Synaesthesia

If you've read through the "Muses" page there's probably a word in Drusilla's description that seems a little foreign. As a psychology major I've encountered it on many occasions, and even done some independent study on it because I find it so interesting. I've taken some artistic liberties with Drusilla's version of synaesthesia, but it's still somewhat true to life.

Synaesthesia is essentially a "crossing" of the senses. This can (and does) happen naturally, though more often than not people hear about it because of psychadelic drugs. There are a number of different forms, but a simple example would be seeing music as well as hearing it. The individual experiences the stimuli though the intended sense as well as through another sense. The information "crosses" over and is perceived by both sight and sound.

Generally people experience one kind of synaesthesia throughout their life. Whether it be grapheme-color, auditory, visual, or otherwise, it is generally just one. Not to say that people can't experience multiples, it just isn't frequently documented.

Drusilla's character is unique in that she does experience an intense, complete synaesthesia with all her senses. Her angelic form was non compatible with the human body, and so many things got "crossed" along the way. Generally when stories are told of angels coming down in a physical sense, they do not take a true human form. Either they appear in a more divine way or they have a semblance of humanity. In my fiction of Drusilla I term it as them having a "shell" body. That body is not fundamentally human but a creation, and as such fits the angelic aspect perfectly. Drusilla's body on the other hand was human. Angels are described as being along the lines of pure energy or spirit, and this spirit cannot just slip into a human body like the "ghost in the machine."

As such, Drusilla perceives things with both her human and angelic senses. She perceives bits of energy and spirits, but also the physical sensations. This is interpreted as a kind of synaesthesia. She may listen to music and see the sound waves and notes as various colors/pictures, as well as receiving the sensation of sound. Such an existence is complicated to say the least, and it was very overwhelming for her.

As I mentioned earlier, synaesthetics usually don't experience a mix of all senses, and part of the reason why may be because it would be too much. Synaesthesia does take some getting used to, and even still some individuals with this condition do report being overwhelmed when they go out and experience too many levels of sensation. So while Dru's synaesthesia is a little exaggerated, it does have a basis in fact.

For more information about synaesthesia check out this site.

Photostory: Violets, mice, and dancing oh my!

Ms. Elise: What are you up to over there?
Drusilla: *singing: kiss the violets as they're waking up*

Drusilla: Can I go outside?
Ms. Elise: No, it's cold and wet out there. Maybe tomorrow.
Drusilla: But the violets are laughing at me! I want to go to their ball.

Ms. Elise: ?

Drusilla: See, they're out there dancing with the kisses. Sweet little things...

Ms. Elise: I see.
Drusilla: Two of me, one of you...we could do the Cajun waltz. *humming* Dance, dance, don't step on the mouse.

Drusilla: What shall we tell the porter?

Ms. Elise: Tell him...tomorrow?
Drusilla: Good, good. Mr. Munkus will be happy to know.

Notes: Dru's singing in the beginning comes from a Tori Amos song called "Cloud On My Tongue." Mr. Munkus is a shortened name for Munkustrap who is from Cats the Musical.

Crow visits the Blue Lady.

I took Crow back out to the "Blue Lady" cemetery which is supposedly notorious for its resident ghost. We left Mary some shiny new pennies, but didn't really experience anything. I did get some nice photos though. :)

Crow on the rock wall that surrounded the cemetery.

Some neat trees behind the wall.

The infamous grave. The pennies we left weren't caught in the photo unfortunately.

My cute boy. :)

I Don't Do Subtle Contest Entry

Here is my entry for Alysonsfriend's t-shirt customizing contest. I am beyond happy with how it came out! :)

The Haunted Vessel: Origin

If you ask ten people about dolls, even ten girls, I guarantee you that at least nine of them will relate some creepy story. It might be a personal experience they had with a doll of their own, or even just a story they've heard about a famous haunted doll. Either way, there is something unnerving about them. Even frightening at times.

In their earliest incarnations, dolls walked a fine line between plaything and religious or ritual item. As far back as Egypt children were found buried with dolls next to them, at times even well-loved ones. At the same time dolls were also frequently used for ritual purposes.

Many cultures saw dolls as a unique because they were so human-like, and yet so empty. Again there was a duality here. Due to its emptiness a doll could be a vessel for something. They would be given to children as protection from spirits, with the assumption that the spirit might get trapped in the empty vessel. Conversely the dolls could be a vessel for something good. They could be filled with protective amulets or simply attract protective spirits.

On the other hand dolls could be intentionally filled with a certain kind of energy, as is seen with poppets or voodoo dolls. These kinds of dolls are not so much play things as they are physical representations of a spell or ritual (or even an individual).

Ball jointed dolls (including things like Pullips and Obitsus as well) seem to fall into this "in between" category of toy and spirit vessel. From my own experiences I have found them far from empty. We as collectors fill them with all sorts of energy, intentionally or otherwise. The amount of time and effort people put into them as well as the emotions and details of their characters can seem to literally create that personality. Especially because of the intense realism many of them possess, they are raised to a whole different level. As I sit here typing this with Crow and Dru looking on, I can't help but think they are more than just toys. :)

Links to check out:

Wikipedia- Basic information on dolls and their origins.
Japanese dolls- Wikipedia page on the evolution of dolls in Japan.
The Doll House- A series of episodes of Ghost Hunt, one of my favorite animes. Lots of neat doll details (and it's creepy!).
Haunted Dolls-More on this later, but a great site with many different haunted doll/toy stories.
Ancient and Medieval Dolls

"The Haunted Vessel" Introduction

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Elliot

Fall is my favorite season. :) I may be biased because many of my favorite things happen during this time (such as my birthday and Halloween), but it all feels so magical anyway. I have a very love-hate relationship with the public image of October however. On one hand I love that the supernatural comes to the forefront during this time. On the other the hand, where is it the rest of the year? Granted I'm the kind of person who would have Halloween everyday if they could...

The supernatural is also a big part of my life, though I understand it's not everybody's thing. So, I decided that during this month I'm going to feature various supernatural doll stories. If it's not your thing, feel free to ignore it, but otherwise enjoy! Stay tuned for the first installment of The Haunted Vessel!

Dolly Talk: Sacred and Profane

I just finished doing a little aesthetic work on Drusilla to make her more "herself." I added the seal of the archangel Michael on her chest (over her heart) and scars on her back for her lost wings. Both appear like crosses between scars and burns, though the seal is decidedly more burn-like.


Story-wise she received the seal from Michael (at left) when he found out what happened and her death was ordered. He placed the mark as his "claim" and protection for her. The back scars are the physical representation of her angelic wings that are no more. She never actually had wings on her physical body, but these appeared after she inhabited it. Kind of like sympathy pains I guess.

This brings up the debate of using symbols (at times sacred ones) on something as trivial as a doll. I know there's at least one thread on DoA to discuss this issue as well as other similar ones like giving your doll the name of a god and so on. You can probably already tell where I sit in the debate from the beginning of this post.

As a general disclaimer for this post and some that will follow, I am a practicing pagan. A Hellenistic Reconstructionist if you want to get specific, but basically I practice in similar ways to what my Greek ancestors did. A good amount of my dolls are of the pagan persuasion, and that's partially an influence of my own beliefs and comfort zone.

I think it's important to approach anything of this nature be it symbol, name, or otherwise with a good deal of respect. Even if it's not something you personally subscribe to, that doesn't mean you shouldn't treat it respectfully. I have personal knowledge of the pagan symbols/details I've put into my characters, and as such I am comfortable with using them fairly freely. However when it came to Dru's symbol for example, I was slower to "jump" into things.

As a non-Christian, I wanted to make sure I knew just what the symbols meant before I did anything with them. The angel Michael was a favorite from when I was raised Catholic, so I was already familiar with some things attributed to him. I researched the seals and sigils of the angels and found several versions of Michael's, some of those with slight differences. The one I eventually went with can be found at this website, and was my favorite design-wise.

Overall I think it's important to do your research and know what you're putting on your doll. Realize that a simple design for you might be something very important for someone else. :)

Pictures of Dru are forthcoming.