World Goth Day May 22, 2018



According to Wikipedia:

"May 22 is World Goth Day. The Official World Goth Day site defines it as "a day where the goth scene gets to celebrate its own being, and an opportunity to make its presence known to the rest of the world."[1]

World Goth Day originated in the United Kingdom in 2009. BBC Radio 6 was looking at a number of music subcultures throughout a week in May, including Goth music. Goth DJs Cruel Britannia and martin oldgoth got an event up and running. It was decided that May 22 would be the day when this event would be held regularly.[2]

The tradition continued and spread outside the United Kingdom, with a website being initiated to coordinate and advertise events worldwide.[3]

World Goth Day celebrates the sub cultural aspects of the Goth subculture. Aspects of the culture like fashion, music and art are celebrated by fashion shows, art exhibitions and music performance. Many of the events feature local Goth bands, and some have taken on a charity aspect with events in the United Kingdom and Australia supporting favoured charities like the UK Sophie Lancaster Foundation, a charity that tries to curb prejudice and hatred against subcultures. [4]

The event has evolved to be now celebrated by goths all around the world, including the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Macedonia and South Africa."





Are you doing anything to celebrate World Goth Day?

I'm considering attending Convergence 24 in Detroit from April 27th to the 29th, 2018.   

I was invited to be a vendor but my daughter gets done with college that week and we have to get her and all her stuff and bring her home for the summer (12 hour round trip drive). So vending is out, but I might be able to fit in something one day. I don't know, just depends on how the schedule works out.

According to the event page it is going to be great- I wish I could see Bella Morte. They were at the Flint Vampire Ball several years ago and they were awesome.

"Convergence has finally come to the darkest city in America..Detroit! Our music will be held at Small's in Detroit. There will, of course be DJed music and a band line-up that includes..

Bella Morte 
Sunshine Blind
Ego Likeness
The Bellwether Syndicate 
Autumn
Acid Casualty
Curse of Cassandra

Come enjoy music and other Gothic activities such as an historic cemetery tour, a tea service, the Dark Art Show, vendors, and more! There are also activities for children so parents can bring the family. Come to Detroit this April, because hell is empty and all the devils are here!"


So I'm not sure how I'll celebrate World Goth Day this year. I think I'll have a sale on all my Gothspired creations.

Halloween DIY Goth Skull and Roses on a Coffin







Items Needed:

Wood for Coffin- this coffin is approximately  8 3/4 inches tall by 5 inches wide- download a pdf template here

Saw to cut wood (my husband uses a bandsaw)

Sandpaper or power sander 

Black and Red Paint







Scissors

Wax Paper






Instructions:

1) Cut out wood coffin shape 

2) Sand until smooth

3) Cover your surface with wax paper. Paint entire surface of wood coffin with your first color. This is the color that will show through the crackle. I used a red base so the crackle would be red showing through black. I paint the back, let it dry then flip it over and paint the front. 

4) I don't usually crackle the back. So once the entire coffin is dry, coat the front with crackle. I use FolkArt Crackle Medium. The thicker the crackle coat you apply, the bigger the cracks will be.

Tip- go with the grain. Paint and apply crackle in the direction of the wood grain. Either side to side or up and down.  This is very important when adding your final paint coat over the crackle.

5) Once the crackle medium is dry apply your top coat of paint. You want your foam brush to be full of paint so you can apply it in long thick strokes. Just one stroke, one coat, get it right the first time because if you try to add more paint it will smear the paint and crackle designs. Paint with the wood grain. One long stroke. Keep doing this across the entire top surface.

6) Once everything is dry apply your Polycrylic clear coat to protect the paint.

7) Once the entire coffin is painted, crackled, clear coated and dry to the touch, add the sawtooth hangers to the back of your coffin. If you wait until after your design is complete you'll crush your skull and roses trying to add the hanger.







8) Now it is time to plan placement of your skulls and roses. Add your skull in the center. Pop the heads off your rose bush.




9) Snip the base off the rose so it is as flat as possible to glue onto the wood. That means snipping off the stem and hard plastic leaves. 

10) Once you know where you want the skull and roses start attaching with glue. The skull gets glued down first. Then the top rose, then the two side roses, then the bottom two roses.

11) Let everything dry and your Skull and roses coffin should be ready to hang up.

If you don't have a saw or are not comfortable with power tools you can find pre-cut wood coffins on eBay and Etsy.

The Legend of the Jack O’Lantern



The legend of the Jack O’Lantern originated in Ireland with a tale of a miserly blacksmith named Stingy Jack.

On Halloween night Jack ran into the devil at a pub. Before the devil could collect his doomed soul, Jack convinced the devil he should have one last drink but he had no money. 

Jack was as sly as he was stingy. He convinced the devil to turn into a sixpence so he could get that last drink. The devil’s pride was his downfall, he couldn’t resist showing off his shapeshifting skills so he promptly became a sixpence on the counter.

Jack didn’t buy a drink, he shoved that sixpence into his pocket with a silver cross and trapped the devil. He wouldn’t let the devil out until he promised not to collect Jack’s soul for another ten years.

Ten years later on Halloween night the devil tried to collect Jack’s soul again. This time Jack convinced the devil to fetch him an apple. While the devil was in the tree jack pulled out his penknife and carved a cross on the trunk of the tree trapping the devil in the tree. Jack condition for getting the devil down?  He made the devil promise not to come calling for his soul ever again.

When Jack died years later he was turned away from Heaven for his sinful ways. When he tried to enter Hell the devil said “I cannot break my word” because he had promised not to collect Jack’s soul. “Go away; go back where you came from,” the devil shouted at him.”

“It’s dark, how will I find my way?” Jack asked.

The devil threw him a glowing coal which Jack placed in a turnip he had been eating. He became Jack of the Lantern wandering the earth alone for all eternity.

Throughout England and Ireland ghostly lights would appear over bogs and marshes. These lights were known as Lantern Men, Hob O’Lanterns, Will-O’- the-Wisps, Corpse Candles and Jack O’Lanterns.

These pale eerie lights would bob along like a lantern in someone’s hand. Horses would shy away from such lights, people learned to beware.  Following the lights could lead a person to doom. Following the lights would cause people to get lost and sometimes sucked into a watery grave in the bogs and swamps.

The ghostly lights hanging over graves in swampy areas were known as Corpse Candles. Fishermen in Kent believed them to be messages from sailors lost at sea who want a proper burial. Legend says that if you can find any piece of the sailor, even just one bone, and bury it properly the soul will be satisfied and the Corpse Candle will go out.

If you encounter Jack on the road you should put out your lantern so Jack doesn’t smash it to pieces. And don’t let him follow you home.

Scientists call these strange lights ignis fatuus which is Medieval Latin for "foolish fire".  These marshy lights caused by gas escaping from rotting vegetation.  But what causes the phosphorescent color and the bobbing motion? Are fairies or spirits behind these mysterious occurrences? Why are they so predominant during the Halloween season?

Better not take any chances, carve your own lantern to keep you safe. In Scotland lanterns were originally carved from turnips and in Ireland they used potatoes. In the English village of Hinton St George punkies are carried through town on Halloween night. These “punkies” are special lanterns carved from large beets known as mangel-wurzels. Prizes are awarded for the best carved beets.

In the United States immigrants discovered the American Pumpkin, a new canvas for their lantern art. The bright colors, round shapes and soft insides made them perfect for carving.





Seeking Info Flint Ghost Stories, History, and Mysteries



I am compiling a collection of ghost stories that take place in Flint. 




I am currently looking for details about a few specific places in the Flint area- history, mysteries, mysterious deaths, deaths on site, stories about hauntings and weird activity. 

Bervean Apartments
318 W 2nd Street

Cornwall Building
624 S Grand Traverse

The Dryden Building
601 Saginaw Street

Whaley House
624 E Kearsley Street

Stockton Center at Spring Grove
720 Ann Arbor Street

The Capital Theatre
140 E 2nd St

Flint Amusement Park (closed in the 1960s) and 
Flint Park Lake (also known as Devil's Lake)


Please contact me with details or complete the form below.

If you have any ghost stories about other Flint locations please complete the form below.

https://goo.gl/forms/7l7gHz2bwLkIRfRV2


Witches Night Out - Fowlerville 2018



Bewitching Creations will be vending at



Witches Night Out - Fowlerville 2018
Saturday, October 6 at 3 PM - 11 PM 

Last year's Witches Night Out was a rocking good time. 

Thousands of women swarmed the Fowlerville Fairgrounds dressed in Bewitching best to eat, drink, shop and have an all around good time. 

There were tons of vendors, food trucks, and booze. There were also Tarot card readers, psychics, and ghost hunters. The costume and cackle contest was quite entertaining, too.

I hope they get the same band they had last year because Rock Candy kept the dance floor full all night long.

2018 is supposed to be bigger and better. 

So start planning your costume and shine up your broom so you can fly in to 
Fowlerville on October 6.

See ya there, witches.

Goth Home Decor

These are a few of the things my husband and I make.  

He makes all kinds of wood things as Robert's Rustic Creations- shadowboxes, tool storage, shelves, chalkboards, rustic decor....

For my Goth and Witchy things- he does the woodworking for me- which means he uses the power tools ;-) while I do the majority of the design and paint.  

I'm not a big fan of power tools (mainly saws- even after years of woodworking class in school they freak me out) though I do love the Dremel and the power sanders so finish work is no problem but I leave the cutting to him.

I post our products on the Bewitching Creations Facebook page. Some things make it into the Etsy Store but most items sell at events or go direct to buyers. If you ever see something you like and are interested in purchasing let me know. If I don't have it in stock I might be able to custom make a new one for you.

I have several new designs we're working on for upcoming events.  Hoping some of the finer details work out. More intricate things take finding the right parts and pieces so everything comes together perfectly. Not all designs I come up end up working out :-( 

What kind of Gothic home decor items would you love to see?

These are cast iron skull bottle openers on wood coffins. These mount to the wall. 
Holes are pre-drilled and screws provided for easy mounting.


Wall hangings- saw tooth hangers on back.

Wall hangings

Coffin Shadow Boxes, hang on the wall to display your trinkets


New Life Into Old Artwork



I painted these dress forms and corsets back in 2009. 

Cute, but boring. I always felt they needed something more, I just has no idea what. So they were shoved in a box, tucked away and forgotten about. 

Until Friday night/Saturday morning around 3 AM. I couldn't sleep, I was looking around my room and suddenly had an idea for these paintings.

Here's what I came up with- I added a hat, broom, and cat and tada a cute witchy scene.

I have a few more to finish and the one red and white corset is going to become a Christmas scene, that one is just screaming for a Santa hat. :-)


The top two are my favorite, the black corset and the orange and black corset. I think those are going to be framed and put on my wall. The others can be added to stuff I'll sell at events. I'm just glad I finally did something with them. I really hate unfinished projects.

Hauntings in Flint Michigan?



Shadows lurking in corners, voices in the middle of the night, cold spots sending shivers up and down your spine…





Every city has ghosts, some more than others. Places that have seen battles, horrible disasters, and deadly histories are reported to be the most haunted.

New Orleans, Louisiana; San Francisco, California; Savannah, Georgia; Athens, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Washington D.C.; Portland, Oregon; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Galveston, Texas; and Baltimore, Maryland are often considered to be America’s top ten most haunted cities. Salem, Massachusetts and Charlotte, North Carolina often make America’s Most Haunted lists as well.

Such pain and suffering are sure to leave a mark. From feelings of unease, to reports of ghostly specters and terrifying encounters- the stories of hauntings in these cities are sometimes scarier than the history that created the ghosts.

All these cities have seen their share of disasters, battles, and shady dealings.

They are also large, well known cities that are popular travel destinations. Flint isn’t large and it sure isn’t a touristy destination but it has an extensive history of pain, suffering, crime, and hardship.

Flint is home to ancient Native American battle sites and burial grounds, the Sit Down Strike of 1936-37, unsolved murders, economic depression, social injustice, and now the water crisis. An unholy brew of energy that has led to freaky tales of ghostly encounters and demonic possession.


From ghostly graveyard apparitions to spooky specters spotted in theaters - Flint is filled with ghosts. Two of downtown Flint’s old mansions have reported strange activities, sounds, and voices from beyond. 

What ghostly shenanigans have you witnessed in Flint?




I am compiling a collection of haunting stories that take place in Flint. 

Have you ever had a scary encounter or witnessed something unexplainable in Flint?

If you have, I would love it if you could share your experiences by completing this form.

https://goo.gl/forms/7l7gHz2bwLkIRfRV2


Henderson Castle One of Michigan’s Most Haunted Locations





Every Halloween Henderson Castle in Kalamazoo tops the list of Michigan’s most haunted locations. It has been a featured location in three horror movies and has been the destination of many ghost hunters and paranormal investigators. In October they often feature Haunted Henderson Tours.

The Queen Anne Victorian was designed by C. A. Gombert.  “The castle’s exterior was constructed of Lake Superior sandstone and brick, and the interior wood included mahogany, bird's eye maple, quartered oak, birch, and American sycamore. The castle was built with 25 rooms in all and exemplified the most expensive tastes of the time.” The home was completed in 1895 but Mr. Henderson didn’t get to enjoy the beauty for long. He died in 1899. Mrs. Henderson remained at the castle until 1908.

The Castle is currently a quaint Bed and Breakfast, Vineyard, Day Spa, and restaurant owned by Master Chef Francois Moyet.




After a little research I decided I wanted to stay there and see what all the fuss was about. So I booked a two night stay back in 2014. We stayed in the Italian Room in the main tower.

Upon arrival I was awed by the castle’s beauty but filled with unease. Suddenly I didn’t feel very good. I was uncomfortable.



Everything was gorgeous on the surface but if you looked close you could see the underlying shabbiness. Which honestly is to be expected in a building over 100 years old with a new owner in the process of upgrading- but the entire place just seemed off to me.

My husband and I explored the castle and the grounds, checking out all the locations open to the public. It is a very pretty place but I just couldn’t shake an eerie feeling.

To add to the creep factor there was a very odd piece of art hanging in our room that unnerved us a bit. We showed it to the lady at the front desk, she has never noticed the weirdness about it. 


Do you see it?


The room was beautiful but much too bright. No curtains to close just big open windows. And then the roof lights stayed on shining directly into our room and on our bed after 10pm when they were “supposed to shut off”. All that light wasn’t very restful.

I can’t say for sure that I encountered any ghosts however my phone did turn on, open the camera and take a photo all by itself while sitting on a table across the room from my husband and I. That was pretty weird. And I kept hearing noises in the bathroom throughout the night. That can easily be chalked up to old pipes. But it didn’t help my uneasiness.

After not sleeping well the first night and just feeling weird all day we decided to leave early and head home. Surprisingly they refunded our money for the second night since we decided to leave.

If there are spirits lurking in the castle I didn’t find them to be very welcoming.

However the beauty of the location did inspire me to use it as the setting for book 2 in the Desire Series, Haunting Desire. I did change up a few things. See the author note below that is included in the front of the book.



Haunting Desire
Desire Series
Book Two
Roxanne Rhoads

Genre: Paranormal Erotica

Welcome to the Inn of Amorous Apparitions where your every libidinous longing can be fulfilled by sensual spirits.

LizBeth has been hired to use her ghost whispering skills on the specters at the Castle Inn, but instead of banishing the seductive spooks Barbara, the Inn Keeper, wants them to "come out and play" with her special guests. 

The Castle Inn is set to become the destination for the ghost sex fetish crowd. But first LizBeth has to convince the voluptuous visions that it is alright to participate in spectrophilia fun with the guests. 

LizBeth has a special talent for seeing and communicating with ghosts but these enchanting ethereals are not cooperating with her, or her vampire boyfriend. Something odd is fueling the raunchy wraiths and they have to discover the power source or risk leaving a customer unsatisfied.


There’s more to this haunting than the average ghost. Will LizBeth be able uncover the mystery of this sexy haunted mansion?


Author’s Note:

The Castle Inn featured on the cover and the inspiration for the setting of the story is a real place in Kalamazoo, Michigan called Henderson Castle; it is currently a quaint Bed and Breakfast.

Other than using some basic facts about the location, the building itself and the date it was built everything else is completely fictional and any resemblance to real persons living or dead is entirely coincidental. I even moved around a few of the rooms to make it flow better for the story.

As far as I know the place has never been a brothel, there is no lake for swimming and all ghostly activities mentioned within these pages are purely figments of my imagination.

I hope you enjoy the story.

~Roxanne Rhoads