Love and Sex Magic at Hearthside Candles and Curios!

On February 13, 2017 By Erica L. WrightIn Horrific homemaking, Spiritual lifeLeave a comment

Last Saturday, I visited my friends at Hearthside Candles & Curios, located in Ralston, Nebraska. Because of Valentine’s day, the owners decided to put on a class about love and sex spells.

“What does this have to do with horror?”, you ask.

A good part of the class was about historical love and sex spells that have fallen out of favor, and for good reason. Specifically, these spells, which are horrific in their own right, involve adding your own menstrual blood or semen to a recipe that will disguise it, and then feeding it to your love interest without his/her knowledge. Interestingly, variations of this type of love spell have been practiced in all parts of the world and in many different magical traditions. Another variant is “sweat rice,” in which you squat over a pot of hot rice, and then allow the steam to drip off your nether parts and allow the steam to drip back into the rice, which is then served to your crush. Again, without their knowledge. This creepy and potentially bio-hazardous tradition is yet another good reason not to accept food or drinks from anyone who seems a bit lonely and desperate. That and date-rape drugs, of course.

Naturally, the folks at Hearthside Candles & Curios don’t endorse these old-school love spells. They have their own line of candles, oils, and room sprays to to set the mood. All of their products are made with natural ingredients and essential oils, and are hypo-allergenic. My favorite scent line they developed is the Queen Bee candle, perfume oil, and bath soap, discussed in my earlier post. It is delicious, and really fills a whole room with an uplifting, yet sensual fragrance. In addition to products by Polaris Rising, the shop is also the home of Shadowlights Candles, and products by Mama Kiki and Mama Creepy. Even if you don’t live near Omaha, Nebraska, you can order products from their website or follow them on their Facebook page for promotions and giveaways.

Horrific Homemaking: Things to Make and Do With Boris Karloff

On November 15, 2016 By Erica L. WrightIn Horrific homemaking, Horrific moviesLeave a comment

Today we are doing our fist edition of Horrific Homemaking, wherein we will cover anything related to home decor, cooking, and arts and crafts. In honor of Boris Karloff’s birth month, I’m kicking this off with Things to Make and Do…with Boris Karloff. If only this were a real craft book. It’s actually a two-part craft project outlined on the blog Baking With Medusa. (Note: the images in this post are from that blog, not my own creation).

In Part One, there are instructions for making Boris Karloff finger-puppets. Just print out images of your favorite Karloff characters, add cardboard backing for support, and cut out holes for your index and middle fingers.

In Part Two, we are given instructions for creating a miniature theater, so you can recreate the iconic windmill scene from Frankenstein.

In other news, Todd and I have recorded our first two podcast episodes! We are now working on upgrading the website to become compatible with uploading them.

These American Horror Story-Themed Dresses Completed Me

On October 21, 2016 By Erica L. WrightIn Horrific Hobbies, Horrific homemaking, Personal lifeLeave a comment

For a long time, I sensed a void in my life. Everything thing seemed meaningless and without purpose. Just as I had given up hope, a ray of sunlight struck the window of the local Hot Topic and what I saw gave me a reason to live. There was a hole in my soul shaped like an American Horror Story-inspired party dress covered in surgical tool print.

As it turns out, Midnight Hour created five dresses for Hot Topic, each dress inspired by each season of American Horror Story. I nabbed the Asylum Doctor dress (above) and the Freak Show dress (below).

freakshow-dress — Freak Show dress as shown on the Hot Topic website.

Other clothes in the series include a Murder House maid dress, a Hotel bellhop dress, and a Coven dress coat. All of these are still currently available on the Hot Topic website.

A Brief Look at Polaris Rising's Divine Bath Products

On December 19, 2015 By Erica L. WrightIn Horrific homemakingLeave a comment

Today’s entry has nothing to do with horror, but I had to make an exception for this review, because anyone who knows me know that I’m obsessed with bath products and perfume. Polaris Rising is a small company based in Nebraska that makes candles, oils, bath products, and other items intended for use in hoodoo and witchcraft traditions. That being said, their products are so wonderful that anyone could appreciate them. My personal favorites are their Coffee Scrub and Queen Bee soaps and candles. Coffee baths are used in Conjure/hoodoo to remove negative energy. Polaris Rising makes coffee baths salts and a coffee scrub. I use both, but prefer the scrub because the grape seed oil base leaves my skin amazingly soft, and the rich coffee scent pairs well with coffee-based perfumes such as Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent and Dark Angel by Victoria’s Secret.

The Queen Bee soaps are adorable and decorative, and also my favorite fragrance currently offered by Polaris Rising. Their Etsy page describes the fragrance as a “honey citrus floral scent,” which reminds me of some recipes for Cleo May oil. I find it to be a instant mood-lifter. Polaris Rising offers other Queen Bee products, including an oil and candles (free standing pillar and jar candle with a wood wick). The candle easily fills an entire room with that wonderful fragrance.

Another benefit of Polaris Rising’s products is that they use natural ingredients and make their products as hypo-allergenic as possible. This is definitely important for me to consider, as my skin is sometimes sensitive to chemicals and certain scented candles (many of which use formaldehyde as a fragrance carrier) aggravate my allergies and asthma. This has never been an issue with any of the Polaris Rising products I’ve tried.

Check out their other products at their Esty store.

Lay your troubles to rest with these customized mini-coffins

On November 15, 2015 By Erica L. WrightIn Horrific homemaking, Spiritual lifeLeave a comment

Do you have a pesky person in your life that you would like to be rid of, but don’t want to resort to using a hit man or other illegal means? Instead of killing the bastard, consider destroying your enemy in effigy with the help of one of Joy Olmstead’s miniature coffin boxes. Joy makes a variety of coffins, including ones with a steampunk theme or for ancestral reverence, but I’m just going to share one she customized especially for me.

The interior is lined with nails to ensure that your target does NOT rest in peace. Furthermore, all of the interior sides of the box are decorated with tiny mirrors. I was first introduced to the idea of mirror boxes by Starr Casas. The idea is that your target will be forced to see themselves clearly and understand the harm caused by their own actions. It also helps to contain their toxicity and to reflect it back onto them, rather than allowing it to infect the lives of those around them.

The outside of the box is painted with a lovely punk skull and crossbones motif. For additional security, the coffin is bound with chains and fastened by two crossed nails.

For those squeamish about curses or wishing harm to enemies, you can also use these to contain and remove a negative condition. Or, just get one because it kicks ass as home decor.

Featured Artist: Rob Whitus of Drink With the Living Dead

On August 31, 2015 By Erica L. WrightIn Horrific homemaking, Horrific movies, Personal lifeLeave a comment

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One wonderful thing about horror conventions–aside from meeting my favorite filmmakers–is the opportunity to form friendships with many other excellent people. One such person is Robert Whitus, sole proprietor of Drink With the Living Dead. I met Rob when I first met Andrew Divoff, and Rob had etched custom glassware to promote Andrew’s appearance at the event. Needless to say, I purchased some of his glasses at that event and at subsequent conventions.

[Pictured above: Rob showing off his glassware at Texas Frightmare Weekend; front and 10407786_861692163872002_3051188219104631080_n back images of limited edition barware adapted from art by Mirthquake and based on the film Wishmaster. Pictured left:limited edition barware adapted from art by Mirthquake and inspired by the films of George Romero.]

Rob has collaborated with other artists and brands, including Olivia De Berardinis, Metallica, Rob Zombie, Rue Morgue Magazine, and many others. However, his work isn’t confined to the horror genre and its artists. Rob will also take custom orders and will personalize glassware to suit his customer’s needs, making his work ideal for wedding gifts and other special occasions.

Another thing I like about Rob’s work-aside from the quality of the etching and the glassware itself-is the fact that Rob does EVERY aspect of his business by himself. Meaning he is the sole proprietor of Drink With the Living Dead, and he is solely responsible for etching his glasses and fulfilling orders. In a culture that is cluttered with corporate jargon about “teamwork” and other equally nauseating metaphors, or that outsources production at the expense of quality, artists such as Rob are a proverbial breath of fresh air.

The official Drink With the Living Dead website is under construction, but you can see other examples of Rob’s work and contact him at his Facebook Page.

Horror movie devotional candles

On August 17, 2015 By Erica L. WrightIn Horrific homemaking, Horrific movies, Spiritual lifeLeave a comment

I’ve neglected this blog for far too long, but am back to post some updates about film, horror conventions, and various artists.

To kick off the fun, an artist/filmmaker named Jason Toth has brilliantly combined my love of horror movies and glass-encased devotional candles. These are pure, kitchy fun, but I can also imagine some creative applications in chaos magick.