Spooky Attractions

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays and times of the year. I am still not sure if Christmas beats it…

Anyways, there is always something attractive in creeps in the dark, mysteries hidden in the shadows, secrets that may be unveiled. I think it is actually the main thrill and allure of the scare is to decide whether or not we want to know what's hidden, whether or not we want to see it and how far we can go to find out. Like, if you are at the graveyard would you actually want to know that afterlife exists and SEE a ghost? And if you do, then what?

Once upon a time I was walking in the deep forest late November in England. (Not alone, otherwise the story would be 10 minutes short and I would have become an inciting incident).

We stumbled on a ruined tower, all covered in crawling branches and thorny bushes. It had no roof, but lots of stairs around it that lead nowhere. A picture straight outta Maleficent movie.

An old folk who lived near the forest told us a tale that it was an actual place (not a false tourist attraction), where Robin Hood found his last rest. He shot his last arrow from the top of the roof, minutes before his death, and he wished to be buried where the arrow landed. Indeed, 200 yards away there was an ancient grave, destroyed by the time and yet so incredibly charming. Dated 12th century there was a tombstone, written in old English, impossible to read, but the one name was hard to miss : “Robin”.

We had to celebrate this unique and such a fulfilling finding. My friends and I all tattooed a small arrow in different places on our bodies, to always have a Robin Hood with us. Mine is behind my right ear. We collected the blood from the procedure in individual cups and poured it into Robin Hood’s grave, so part of us will forever stay with him to keep him company and tell the tales.

Since then Robin and I have stayed connected. (Take whatever you want from this statement).

Once upon a time chasing my graveyard thrill and admiration for a gothic architecture led me to taking on a Ghost role myself. I found the most beautiful gothic church with a graveyard (obviously), which was ironically located 10 minutes from where I used to live. I got inspired by the tale of Harry Potter’s “Deathly Hallows” about 3 gifts from death. I remembered that the resurrection stone brought back the woman from the dead, who the second brother was supposed to marry. But she didn’t find her place in the world of the living and eventually she faded away. I was inspired by the idea of the Bride of the Death and wanted to recreate her and explore how she could possibly look and feel, and what her life would be in the afterworld. Just as always, my unstoppable curiosity of what the ghost or any paranormal creature might experience in their possible existence.

You always want to understand something that you don’t. And if there is a sense of potential danger and thrill attached, it makes it even more appealing. Enticement of the horror could be compared to the allure of romantic comedies , but instead of warm comfort of love story that doesn’t exist in real life, you get the adrenalin rush and than pleasant feel of comfort afterwards. ( Well, in most cases. Please don’t lead yourself to the stroke).

Once upon a time I made my friend levitate.

She stayed in the air for 5 seconds. Unexplainable, but fact is right in front of you. Maybe there is something witchy involved here, who knows.

Once upon a time I discovered Photoshop and immediately got a Black Swan Syndrome. Without any questions it determined my Halloween costume that year.

‘Silent Hill’ was another fun movie to learn how you could deface yourself for fun. Boy, Photoshop has endless possibilities.

Once upon a time I embraced my love for the Dark Arts. But I decided to get away from the campy side of it and look for the pure emotion, that darkness may reveal. Something that is authentic and gives itself away itself once you look at it. There could be panic, suffocation and pain. But the main feature that unites those three is that it’s temporary and will go away no matter what. Joyful relief will come inevitably. And the only thing that is left to do is catch the moment when the excruciating emotion at its highest point. Then we will remember and take it as nothing more but the past.

Once upon a time Halloween made my heart black for one night and I was happy.

And I stayed happy.

Happy Halloween!