Some nights you go to bed early.  Some nights you stay up for hours watching Supernatural and making your doll a pretty pink princess outfit.  At 2 in the morning, everyone is a pretty pink princess. ;)

The Haunted Vessel: Blue Mary

Grave of Mary Ritter Spaulding.

There are not a lot of local legends where I live that have ghosts attached, and even less that I will visit voluntarily.  Blue Mary is one surprising exception to this.

"Blue" Mary is a spirit that haunts Vale End Cemetery in Wilton, NH.  According to legend she appears as a blue light, and has caused any number of accidents, evps, creepy feelings, and supposed attacks.  I personally have never felt any malice in Vale End, or from Mary herself, but that's just me.  Most stories about her do suggest she is a vengeful and angry spirit, though when you hear her history it's no wonder.

In life Mary was known as Mary Ritter, or by her married name Mary Spaulding.  By all accounts she was a happy woman, marrying Captain Isaac Spaulding in 1795 and having eight children.  Some local folklore reports that Mary was a healer who specialized in using herbs, but there are no other sources to verify this information.

Uriel at Mary's grave.

Mary died in 1808 at 35 years old.  There is some mystery surrounding her death as well.  Some legends suggest that her husband was cheating on her with a younger woman (who he eventually married), and the depression and anger caused by this drove her to suicide.  Others agree with the infidelity, but say Mary wasted away on her own.  One word-of-mouth report I heard included Mary hanging herself in her home.  Whatever the case, Mary died young, leaving behind a husband and eight children.

It's traditional to leave offerings to appease
Mary. Note the pennies on her grave.

In 1809, a little over a year after his wife's death, Isaac married his second wife Mary Flynn Colburn.  Some reports suggest that this Mary was in fact the woman Isaac had been having and affair with.  When this Mary died, Isaac had her buried on top of his first wife.  It is for this reason that many people say Mary Ritter has returned to haunt Vale End.

I have been to Vale End a number of times, and have not experienced the terror that most reports insist is present.  I'm not sure exactly why that is, other than perhaps the fact that I really, truly, feel for Mary.  To me it isn't an attraction like a theme park, it's sad and unfortunate.  I like to go and talk "to" Mary, leave her little gifts as is customary, and often play her songs.

I haven't had any intense experiences, but the last time I was there I did experience something odd.  I brought my guitar along, and sat across from Mary's grave and played her songs for at least an hour.  I sang a number of covers, and then I delved into my own works, not all of which are particularly poppy or happy.  I found that when I sang my own music, I would feel a presence over my shoulder.  In particular when I sang a few songs that dealt with death, I felt the presence and the faint touch of something.

At first I thought the nearby trees were dripping on me, but this feeling occurred only when I was playing.  If I stopped playing/singing, it stopped.  There was no wind at the time, and I even moved out from underneath the trees to see if that was the cause.  However, as soon as I started playing again, the feeling return.  It honestly almost felt like tears falling on my shoulder, which is strange to say the least.

This time I went back with my sister and Uri, and we wandered around the cemetery for a while taking in the scenery.  Ghosts aside, it's truly a beautiful place to sit.  Hence why I come here so often with a book, guitar, sketch pad, etc.  I snapped some pictures of Mary's grave, and some f Uri with the grave, as well as some of the cemetery itself.

I should add that Vale End is also known for having at least two other spirits in residence.  One is an old man who wanders around near the cemetery gate.  Supposedly his daughter was buried in the grounds, but her grave was moved at some point.  The man returns and looks for his daughter's grave.


The second spirit is where most of the frightened reports come from.  According to local legend there is a Native American troll-like spirit that lives in or around the cemetery in some sort of den.  Apparently this area was the location of a massacre of Native American people by the Wilton townsfolk, and this creature is a punishment left in the wake of the violence.  I have never experienced either of these secondary ghosts, but that's just me.

Here are some more picture of the cemetery itself to give you a better idea of what the grounds look like.  It is really a beautiful place.

For more information on Mary and Vale End:

SPI's Website

Union Leader article

Ghosts of New England article

Hollow Hill article

FamilyPedia entry

Nashua Telegraph article

Upcoming

We have a really interesting Haunted Vessel post coming up this Friday.  Uriel and I went on a little road trip (okay so we drove one town over...) and got some pictures of a local haunted location.  I believe I've actually featured some photos of it here before as scenery, but I'm not going to reveal any clues.  You'll just have to wait until Friday!

It's that time of year...

I mentioned last week that Uri and I were off to do some "ghost hunting" at my sister's house.  She'd been experiencing some increasingly uncomfortable activity, and asked if I could come by and "work some mojo."  I took Uri along with me because he is my resident anti-ghost doll.  In general spirits won't mess with any of my dolls, but Uri is one that projects a very strong "go away" feeling around him.  So if I have him with me, the ghosts will generally stay a certain distance away.  

The activity seems to be consistent with what I had previously experienced when I lived there.  I believe it is the Civil War ghost I encountered last year that I discussed in this post.  She has heard the same kinds of footsteps and movement, coupled with an odd feeling of there being a male presence.  She has also most disturbingly heard a male voice when there is no man in the house, and heard our mother talking in her sleep to something that responds in that same voice.  My mother has no memory of these experiences, and pretty much dismisses the whole thing on principle.  However my sister was frightened and disturbed.

I took Uri and went through my normal process of cleansing and blessing the room.  I put Uri in the center and called to each element and my own deities for protection.  The moment I did that, the room went up at least ten degrees in temperature.  I had no recording equipment unfortunately, but I went from shivering to being hot enough to take off my sweater.  

I saged the room, and went about doing my blessing (private ritual).  The room definitely felt better afterwards, not only warmer but safer.  When I was done I stepped out of the room to leave, and I could feel a palpable difference just between the hallway and her room.  I retrieved Uri, and from then on walking was like stepping through thick fog.  The sensation of stepping through something not quite physical, but definitely present.  

Since then I've gone back to the house a few times to access some boxes I have stored there, and I can tell that the ghost is still present.  I was in the garage looking through boxes yesterday, and heard the distinct sound of footsteps on the driveway, and then across the leaves that were in front of the door.  I figured someone had come home without me hearing their car, but when I looked up nobody was there.  Further inspection revealed no cars in the driveway but mine.  That happened a couple more times while I was still in the garage, and the sound was very plainly someone walking.  

The button is still at my mother's house in storage, which is probably why the ghost is still active.  That and the facts that I'm no longer there to pay attention, and that my mother took down all the protective charms/etc. when I moved.  It took him a couple months, but he seems to be back in full swing now.  I told my sister to keep me posted on how she is feeling, and that I would try and figure out what to do with the button long-term.  

The Boys

Another Anime Convention Review!

Overall I had a good time, and was very pleasantly surprised at the size of the convention.  My little state isn't exactly known for putting on big cons, but this one was really well-attended.  I'm going to simplify this a bit and do a pro/con arrangement with a little explanation.

Pros:

• The con was actually pretty well run. Sometimes with cons that are just starting or smaller ones, you can find a lot of issues with the management.  This one however was well done, and nicely organized.  Con staff were positioned all over the place, almost at ever turn in the hotel.  They were ready to help you with just about anything from directions to fixing a broken costume.  They even had a "hotline" specifically for costume mishaps, including a text number.  Really convenient and nice people.
• Well attended, and awesomely costumed!  Seriously, there were so many amazing costumes.  
• Lots of fun activities, panels, and general craziness.
  
  There was a little rave, parasol and fan painting, video game lounge, various games going on in the hallways, a gong show, a hentai showing (hilairous!), and so much more.  I'm kind of sad I missed some of the earlier activities.  
• A wide-spread representation of fandoms in both attendees and presentations.  I saw a little of everything: Avengers, Superman, Sherlock, Loki, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, Kuroshitsuji, furries, Firefly, Dr. Horrible, Doctor Who, Homestuck, and so many more.
• Really nice (if at times overeager) attendees.  It sounds silly, but not all conventions have that welcoming feeling.  This one though definitely had it from staff and attendees alike.  Everyone was more than happy to stop and chat, take pictures, discuss their costumes, etc.  People were also really good about offering help or advice if you found yourself lost or in need of something.

That being said, there were unfortunately a few problems (some big, some not) as well.

Cons:

• The vendor's hall closed early.  Really early.  My friend and I got there at 6ish, and it was already closed for the night.  I checked the schedule and apparently it was open in the mid morning until early afternoon, then closed, opened for a half hour, closed, opened for a half hour, and finally closed completely.  This meant I wasn't able to do any shopping. :(
• We encountered a few, rather rude members of the convention staff.  I try to give them some credit because I know conventions are never easy, and I'm sure they had to deal with a lot of crap.  However, there were a few interactions that were less pleasant than they could have been.
  
  For example...When we first arrived, we got our badges and went to enter the vendor room.  It was already closed which we were unaware of, we just saw a staff member at the door checking badges.  There were still people wandering around the vendor hall at this point, in retrospect I assume they were vendors closing up.  In any event, we get our badges and go to enter.  Rather than simply saying "It's closed," we get this interaction.
  
  My friend and I walk up to go in.  The staffer at the door jumps in front of my friend and pushes him back.
  Staffer: Where do you think you're going?!
  My friend: The vendor room?
  Staffer: No you're not.
  My friend: Because...is it closed already?
  Staffer: *big exasperated sigh* Obviously! You guys should have gotten here earlier.
• Creepy, creepy, creepy men. And staff/security not being watchful enough.
  
  I get that creepy guys are everywhere, and especially at cons they can be prevalent.  I also understand that you can't just kick people out or bar them for no reason but...
  
  There were a lot of older, very sleazy men hanging around the young girls of the convention (I would say 80% of attendees were under 18).  Some were just oggling, some were following them around and snapping pictures.
  
  I actually spoke to one of the staffers/attendees and she told me a very unsettling story.  She was at the front of the hotel outside, and a number of older men approached her asking how they could get into the party.  She asked if they were there for the convention, and they said no, they'd just heard there were underage girls in skimpy outfits and they wanted to come look.  They actually said this...
  
  Unfortunately there was also an issue with an older man who kept telling people he was the "official photographer."  Technically he had a staff pass, but he was using his position to get information like phone numbers, e-mail, and addresses from young female attendees.  He kept saying he'd send their photos if they told him where they lived/their number, but when asked by an older attendee he admitted he just wanted the e-mails to contact the women.  Ew.
• Finally, and most unfortunately...there was a lot of sexism, racism, and anti gay language in at least one of the panels we attended.  Now I'm no stranger to bad/offensive jokes, and I get that a con can have some pretty crazy behavior.  But to have a con-sponsored panel where the presenters yelled things like "lesbian!" as insults to the audience, and made racial and sexist jokes just wasn't acceptable.  

Overall I would definitely attend AAC again, and I think I would go for the whole weekend.  I feel like I missed out by only going for a day.

New eyes and...oops.

Got Uri's new eyes in the mail today and unfortunately they are way too small. :( Eyes are like jeans, every company makes the "same" sizes, but they all fit differently.  In this case it was a question of the white part of the eye, it was just too small to fit his eye holes.  The funny thing is that the pair he was wearing were also 16mm, and fit perfectly.  They are just way too dark for him.  So Arashi got a new pair of eyes instead. ;)

I think I'm going to go searching for his old metallic eyes as I missed those anyway.  They're somewhere in one of my moving boxes, so it might take a while...Poor eyeless Uri.

Convention Photos!

I only have two pictures from the convention, though I know there's at least one more floating around.  The first is of me with some great Whedon cosplayers (Jayne and Simon from Firefly and Captain Hammer from Dr. Horrible), and the second is one I took myself.  I loved my costume, though Uri's could use some more work.  Not bad for making it the night before. :)

Convention time!

Uri and I are headed out to Another Anime Convention tomorrow, and I've decided we will be dressed as our killjoy alter egos: I will be Baby Berzerker and he will be Afterburn.  My friend is going as a steampunk Dr. Horrible of sorts, so I think we'll fit in.

I have pretty much everything I need for Uri's costume, but there are still a few things I need for his and a bunch for mine.  So...craft store shopping after work!  And pictures will ensue. :)

Mary Sue?

Just took the Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test with Uriel in mind and he scored a 6, which is the lowest any of my characters have scored thus far.  Granted I've spent so long developing his character that I'm not entirely surprised.  I think I will try Nowell next.

*Edit: Nowell is at 12, still considered not a Mary Sue.

The Haunted Vessel: Island of the Dolls

I briefly (very briefly) mentioned this particular haunt in a HV post before.  The show Destination Truth did a small feature on it once, and I discussed that in terms of "paratainment."  However, it is a creepy and fascinating story on its on, so I felt it deserved a little more air time.

The "Island of the Dolls" or "LaIsla de la Munecas"as it is known by natives, is a prime haunted tourist attraction in Mexico.  The island had deep canals that run through it, and legend says that a young girl fell and drowned in one.  Supposedly it is her spirit that demands the dolls.

The island garnered most of its dolls from a hermit named Don Julian Santana who moved to the island and spent the end of his life there.  He would fish the dolls out of the canals or gather them from traders and tourists.  He said it was done to appeal the spirit of the little girl.  The dolls quickly began to cover the island, and hung from every possible perch.  Don Julian died in 2001, and was supposedly found drowned in the same canal that claimed the young girl's life.  

Since then the island has grown in popularity as a tourist attraction for ghost hunters and the curious alike.  Tradition states you must bring a doll as an offering, or the ghost of the little girl will haunt you.  Some have said they have heard the dolls whispering or seen them move.  In the post I linked above, Destination Truth apparently captures one of the dolls moving on camera.

*Images from Google.*
Information from: F***kYeahNightmares Tumblr. Wikipedia entry.

Happy two years!

Uri has officially been with me two years as of today!

A retrospective of some of Uri's looks...

I like to joke that Uriel does silly things when he thinks hes not getting enough attention, like chipping his face up or getting random stains or the like.  Well tomorrow is his 2 year anniversary, and I picked him up last night to do a few things and lo and behold his face up was chipped.  All over the place.  And he'd barely moved from that one spot since I did it. o_o

So I quickly removed what was left last night, and tonight when I get home I'll be soaking his head for a while before repainting.  He has some staining from before I got him, but I might be able to get some of it off with a little more soaking.

Before that though, Uri and I are off to do a bit of "ghost hunting" at my sister's house.  Not so much hunting as saging, purifying, and then putting up wards, but it sounds better the other way. ;)  Uriel has always been a doll that ghosts go out of their way to avoid, so I'm taking him with me as extra protection.  I'm not really worried about running into too much trouble as I believe I know the ghost and he's not overly dangerous, just in need of some attention.  But it's always good to have extra back up.

More Arashi spam!

Today was "take your imp to work day."  Or maybe just Tuesday, either way I took Arashi with me.  

Strike a zombie pose!

New elastic allows him to do things like this. Just wait til he's sueded too!

My favorite ability about the SDC body, although it's a bit hampered in these leather pants.

Spa night!

Spent the evening restringing and painting Arashi (name on hold for the moment), and he is finally finished.  I did eyebrows folks, EYEBROWS.  I knew there was a reason I liked most of my dolls without them...  I decided to just go for it, consequences be damned.  Oddly enough I like it, go figure.  Now it's time to take the boy out for some photos!

What is your wishlist?

I saw VampireAngel13 over at Paint it Black Studio do this and since she posed the same question at the end, I thought I'd steal it for my own blog.

Right now my wishlist is all clothes, shoes, and wigs.  Wigs especially, for Arashi in particular.  I don't know why he's such a hard doll to style, but he is.

Ideally I'd want a couple different wigs for him, both fur and synthetic.  I have a few picked out, but this is a really tight month (season!) so I don't think that's going to happen any time soon.  Uriel also really  needs some new wigs, both synthetic and fur.  Not as much as Arashi, but close.

And clothes, these boys never have enough clothing!  I'm going to try and remedy that tonight by doing some sewing, but we'll see how that goes.

So what's on your dolly wishlist?

Haunted Vessel: Carl Tanzler and the Human Doll

*Warning: This story is both creepy and extremely disturbing.  More so than the ones I normally post.  It deals with a dead body and a very deranged doctor, so please take that into account before you read.*

Carl Tanzler was a doctor at the United States Marine Hospital in Key West, Florida in their tuberculosis wing.  He met Maria Elena Milagro "Helen" de Hoyos in 1930, when she was admitted to the ward suffering from tuberculosis.  Medical treatments for many illnesses, tuberculosis included weren't what they are today, and Maria died a year later.

Carl was by all accounts very obsessive about Maria in life, and this attention did not end with her death.  After all his treatments had failed and she passed, Carl eventually stole her body from its grave.  He spent every waking moment trying to preserve the body of his "love."  He used innumerable preservatives, perfumes, and eventually much more frightening methods.

He replaced her skin with silk soaked in plaster, strung her bones with piano wire, stuffed her full of rags, and even made a wig out of her own hair as it fell out.  There were also reports of sexual abuse of the corpse, but these were not verified at his trial.  In the end, Maria became more doll than human, her face appearing painted on to her own "skin."

By the time Carl was found out and tried, the statute of limitations on grave robbing and desecration had already expired, and he was not punished for his crimes.  Maria suffered further as her body was examined by scientists and then put on display
for the public.  She was eventually reburied in an unmarked grave.


*Information and images from: Weird Worm, and Carl's Wikipedia article.

How can anyone resist that face?!

One more post for good measure.

If I had to pick one thing about bjds that was my favorite, one thing above all else, I would have to say it's their ability to change.  In very few other art mediums can you create something so fully; make a solid character down to the last eyelash, and then change it completely.  All without altering the fundamental base.  I love that these dolls can (and have) change and grow with me.

Of my dolls I probably have two that are my favorite.  Obviously Uri is one.  He's easy, I love everything about him.  He is one of my favorite sculpts, he's easy to paint and style, I am very inspired by him, and I'm very connected to him.  The other is less easily mapped out.

I've never really had what one would call a "grail" doll.  Sure there are sculpts I like, but just liking them doesn't mean I'm desperate to own them.  I tend to shoot more within a realistic range.  If it so happens that I can get something I've liked in the past great, but I don't have an overreaching goal where dolls are concerned. 

That being said, I have always loved the Volks SDC Arashi sculpt. I first saw it on DoA with JennyNemesis' Rowan.  At the time I owned no Volks dolls, and to be honest they seemed way out of my price range/ability.  I thought he was probably the coolest doll I'd ever seen, and followed her threads pretty avidly.  It never occurred to me that I could actually own that doll.  I haunted the AngelDen website and poked through the Volks databases, always returning to see that same smiley face.

Then earlier this year on a whim I checked the marketplace.  I honestly don't remember what I was looking for, but I can tell you it certainly wasn't Arashi.  I owned a couple of Volks at this point, but I still had no concept of the idea that I could have my own cute boy.  Then I saw him for sale, a good deal and all, and I jumped.  It still doesn't seem real now, and I've had him for almost a year. 

I've fought him a lot along the way.  I may love Volks dolls, but I can't really paint them to save my life.  So he's been through more face ups than any other doll I've owned (even Uri!), and tried all different wigs, eyes, and tons of outfits.  I even bought him leather pants and "new rock" boots.  Granted that was probably partially in an attempt to recreate some of the things I loved about the first Arashi I saw.  Not so say it's not my style as well because it is, but now I feel like I need to start over.

So after a couple months in hiatus I've stripped his face up and changed him out of his leathers, and we're going to start over.  I'm not sure what his name will be or what his style will be, but I look forward to finding it.  That's the beauty in these dolls.  I found something that I love, and against the odds managed to make it mine.  I couldn't quite bring him to the place I wanted design-wise, but there's always the opportunity to start over.  So here I go.

Trying new looks for Nowell just because.  I actually really like this with his face up and pretty blue eyes.  All this black makes him look like the Crow.  He did have to steal Gabe's clothes, but for the moment it's okay. ;)  I don't think the pants are really his style, nor are the shoes, but it's not a bad change.

Haunted Vessel: Okiku Doll

Early on in this blog I described the belief that dolls are special because they are vessels.  They are both empty and humanoid, making them particularly receptive for spirits of all kinds.  This belief is found in many different cultures across the world, though perhaps none as much as Japan.  

Called the Okiku Doll after its original owner, this doll was said to have been purchased in 1918 by Okiku's older brother Eikichi Suzuki. He bought it as a souvenir for his sister, who was two years old at the time.  The story says that he brought it home and little Okiku fell in love with it, spending a great deal of time with the doll.

Tragically, Okiku died not long after, apparently from a cold or similar illness.  After her death, family members began to notice something odd about the doll she left behind.  When purchased the doll had short, bob-style hair.  After Okiku's death however, the hair began to grow and grow.  The family took this as a sign that their daughter's spirit had taken refuge in the doll.

The Okiku Doll now resides at the Mannenji Temple, and the hair apparently still grows.  It is periodically trimmed, but never fails to keep its length.

*Information and images from: PinkTentacle, and The Winchester Huntings.

Of course I spent all that time yesterday writing out a long summary for Nowell, and as soon as I finished I thought, "Hmm...you know what I could change..."  Back to the drawing board again. ;)  But while I revamp him, here's some pictures of him with his new face up.

I decided I'm taking him with me to the Ren Faire on Friday, so I'll be working on his outfit tonight and tomorrow.  I'm still not sure what wig he's going to wear, but we'll figure something out.  I've got a few synthetic ones and a couple more fur that might fit him.  I love the orange color I just think I want something a little different for him.  Hmm..

Dolly Spotlight: Nowell