These first two weeks of creatures are all inspired by "witchcraft" or magic practices from around the world. It should be noted that while some of these are accounts from practitioners but most are from outsiders that have a vested interest in demonizing or alienating the people accused of practicing "witchcraft", be they scammers, witch hunters or evangelical christians. Witchcraft was, and is, often used as a way to marginalize powerless people (women, indigenous people, non-christians, colonized people etc). So, while these creatures may be fanciful and cool, there's very real world violence behind many of them. For instance....
This first creature is a description of a witch's familiar during the Salem Witch Trials. These creatures often took on animal forms (talking pigs, invisible birds, dogs walking on hind legs) but this description, of a cat with an invisible body and human head, was so outlandish it really piqued my curiosity. I had to figure out how to draw such a thing. It also really inspired me to delve into other magical monsters for this first set of drawings. 
As a weirdo with a penchant for creepy stuff, of course I've traveled to Salem to partake in the gaudy tourism surrounding the Witch Trials. My favorite location is the memorial to the victims. They're names are carved into stone benches set in a square stone wall with their method of torture or death listed. It's a moving contrast to the goofy animatronics of the various witch museums that dot the town or the plywood cutouts of witches that you can pose with next to the goth store.
Tomorrow's monster will be just as weird but from a completely different continent!
Hope you can add this sort of details on all the other entries.
ReplyDeleteThat's the plan!
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