ROLANG

ROLANG
"192-Thibetan ROLANG—Sorcerer (or NGAGSPA) reanimates a corpse by holding it in a dark room—lying on it mouth to mouth and repeating a magic formula with all else banished from his mind. Corpse slowly comes to life and stands up. Tries to escape—leaps, bounds, and struggles—but sorcerer holds it. Continues with magic formula. Corpse sticks out tongue and sorcerer bites it off. Corpse then collapses. Tongue become a valuable magic talisman. If corpse escapes—hideous results and death to sorcerer."
H.P. Lovecraft, Commonplace Book

"Another mysterious rite is called rolang (the corpse who stands up)."

"The celebrant is shut up alone with a corpse in a dark room. To animate the body, he lies on it, mouth to mouth and while holding it in his arms, he must continually repeat mentally the same magic formula excluding all other thoughts. After a certain time the corpse begins to move. It stands up and tries to escape; the sorcerer firmly clinging to it, prevents it from freeing itself. Now the body struggles more fiercely.It leaps and bounds to more extraordinary heights, dragging with it the man who must hold on, keeping his lips upon the mouth of the monster, and continue mentally repeating the magic words. At last the tongue of the corpse protrudes from its mouth. The critical moment has arrived. The sorcerer seizes the tongue with his teeth and bites it off. The corpse at once collapses. Failure in controlling the body after having awaked it, means certain death for the sorcerer."
Alexandra David Neel, Magic and Mystery In Tibet

GOLEM

GOLEM
"This is the name of a gigantic artificial humanoid being in the Jewish legends of Europe, of which a number were said to have existed. The most famous was created in Prague in the Czech state. In the tale, Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezabel, who was well versed in the use of holy letters for magical purposes, created from clay an image of a human form that was activated by placing the formulaic 'Ameth' or 'Emet' or or 'AMTh' (meaning 'truth,' 'reality') on a Shem tablet under the being's tongue. Then the Golem, which means 'a clod of earth,' would, on command, do menial tasks such as ringing bells for the synagogue. However, it was essential to remove the tablet from its tongue for the Golem, being inhuman, never slept and would carry on. One night this was forgotten, and the Golem rampaged through the streets, creating mayhem, knocking down both people and things in the way. At last the rabbi caught it and removed the tablet. the Golem shrank back to its little clay image, which then had the words 'Meth' or 'Met,' or 'MTh,' meaning 'Death,' inscribed on its forehead to prevent a recurrence."
Carol Rose, Giants, Monsters and Dragons

“It was huge, bigger than the box it came out of, which was impossible, she knew. But it was. There was light from the door, and some from the window⁠—moonlight or streetlights⁠—and in it, she saw a smooth, featureless, empty face; an oval of scraped clay. The arms and legs were tree trunks, rough and jointless, and the hands were lumps without fingers. It took a step, the walls shook, and Garfield moaned.”

“Then raise your hand to the monster’s forehead. On it will be this word Emet, the seal of the Holy One.”
Bari Wood, The Tribe

MESSENGER FROM THE DEVIL

MESSENGER FROM THE DEVIL 
"Another man, Jonathan Lowder, said Bishop tried to choke him, and she took on the forms of a black pig and a monster with the body of a monkey, the feet of a rooster, and the face of a wizened old man. The creature told him it was a messenger from the Devil, and promised him riches in exchange for allegiance."

 Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Haunted Salem

THING LIKE A BLACK DOG

THING LIKE A BLACK DOG 

"Such creatures appeared almost monstrous, a physical manifestation of the moral distortion of the witch. Agnes Francis kept as a familiar a toad, or ‘a thynge lyke a blacke dogge with a face like an ape, a short tail, and a peyre of hornes.’ During her trial, Agnes’ daughter described how she had seen her mother carrying ‘the thing’ in her hands."

Helen Parish, “Paltrie Vermin, Cats, Mise, Toads, and Weasils”: Witches, Familiars, and Human-Animal Interactions in the English Witch Trials

TUPILAQ

TUPILAQ
AKA
ᑐᐱᓚᒃ
"Originally the tupilak was a creature composed of different materials from the natural world – animal, bird and human remains – even parts taken from a child’s corpse. Those who knew about witchcraft gathered these bits and pieces together in a secret, isolated place, tied them together, chanted magic spells over them and allowed them to suck the energy from their own sexual organs. The tupilak was then ready to be put into the sea and sent off to kill an enemy. This way of getting rid of your enemies was, however, not entirely without risk because if the would-be victim had greater powers of wizardry than the initiator, his power could reverse the tupilaks strength and potency like a boomerang. In other words, it was a dangerous game."
Eastgreenland.com

"The tupilaq was a magic animal, created through witchcraft, which everyone could use if you followed the correct instructions and learnt to master magic, says Lange. It was witchcraft, but it was not restricted to people with shamanic powers.To make a tupilaq, you had to collect parts from different animals, bones from both animals and people—preferably from a child. It was also a good idea to add something that had a connection to the person who you wanted to inflict disaster on. Lastly, you would place the tupilaq in the sea to allow it to swim away and find its own way to the victim.But it was a risky business. If the tupilaq were to fail its mission, then it would head straight back to its creator and kill him instead."
Charlotte Price Persson, ScienceNordic

"If magic words had power, nothing in Inuit society was as potent as a tupilait. Some thought them to be living creatures though they were human-made and used to do harm or bring misfortune. They were tiny sculptures made of various substances—a combination of animal parts—seal and dog bones, pieces of skin from seals, bears, and dogs, bits of moss and long pieces of sinew. The shamen or an apprentice would gather the materials, stash them in some secret place
—a cave, or up along a stream, or on the beach at night
—then go to that place before dawn and prepare to create something evil."
Gretel Ehrlich, This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons In Greenland

News...

 TL/DR: Welcome back friends!  Uh oh! I accidentally typed a manifesto. I will be posting 10 weeks worth of new monsters starting Monday April 3rd! I will also have signed copies of the anniversary edition of Tom Cardamone's Green Thumb available as well as more signed editions of Harboring Monsters. Also I have a new zine ready! I'm also working on another kinda secret project for Lethe Press which I'll talk more about in the coming weeks! 

Fuck crypto! Fuck social media!

Hello! If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen that I'll be starting to post 10 weeks worth of new monsters starting on April 3rd. It's been about a half of a year since I posted last, so I thought it was worth making a little statement before I dive back in. 

Social media is becoming less and less useful as a tool for artists. Shock and frequency are rewarded in the algorithm while subtlety, context and long form explanations are discouraged or even impossible depending on the ap. 

As such, I've decided to take a more adversarial approach to social media.

For one, I make & post art when I want. This isn't to say I'm not constantly working on pieces, it just means I choose when and what to post where. I've come back around to preferring this blog because I can include quotations, inspiration, background on the particular project and even reference photos. 

Secondovly, I will not make videos or reels. My work is static. It's a bestiary and as such it's intended to present a creature with no distractions, no background, no clothing (except Gods) and is not conducive to jumpy camera, fast cuts and weird filters. 

I will also not be dancing. Many artists, in response to IGs decline, have taken to embracing viral trends or suggesting posting formats. I don't blame them. When our work is devalued and the only platforms squeeze us to the margins of the feed, it makes sense to try to game the algorithm. But it's their game. I feel like art has taken a backseat to a curated profile. That's just not something I care to devote my time to. I'd rather use the time it would take to film, edit and upload many videos a week to draw more monsters. 

I have thought for a long time about a Patreon or some other subscription service. This isn't the worst idea and I do subscribe to a few that I enjoy. However, I think it would become more of a job than my actual art; making sure people feel they're getting enough content to justify their subscription, sticking to a rigorous schedule and making other types of content. And it may be a bit utopian of me but a huge part of my work is that I want anyone to be able to access it. Yes the zines and books I release are the ideal way to view my work, but if you can't afford them or live somewhere with unreliable shipping, you can just check in on my blog or follow me on instgram. 

Most importantly, you will not see NFTs of my work (unless they're stolen). It goes beyond disinterest. I actively abhor Web3, crypto and NFTs on a moral and political level. I will link to a few good resources that help explain my stance but basically it's hyper-capitalism in its ultimate form.



Charging a ton of money for absolutely nothing and chewing through natural resources in the process. It's a ponzi scheme designed to sucker artists that are finding it all the more difficult to earn a living with their craft. Not to mention it was created by (and is still mainly for) far-right Libertarians that hope to live a feudal lords in some fantasy post-bank apocalypse. And the idea of Web3 is to create a digital world where absolutely everything will be commodified. As I stated above, I want people to be able to access my art for free. 

 

Tech Won't Save Us

Scam Economy

Crypto Critics Corner

  
I have been asked by multiple strangers and one gallery if I'd be interested in making NFTs and I said no every time. Freelance artists need better healthcare, higher wages and looser turnaround time not a speculative asset with a million hidden fees. The gallery pissed me off the most. I'm already of the opinion that most galleries are hype machines that don't earn the 50% or more they demand. But the steelman argument behind NFTs was to get more money into the hands of creators without a middleman! To then just have those vulturous middlemen swoop in to demand a cut of a digital asset?! Like, you could make the argument that a gallery deserves SOME cut of a sale (def not 50%) because they have a physical space to maintain and employees. But they do NOTHING to deserve a cut of an NFT sale. Not only that but there's the minting fees etc that artists usually aren't aware of.

Anyway, this went way too long and mostly turned into a rant. Hopefully, you'll get a better idea of where I'm coming from and my approach to art. 

HARBORING MONSTERS DELUXE EDITION AVAILABLE NOW!

 HARBORING MONSTERS DELUXE EDITION

• Hand signed.
• Hand numbered.
• Includes original drawing of a monster from the book.

SOLD OUT

SPIRIT OF THE WOODS

SPIRIT OF THE WOODS
"Nature waited. Nature and his dark secrets. He tried to tell her so much that first time, show her so much. Like a coarse dark blanket he covered her all muscle and sinew, harsh rough skin, monstrous teeth like stubborn roots, ivy eyes. She screamed, escaped from him."

"Stringy bits and tiny limbs beings swallowed by the swelling trunks, long twisted branches mashing pieces of her into the orifices of other trees. A shoe fell to the ground and was swallowed by the earth. The tip of Beth's dotted yellow dress was sucked in between two shards of bark at the height of a woodpecker's perch."

"He laughed, the sound of splintering wood, but she saw the pity on his face, felt shame of her failure."
Philip Fracassi, Coffin

CUR

CUR

"Animal flashcards flipped through Jim's mind — raccoon, possum, dog, cat — but none of theme fit the creature that slammed headlong into the Roadmaster's front wheel. The thing was fas, faster than anything Jim'd ever seen. It ran on four legs, but was bigger than a cat or an opossum, and more hairy, almost like a bear cub. Later, when recounting the incident, he would dismiss the other things his mind had noticed: the snarling mouth and long fangs, the deep red eyes — dark as blood but also bright, as if illuminated from behind. In the days to come, he would try and convince himself it was a large fox, or lynx, even if he never really believed it."

Philip Fracassi, Commodore

HOBBES

HOBBES

"He didn't look much like a human anymore. His head was that of a huge black horse, or a unicorn, but it was nasty. The horn was long as I am, it stuck out forever! And it was drippy and twisted, moving up and down like it was covered in little skinny snakes. He pretty much doubled in size, and even though he still had his normal body, it was bigger. Way bigger. All covered in a thick hair and he had a tail and when he walked everything shook, like tiny earthquakes."

Philip Fracassi, Symphony