legends passed down from oral traditions the liminal moments at dusk, between sunset and moonrise, are when the ethereal forms of these beings are best seen.

Trapped in Magical Realms

Perhaps one of the most famous anecdotes relating to this is that of the Rev Robert Kirk who was a Scottish scholar and clergyman. His book The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies was published in 1691 and collected many instances of encounters with these elemental creatures and what a person could do to either avoid or come in contact with them.

At this time the Inquisition was still in full force across Europe so Kirk’s interest in what some saw as Demonic entities put him at odds with many of his religious colleagues. Some, in fact, speculated that Kirk himself might be a changeling sent by the devil in order to corrupt the faith of his parishioners and to lead them back to ancient pagan ways. Kirk was also a seventh son which lent him an aura of the otherworldly, as this was a particular sign of association with second sight and affiliation with the fairy folk.

One summer evening, Kirk, while out walking, collapsed and died upon a fairy hill. Or so it seemed.

In the days following his funeral, a cousin of Kirk’s had a strange dream in which the reverend pleaded with him to rescue him from fairyland. Kirk told his cousin in the dream that he was not dead at all but was in a magical swoon caused by his supernatural captors.

Kirk had promised his cousin that he would be able to appear for just one moment at the baptism of his child and when this occurred his cousin was to throw a ceremonial knife over his apparition. This would have the effect of releasing Kirk from the fairies’ spell.

At the baptism it is said that when Reverend Kirk appeared his cousin was so shocked that he forgot the instructions about the knife and Kirk then vanished, doomed to live in fairyland for eternity.

Altered Time and Space

This concept of eternity and that time can run faster or slower in these realms has been part of fairy myth for thousands of years. The Japanese legend of Urashima Taro is a good example. In this story a fisherman visits the supernatural undersea kingdom of Ryugu-jo and discovers that the three days he spent there had been three hundred years in his homeland.

Ryugu-jo has some specific architectural symbolism relating to the earth’s cycle in that each side of the kingdom was said to be a different season. Perhaps we are seeing an association with the solstices and equinoxes once again, which in themselves have a history of being doorways for the legendary beings like the fairies and various elementals to appear through.

The elves and fairies of Scotland and Ireland, for example, would use certain magical doorways or stone circles in which to appear depending upon the time of the year. Each magical doorway was associated with a particular season.

There is a potential connection to the Heb Sed shamanic rituals of ancient Egypt in this context as each ceremonial area would be used once then a new structure would be constructed for the following festival.

The communication with ‘star gods,’ along with offerings in return for wisdom also has parallels to folkloric interactions with the Sidhe (Irish and Scottish fairy folk) or energetic forms of various cultures. Sometimes, a ritual site would have to be left for a time in order to allow its energy to replenish and so the gods could be reached again in further ceremonies.

Another interesting connection is how the Pharaoh would be considered dead but still living during this ritual; the priests would consider him outside of time and having travelled to the Duat, the immaterial realm of spirit.

The Dreamtime

The term ‘time outside of time’ is also one of the popular translations of the Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime. Specifically, this description is better understood as ‘eternal, uncreated’ and refers to a dimension where all mythical heroes and ancestors exist and have always existed. Although there are many regional differences, all of the connotations relate to an immaterial, timeless place outside of the physical world.

Indeed, there are mythical fairy-like mediators in Aboriginal lore called the Mimi who are said to have taught the first Aboriginal tribes many skills. The Mimi were said to be so thin that a strong wind might break them and they could be contacted by approaching sacred stones or mountains in the correct manner. These places were doorways to an immaterial dimension that existed outside of the human world.

Often the Mimi would play tricks on humans if they or their magic places were not respected. There was a type of shamanistic process for contacting the Mimi properly and this was usually carried out by ‘Men of High Degree’ who were the shaman of the aboriginal tribes. In his ground-breaking work, Aboriginal Men of High Degree, A.P. Elkin describes these men as “supernormal, usually super-sensory, and are derived from two sources: first, the cult-heroes of the craft-sky and totemic heroes, spirits and ghosts, who may be all the one; second, the long line and hierarchy or order of medicine men, which leads back to the same heroes of the dreamtime.”

However, the role of women in mediating with the Mimi was also extremely important. There were certain tasks and requests that could only be asked by a woman and where the context of ‘high degree’ was outranked. Writing in Wise Women of the Dreamtime Johanna Lambert explains, “That which is subtle, ambiguous, interconnected, intangible and beyond reason or logic emerges from the realm of the Universal Feminine and is the basis of what has been called “magic or “the occult”.

The Magic Arrow

The Mimi, like fairies and elementals in all other cultures, were unpredictable and could punish a human as often as rewarding them. They were thought to steal food, trip up unsuspecting travellers, and even shoot magic darts—which is a tantalising connection to many shamanistic practices.

The magical arrow is also associated with Abaris the Hyperborean, a figure said to have emerged from a mythical land “beyond the north wind”. Abaris was said to be able to commune with spirits, heal the sick and travel through the air on a magic arrow. Other connections to Apollo and Pythagoras hint at the shamanistic journeying technique of incubation, best recently described by Peter Kingsley in his work, In the Dark Places of Wisdom.

When we look past the particular cultural interpretations, which change depending upon religious systems and societal developments, what we find beneath the many different fairy and shamanistic encounters are strong hints of a universal otherworldly experience. And although we find many accounts of strange lands with the help of fairies and spirits, it’s worth remembering that sometimes it is also at their insistence!

By David Halpin

References

Kevin Turner. ‘Sky Shamans of Mongolia’. Published by North Atlantic Books (April 12, 2016) P.71.

Hayao Kawaii. ‘Dreams, Myths and Fairy Tales in Japan’. Published by Daimon Verlag (Jan. 1 1995). p. 107.

A.P. Elkin. ‘Aboriginal Men of High Degree: Initiation and Sorcery in the World's Oldest Tradition’. Published by Inner Traditions; Original ed. edition (Nov. 1 1993). p 38.

K. Langloh Parker/ By Johanna Lambert, ed. ‘Wise Women of the Dreamtime: Aboriginal Tales of the Ancestral Powers’ Published by Park Street Press; Original ed. edition (July 1 1993). P. 89.

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Penny Dreadful props are up for auction

After three years of filming in Ireland ended earlier this year, the props used in the American-British TV fantasy-horror series, Penny Dreadful, are to be auctioned at Punchestown racecourse next month.

After closely following the series since it started I'm very tempted to book a cheap flight to Ireland to see what goth swag I can acquire.  I may have to book an extra seat for the return flight though for my Vanessa Ives ventriloquist doll...

Auction dates:
September 13th (Tues) -15th (Thurs) from 10am

Full online catalogue will be available at ashgroveauctions.ie from September 9th.

Viewing:
September 9th (Fri) - 12th (Mon) - 12-6pm

Scottish Mansion for sale that screams del Toro!

This newspaper article from the Scotsman has all the key ingredients for a great Guillermo del Toro movie.  On the Isle of Bute you will find for sale a former residential school for children escaping a tuberculosis and rickets outbreak in Glasgow in the 40s which is said to be infested with fairies.  My mind instinctively thought of 'The Devils Backbone', 'The Orphanage' and 'Don't be afraid of the Dark', all GDT classics that draw from childhood, ghosts, infant illness and of course, fairies. 

The Southpark Estate is on the market for a mere £825000!  Anyone with a spare million please drop me an e-mail and in return I'll write a bleak Scottish horror about childhood discovery and the unseely wee folk who haunt the grounds of Southpark (and I'll try and catch one or two while I'm at it). 

A STUNNING Victorian estate believed to be full of fairies has been put on the market for £825,000. Southpark - in the quaint village of Ascog on the Isle of Bute - is proudly surrounded by 3.8 acres of greenery and offers breathtaking views of the Firth of Clyde.

In the 1940’s the B listed property became a residential school for children escaping a tuberculosis and rickets outbreak in Glasgow. To this day the original coat hooks, shoe cubby holes and cloakrooms are still in place. During their stay the children started a rumour which still persists today - that the house is infested with fairies. It is said that the rumour began when children began noting the way the house sparkled in moonlight reflected onto it from the sea. Current owner Margaret Morrison - who has lived at the estate for nine years - said she frequently gets visited by former school children of the school who share their magical memories of Southpark.

She said: “We are visited by many former pupils, who have such happy memories of coming to school here. “For them it was a chance to escape the overcrowding and difficult conditions in Glasgow. “It’s funny, but many of them tell the same story - about believing the house was full of fairies because of the way it ‘twinkled’ at night thanks to the way the light bounces off the water and hits the stones. “It’s always been a magical place and I feel glad to be part of it.”

Along with five bedrooms, five bathrooms and three reception rooms, the property even comes with its own butler pantry. And if that wasn’t enough, a cottage and two flats in the former Coach House are also included in the offers over £825,000 price tag. The one-of-a-kind residence, managed by estate agents Strutt and Parker, also boast pristine original features such as marble fireplaces, cornicing and multiple bay windows.

Margaret and her husband David have reluctantly put the estate, designed and built by esteemed Scots civil engineer Robert Thom, on the market for health reasons.

The added: “The island is very special, a beautiful place to live. I could sit for hours watching the cruise ships sailing up the Firth - and the garden is very peaceful. “Southpark is a special place - a very welcoming house, which has meant a lot to so any people. “It was certainly built with love and over the years since, it has been carefully looked after and beautifully preserved, even when it was a school. ”Bute is not just an island it is a way of life and to walk along and be smiled at or greeted by almost everyone is wonderful.” The main town of Rothesay is around three miles away from Southpark with a frequent ferry service which runs to Wemyss Bay - where rail links to Glasgow can be found. Ascog is mainly a residential area but has several historic buildings including Ascog House, Ascog Hall, and the Italianate style Balmory Hall.

Source

Doomsday South - Everything you wanted to know and more!

The time has come for the much awaited Doomsday South update! Here you will find the fully confirmed lineup and timetable of events, recommended accommodation and details on how to get your tickets if you've not already got them!

This is the first ever Doomsday South event and it promises to be two days of mystery and magic set in the Gothic splendour of Simon Drake's Victorian Mansion. The eclectic selection of lectures for the Saturday will cover topics ranging from hypnosis to Vampires, ancient mysteries to mentalism and urban legends with a dash of Bad Acid.

Set in the heart of Jack the Ripper territory at Dirty Dick's Pub and Simon Drake's 200 year old Victorian Mansion.  Experience an autumnal gathering of guests and performers from the world of horror, paranormal investigation and cult stage and screen! 

The weekend kicks off on Friday afternoon and into the evening with a private tour of the Ripper murder sites, a Victorian operating theatre as well as other strange and unusual locations around the dark streets of London.

For a first time event we have an stunning selection of lectures given by equally mesmerising guest speakers. Lecture and performance timings are listed below.

Printable tickets for the event and directions for Simon Drake's House of Magic will be sent 4 weeks before the event via e-mail.

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Event Timings

Friday 11th November

For those who like to start the weekend early we will be meeting at Dirty Dicks Pub located just outside Liverpool Street Station for a wander around London's stranger locations including The Cross Bones Graveyard, The Old Operating Theatre and Apothecary, The Wellcome Collection and even a wander down Diagon Alley.

We will then meet back at Dirty Dicks for The Whitechapel Murder Trail. Walk in the shadow of the Ripper; investigate the mystery of the Whitechapel murders and learn about FBI profiling techniques.  A 2 hour walk exploring the victims of Jack The Ripper and criminal profiling, interlaced with magical experiences to entertain and enhance your investigation. This walk is limited to 20 people only so please e-mail me here to reserve your space.

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Saturday 12th November

We will meet at Simon Drake's House of Magic (the secret location will be confirmed to all ticket holders a few weeks before the event but it is very close to Waterloo Station), doors open at 0930 with refreshments on arrival for a 1000 start.  Timings and lecture/performance order are subject to change.

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1000-1100

Gavin Murphy - A Brief History of Hypnosis - from madness to the macabre... pseudoscience to neuroscience'

The history of hypnosis is rich in strange and remarkable incidents: a captivating world populated by enthusiasts and skeptics, mystics and scientists, and studded with the unexpected. A Brief History of Hypnosis looks into the origins, development and contemporary applications of what remains a controversial practice, setting out to expose the truth behind the myths, and taking participants on a mesmerizing journey through the untapped regions of the mind. Drawing upon his background as a teacher, counselor and clinical hypnotherapist, Gavin Murphy delves deep into human behaviour and psychology to explore what hypnosis might tell us about the powers and further reaches of human thought. Scintillating and thought-provoking, this lecture provides an engaging study that brings the individuals, the science and the psychology, the drama and the dreams compellingly to life....

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1100 - 1200

Matteo Borrini – The Plague Vampire Exorcism

What may have been an exorcism of a vampire in Venice is now drawing bad blood among scientists arguing over whether gravediggers were attempting to defeat an undead monster.

Matteo Borrini, a forensic anthropologist from the Liverpool John Moores Universityand star of The National Geographic documentary series made a disturbing discovery on the small island of Lazzaretto Nuovo in the Venice lagoon that supported the medieval belief that vampires were behind the spread of the Black Death. Matteo gives his personal account in a lecture not for the faint hearted or those with a weak stomach!

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1200 – 1300

A light lunch and refreshments will be served.

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1300 – 1400

David Chaudoir – Bad Acid

BAD ACID is the debut short film from writer/director David Chaudoir. The story of a washed up cabaret hypnotist. It blends hypnotic suggestion, hallucination and demonic apparition in a wry, tragically comedic, dark fantasy, exploring the fleeting nature of fame. Marvin gets what he wished for, but not in the way that he wanted. Bad Acid is the writer/director’s love letter to the films of Amicus and Hammer from the 1970s.

David Chaudoir, writer/director, has worked for 25 years in UK Broadcast Television and as- sociated crafts. He has directed award winning promotions for The Walking Dead and The Wire and music videos for bands such as Athlete and Starsailor.

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1400 – 1500

Scott Wood - Urban Legends of the London Underground

Just as fairy tales warn of the dangers of going in to the woods alone London’s urban legends are often horror stories about going alone down in to the London underground. Plague pits seethe beneath your feet in the most unlikely places, corpses ride on the tube and news of enemy bomb attacks are never further than a trip to the shops away. Some of these urban legends are older than they appear; others are new stories posing as history. Scott will tell these contemporary folk-stories, map them across London and then take them pieces of apart to show you what they’re really made of.

Scott is the author of London Urban Legends: The Corpse on the Tube, a regular-ish writer for Londonist and co-organiser & host of the London Fortean Society.

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1500 - 1600

Tracy Wise - Exploring the history and mystery of OOPARTs

Out of place artefacts are exactly as the name suggests – artefacts that don’t seem to fit into the history timeline as we know it. But are these objects evidence of advanced cultures? Of alien civilisations? Intricate hoaxes or evidence of parallel universes?

Examine the evidence, question the questionable and explore the possibilities in this foray into the world of forbidden archaeology. The truth is out there….or is it?

Tracy Wise is a respected author, presenter, lecturer and magician with a particular interest in esoteric history and in bringing new insight into ancient folklore and stories. Tracy is also passionate about keeping alive the stories of inspirational people who have left a legacy to the world but are in danger of being forgotten.

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1600 - 1700

David Farrant – The Highgate Vampire

David Farrant is perhaps best well known for his investigation into an unexplained phenomenon or ‘ghost’ which centred around London’s Highgate Cemetery in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  Said by some (stories invariably aided by reports in the press) to be a real life ‘vampire’,  much has been written about this celebrated case,  and the involvement of the British Psychic and Occult Society (BPOS) who were called in to help unravel the mystery. But events were to get out of hand, and in 1974 David Farrant was sentenced to two years eight months imprisonment at the Old Bailey amidst a flurry of allegations relating to ‘vampire hunting’, desecration, ‘witchcraft’ and Satanism then being practiced at Highgate Cemetery.  Although acquitted of the most serious charges of desecration,  two minor one’s stuck and were enough to ensure a custodial sentence for what were seen as ‘anti Christian  activities’.

However, the Highgate case was only one of many that the B.P.O.S. investigated,  and continue to investigate around the country in respect of ghosts, and unexplained apparitions which have been witnessed or reported at psychically charged locations.   Such locations may prove to be of essential importance when trying to understand the validity of many hauntings and ghosts and the mysterious world in which they supposedly dwell . . .

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1700 - 1800

Luke Jermay – Internationally Renown Mind Reader and Mentalist

Luke Jermay is the most incredible man you’ve probably never heard of.  He can read your mind.  No really; he can read your mind.  He doesn’t use mind games or psychological tricks; he is not a trickster, there are no smoke and mirrors. Combining intuition and hypnosis he can simply read your mind.  His awe inspiring hypnotic and intuitive abilities have gained him high profile fans such as Derren Brown, Dynamo and Uri Geller who all agree Jermay is astonishing.  You will be amazed at Jermay’s incredible powers; he knows your past, present and future, sometimes better than you do.

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The bar can remain open after 1800 and the raffle will be drawn and there will be ample opportunity to chat with the guest speakers over a few winter beverages.

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Win a Dolly Darko MkII!

Only lucky attendee will walk away with a Dolly Darko MkII haunted doll worth over £500 or a copy of Prof BC's Phantom of the Opera Doppelganger! Raffle tickets will be available from Friday.

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Accommodation

The Express Eurotraveller Hotel

The venue for the event is one tube stop away from Waterloo Station however, The Express Eurotraveller Hotel is within walking distance of Simon Drake's House of Magic and is very reasonably priced.

Address: 18 Amelia Street, Walworth, London, SE17 3PY
Telephone: 020 7358 6876
Website: www.eurotravellerhotel.com
Distance: 0.3 miles

Other noteworthy hotels near Waterloo are -

The Wellington Hotel

Opposite Waterloo station and beneath the railway lines, this traditional pub with contemporary rooms is 8 minutes’ walk from the London Eye and 3 minutes’ walk to famous theatre the Old Vic.

Rooms have a modern London theme/ All have en suite bathrooms, as well as free WiFi, flat-screen TVs, desks and tea and coffeemaking facilities.

A full cooked breakfast is included. The busy pub downstairs has dark wood panelling, leather benches and sofas, and a mural of the Battle of Waterloo.

Address: 81-83 Waterloo Rd, London SE1 8UD

Phone:020 7928 6083

Website: www.wellingtonhotelwaterloo.co.uk

Hampton by Hilton Waterloo

In an imposing corner building 0.4 miles from London Waterloo train station, this contemporary hotel is 0.7 miles from the London Eye and 1.9 miles from the Tower of London.

Casual rooms include free Wi-Fi and custom-designed beds, plus both full and lap desks (for working on the bed), flat-screen TVs, and tea and coffeemaking equipment. Some also include city views and/or sofabeds.

Free hot breakfast is served in a streamlined dining room. There's also a simple bar and a fitness room, plus meeting space and a business centre.

Address: 157 Waterloo Rd, London SE1 8XA

Phone:020 7401 8080

Website: http://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/index.html

Travelodge

A 7-minute walk from Southwark tube station, this budget hotel in a traditional redbrick building is a 14-minute walk from both the London Eye and Tate Modern.

Simple, modern rooms come with custom-designed beds, limited free Wi-Fi, TVs and desks, plus tea and coffee making equipment. Family rooms add pull-out beds.

There’s a casual restaurant/bar offering an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet and simple dinners (kids eat free).

Address: 195-203 Waterloo Rd, London SE1 8UX

Phone:0871 984 6291

Website: www.travelodge.co.uk

Hotel Novotel London Waterloo

A 1-minute walk from Lambeth Palace bus stop, this stylish, riverside hotel in a traditional building is also 14 minutes from the London Eye and 2.4 miles from the British Museum.

The modern rooms come with flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi and desks. All feature sofabeds and minibars, as well as tea and coffeemaking facilities, while upgraded rooms add iPod docks and Nespresso machines. Kids age 16 and under stay at no charge in their parents’ rooms. Room service is available 24/7.

Amenities include a bar and an international restaurant, plus an exercise room, a sauna and a hammam. There's also a play area, a business centre and meeting space.

Address: 113 Lambeth Rd, London SE1 7LS

Phone:020 7660 0674

Website: http://www.accorhotels.com

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FAQs

Please post any questions in the comments box below and I will answer you as soon as possible.

Jordskott Season 2 Announced

Fans of the dark Swedish fairy folklore masterpiece 'Jordskott' will be pleased to hear that Palladium is in development for a second season. Henrik Bjorn, if you're reading this I'm kneeling in front of my Mac as I write this begging for a production role!

Sony Pictures Television has taken a minority stake in Swedish production company Palladium Fiction, which is led by the creators of mystery-noir drama “Jordskott,” Henrik Bjorn, Filip Hammarstrom and Johan Rudolphie. Palladium will focus on high-end international dramas, with SPT distributing around the globe.

Andrea Wong, president, international production, SPT, said: “Palladium is a great complement to our growing portfolio of high-quality drama production companies. Collectively, Henrik, Filip and Johan have a distinctive voice that is edgy, thought-provoking and entertaining. Their talents are evident in their ambitious development slate and we look forward to helping them build on their success.”

Palladium is in development on a second season of “Jordskott” with Swedish broadcaster SVT. They have three other projects in development, including a new project in partnership with Jimmy Desmarais, a producer on high-profile French dramas “The Returned” and “The Last Panthers.”

Palladium, which is headquartered in Solna, Sweden, was founded in 2014 by Bjorn, Hammarstrom, Rudolphie, and the Swedish media company Strange-Dahl Jihde och Bjorn AB. “Jordskott,” its best-known show, received the Kristallen award for best TV drama last year.

In a statement, Hammarstrom said: “Sony is outstanding creatively and makes a fantastic business partner with a strong international production and distribution network that will help us maximise opportunities as we expand our global reach.”

Bjorn added: “This is a really exciting time for original quality drama. We are driven by our love of storytelling and we hand-pick projects close to our heart. This collaboration with Sony gives us the tools to create compelling stories for viewers worldwide.”

Source

The Devil Made Me Do It – Ghost in the Shell

Some projects take months, sometimes even years to come to fruition, it can seem like you're reluctantly forcing the finished piece into existence. On the other hand, some projects take on a life of their own as if they are building themselves while you sleep. This project is certainly one of those that had 'the elves and the shoemaker' syndrome as it seemed to have come together without much conscious interaction. Without sounding too 'out there' I feel like most of my art is the result of an outside influence and by outside I mean not the natural world around me but the supernatural. Something takes hold and guides my hands while my brain slips into neutral and listens to the radio or ponders menial problems like what to cook the boys for dinner. Looking at the bizarre demonic toy sat on my workshop table I can only really come to the conclusion that there's a very strong possibility that the Devil did indeed make me do it.

After 4 weeks of researching and tinkering I can finally reveal the restored version of The Devil Made Me Do It. I use the term restoration loosely though as there were hardly enough remaining components to build a quarter of what you see here. Apart from a battered head, smashed body and the original wooden box (wooden enclosure only minus the art), the rest of the project has been an educated guess influenced by the descriptions in Reverend Morrison's diary. At this stage it is, as the title suggests, a shell as there are no working elements installed at the moment. My wife's uncle has made some progress on the clockwork mechanism and I hope to install this towards the end of July.

The artwork was probably the most time consuming element as it was like a jigsaw puzzle with 60% of the pieces missing. With no chance of ever locating the missing art it was down to imagination and many hours sat at the graphic tablet with my hands working autonomously. The 'game' certainly conveys a 1950s carnie feel, the addition of the 3-card game board and lights are my own personal touches.

Aesthetically it is nothing like any of my previous work which has been solely Gothic Victoriana. Granted, it is a restoration project but when presented with so few parts and sketchy information where does restoration end and creation begin?

A demonic focal point for any serious collection, 'The Devil Made Me Do It' commands curiosity and draws in the inquisitive like flies to a corpse. The juxtaposition of the vintage toy facade coupled with satanic overtones makes it an unnerving conversation piece with strange powers that can be demonstrated to those who dare play with the Devil! In that respect it does what the original device intended to do, to temporarily tempt the righteous away from God to demonstrate how easily evil can influence behavior if you let your guard down for one moment. That is of course if you believe in all that bunkum.

'The Devil Made Me Do It' is the satanic love child of a possessed Jack in a Box and Zoltar the Fortune Teller and in a few weeks I shall hopefully be the Dr Frankenstein who gives this monster life once more. Given the unfortunate history you have to ask yourself if it is wise to mess with the unknown? To which I say “Yes!”

Check back soon to see what happens when the lights and working mechanism are installed in a few weeks.

Crookes' Residual Ectometron - The Ouija Electric Edition

The Ectometron has officially been out of production for well over a year due to difficulty in finding parts.  Some of the vital components had become obsolete and no longer in production which had a knock on effect with my production of this iconic piece.

So what do you do when one of your best clients requests an Ectometron and won't take no for an answer?  You say OK and start the arduous task of sourcing alternative parts.  

Seven months later a complete Ectometron emerged from the studio like no other.  Mounted on a Victorian chest of drawers and with a detachable Ouija board this looks more like an occult switchboard to the spirit world.

This version is designed to be used by one person. A 'Spirit Catalyst' is placed in the metal sphere and the machine is started.  This can be a person item once owned by the deceased such as a ring or lock of hair.  The use of the catalyst allows the user to contact specific spirits rather than random ones.  The combination of the catalyst and the Ouija board and then used to channel thespirit which materialises in the Ectoplasmic Chamber.  Once the spirit has manifested the user may then communicate with the Ouija board and relieved audible spirit responses via the bell, visual responses by electrostatic discharge in the chamber or even vocally via the spirit trumpet.  

Once the communication is complete the lid can be removed from the Ectoplasmic Chamber and the residual ectoplasm from the apparition will escape into the ether in the form of a vortex which can reach over 7 feet.

Even when not in use this particular Ectometron can be used to play gramophone music through.

All of the pictures can be seen here in my portfolio gallery.

The Devil Made Me Do It, pick a sin, any sin...

The great thing about a blog is that you're never sure who is reading it. Sometimes you wonder if anyone is actually reading it at all but every now and again your receive some form of reassurance that your posts don't just vanish into the electronic ether.

Last week I received a response to my 'The Devil Made Me Do It' blog post from 10th June. The reader kindly pointed me in the direction of a well known History Channel antiques hunting show based in the US. He recalled that in a very early episode of season 2 the team came across a barn in South Carolina owned by a crazy old hoarder who collected religious items.

One of the items the team found was a deck of cards that depicted sins. This sounded awfully familiar to the cards that accompanied the strange game I had acquired. So I set about trying to trace the exact episode through various channels, some legitimate and some not so. I eventually found the episode on a Russian site that hosted nearly every History & Discovery Channel program and their associates episodes as well as numerous other shows. I had strong doubts that the site was legal but armed with good virus protection and a fast internet connection I found what I wanted. For legal reasons I'm unable to upload the clip to YouTube but I will do my best to describe it and I have provided some screen shots.

I found the part of the show where the team tried with all of their persuasion and charm to get the serial spiritual hoarder to part with some of his loot which was proving easier said than done. Then from behind a rusty Coca Cola sign one of the show presenters pulled out an old box containing various standard church items, an old bible, a crucifix, order of service leaflets and a mysterious deck of cards.

The presenter remarked on the odd find and jokingly asked his partner in crime to "pick a card, any card!". He picks a card and reads it aloud, "Your Sin is blaspheming". He then briefly holds the card up so the back can be seen and there it was, the back of the card had The Devil Made Me Do It logo! The card was an exact match for the few I had in the studio and to know that there was another complete set in existence was unbelievable.

The most remarkable thing was that when the show presenter asked the old chap how much he wanted for the cards he replied "nah, you can have 'em, maybe they'll help you stay on the righteous path".

I then jumped straight to Google to source a contact number or address for the business featured in the show and minutes later I was composing an e-mail asking how much they wanted for the Sin deck!

I explained that I had a number of cards and an original The Devil Made Me Do It 'game' in various bits. I asked firstly if they still had the deck and secondly how much they were willing to sell it for.

They replied a few days later saying the deck wasn't for sale. They did however, offer to scan all of the cards and send me a pdf copy in return for keeping them in the loop on how the restoration of the original machine was developing.

So I now have a full deck of all 48 Sin cards from The Devil Made Me Do It. My personal favourite has to be the 'Eating Blood' card. It's almost incomprehensible to think that vampirism was still feared in 1950s America!

The actual card dimensions are a little larger than standard business cards so I cleaned up the pdf scans and combined them with artwork from the few card I had to produce a replica deck.

The restoration of the game is coming along nicely and I'll be blogging some images soon. The actual exterior is almost complete but the internal workings are way beyond my technical level.  As ironic as it sounds, the mechanism is so odd it could've been designed by the Devil himself!

Stewart McDonald the lebanon circle carpenter RIP

Even though Lebanon Circle is a one man venture there are many cogs behind the scenes that keep things ticking over.  The people I lovingly refer to as 'cogs' are family and close friends who do the difficult bits I can't do, namely needlework and carpentry.  Sadly, the chap who I have worked with the most died yesterday after a 5 week battle with cancer.  Not only was he my 'wood wizard', he was also my best friend's dad, a good mate and someone I've known virtually all of my life.  

If you're an owner of Dolly Darko, Abacus Spiritalis or The Swami Spirit Altar II you'll be familiar with his amazing work.  I still have many of his prototypes and works in progress scattered around the studio now unlikely to see the light of day.  We were only discussing the plans for Dolly Darko MkII a few months ago before his health took a noticeable dive.  Cancer is a relentless and uncompromising bastard that affects everyone at some point in life and 2016 seems to be year the evil fucker has stepped up his game.  Childhood rock idols and film stars are one thing but family and friends really over steps the mark.  It's certainly the end of an era and the business won't be the same without Stewart.  

Ultimately he lived long enough to achieve what every parent wishes for.  To see their own kids flourish, get married and have a family of their own.  Stewart was not only a great craftsman, he was also an avid wildlife conservationist who saved countless hedgehogs, squirrels and birds of prey.  He was also a great dad, grandad and the only man I know who could hit a moving target with a Christmas dinner from 100 yards.  

He'll always be remembered as a vital part of making Lebanon Circle what it is today and it won't be the same without him.  One of my cogs is missing and it will be a long time before things start ticking again.

Stewart McDonald - 20th January 1947 - 28th June 2016

The Mummified Fairy Workshop Review

The past weekend will remain memorable for two momentous reasons.  I will always remember that when the UK decided to leave the EU I was in Germany giving my first overseas workshop.

I can honestly say that it is quite difficult to convey my disappointment at leaving the EU.  Although my political stance has always dressed to the right I voted to remain as I was thinking about the impact of leaving for the future generations, namely my children.  It was a sad day but I have optimism in my heart and the room I was given at Hotel zum Zauberkabinett in Bad Heilbrunn echoed my positivity.

All of the rooms at the hotel were themed on tarot cards from the major arcana and I had been given The Sun.  This card symbolises finding sense behind chaos, attaining a new levels of insight, having an intellectual breakthrough and getting to the heart of the matter.  Ultimately all the things I hope to do in the coming months and years in the shadow of Brexit.  But most of all the card represents the most positive oracle in the tarot deck and I took this as a good omen of the times ahead.

After a delayed flight due the closure of Belgian airspace, Alex Roemer, long time friend and proprietor of Hotel zum Zauberkabinett took me for a much welcomed beer and Bavarian meal in the scorching sun.  Many ideas were hatched and secrets exchanged before we headed back to the hotel to prepare for the forthcoming weekend. This was to be my first Mummified Fairy Workshop for a foreign audience.

The motley crew of attendees started to arrive on Friday afternoon.  A teacher, a larper, two magicians and Switzerland's top Jack Jersey impersonator (yes, I wondered who he was also!) arrived for what sounded like the start of a bad joke.  After a wonderful meal on the terrace set in the wooded hills I started with an introduction and my lecture on the mummified fairy hoax.  

Saturday started bright and breezy with an early breakfast and straight to the studio.  Being creative can be surprisingly tiring if you're not used to it so I decided to crack on early to maximise my time with the group.  I was told that everyone had some form of artistic ability and we made a great start.

The schedule roughly followed the DVD workshop I had produced a few years earlier with the help of Kickstarter and a few hundred loyal backers.  The obvious benefit of this more personal workshop was the one-to-one tuition and the fact you didn't have to watch my hands for 3 hours, unlike the DVD. As all of the group had some form of interest in magic it's not surprising that by early afternoon the fairies had ended up with magnets implanted into their rib cages.  The table was alive with jumping and spinning reanimated fairy corpses.  After nearly seven hours of melting, painting and sticking we placed the fairies in the drying room and retired for a rest before the evening activities.  Felix thrashed me thrice at Carcassonne so I decided to head to my room and drown my sorrows in even more post referendum pessimism.   

Most Saturday nights Alex hosts a dinner and evening of magical entertainment.  This has been running for 19 years and many of his 50000 plus audience members keep returning for more.  The dinner takes place in his impressive magic room crammed with strange artefacts, antique illusions and a mirror where you may see the grim reaper materialise during the evening.  Although the whole performance was in German I understood what was happening and after a few beers it didn't really matter anyway!  

Sunday morning was spent adding the finishing touches to our desiccated monsters.  Hair, wings and eyes added 'life' to the dead fairies and just before lunch we arranged our creations for their first group photo.  The artistic talents of the group really shone through and Andreas created possibly the deadest looking dead fairy I had ever seen.  The group exhibited excellent effort all round and I'm hoping that everyone who attended had a rewarding and memorable experience.   

For an experimental first the workshop was a great success and everyone walked away with something horrific to perplex their family and friends.  Due to the success, on the way to the airport Alex and I started our plans for another possible workshop in 2017 so if you're interested in taking part please e-mail me for details.

Thanks once again to Alex for being such an accommodating host and of course a personal thank you goes to Felix, Roman, Manuela, Andreas and Stefan for attending the weekend course.

The Birch

Without a doubt this is the best 4 minutes and 30 seconds of my week and it's only Tuesday. There's elements of Blair Witch and Pan's Labyrinth with a modern folklore Jordskott vibe in this excellent short from horror directors Ben Franklin & Anthony Melton. The Birch is a twisted slice of fantasy horror produced in partnership with Crypt TV.

A bullied schoolboy takes drastic measures against his tormenter, summoning an ancient being in the woods using a spellbound book passed down through the generations of his family. A gruesome revenge tale that paints a monstrous evil as a loyal, yet potentially unstable protector, this is the latest work from the team at Bloody Cuts.

Ancient tomes, ancient woodland spirits, vengeance and a satisfyingly gory conclusion. It's amazing what you can convey in 310 seconds, enjoy!

The Cabinet of Curiosities Challenge Part 1

Well over a year ago a very special client sent me a huge parcel. Inside the mystery package was a large wooden doll's wardrobe box.  The uninspiring red stained box from around the 1960s then sat in the studio staring back at me for months like a blank canvas.  After months of batting e-mails back and forth many great ideas were hatched but I still couldn't get past the sheer size and plain facade and so it remained in the studio gathering dust while a very understanding and patient client waited...

And waited...

There comes a time as an artist when the subconscious mind whirs away in the background and comes up with a solution to the creative block you've been trying to figure out.  It then pushes the ideas back into your conscious mind and the blank canvas starts to take shape. For me, the penny dropped at this year's Doomsday when Andy Cooper and Nik Taylor did their lecture on how they created a cabinet of curiosities attraction in 3 weeks. If they could successfully turn something like that around in a matter of weeks surely I could take this box that has haunted me for so long and finally do something with it!

The huge wardrobe box in its original state

The most distracting thing about the box was the horrible red finish, it felt like a creative fog bank that I couldn't see past.  I proceeded to sand the lot off in a satisfying cloud of sawdust.  I then blasted the bare wood with a blow torch to highlight the grain,  applied a few coats of wood stain and then set fire to the whole thing.  The box finally took on a new lease of life and my creative juices finally began to flow.

One of the criteria for the box was that prior to the performance it had to be chained and locked to give the impression that something dangerous was safely contained within.  The chain and padlock would then unlock and fall with a loud bang as if opened by unseen hands all done with little or no intervention from the performer.

Simon Drake produces a very nice self opening padlock but the method would not work with this box as it needed to completely fall off with a loud thud.  The only other method I knew was developed by Roni Schachnaey and used an ungimmicked lock. I decided to go with a modified version of Roni's haunted lock but I would need to experiment with making the chain also break and fall.

After several hours tinkering I nailed it and the once normal antique padlock finally became 'haunted'.  The lock clicked open and hit the studio table with a loud crash followed by a tangle of rusty chain.  I put a big fat tick on the client's wish list and readied myself for the next task.

With the exterior almost complete I opened up the wardrobe and looked at the huge expanse of empty space.  This was by far the largest prop I'd ever tackled.  Like most huge tasks, the best way to approach them is to break them down into smaller manageable parts.   The wardrobe consists of four sections so over the next few blog posts I'll be covering each section individually until I finally arrive at a complete portable Cabinet of Curiosities. 
 

The client's 'want' list includes (in his own words) -

• A portable bookshelf for the Doppelgängers. It would need some sort of buckling or removable strap to hold the books in place on the shelf

• For the two drawers underneath, I was thinking that the top one would just remain a functional drawer, but maybe the bottom drawer could be home to your Ghost in the Machine?

• I like the clothes hanger bar and was only thinking of using it for hanging pendulums and perhaps the Ceseral Spirit bell on a string for a performance option. If you can think of something better for it - or a reason to get rid of it - I'm listening.

• A display section with little pouches with instruments and alike. I would also love to have several rows of your miniature phrenology heads along the back. I think those are brilliant.

• All the backings of the case need some sort of base decor. Velvet? Satin? Flocked wallpaper?

• I love that there is a mirror in this box, with a shelf in front of it. I wish there was room to do some sort of two-way mirror effect, but there probably isn't. The frame should be a bit more decorative -- perhaps an oval frame over the existing mirror would set the mood.

• The drawer under that shelf, I was thinking, could be a velvet, padded drawer for transporting whatever 'delicate item' was required for that performance (haunted key, artifacts etc). I also have one other idea, for one of your fantaxidermy creations, but I'll add that in it's own section at the bottom. Under the drawer? I don't know.

• I woke up one night and realized that I would like you to create a very special mummified fairy... a nightmare. It would be incredibly cool if he had "caught one" and could display it. I just picture one of your fairy pieces, but squatting on his haunches, like the nightmare from Henry Fuseli. Maybe it's captured and dried out in an antique glass lantern.

• This was something that could go in that padded drawer, carefully removed for display on the table or on the shelf in front of the mirror.

Stay tuned and see how this develops!

Lurkers of the Midsummer Woods

This excellent article from Patheos.com covers the darker side of fairy folklore, the side that seems to have been swept aside and replaced by fairy doors, glitter and tutus.  For me the most interesting spirit covered is the Woodwose whose description bares a striking resemblance to the modern day Sasquatch and other associated hairy woodland cryptids.

Outside the Circle: The Bad Fairies Of Litha

Litha or Midsummer, a time of bonfires, mugwort, mythical beings, nights and days of mischief and love. The veil is thin. The Celts, the Norse and the Slavs believed that there were three ‘spirit nights’ in the year when magic ran amok and the Otherworld was near. The first was Halloween, the second was May Eve and the third was Midsummer Eve. All sorts of enchantments are in the air now and Spirits and Fairies abound. What follows here are some of them. These are not your good fairies but tricksters and darker spirits.

Will-o’-the-wisp

A will-o’-the-wisp,  Medieval Latin: “foolish fire”, is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. It resembles a flickering lamp and is said to recede if approached, drawing travellers from the safe paths. The phenomenon is known by a variety of names, including jack-o’-lantern, friar’s lantern, hinkypunk, and hobby lantern in English folk belief, well attested in English folklore and in much of European folklore.

The names will-o’-the-wisp and jack-o’-lantern are explained in etiological folk-tales, recorded in many variant forms in Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Appalachia, and Newfoundland. In these tales, protagonists named either Will or Jack are doomed to haunt the marshes with a light for some misdeed.

In European folklore, these lights are believed to be spirits of the dead, fairies, or a variety of other supernatural beings which attempt to lead travelers to their demise.

Hinky-Punk

Its flame burning through the darkness guides unsuspecting travellers into swamps or over cliffs. Bands of them are often found at the site of Shipwrecks.

Another name for the Will-o’-Wisp, magical lights of European folklore.

Spunkies

Spunkie in the Scottish Highlands where it would take the form of a linkboy (a boy who carried a flaming torch to light the way for pedestrians in exchange for a fee), or else simply a light that always seemed to recede, in order to lead unwary travelers to their doom.The spunkie has also been blamed for shipwrecks at night after being spotted on land and mistaken for a harbor light. Other tales of Scottish folklore regard these mysterious lights as omens of death or the ghosts of once living human beings. They often appeared over lochs or on roads along which funeral processions were known to travel.

Pixies

Also related, the Pixy-light from Devon and Cornwall is most often associated with the Pixie who often has “pixie-led” travellers away from the safe and reliable route and into the bogs with glowing lights.

In Welsh folklore, it is said that the light is “fairy fire” held in the hand of a púca, or pwca, a small goblin-like fairy that mischievously leads lone travellers off the beaten path at night. As the traveller follows the púca through the marsh or bog, the fire is extinguished, leaving them lost.

Phooka

Phooka may refer to Púca, a creature of Celtic folklore or from the Old Irish poc, ‘a male goat’.

Puck was the goat-footed satyr made famous in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Often thought of as an animal spirit, some accounts believe it gets its name from Poc, meaning he-goat in Irish. In fact, Pooka is a changeling, and can take animal or human form.

The animal Pooka is usually jet black with fiery golden or red eyes.  Some associate it with devil!

The mountains and hills are this creature’s domains. Depending on the part of Ireland you lived in, Pooka was thought to be either helpful or menacing. It has been known to help farmers for example, but it can also wreak havoc. Generally however, perceived wisdom holds that an encounter with Pooka is not considered propitious, as this fairy creature is a portent of oncoming doom. Known for its cunning and wile as well as lies and deception, Pooka’s archetype is trickster. It is also a fertility spirit since it has power to create or destroy, as well as ability of human speech, it is a gifted prophesier.

Woodwose

Wild men support coats of arms in the side panels of a portrait by Albrecht Dürer / Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

The wild man (also wildman, or “wildman of the woods”, archaically woodwose or wodewose) is a mythical figure that appears in the artwork and literature of medieval Europe, comparable to the satyr or faun type in classical mythology and to Silvanus, the Roman god of the woodlands.

The defining characteristic of the figure is its “wildness”; from the 12th century they were consistently depicted as being covered with hair. Images of wild men appear in the carved and painted roof bosses where intersecting ogee vaults meet in the Canterbury Cathedral, in positions where one is also likely to encounter the Green Man.

Robin Goodfellow

In English folklore, Puck, sometimes known as Robin Goodfellow, is a domestic and nature sprite, demon, or fairy.

One of the most popular characters in English folklore of the last thousand years has been the faerie, goblin, devil or imp known by the name of Puck or Robin Goodfellow.

He’s been pictured like a brownie or a hobbit.  In a 1785 painting by William Blake, he looks like Pan from Greek mythology. Robin Goodfellow is one of the faeries known as hobgoblins or just hobs. Hob is a short form for the name Robin or Robert (“the goblin named Robin”.) Robin itself was a medieval nickname for the devil. Robin Goodfellow was not only famous for shape-shifting and misleading travellers. He was also a helpful domestic sprite much like the brownies. He would clean houses and such in exchange for some cream or milk. If offered new clothes, he’d stop cleaning. There are stories of the Phouka and Pwca doing similar deeds.

Peg o’ Nell

Peg o’ Nell, the water spirit of the River Ribble, was once a young servant girl at the local Waddow Hall. Legend ~ Peg o’ Nell was said to have slipped through the icey water and drowned in the Ribble while fetching water on a frigid night. To punish those who failed to rescue her, came back every seven years to steal a victim. On Peg’s night, when the Ribble rises to snare a new victim, and, because she could be tricked by drowning some sort of animal, it was considered appropriate to make proprietary sacrifices of small birds or animals to the river spirit.

The water-spirit of the river Ribble in Lancashire. She was said to be the ghost of a servant at Waddow Hall.

Jenny Greenteeth

Jenny Greenteeth is a figure in English folklore. A river hag, similar to Peg Powler or a grindylow, she would pull children or the elderly into the water and drown them. She was often described as green-skinned, with long hair, and sharp teeth. She is called Jinny Greenteeth in Lancashire, but in Cheshire and Shropshire she is called Ginny Greenteeth, Jeannie Greenteeth, Wicked Jenny, or Peg o’ Nell.

A similar figure in Jamaican folklore is called the River Mumma (River Mother). She is said to live at the fountainhead of large rivers in Jamaica sitting on top of a rock, combing her long black hair with a gold comb. She usually appears at midday and she disappears if she observes anyone approaching. However, if an intruder sees her first and their eyes meet, terrible things will happen to the intruder.

In Ireland and Germany she appears as a beautiful woman in a white gown, and is called respectively Bean-Fionn and die Weisse Frau. Although her visage is changed, she is still the same dreaded Jenny Greenteeth, haunting river banks and dragging her victims to their untimely deaths. The moral of all Jenny Greenteeth stories is to stay away from rivers and lakes, and it is thought that she was the imagined creation of mothers who wanted to warn their children away from the water’s edge with frightening tales. Her stories may have also derived from duckweed, an aqueous plant that wraps its tendrils around one’s leg and traps them under water.

Oakmen

At this time of year, when the oak is the most powerful tree, spirits called oakmen guard it. These are the most widespread tree fairies in England. Beware, because they are fierce guardians of their trees and do not really like humans. They appear as forest dwarfs and offer food to passing mortals, but this always turns out to be poisonous fungi disguised by glamour, the fairy magic. They also guard all the forest animals, especially foxes, and punish those who harm them. The rain that gathers in their oak hollows has powerful healing qualities.

This is the season for other spirits too, the drinking kind. Elderflower champagne, Strawberry wine, Black currant mead and Heather ale. It is said the Picts brewed a legendary ale from heather, the recipe for which was a secret. Invading Norsemen tortured the guardians of the secret in order to obtain the recipe, but to no avail.

The Box of Astaroth - The Garden of Earthly Delights Edition II

The first Garden of Earthly Delights Edition triggered a number of commissions from Bosch fans as well as a few Pieter Bruegel the Elder requests which I am currently working on.

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The Box of Astaroth – The Davenport Brothers Edition

Created with a traditional spiritualist theme in mind The Davenport Brothers edition captures the mystery and trickery of the day in the form of a miniature spirit cabinet.

The Davenports began in 1854, less than a decade after Spiritualism had taken off in America. After stories of the Fox sisters, the Davenports started reporting similar occurrences. Their father took up managing his sons and the group was joined by William Fay, a Buffalo resident with an interest in conjuring. Their shows were introduced by a former "Restoration Movement" minister, Dr. J. B. Ferguson, a follower of Spiritualism, who assured the audience that the brothers worked by spirit power rather than deceptive trickery. Ferguson was apparently sincere that the Davenports possessed spiritual powers.

The Davenports' most famous effect was the box illusion. The brothers were tied inside a box which contained musical instruments. Once the box was closed, the instruments would sound. Upon opening the box, the brothers were tied in the positions in which they had started the illusion. Those who witnessed the effect were made to believe supernatural forces had caused the trick to work.

The miniature version of the brother's box illusion mirrors their larger original with the ability to make musical instruments play from within, move objects and even make the curtains twitch in response to questions.

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The Most Mysterious Mansion in London

A wonderful article taken from one of my favourite blogs MessyNessyChic and if you've got a spare £3 million all this could be yours...

Malplaquet House is one of those places that makes everyone in the neighbourhood, or anyone walking past its mysterious overgrown gates, wish they could get a look inside. A home worthy of Miss Havisham herself, until recently this stellar cabinet of curiosities was one of London’s forgotten mansions, uninhabited for over a century, heading towards a fate of demolition…

In the 90s, the four-story Georgian mansion on Mile End Road was rescued by the Spitalfields Trust and became a Grade II listed building. Malplaquet House had even more luck when it fell in to the hands of the best possible buyers imaginable. Enter Tim Knox, British historian, former director of Sir John Soane’s Museum, (another restored London time capsule) and now director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. Together with the renowned landscape gardener Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, these two passionate collectors purchased the 275 year-old East London ruin from the Trust for £250,000. A monumental restoration project began.

Over three centuries, the house had been extensively altered up until its last domestic residents were recorded in 1895. In the 1850s, Malplaquet had seen the last of its wealthy tenants and was divided up into smaller lodgings and two shops were built upon the old front garden. Most of the double-fronted property would eventually just end up as storage space for the shops. When Tim and Todd came along in 1998, they had their work cut out for them.

“Guided by historic documentation and surviving evidence, the forecourt shops were demolished, revealing the house surprisingly intact,” says Fyfe Mcdaid, the estate agency now listing the home for £2,950,000. “Since then the owners have carefully restored the building and its garden setting, making Malplaquet House one of the most unforgettable secret houses of London.”

Unforgettable, spellbinding, thrilling romantic: these are all words that have been used to describe Malplaquet. Before the house went on sale, a local blogger, “The Gentle Author” visited the mysterious mansion and published his account along with some stellar photographs taken by Philippe Debeerst. 

"Hovering nervously on the dusty pavement with the traffic roaring around my ears, I looked through the railings into the overgrown garden and beyond to the dark windows enclosing the secrets of this majestic four storey mansion (completed in 1742 by Thomas Andrews). Here I recognised a moment of anticipation comparable to that experienced by Pip, standing at the gate of Satis House before being admitted to meet Miss Havisham. Let me admit, for years I have paused to peek through the railings, but I never had the courage to ring the bell at Malplaquet House before".

'The Devil Made Me Do It', rediscovering the toy more dangerous than the Ouija Board

I discovered this truly bizarre 'toy' by sheer coincidence, or fate you might say. When you're in my line of business you get to meet some wonderfully eccentric people and a recent FeeJee Mermaid commission led me to a client who had one of the strangest collections I'd ever seen. I delivered the mermaid personally to a location near Nottingham as they don't travel well, especially when dropped a dozen times by a disgruntled courier. The client was over the moon with the new addition to his menagerie and we started to discuss other pieces of my work such as The Swami Spirit Altar. I explained that the piece was inspired by the 'Zoltar' fortune telling machines that pepper the esplanades of many seaside towns and that I loved the aesthetics of these quirky amusements.

He then disappeared to make a cup of coffee and returned a few minuted later with two mugs of scalding hot beverages and an old box tucked under his arm. “Here, you can have that”, he said and thrust me the coffee and the box. When I looked inside I was confronted by a plastic demonic face grinning back at me nestled on top of a pile of cogs, dusty springs and dead spiders. “I bet you've never seen one of these before”, he exclaimed to which I replied a resounding “No!”. He sat back in his chair, lit his skull meerschaum pipe and started to recount a tale that not only amazed but also perplexed me. “If you don't believe me, read it for yourself”, he said and pointed at the battered box. Amongst the chipped devil-red Bakelite and flame emblazoned rusty metal was a hand written note of what the mysterious contraption used to be.

'The Devil Made Me Do It', was a 'toy' manufactured by the obscure US Silver Shamrock Toy Co. in 1951. Fans of John Carpenter may recognise the company name as the manufacturer featured in Halloween III: Season of the Witch. In the movie Silver Shamrock Novelties was a mask and novelties company that had a very evil agenda so it was fitting that he may have named it after the original 1951 company. 'The Devil Made Me Do It' was the only item ever produced by Silver Shamrock and the production run was limited to an estimated 40 units. Colman Joyce, the company proprietor was a Baptist fanatic and although 'The Devil Made Me Do It' was made with the good intention of teaching children the evils of dealing with the devil, his venture backfired. After the events I am about to discuss almost all of the 'The Devil Made Me Do It' toys were destroyed and Joyce closed the factory and vanished never to be seen or heard from again.

The concept of the toy was simple and was meant to serve as a moral lesson demonstrating that if you leave your mind open to evil thoughts, the Devil can make you do things beyond your control. The world's first and last possession toy and definitely not something you'd find perched on the shelves in Toys-R-Us. The original machine came with a deck of cards which contained images of sins being committed such as theft, murder, blasphemy, hatred and all of the things you'd expect to find in a child's game created by a religious fruitcake. The child would mix the cards face down and select three at random, placing them in front of the Devil. Taking the Devil's red right hand the child would then move the hand left, right or centre so that it pointed at one of the three chosen cards. Once a final card had been selected the Devil's eyes would eerily light up and he would reveal a ticket naming the chosen card before it was even turned over. The child would then turn over their randomly selected card and it would match the ticket every time! Thus proving that the Devil could make them theoretically commit the sin on the card without them even knowing if they ever veered from the righteous path.

The folk on the bible belt loved the 'toy' as its demonic facade scared the hell out of the kids! Joyce traveled from parish to parish giving demonstrations of 'The Devil Made Me Do It' at Sunday Schools all over the deep south. And as you can imagine, the orders came rolling in. Nobody seemed to ask or be bothered how it worked, they just saw it as a tool to keep the kids on the straight and narrow. The kids also saw it as a challenge and tried to outsmart the Devil, but whatever card they selected the Devil already knew which one they had picked because obviously, the Devil made them do it!

After a year on the road touting his satanic toy to the masses things took a turn for the worse. On the 6th June 1952 in the small town of Prospect Hill a few miles east of Greensboro, North Carolina a young man named Bobby Kelly walked into his local Sunday school with a loaded revolver and gunned down 5 of his friends. As the rest of the class hid under tables to take cover he walked up to the blackboard and scrawled 'The Devil Made Me Do It' in chalk before pointing the gun at his head and firing the sixth bullet. The words on the blackboard struck a disturbing significance with the town as Joyce had only been there months before letting the Sunday school kids play with his 'toy'. Others also saw the date of the murder, the 6th June and that six bullets had been fired as not a coincidence but a sign that the Devil had indeed made Bobby Kelly kill his friends in cold blood. Other rumors circulated that when Bobby had a go on Joyce's toy he had picked the 'Murder' card thus confirming that this had been the catalyst behind the multiple homicide.

Colman Joyce became a hunted man and he was on the most wanted list in three states. Every parish that had purchased a copy of 'The Devil Made Me Do It' performed a blessing and burning of the strange device until nearly all traces of the toy were destroyed. Neither the law nor the church ever caught up with Joyce although it is thought he made it back to his factory, emptied the safe and then vanished. Joyce was never seen again and to this day he is still held responsible for the Prospect Hill murders. Some even believe he actually was the Devil using his toy of terror to infiltrate the church and corrupt it from the inside.

The account you have just read was compiled from the notes of Reverend Morrison who had traveled to the US in the mid 60s as part of an exchange program. He bought the battered remains of what is believed to be the last of Joyce's toys in existence back to the UK. In his notes he comments that the toy had been discovered under the floorboards of a storm damaged church in Wallins Creek while it was being rebuilt. Morrison had been sent to the area to help rebuild the church and provide support to the community, some of which had been made homeless by the storm. Intrigued by the box of broken parts Morrison decided to delve into their devilish past and soon discovered that Joyce's toy was still fresh in the minds of some fearful locals. What remains of 'The Devil Made Me Do It' were discovered by my client at a house clearance in Mansfield UK, the home town of Reverend Morrison. I've no doubt that he bought the toy home where it remaining in storage until his death at the ripe old age of 96.

And so I sit here writing this blog post with the grinning red Bakelite head staring at me wondering if all of this could be possible? A device that can predict something you've chosen before you even know what you've chosen? Does it predict or does it actually influence your choice and if so how does it influence the user? As a designer of illusions I have no idea how it works, but neither has anyone else apart from Colman Joyce who took the secret to his grave.

Regardless, I feel compelled to rebuild and restore this last copy of 'The Devil Made Me Do It' to its former glory and maybe I can finally solve the mystery myself. Every time I look at that head on my studio desk I can almost hear it begging to built once again but unfortunately not all of the parts appear to be there and I have no reference material to work from regarding what it originally looked like. The box contains the following parts -

• a red Bakelite head

• a black Bakelite cloaked body

• a red Bakelite hand and pointing mechanism

• 6 sin cards – these are individually numbered as 12, 32, 17, 5, 6 and 38 so I assume there must have originally been more than 38 cards

• a wooden enclosure that the cloaked body would have been mounted on. This still has some traces of stickered artwork showing the Silver Shamrock logo and some pretty cool looking hotrod style flames around the base

• a power cord, probably to power the lights for the eyes although no bulb is present

• the rest of the components appear to be an electronic/clockwork mix

Luckily my wife's Uncle in Germany repairs clocks so I'll be shipping the mechanical parts to him for an inspection and hopefully some idea of how they originally worked. To date nothing actually reveals how the prediction/influence mechanism works or if indeed there is one which also leaves open the possibility of it working supernaturally like the Ouija Board. It's a restoration project from hell with a pretty horrific past so it only seems fitting I attempt to resurrect the 'toy' even if it only acts as a demonic conversation piece in my collection.

Has the Devil made me do it? Probably, but Joyce's demonic toy deserves a second chance.

I'll be posting the rebuilt 'The Devil Made Me Do It' on the blog soon so stay tuned!

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