American Horror Story: Barbie Coven

Yeah, okay, so maybe that doesn't really strike horror into most hearts, but have you ever stared into the vacant, vapid, blank stare of a Barbie doll for very long? Terrifying...

"A witch ought never to be frightened in the darkest forest, Granny Weatherwax had once told her,
because she should be sure in her soul that the most terrifying thing in the forest was her."
-- Terry Pratchett, Wintersmith

A n y w a y... yesterday, I was working on something else which led to me deciding to finally fix the spooky tree that was sitting on the witch doll shelf in the guest room (before it fell over, taking half the dolls with it). I had to dismantle the base, remove the guts, re"stuff" it with a thick dowel leftover from something else and reglue it all. Then I had to repair the paint that got messed up because it's made of pipe cleaners, masking tape and paper, and some of the paint flaked (surprisingly little!). While I was at it, I added some lichen-y and mossy greens to the roots and knothole. It gave it quite a bit more dimension, I think.

Round about the cauldron go; / In the poison’d entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone / Days and nights hast thirty one
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,  / Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot.
Macbeth, Act IV, Scene 1

I mentioned on Twitter that I was trying to tie this collection to some of the other things in the room, to make the room cohesive. The guest bedroom is currently an odd mix of children's library (it's adjacent to our daughter's room, so the logical place for kid's books after we ran out of room in the library downstairs), some memorabilia and art from New Orleans/Mardi Gras, and witches.

After I put up the shelf holds all the dolls, I had decided it would be cool to tie them to New Orleans by printing out a background of family crypts*, as if they were all meeting in a New Orleans cemetery. So that's what I did yesterday, printing out some altered photos on cardstock, then gluing them to foamcore. The idea is that they look like they're a bit in the distance, so the detail isn't sharp on purpose. I wanted the concept of the crypts without the images themselves fighting for prominence on the shelf. Unfortunately, the shelf is so crowded that now you can't hardly see the crypts at all. ::sigh:: (The one to the left of the tree is alleged to be Marie Laveau's true resting place. Of course, I had to include the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans!)

Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hekate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna

I do have a solution to the crowded shelf problem, however. There is room above the headboard on the opposite wall for another shelf, and I do have another identical shelf waiting to be put up. I'm mostly waiting for more dolls to justify the trouble. I might need to find a new home for my old promo print of Bugs and Witch Hazel, though.

Witch Hazel: I warn you, dearie, I'm going to worm all your ugly secrets out of you. Tell me. Who undoes your hair?
Bugs Bunny: Do you like it?
Hazel: Like it? It's absolutely hideous!
Bugs: I did myself up tonight.
Hazel: There's nothing like a home permanent.
Broom-Stick Bunny, 1956

Flanking the bed are the taller bookcases, and more random doll assortments.

L-R: 2003 Halloween Fortune (Target excl.), 2000 85th Birthday Halloween ed. Raggedy Ann,
2004 Boo-tiful Halloween

Top: 1997 FAO Schwarz excl. Samantha Stephens Bewitched (Exclusive Premiere)
Middle: (mostly hidden behind the plush dragon) 1972 Emerald the Enchanting Witch (Milton Bradley)
Bottom L-R: Disney Store Evil Queen, 2010 Bewitched Barbie, Disney Store Maleficent
Right: three Mardi Gras prints from NOLA artist Mousie
(clockwise from top, 2001 "Mardi Gras Moon Goddess", 1998 "Perfume", 2000 "Mardi Gras Eyes")

The shelf with the little plush dragon (Leviathan, to be specific, he was a parade throw) and Emerald (who is sadly nekkid) holds my modest collection of modern and vintage witchy kids books. I've written one of my own that I'm still in process of working out the illustrations for, and writing a second.

Then there's one of my recent acquisitions, and the source of much frustration for Jill Thompson, who worked for years to bring her to life: the Scary Godmother doll. She was a Kickstarter project (my husband backed it for me, and I even got to meet Ms. Thompson, who is lovely) and I was thrilled when she finally arrived. I don't plan on taking her out of the box until I have a dome to put her under.

"Here's a treat that's fun to make and helps you get a word in edgewise. Take two of your favorite crackers, spread one with jam, one with peanut butter, smoosh them together, and jam them into the mouth of a chattering werewolf."

Next to her on the shelf is a little experimental doll I made. Above the shelf on the wall is a collection of doubloons from my collection, and a drape of beads attached to the frame below it. I had a brief, mad obsession with doubloons and their history, and have a big 3-ring binder full of them, carefully sorted by year and put in little cardboard/mylar coin folders.

Finally, the last part of the collection in this room sort of serves as a warning, and is a souvenir from Salem, Massachusetts, so I suppose it's not all New Orleans...

By the way, in Colonies, they hanged "convicted" witches. Burning is what they did in Europe.

Resources
If you're a witchy sort of collector, too, here's a fantastic resource for the Barbie Halloween dolls:
http://www.fashion-doll-guide.com/Halloween-Barbie-Dolls.html
For more witchy children's books, visit A Mighty Girl's blog:
https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10117 "With Broomstick in Hand, 40 Books Starring Mighty Witches"
...and Red Tricycle's "Which Witch is Your Favorite? 14 Witch Books We Love":
http://redtri.com/witch-books-for-kids/
_______________
*If you are unfamiliar, many burials in New Orleans are aboveground, because NOLA is below the water table. Any coffins that are buried have ledger stones to keep them down, or have stone walls around the coffin to keep out rising water. More info about those: http://liverytours.com/2014/10/new-orleans-cemeteries-and-graves/.

Jill Thompson

Jill Thompson is an artist who has worked on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, as well as her own creation, a children’s book, The Scary Godmother which has been turned into tv specials and a stageplay, and will soon be a doll after a successful Kickstarter campaign. She has also worked on Wonder Woman, The Invisibles, and Black Orchid, and has won Eisner Awards for her work on The Dark Horse Book of the Dead and Book of Hauntings, both written by Evan Dorkin. She also did a mini-series with him called Beasts of Burden from characters introduced in those anthologies.

Miscellaneous Geeky Girl Stuff

By now, you've almost certainly heard/seen "Nothing to Prove" by The Doubleclicks. (You can buy it from iTunes or Bandcamp, and read the lyrics here.) It's an awesome and poignant Geek Girl anthem, but it's the signs that choked me up. Many people (famous and otherwise) submitted signs for the video; they estimate that they received between 150 and 250 signs, but the song just isn't long enough to include them all. Here are the ones they were able to use (I tried so hard to get all of them, but I know I missed a few):

• Hi there! We are geek girls.
• I started playing D&D in 6th grade. I never stopped.
• I learned to read with comic books.
• I've been a Gamer since before I can remember.
• I grew my hair out / so I could dress up as Princess Leia.
• I played Myst when it was released. I was 11. It was the GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE!
• My Transformers played with my Cabbage Patch Kids.
• I received my first console when I was nine years old.
• My regular Saturday night "date" was with the 5th Doctor.
• Comics taught me women can be beautiful & powerful!
• [arrow pointing at face] Founder and president of my high school Star Trek fan club.
• I spend hundreds of hours working on cosplay.
• [hugging toddler daughter] I'm raising The Next Generation of Geek Girls!
• Accounting associate by day, Elf ranger by night.
• I was obsessed with Star Trek: The Next Generation and had a super huge crush on Jonathan Frakes. / Now we're friends. It's weird.
• I write code for particle accelerators.
• im in ur HOUSE OF IDEAS writin ur COMICS
• Being a geek girl is really awesome / ...except when it isn't.
• I LOVE video games but BOYS tell me I'm not a "REAL" GAMER
• That look of surprise when I talk about Star Trek? It gets old.
• Why are you surprised I want to be an ASTRONAUT when I grow up?
• I'm a SCIENTIST not a secretary.
• I own a comic + game shop, but people just assume I 'm humoring my geeky husband!
• People say I only play video games because of my boyfriend but I owned over 200 games before I even met him!
• I work at a comicbook store. Male customers tend to ignore me completely or as if there is a man around to help them.
• Being Asian & a GEEK doesn't mean I have to like ANIME.
• I was told I traded my cleavage for free comics.
• I have to have a gender-neutral pen-name just to be Respected.
• I was told I "sound smart for a girl in a pink skirt."
• I con vendor told me that the smaller dice sets were for women to wear and show off (accessories). The regular ones were for me to, you know, play games with.
• Here's a message for the haters, elitists and bullies / from us, the geek girls, and our friends.
• No one gets to tell you how to be a geek.
• If someone has to pass a test to hang out with you... / YOU'RE the problem.
• You think I do this for your approval??? / mwa ha ha ha! / Get over yourself.
• There are no fake geeks... / ...only real jerks.
• Who died and made you Batman?! Wait. Was it your parents? In that case, I'm very sorry. Nevermind.
• I don't need you to tell me how much I like anything.
• We've both been ridiculed for our hobbies... Be supportive. We're on the same side!
• I don't need to go to a con to be a geek. I am & I haven't.
• Please don't let my gender turn you into an elitist. *We love the same things for the same reasons.*
• Don't tell my daughters that Lego, Robots and Superheroes are for boys.
• "Geek" + "Equality" equals GEEKAUALITY now!
• I was a Geek before I saw a cult film or played a game. I don't need your approval in the end.
• Be RESPECTFUL and I won't EAT you.
• Staring =/= Respecting / Men are women, too!
• I'm a geek and I'm awesome / and I don't need your permission.
• DON'T PANIC
• DON'T BE A DICK
• I'm older than "your mom" and I still love MMORPG's!
• I am a geek. Search your heart. You know it to be true.
• I founded a camp to teach girls how to program.
• I am a cardboard-flipping card gamer.
• You can't take the geek from me.
• [stick insect on girl's face] Buuugs!
• I'm a geek!
• I am a geek! (and I'm good at sports!)
• I'm a geek!
• I'm a geek.
• I'M A GEEK!
• I am a RPG Nerd!
• I am a geek!
• I'm a Geek <3
• I'm a geek.
• I will do anything for $5 [I'm a little confused with this one]

[the images come really fast right here, and I can't quite catch all the signs] 

• I am a Costume Geek!
• I cosplay for attention. LOL NOT
• I'm Me NERD
• I'm a Geek!
• I'm a NERD.
• I'm a fraking NERD!
• I'm a cosplayer.
• I'm a NERD
• I am a Geek Grrl!
• I'm a GEEK!
• I am a GEEK!
• I am a tabletop geek girl!
• Browncoat Comic Book Collector Convention Panelist I'm a GEEK. Tabletop Gamer Fanfic Writer
• I solved the cube in 36 seconds on TV 30 years ago... now I publish the card game FLUXX.
• I just knew that one day STAR TREK could be cool. Take that EVERYONE from junior high!
• I turned nerd watching the 90s XMen with my dad.
• [daughter and mom, can't make out the signs completely] I am a geek girl in training. / aka a general all-purpose geek girl!
• Trek-obsessed cosplaying grammarian librarian.
• I got my husband into gaming.
• I am a geek!
• It's not easy but I'm a geek.
• I crochet my own Elder Gods!
• I have been playing video games for almost 28 years!
• [can't read it]
• When I ran a two-week line up for the first Star Wars prequel, my homeroom teacher called me an EMBARRASSMENT and said I was ruining my school's reputation.
• My mom let me read her copy of The Jedi Academy trilogy when I was 10!
• I was born making Vulcan hands.
• I often contemplate the merits of a Hogwarts education.
• I got my PhD in Electrical Engineering with a research focus in Computational Neuroscience.
• I am a Wizard, Jedi, [?], XMan, Baker Street Irregular, Companion, Browncoat, Starfleet Officer, Dread Pirate, Walker, Wizard, GEEK.
• Ich bin ein aussenseiter :) ["geek" in German]
• I'm geeky enough for me.
• I teach robotics to kids, make my own cosplays, and I work as a professional NPC at my local comic book store. (And I watch lots of geek TV shows.)
• I was born pulling things apart & putting them back together. Now I do science on a boat. #geekforlife
• Write fanfiction. Do cute and sexy cosplay... BE YOURSELF. Do what you want.
• I can be a ballerina AND kill cylons!
• When I was six my family brought me to PAX. I loved it!
• Chem teacher told me I would never make a good SCIENTIST. I start my PhD in Biology in September.
• I said I liked Illusion of Gaia. He asked me how many red jewels the game contained.
• Don't worry of you haven't read, watched and played everything. With [?] time you will explore!
• In high school and university, guys were shocked that I played video games and read sci fi/fantasy books.
• I am a geek! YAY!
• Geek girls are awesome and we are not going away. / Deal with it.

[roll credits]

GEEK GIRL CON III

So not only are the lyrics awesome, but those signs are fantastic. This song will definitely be going into the iPod playlist I will make for the upcoming GEEK GIRL CON coming up in October. Because I am so going this year, and OMG am I excited about it. The schedule is going to be posted (IIRC) on the 15th. Christina Blanch, who taught the amazing MOOC Gender Through Comic Books is presenting there, so I'm super-stoked for that and looking forward to meeting her. I'm a little sad that it's only a 2-day convention, because I have way more geeky clothing than I can wear in just a couple of days. :/ (On Twitter, I'd think that has to be tagged with #geekgirlproblems, dont you?) The Skirt of Awesome for sure, but how will I narrow it down? *dramatic hand to forehead*

Another guest I know will be there, for the second consecutive year, is Mike Madrid, author of The Supergirls: Fashion, feminism, fantasy and the history of comic book heroines, and the forthcoming title Divas, Dames and Daredevils: Lost heroines of Golden Age comics. I'll definitely have to take my copy of The Supergirls for him to sign.

KICKSTARTER PROJECTS

And one more thing (actually 2) before I go play with my action figures. Jill Thompson is about to finish up her Kickstarter to make a Scary Godmother doll. It's gorgeous, and I want one desperately, and there's only a few days left, so go pledge! The other Kickstarter that I want to urge your backing of is for Charles Dowd's Lilith Dark graphic novel. He wrote Lilith Dark for his daughter, when he saw the serious dearth of comics for kids and for girls especially. This is a heroine our girls (and boys, too!) need to read about! Check out his project and see if you don't agree that it's pretty fantastic.