The Shadow Issue 2

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Modern Gothic History Timeline

Vampyre goths How to identify one , their lifestyle and music

Tattoos and Piercings Frequently asked questions Myths scarification

Reviews Dracula The Killing Joke Only Lovers left alive Rebirth

Short story Simon Hollow

poetry Edgar Allan Poe

And more‌...

1

Cover page

1

Index

2–3

Editors Notes

4

Marlise Raven Life’s thorns

5–6

Music to my ears

7

Vampyre Goths

8 – 10

Anthony Hogg – Vampirologist

11

Goth online Hotspots

11

The Endless Night Vampire ball

12 – 13

Modern Goth History

14 – 15

Modern Goth history Timelime

16 – 17

Goth Broth Creepy Cocktails

18

Hotdog mummies

19

Creepy Eyeball cookies

19

Goth Tea, Black Foods

20

Tombstone rubbings

21

Short story Simon Hollow

22 – 24

Jaded Ink

25

Myths about the “Djinn/Jinn” AKA Genie

26 – 27

Dracula Poster

28 – 29

Book review The Killing Joke

30 -32 2

Movie Review Only Lovers Left Alive

33

TV Series Review Dracula

34 – 35

Event Review Rebirth

36 – 37

High hopes for Ex-Laconia’s Angie Postma

38 – 39

Voyage to Spectral Realm

40 – 41

Myths about tattoos and scarification

42 – 43

Piercing FAQ’s

44 – 45

Ear Stretching

46

Ohallo Hai Ohaguro!

47

Corsets: Fashion and function

48 – 49

How to lace a corset

49

Beauty Section Nails

50

Makeup

51

Hair

52

Symfony: The act of Sarah Van Wyk

53

Goth Tidbits

54 – 55

Justin Booda Moss Tattoos

56

Poetry A Dream within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe

57

Fate By Booda

58

Eye voodoo: Fashion contact lenses

59

Contact us

60

Cover Page photo graph courtesy of Sven Slabbert, official photo grapher for the South African Gothic So ciety.

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So much to tell, so little magazine space! Well let me start by congratulating the entire team of The Shadow as well as my other half of the gruesome twosome, Marlise, for an exciting issue one.

It came with some minor hiccups and a few stumbles, but we made it!

And now it is safe to say that The Shadow Magazine has grown a pair of bat wings and officially taken off, so we want feedback. What do you think, what would you like to see in future issues?

Send us your suggestions to suggestions.sags@gmail.com Issue 2 comes with the vampire theme in honour of dearly departed Bram Stoker and his most famous work of literature “Dracula”, which riddled my life with so many interesting views on mannerisms.

There is this ominous behaviour of count Dracula. Charming, despite his soulless demeanor and such a gentleman to look up to. I think it is safe to say that Count Dracula is my idol.

If you didn't know, April is the month in which Bram Stoker was laid to rest, leaving us a legacy of inspiring gothic horror classics for the nerds like me. Just a tad bit late, but it is April still as I write this.

So here is to the father of vampire literature and so many like him! An issue just for these souls. Have fun reading.

-The Raven Wow! What a past month! Research, interviews and more research. Fun, fun, fun – we all know that knowledge is power! (I feel like Superwoman right now! Or maybe Countess Dracula in this case!)

I have always had a morbid fascination with blood and vampires, so compiling this issue has been nothing but a pleasure. It has been refreshing to see that the world has become much more knowledgeable about the folkloric vampyre and nothing but exciting to see that Balls are being held in honour of this creature.

Even cosplayers are jumping on the bandwagon.

I must say it has been tempting to get actual fangs made – watch this space! Here’s hoping you enjoy feeding off this issue.

Thanks to the fantastic team who helped with compiling this.

Please feel free to email us with any further questions and suggestions.

RIP (read in peace) my lovelies. ~ Macabre Marlise ~ 4

Greetings to all the readers out there. The topic I’d like to discuss in this issue is dealing with parents as a goth when you’re still living with them or if you’re still a school goer or student.

Some of us are fortunate in having parents who are "easy" going while others have those strict and authoritative parents. Generally our parents want what's best for us, so when they notice that your lifestyle is somewhat dark, your music echoes melancholy and your general behaviour is "weird", they might just come knocking on that door that says ‘keep out’ or ‘enter and be torn to shreds’. That being the case, they are still our parents and they are doing what's right by them.

If you are able to go forth and have a chat with your parents, you should do that - honesty is always the best policy! Try explaining the term ‘goth’ to them and explain to them what it is that draws you to where it is that you find yourself at. Remember they are in unchartered waters and they will deem it as hostile until they understand it better, so informing them will put them at ease and it should work out in your favour. When one’s parents investigate something, they tend to look at factors like ‘is it safe for my child’, ‘what will others think or say’, ‘is it normal’, ‘what are the positives and negatives’ and ‘what outcome will this have on my child’? These are only a few examples, but that's what parents will be looking at, so you need to be patient with them and help them understand something that they most probably never even heard of. Show them what it’s about and invite them in - they might find something to their liking. This way they will ease off and you will be less inclined to explain your every move, also lessening your reasons to hide away in your own home.

The gothic and alternative cultures have received quite a lot of bad publicity as of late due to youths acting out in such ways that it reached the media. For example, there was one case where some students went to school armed and dressed in black, where they went and opened fire on their classmates killing several of them. The media saw them and labelled them goths even though they weren't. Stories like that is what most adults of today see and take to heart. Because of this we are facing the problem where people believe that being a goth is being evil, or satanic, which is so far from the truth. Being goth is not a religion nor a cult movement.

Your parents may also be concerned that being goth will lead to drug or alcohol abuse. This is of course very "stupid", but saying that will lead to an unnecessary argument. People of today are more likely to drink themselves stupid in regular clubs/bars or doing drugs at raves. Yes there are goths who drink a lot, just as there are goths who are addicted to drugs, but so are there people in other cultures and movements. No culture or lifestyle is perfect.

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By no means are you forced to partake in anything if you do not choose to and if this is the case, then perhaps you are at the wrong place. Many goths go out to clubs purely to have fun and enjoy the music, while some attend to meet other goths - they have no interest in drinking or such activities.

Proper communication with your parents in this area should be used, informing them of your intentions and setting them at ease by ensuring them they you will stay clean and safe.

Parents may also be concerned that because of the way we look and dress we may find it difficult to find employment. This is very true and something that's uncalled for but it’s something we must deal with nonetheless. You've probably seen a few goths dressed in their striking black leather jacket and taller than life boots? If they didn't work how did they buy them?

So it’s not impossible, it’s simply a minor setback that can be overcome.

One thing to remember is that to succeed in life we must make sacrifices as this is unfortunately the way of the world. This is unfortunately the world we live in, with things like these obstacles and setbacks, making it harder for us to be ourselves. This in turn frightens the baby goths, scaring some of them away from being who they really are.

This again shows us just how people judge and act purely on what they see without taking the time to investigate properly. This should also serve as a lesson to us: we should always heed caution in what we do, how we do it and where we do it as we have received enough bad publicity due to ‘goth’ related happenings, we shouldn't add to that.

The bad things that we do today, could lead to a chain of unfortunate happenings to other goths.

Being goth has endured the ages and there are a great many reasons for this. Team work is of the best reasons even though it doesn't always sound or feel like it! After all, we're all very private and not always too sociable people, so how can this be? Look at it from this perspective; that all-goth rock band is a team working together bringing us music. That goth club you like attending so much is yet another team working together keeping all things goth by means of themed events in the club.

Then what about that goth clothing store you spend most of your money at? Again, another team working together to ensure goth related clothing is obtainable! We should build on working together in our individual capacities, making our lives and reputations more successful and comfortable as it will benefit us all.

If you need advice or have any questions whatsoever, always free to send your questions to lifesthorns.sags@gmail.com -tBR 6

By: Raven When I was notified about the Songs of Mystery and Terror event at the Casa Nostra Bar all the way out in Seapoint(Cape Town), I thought it would be a little silly driving all the way there just to attend the live performances.

Sitting with my best friend telling her that I really just want to do something irrational, she made the good choice of telling me to go to this show.

What a splendid evening it turned out to be! After getting lost and arriving late, we finally got there and were not disappointed. The night featured two artists. It was the first one that caught my attention: Martinique Matinino Du Toit. A pianist for the band CROAK, and an amazing vocalist. Her music has no genre type, all just heartfelt beauty.

With dark green lips on the stage matching her vintage dress she sat mesmerizing the fans on the dance floor and from afar, I sat listening with my little group with such fascination. Upon meeting her, I learned that she was glad to have fans. "I make music, because I want to be heard" she said. "Sometimes I get off the stage after a performance and feel like I'm wasting my time, but tonight I feel like I accomplished something."

She went to a conservative school for girls and was forever told that her music was too weird. They tried to conform her music to the general dance floor bump and grind.

Most of the songs she performed were written many years ago. As I was slightly late, I have no idea how many she performed, but the second one I heard, was about a woman in love with a man. The love grew into obsession and she kills the man.

"It reminds me of Romeo and Juliet. It's not exactly the same, but it's just as tragic" she said.

The last song she performed had a passive aggressive type poem which she portrayed with facial expressions, hand gestures and pure stage presence. This became my favourite of all. It was unique and had this eerie happiness to it. This was a song she wrote while in love.

"Because my creativity was suppressed all these years, most of my music was written when I was depressed. Other people drink pills, I wrote music. But lately I changed this. I now write music when I'm in love" she said, as she winked at her boyfriend and smiled.

She cornered me with a question; "Do you think there is a market for alternative music in this country?"

"That depends whether you are given a chance" I replied. She later told me that most people don't listen.

She has tried performing at so many places, but because she isn't well known, they won't give her a chance. All I can say is that they missed out. Her music, thus far underground, deserves to be heard.

She is inspiring, beautiful, talented and among all those wonderful traits, she is also down to earth. I gained a friend and she gained my full support.

Now to let the rest of the country, give her music a listen to.

I might keep you posted!

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By: Jean Marks The bright full moon illuminates their pale skins. Children of the night sanguine or psionic - they roam around us.

They are fond of red wine and despise garlic (too proud to walk around with a bad breath I say!) It’s also on their bucket-(coffin) list to visit Romania one day.

Vampires are the cliché element to the Goth scene, and the vampires were and still are a great fascination to the culture.

It is difficult to state which one of the two surfaced first; pre-commercial Goths or Vampires?

Which influenced the other? There is no doubt the two share close ties, hence the Vampyres (Vampire Goth subculture).

Shortly after the Gothic culture surfaced commercially in the 80’s, the Vampyre Goth subculture emerged alongside Bauhaus’s Bela Lugosi (or so rumour has it).

Some people claim that Vampyres are just Romantic Goths with fangs.

To some, being a Vampyre is living the life of a vampire, to others it’s simply a matter of living up to the name through fashion.

There is a lot that Romanti Goths and Vampyres have in common.

There is the aristocratic and elegant feel of Renaissance and Victorian garments: Crushed/crumped velvet, long jackets/coats, satin, laced cuffs, collars and frocks.

Vampyres likely choose ancient lore and legend from the vampire Lestat rather than a shimmering, vegan Stephenie Meyer vamp.

They have seen all the vampiric films, maybe a few plays and their bookcases are stacked with Bram Stocker, Anne Rice, Stephenie Meyer and White Wolf rules.

How to identify a Vampyre Although there are great similarities between the Romanti Goth’s appearances and those of a Vampyre, Vampyres will look and maybe play the part of a vampire. Vampyres enjoy the darker fashions, aesthetics, brooding atmosphere, fangs and vampiric qualities.

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Clothing Similar to those of the Romanti Goths with strong influences from the 1700’s, they play the aristocratic role and wear elegance heavy with pride. Satin and velvet are commonplace among their dark and luxurious fabrics. Flowy dresses and lace are in abundance amongst the females.

Makeup In reaction to the Vampyre’s makeup they have the prosaic base elements from the Romanti Goths. There is the inevitable pale skin with soft eyes and vigorous lips, and the Vampyre normally chooses shades of dried (or fresh) blood. The creative Vampyre may add a streak of stage blood or red colouring to the base of the under lip. Vampyres add more detail to their eyeliner than Romanti Goths usually do.

Jewellery and accessories Fang teeth caps are a banality among Vampyres, although some individuals add porcelain extensions, implants or even file their own canines to slender sharp fangs.

In opposition to crosses and crucifixes Vampyres stay with the lore/superstition that a touch from holy artefacts will burn their skin, some claim feeling an itching or chocking sensation when wearing crosses. Some sway from the lore and get a cross or two. Distinctive jewellery types are silver, Celtic designs and rubies.

Lifestyle and Music Vampyres are unique and can be great to hang around (or upside down) with, just give hugs and kisses at your own risk!

Lifestyle In this subculture there are three types of Vampyre: 1.) Vampyre These nocturnal individuals look the part. They enjoy wearing the darker fashions and don’t hesitate to put on some paler and darker makeup.

2.) Sanguine These are vampyres playing, acting, looking and living the part. They drink blood from animals and sometimes humans. The drinking of blood doesn’t incline immortality or superhuman powers but is there usually for sexual arousal or simply role playing. PLEASE TAKE NOTE that some humans donate blood willingly and are known as a “Black Swan” in these cases. A Black Swan is a disease free, healthy and willing donor. Bloodletting is done professionally by the Vampyre and small quantities are donated. Bloodletting of live and domestic animals is against the law.

3.) Psionic or Psychic Vampyres These individuals are a mystery and usually keep to themselves. They “feed” off the energies from mundanes, usually mental, physical, or sexual energies. Some refer to the mental and physical energies as “chakra”.

Usually they dress and makeup similar than the aristocratic Vampyres, sometimes they prefer a more modern or mystic fashion.

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Icons There are quite a number of inspirational vampire icons. The most famous include Anne Rice’s Vampire Lestat, Victoria Frances, Bram Stoker, Vampire Diaries’ Stefan and Daemon.

According to the Vampire Lestat Fan Club, Anne Rice will be attending the 26th annual Vampire Ball at The Republic, New Orleans on Friday the 31st of October 2014.

Music All Vampyres don’t listen to the same music genres. A few bands came to light (or darkness) that have a vampiric theme or portrays vampires in their lyrics.

Here are a few: Nosferatu, Cradle of Filth, Bauhaus, Inkubus Sukkubus, E Nomine and Theatres des Vampires.

The last mentioned is a great vampiric band, and although their vocals are terrible, the music and lyrics are excellent.

Theatres des Vampires (1994 – present) is an Italian Gothic metal band with strong Black Metal influences. Since 2004, Sonya Scarlet took the position of solo vocals at the band’s front replacing her previous role as backing vocals.

Sonya Scarlet cuts herself with razors at band performances and freely lets fans consume her blood. In 2005 several English clubs forebode her display and performance of bloodletting, because she violated English laws against the incitement to commit suicide.

There are several film sound tracks where Theatres des Vampires music are heard which include; Edge of Darkness(2004), Mornau The Vampire(2006), The Vamps of Bloody Island(2009), Cult of Lamia(2012).

Communities The South African Vampyre Culture Centre (http://vampyreculturecenter.wordpress.com/) was founded on 23 January 2012 in order to create a more open, honest, to-the-point, public and free information resource referring to South African Vampyre culture, which has existed in this country for quite some time.

Friends of the South African Vampyre is an excellent group on Facebook supporting Vampyres and mundanes alike. This is a very informative and fun group indeed!

If you want to know more about the Vampyre community and more about Vampyres in general go and take a look at https://www.facebook.com/ groups/167973673307783/

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By: Marlise Magna & Angela Butcher

Anthony Hogg

A modern day vampirologist, author of several internet blogs and a facebook group, Anthony Hogg dedicates his time to, well, researching anything and everything to do with vampires.

Covering television, books, movies, new and old, mythology and lore – Hogg keeps his online followers up to date with his studies.

For someone with such a strong online presence, very little is known about his personal life, besides his being based in Melbourne, Australia, as well as his ongoing feud with another renowned vampirologist, Sean Manchester, who literally has a ‘Hoggwatch’ going.

There is only one known photo of him on the interwebs. Quite a mean feat nowadays!

Be sure to check out his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevampirologist/ His blogs can be found at http://vamped.org/ and http://thevampirologist.wordpress.com/ Follow him on twitter https://twitter.com/Vampirology

Goth ONLINE HOTSPOTS Events http://www.whitbygothweekend.co.uk/ www.gothictheatre.com/events www.worldgothday.com http://www.allgenretravel.com/vnvnation.html http://www.liverpoolinternationalgothicfestival.com/ http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/wave-gothic-festival-draws-thousands-to-leipzig-a900987.html

Places http://darkflower.info/de/ http://www.vamp.org/Gothic/clublist.html http://www.festivallica.com/category/events/gothic/ http://www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be/en/calendar/ http://goths-in-europe.livejournal.com/ http://ultimategothguide.blogspot.com/2011/01/castle-party-eastern-europes-biggest.html 11

By: Jean Marks

From all around the world coffins will creak open and bats come pouring out of caves like black smoke in the month of November.

The Endless Night Vampire Ball ,either in New Orleans (USA) or Berlin (Germany), are on the horizon.

Last year’s theme was somewhat macabre yet elegant and filled with beauty.

Themed “Zompire”, it was a miscegenation of Zombies and Vampires. It was yet another successful event for the producer Father Sebastian, also known as the “undying” dentist behind “Custom Fangs” and “Sabretooths”.

This year’s event is themed the long awaited “Victoriental”. Victoriental is a Halloween Ball inspiration: it’s a style and aesthetic mixing Oriental and Victorian aesthetics, style and culture. The term “Orient” means “East”.

The term Victoriental came about as a modern term, especially within the steampunk community and was historically called Orientalism.

Costume creations mix European styles with fashions of the same era from Asia, India and the Middle East.

The Endless Night Vampire Ball events are an excellent series of masquerade ball themed soirees which began in New York City 1996 with the Vampire Ball of New York and Main Gala Event, the New Orleans Vampire Ball over the Halloween holiday.

The origin of the name “Endless Night” was inspired by William Blake’s poem: Augaries of Innocence, where he made the famous statement: “Some are born to Sweet Delight, Others are born to Endless Night.”

On the website an anonymous person made an inevitably beautiful statement saying; “Endless Night is best described as a Venetian Masquerade Ball, mixed with a Vampire Court, topped off with the energy of a rock concert and the elegance of a burlesque cabaret.”

The uniqueness of the Ball is derived from the elegant Vampires and Masque Ball themes, laced with a Belle Epoch Salon Noir from the esoteric renaissance of the 1890’s France. The Endless Night is always changing and morphing according to new and diverse interests. It is purely an experience that no one will ever forget, the uniqueness imprinted in their memories forever.

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The Endless Night Vampire Ball events are strictly formal and no one will be allowed entry without the proper dress code.

Here follows some guidelines to the dress codes.

Without it, entry to Endless Night will be refused without refund.

Level 3 – Elite You will definitely make a statement with this dress code!

Here are a few examples: Venetian, Carnival, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Intense Steampunk, All out Cosplay, etc.

Level 2 – Impressive A touch of Elite but not quite there yet, still you are garmented with Victoriental aesthetics.

Here are a few guidelines: Aristocratic, Uniforms, Steampunk, Historical, Gothic Lolita, Latex, Black Tie, Leather, Neo-Victorian, Furries, Masquerade, Drag, Dandy, Undead Prom, Priests and Priestesses, etc.

Level 1 – Minimal This is a minimal requirement dress code which is Black-on-Black, Fangs and Masques.

Level 0… Don’t even think about it!

This will be an insult to the organisers (and yourself) if you pitch with a T-Shirt (they ARE serious), blue jeans, wife beaters, racist symbols, street wear, sneakers, etc.

The most important aspects about the dress code are respect, a contribution to the environment and a mental preparation for the ball to build collective excitement.

Fangs and masks are highly encouraged but not required.

The balls take place in New Orleans on Saturday November 1st 2014 21h00 – 08h00 and in Berlin, Germany on Saturday November 22nd 2014 22h00 – 04h00.

Go to www.endlessnight.com to order tickets and get more information, or simply to join in on the discussions on the blog. VIP tickets are available, standard tickets will be sold from the 1st of October.

Hope to see you there!

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Source: h p://www.endlessnight.com/

By: MGR Something that just happened; one day there was punk and then all of a sudden goth erupted - a subcategory that formed beneath punk in the mid 70’s – 80’s .It quickly grew to its own movement, with its own culture and music choices. That’s it as far as most are concerned, when in actual fact it’s much more than that, it goes deeper and darker.

At its roots, goth is a random version of an aesthetic with very, very old roots. Derived from medieval conquests, fuelled by dark romanticism, and reinvented in twentieth- century youth culture, the title has been transferred from generation to generation, taking on new meanings with each manifestation, to paraphrase Micah L Issitt, author of “Goths: A guide to an American Subculture”.

The roots of goth became clearer by the 1970’s. It’s said that gothic music came from post-punk in and around the early 80’s, but it goes back much further, to the darker tones & melodies of the 60’s.

Back then called it was called “Psychedelic”. Psychedelic rock began on an anacrusis “upbeat” note (anacrusis is defined as one or more syllables at the beginning of a line of poetry or lyrics that are regarded as preliminary to and not a part of the metrical pattern). By the late 1960’s, bands such as The Velvet Underground and The Doors begun exploring darker sonic concoctions, using gloomy sound & melodies with lyrics that highlighted the darker elements of humanity.

Besides traditional goth rock, a number of dark genres have become associated with the goth, such as: Cold Wave, Cyber Metal, Dark Wave, Death Rock, EBM, Electro Industrial, EMO, Electro Pop, Gothabilly, Industrial Metal, Medieval Rock, Neo Folk, Symphonic Rock and Metal Synth Pop. The Goth culture encompasses so many different things. Simply put, it’s a phenomenon that exists on various “levels” simultaneously. From one view point, goth can be viewed in categories of consumer products such as music, literature, clothing and accessories, then also in the people who purchase these products.

The goth community is one which consists of several smaller communities spread out and separated by thousands of kilometers and different languages, but still connected by shared interests and views that remains recognisable across all these borders and cultural lines.

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Goth or being goth has always existed a long time. There’s some goth in all of us, just like the other elements out there such as ‘punks/ jocks/ravers’ to name a few. Some of us merely choose to embrace the goth element more than others - it calls to us just as we call to it.

It takes someone unique to see the beauty in the dark and gloomy aspects of life.

Horace Walpol had a dream - but not one of a happier world or peace. His dream led him to write a novel called “The Castle of Ortanto”, which became the first gothic novel ever written.

“Goth has remained distinct and cohesive in situations where many other subcultures might have bled completely into the larger culture stream. In Germany, goth has even become an accepted part of mainstream music and fashion, without losing its distinctiveness or what some might call ‘authenticity’”, according to Micah L Issitt.

The goth community has grown to such an extent that we are organizing annual events and gatherings internationally, such as The Whitby Gothic Weekend (WGW) in the United Kingdom.

This is a gathering held in the town of Whitby, as mentioned in Bram Stokers Famous vampire novel “Dracula”.

Then there’s the WGT (Wave-Gotik-Treffen), hosted in Leipzig, Germany. It’s an enormous music festival which attracts an estimate of 30 000 attendees yearly.

There’s also the M’era Luna Festival (held in Germany as well). These two annual events are considered to be the first and second biggest gothic annual events worldwide.

-MGR They told of dripping stone walls in uninhabited castles and of ivy-clad monastery ruins by moonlight, of locked inner rooms and secret dungeons, dank charnel houses and overgrown graveyards, of footsteps creaking upon staircases and fingers tapping at casements, of howlings and shriekings, groanings and scuttlings and the clanking of chains, of hooded monks and headless horseman, swirling mists and sudden winds, insubstantial specters and sheeted creatures, vampires and bloodhounds, bats and rats and spiders, of men found at dawn and women turned whitehaired and raving lunatic, and of vanished corpses and curses upon heirs. ~Susan Hill

There was something awesome in the thought of the solitary mortal standing by the open window and summoning in from the gloom outside the spirits of the nether world. ~Arthur Conan Doyle

This tower, patched unevenly with black ivy, arose like a mutilated finger from among the fists of knuckled masonry and pointed blasphemously at heaven.

At night the owls made of it an echoing throat; by day it stood voiceless and cast its long shadow. ~Mervyn Peake I envy people that know love. That have someone who takes them as they are. ~Jess C. Scott 15

238 ad 1144 1431-1476 1817 1861 1897 1965 1967 1969

1971 1973 1976 1977

1978 1979 1980

The Gemanic goths invade a portion of the roman empire containing the modern Macedonia, Romania and the Balkans The abbey of Saint Dennis is completed and often cited as the first gothic structure Vlad the third aka Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Bram Stoker's fictional character ''Count Dracula" and goth fashion icon, lives his life in Wallachia Mary Shelley releases one of the most famous gothic novels, Frankenstein The Victorian Court of Mourning brings funerary attire into modern European fashion Bram stoker publishes Dracula, which becomes one of the most beloved gothic novels The Doors formed in LA (Psychedelic Rock), which is later seen as a precursor to punk and goth movements John Stickney, a journalist, wrote for the Williams College News. He described The Doors' music as gothic The Stooges formed David Bowie's second album is released and becomes a major inspiration for new wave, goth and futurist movements The New York dolls form in New York City The club CBGB opens in Manhattan Siouxsie Sioux forms Siouxsie And The Banshees in the UK Southern Death Cult forms Joy Division forms in Manchester Journalist Mick Mercer begins writing the fanzine Panache, later recognized as one of the first media sources that focused on goth Anne Rice publishes Interview With A Vampire Joy Divisions' manager describes the band’s music as gothic in an interview Joy Division releases Unknown Pleasures, first release for Factory Records Bauhaus releases Bela Lugosi's Dead The Sisters Of Mercy forms in Leeds (UK) DJs Joseph Brooks and Henry Peck open vinyl fetish in La Brea, California - one of the first record stores in the US to feature punk and goth music.

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1981

1982

1983 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 2000

2004 2008 2009 2010 2014

In an article for The Sounds Magazine, Decay front man Steven Abbot describes UK Decay as into the "gothic thing' Joseph Brooks opens one of the first goth/punk clubs in the US, the Veil in Hollywood.

Mick Mercer begins writing for Zig Zag. He soon becomes editor, steering the magazine toward dedicated coverage of goth music, fashion and culture The Batcave opened on Mead street in London The Batcave and DJ Hamish McDonald goes on a tour through England to help and inspire the developing goth scenes around the country The darkwave band Black Tape For A Blue Girl releases their debut album, The Rope The goth rock club "Slimelight" opens in London Orv Madden opens the Hot Topic chain of boutiques Tim Burton releases Beetlejuice Neil Gaiman begins writing the Sandman comics Tim Burton releases Edward Scissorhands Alt.Gothic goes online The first Wave-Gotik-Treffen is held Poppy Z. Brite publishes Lost Souls The Catwalk Club opens in Seattle and becomes a central place for the pacific northwest goth scene The first Convergence Gathering is held in Chicago Joseph Brooks creates Coven 13, a roving 'goth night' venue that appears at clubs E! Entertainment Television held a goth fashion show Gothic Beauty magazine begins publication New Grave magazine begins publication The first M'era Luna festival is held Members of Convergence 9 sets out on the the first annual goth cruise The Japanese dark rock band Dir en Grey becomes one of the first visual Kei bands to tour the U.S The documentary film of the annual goth cruise is released Wave-Gotik-Treffen attracts more than 25000 attendants The South African Gothic Society is officially established 17

By: Marlise Magna

CREEPY COCKTAILS Brain Haemorrhage Recipe 1 shot of peach schnapps 1 tsp of Bailey's® Irish cream 2 drops of grenadine syrup Pour the peach schnapps into a shot glass. SLOWLY add the Bailey's, top with the grenadine, and serve.

CREEPY CLASSIC RICKY EYEBALL’S 12 to 24 fresh blueberries 12 canned litchies in syrup, drained (keep aside 5 - 6 tablespoons syrup from the can) 3 cups of blueberry juice 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 4 limes) 2 glasses of sparkling water Ice 3/4 cup gin

Directions: Stick 1 to 2 blueberries, depending on their size, into the cavity of each litchi. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and freeze, for about 1 hour.

Stir together the litchi syrup, the blueberry juice and lime juice. Stir in the sparkling water and add the eyeballs.

Serve in tall glasses over ice, spooning the eyeballs into the glasses as you pour.

Enjoy!

Source www.drinksmixer.com, www.clubugly.com and Google Images 18

HOTDOG MUMMIES What you will need: Vienna’s or sausages of your choice (Chilli cheese grillers work well) Ready-made pastry Flour (for keeping the pastry from sticking to the rolling pin)

Directions: Cut the sausages as per the picture.

Roll out your pastry on a floured surface and cut into fine strips.

Roll it around your sausages to mummify them.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius.

Remove when the pastry has started browning and gone crisp.

Serve hot or cooled down with some tomato sauce (blood lookalike) if you prefer.

CREEPY EYEBALL COOKIES This couldn’t be easier!

White chocolate dipped cookies or wafers of your choice, blue fondant frosting and chocolate chips.

You will need: Cookies or wafers White cooking chocolate Blue fondant icing Chocolate chips Red food colouring

Directions: Melt the chocolate slowly and dip the cookies into it.

Once the chocolate has set (place in the fridge to set), roll out your frosting and cut out the iris shapes with a sharp knife.

Stick onto cookies and top with a chocolate chip as the pupil ... dip a toothpick in red food colouring to create bloodshot marks and voila!

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How to make proper English tea • Boil water, pour a little into the teapot, swirl it around, then toss it away. This warms the pot.

• Place one teaspoon of loose tea per cup, plus one extra for the pot, into the warmed teapot.

(For tea bags: one per person, one for the pot!)

• Fill with boiled water and stir a few seconds with a tall spoon to "elevate" the tea.

• Place the lid on the teapot and steep for 2 to 5 minutes.

The longer it steeps, the stronger but more bitter the tea will be.

• Stir again before pouring.

• If your guest requires milk in his or her tea, pour the milk into the teacup, then pour in the tea, which "scalds” the milk (also called "boiling" the milk), giving it a different flavour.

• Add sugar as required.

Black (and blackish foods) • Black beans • Black pasta (coloured with squid ink) • Black radish • Blackberries • Black rice (forbidden rice from Thailand) • Black silkie chicken (actual black flesh!)

Remembered goth comments during intimate moments-taken from The Goth Bible • I can't see a damned thing, I'm gonna have to take of the sunglasses.

• I was going to blindfold you but I didn't want to smudge your eye makeup.

• Is that your skirt or mine?

• You want to put your pet snake where?

• What a romantic Nietzschean move on your part, my little Uber-kink.

• That better be white candle wax you're dripping on me; the black candles leave stains.

• Do we have to take our Docs off?

• My ampallang's caught in your labia ring!

• The thing is so small...why don't you get a bigger coffin?

• I love seeing your black fingernails against my pallid skin.

• Shhhh! I think I saw headlights past that grave.

• Damn, there's nowhere to attach the handcuffs to in this coffin.

• Can you please play dead?

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How to do Tombstone Rubbings Materials • White paper like pellon (from a fabric store), unused newsprint, or rice paper • Masking tape • Scissors • Black rubbing wax or thick crayon or charcoal • Soft-bristle brush

Process • Foremost, avoid damaging stone.

• Clean the stone with the brush of bird droppings, dirt, moss, lichen, mud, etc. Do not damage the stone in the process.

• Cut the paper larger than the stone and tape it to the sides, not the front of the stone, using enough tape so the paper doesn't slip while rubbing. If the paper slips, it causes a blurred effect, or double image, which might be cool too.

• Rub using the wax, crayon, or charcoal, beginning at the outer edges of the stone. Block in the basic design using the wide, flat edge of your rubbing material.

• Darken the design, until you have it filled in dark enough to suit you.

• Carefully remove the tape from the paper and the stone.

• If you have used charcoal, you'll need to spray the paper with a sealer like lacquer.

Finishing.

• Cut the paper for a clean edge into whatever shape you like, or leave ragged edges. You can also frame the rubbing.

William Blake's Levels of Consciousness to reach Art • Level 1: Blame. The lowest common denominator. Nobody takes responsibility.

Everybody viciously accuses others of being the source of their problems.

• Level 2: Conflict. People debate openly and fairly, arguing their respective side without blaming the others. Holding onto tension without cracking.

• Level 3 : Love. Opposites attract. Conflicts are resolved through respect and understanding.

• Level 4: Art. Borne of the merging of opposites. Creation. The baby torn of an ova and a sperm, the painting or novel bursting into existence when the deadlock of two opposing ideas results in a third, creative solution.

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Short Story By: D ouw “D.K” Kotze It was a cold sunny day in a province of Hollow Sage. It was the beginning of the cold season where everyone started buying warm clothes and arming their beds with extra duvets. The season for nice warm coffee in the mornings and evenings or perhaps some hot tea, hot chocolate, or that hot cup of soup.

Everyone kept themselves nice and warm as they went on with their everyday lives. Everyone seemed happy as usual.

Everything was going as it was supposed to be.

Or so you would think.

The crime wave had slowly risen more and more, but no crime was a match against the police force of Hollow Sage. The crime committed in Hollow Sage wasn’t your ordinary crime in your ordinary world.

There have been several bank robberies recorded into recent history as well as fifty residents robbed and murdered. Crimes that didn’t need to happen, crimes that had no meaning and were absolutely pointless.

Sounds ordinary though, right? Hollow Sage wasn’t a poor province, neither was it rich. There was no poverty and the only riches it had… resided in blood.

Tonight there was going to be a feast and that feast wasn’t going to be your usual vegan, vegetarian or meaty feast. No. It was going to involve flesh, blood and end in death. The day passed by quickly and night came to take its place. It was blessed by darkness with only the light of the moon shining bright in the sky.

There was a supermarket called “Nyan Nine” between Gato Avenue and Thirteenth Street, and it was a real nice place. You could find almost everything there and you could possibly imagine the commercials by just reading or saying the name of this very supermarket. Young women dressed in outfits which would make them look like adorable neko’s and young men who are dressed in a very unique way of their own as handsome male neko’s of some sort. People who know media, they sure know how to attract. Everyone was friendly at this supermarket. They were very well-mannered and helpful… including the clinic. Though, if you had to walk around in this very supermarket, you could smell youthful, mature, tainted and innocence within the blood of those walking amongst you.

Indeed it was a dark night and a busy one as well. There was a casino, a small store and a townhouse complex, three different locations with each one being the opposite from the other’s whereabouts.

The police of Hollow Sage were dispatched to those three different locations. Someone thought to use this very night as their opportune moment. Someone came running towards the supermarket and crashed right through the glass door. The wide glass door shattered, glass cracking and flying to a lengthy distance from the impact. Unfortunately, no one heard the noise from the burst of shattering glass as the wolves howled their loudest at the full moon, causing the dogs within the pet store to follow suit.

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There was a crackling thud to the tiled floor as this very intruder threw down a thick padding with pieces of glass stuck unto it. This by no doubt was used to shield the intruder upon forced entry. By the light chuckle escaping his lips, it was indeed a man, unless he was a thick low-voiced woman. He chuckled and walked straight for the one place which still had its lights on.

‘Kitty…’ called the man, dressed in black sweat pants and a pitch-black sweater. Clearly he decided to identify himself as a man of bad intentions in the most cliché attire. ‘Kitty…!’ he exclaimed this time and the woman within the Nyan Nine offices heard the voice of this man. She made the mistake of looking out the window and shrieked upon a close look of this intruder. Oh, “murderous intent” was the name of his grin, swinging another thick padded-sack which was able to break through the thin layer of glass. They probably never figured that someone would be trying to smash through this glass on purpose… that or it was planned and this was where it was about to payoff. ‘Hello Kitten. Did you miss me?’ said the intruder who seemed to know the woman.

She screamed from the top of her lungs, her eyes registering fear. Her heartbeat raced, which was something she wished to do, race out of there and away from him. ‘Stay away from me!’ she shouted. She was one of the women who were wearing the supermarket’s trademark neko uniform.

‘Six-hundred days in prison and now on the sixty-ninth hour. I’m back to do exactly what I said I’ll do when I get out’ said the crazy madman, this intruder.

‘No, no, no…!’ she cried out with tears coming down those beautiful cheeks. The woman shrieked and threw chairs at the man as she saw him climb through the shattered window.

She threw with the chairs, plates and mugs too. Even though most of the things that were thrown broke on his head within impact, he didn’t flinch one bit. He flashed that grin of murderous intent and growled sick laughter. There was a smell of lust within his tainted blood. His breath reeked of it. He was getting dangerously close to the girl, the woman whose nickname was “Kitty”. She was all alone in the Nyan Nine supermarket and all of the police were away to serve and protect those who were already in need of their protection. The irony - the police are there to protect and serve, yet unable to protect her from harm.

The blood calls.

The man, the intruder that was named Johnny “Big Guns” Titan was about to do some terrible things to her. Things I would rather not imagine. JT was stopped in his tracks as a rather dashing man pulled him back. JT and his so-called “Big Guns” were thrown out of the same window he entered.

The rather dashing fellow wore a black suede jacket, shining black shoes, a red-buttoned shirt with a pitch-black tie. His hair was long, the length to his shoulders. He wore black Ray Ban sunglasses and sucked on a toothpick like one would with a cigarette. He also wore a fedora which matched the attire he wore so proudly. ‘You’re dead boy!’ JT spat at the rather dashing fellow and threw his fists towards him once they were within range for hand-to-hand combat. JT yelped as he felt the wheel of domination turning. His arms were behind him and not even he knew how this happened. This rather dashing fellow swept his feet from underneath him, dropping him to the floor.

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‘Alright JT, let’s see if you seem as confident without those “Big Guns” of yours,’ spoke the dashing gentleman.

There was a tug of an arm and a kick to the elbow, a terrifying cracking sound and a scream of pain.

The gentleman had the smile of irony and continued to do the same with the other arm. Then there came a howl, a howl of immense pain. JT’s eyes widened with pain, he saw the smile in front of him, the smile from the gentleman. Yes, truly there was irony. He came with evil intentions, with hurt and pain in mind and yet what he wanted to do. The pain was done unto him instead. The gentleman picked him up and chuckled softly.

‘W-Who are you?’ whimpered JT for the first time, feeling useless without his “Big Guns”.

‘I feed off of those whose blood is tainted with hate and darkness’, said the dashing gentleman.

He made sure that he had a comfortable grip over JT’s throat. He took off his sunglasses and placed them onto his fedora. He opened his eyes and from the depths of his pupils shined a light, a light which beamed into the eyes of JT. At the mere sight of this before him, JT screamed in fear. Where was his murderous intent now?

Taken away along with the strength of his arms, perhaps? Or could it be that it disappeared within the bloody light that came from the gentleman’s eyes?

The body of JT started to lighten, losing weight from his very being. The screams started to disappear slowly, as well as the colour from his cheekbones and his eyes tilting up towards the sockets. His soul was being devoured, his blood forced to leave his own body, spewing and gushing out of the mouth. Then the body dropped to the floor. ‘You’re dead… boy.’

Kitty’s eyes were widened at the scene that unfolded before her. Once the police were available and arrived at the scene, Kitty only seemed to remember right up to the moment where JT was thrown out of the window he entered. The dashing gentleman, Detective Simon Hollow of Hollow Sage’s Special Task Force, explained whatever he could to make the story of what happened, more believable.

The girl was safe.

In the end… Just another day for Simon Hollow.

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The love for INK...

Jaded Ink, situated in Fourways Johannesburg, is the OFFICIAL South African Gothic Society’s Tattoo and Piercing parlour.

Shop 38 The Buzz Shopping Centre, Cnr Nerine and Witkoppen Road, Fourways

theshop@jadedink.ca.za www.jadedink.co.za Tel: 011 658 1736

This boutique brand is operated by arty farty, friendly, talented and happy people offering service par excellence, sure they tend to fool around sometimes. after all work is play.

After 8 years working in and around Europe and South Africa, Jaded Ink was born in the summer of 2008 after the collaboration of 2 minds, the Artist and the Entrepreneur.

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Myths about: The Djinn/Jinn aka Genie By: Rene Roux

I’m pretty sure that most of you are familiar with the term “genie” and all the magic that comes along with this magnificent being as we have seen on Disney’s Aladdin animation of 1992.

Aladdin was a story of a young beggar boy that eventually ends up having his wishes come true by the genie of a lamp he went through a lot of trouble attaining for the evil sorcerer Jafar.

After all of the adventures and trials this young man endured he did have his happy ending.

The film made some people wonder where the author came Source: Google Images up with this intriguing story.

Is this a story based on true events that the author went through, or a legend like the story of The Pied Piper of Hamelin?

And do genies really exist?

It has been quite a mind boggling topic for me since the other day while watching this story of Aladdin once again along with my children. Then a friend mentioned the word “djinn” and it was like this light bulb lit up in my head. I did some research and started putting pieces together.

This is what I came up with…

Djinn come from a parallel dimension, known in earlier ages as the Kaf, which is a mystical mountain range made out of emerald. This dimension surrounds the earth. These djinn, along with many other supernatural beings share this dimension. As for the wishes, a djinni can grant you whatever you may want just like the genie from Aladdin, only with a twist.

These djinn tend to be somewhat mischievous and can take on any form they desire. They can cause death by touching a human and come across as very powerful and have to be feared..

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Djinn can read the human mind and tell what your deepest darkest fears are or even the best memory that you may have. They can possess you, causing one to go completely mad, turning good to bad and vice versa, breaking you down mentally, at times until one commits suicide.

Although it’s said that these beings can be good or evil, it might make some wonder why only the bad parts get mentioned. Since their true appearance is quite horrifying, why would they not want to take on another form that is much more appealing and pleasant to humanity?

Numerous sightings have been recorded along with stories that originate from several religions.

One specific tale is of Solomon from the Christian Bible.

Legend goes that God gave Solomon a ring to have power over the djinn (which no one could ever do) so that he could enslave these beings to build Jerusalem. It was lost to Asmodeus, a very jealous djinni, who stole the ring one day while Solomon was bathing in a river. Solomon did however win Jerusalem back and Asmodeus was condemned to a life in a jar for eternity.

In Islam there is an entire chapter on the djinn in the Quran and the Muslims believe that the djinn were formed by smokeless fires, which in modern terms we would call plasma. Djinn are believed to be invisible to most humans in this culture and that only certain animals are aware of these beings.

After all the evil that these djinn are known for, what is the good they might have done?

Another point to ponder as each and everyone has their own point of view, if you believe that they do exist‌

Source: Google Images

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The Killing Joke

By: Daniel Tay

“All it takes is one bad day.”

Reading through The Killing Joke, that is a term that you will come to realise is all too true.

After all, we are who we are because of our experiences in life, and one bad day is all it takes to turn you from a second rate comedian trying to support your wife and unborn child to a homicidal psycho clown.

The Killing Joke is one of those stories that will remain one of the greatest ever told no matter how many years may pass. It was written by Alan Moore, the critically acclaimed author behind Watchmen, V for Vendetta and Swamp Thing just to name a few. He delivers too; the story is dark even compared to Joker’s standards.

The art by Brian Bolland blends seamlessly into Moore’s dark vision of the origin of the Joker, but that is only a small part of it. This isn’t an origin story after all, this is something much bigger, something that at the end will leave your jaw on the floor as you try and contemplate what did or might just have happened.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; let’s first look at the cover. An everyday shot of Joker taking a photo with a camera as his grin goes ear to ear. Simple as it may be this will become one of the most iconic scenes in comic book history. You could show it to any avid comic book fan and regardless of whether he/she has read The Killing Joke they will be able to tell you where it is from that is just how powerful this image is.

The cover was also done by Bolland using himself as the model, taking a picture in the mirror he captured himself with almost the exact same grin as Joker himself.

When I saw this at the end of the book I was very impressed, I mean, I would never have thought about using myself as the base for the cover.

Source: Google Images

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This is of course just the sleeve on the hardcover underneath it has one of the final panels. That is the jaw dropping scene I spoke of earlier as the cover in a brilliant black and purple.

It gives off a glow that would truly make you stand back and marvel at the sight of it, as it flows with so much feeling even more so after you read the story.

The story starts at that all too familiar place called Arkham Asylum, where Batman visits Joker. Not because of some devious plan the clown had put in motion, but to talk it out and to share what he felt would happen if the two kept on going with their tango of death.

As it turns out Joker had broken out already and was busy Source: Google Images putting a new plan in motion. Needless to say Batman is furious and it takes Jim Gordon to calm the Dark Knight.

Joker now has himself a new funhouse of horrors and he just needs the main guest but it isn’t Batman! It’s none other than the Commissioner himself. Joker has a plan, and that plan is to show Gordon that all it takes is one bad day to turn you from a respectful man to a deranged freak.

Not to go into too much detail, but Joker’s abduction of Gordon left every single fan reading The Killing Joke stunned. What he did was rob us of one of the greatest characters yet also created one that would later become one of the most loved in the entire DC universe.

After his abduction Gordon wakes up in Joker’s carnival just in time for the festivities to begin.

Joker had it all planned out: he was going to drive the Commissioner insane. What better way to do it than to strip him of not only his dignity, but his clothes as well, chaining him up like some toy from those dungeons your parents warned you about but never really explained. He constantly taunts Gordon, making him question his own sanity, even resorting to using Barbara to drive that final nail through the coffin.

Batman arrives at the carnival and rescues Gordon like we knew he would, but something still needs to be answered. Was Gordon’s psyche still intact or did Joker manage to shatter it into a billion tiny pieces?

He sends the Caped Crusader after Joker giving him explicit instructions to do it by the book. Yeah, Gordon was still himself - proving that he could overcome all that had happened, put aside personal rage and still do his job.

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Batman confronts Joker, pleading with him that he just wants to help the Clown Prince of Crime by rehabilitating him. Joker gives a slight chuckle and for a brief moment I saw a shred of humanity in him. He simply responds with the line that would probably make anyone - even if just for a second - shed a tear for him, saying “It is too late for me”.

That one line made me think that maybe there was hope for him; after all, throughout the book we see glimpses of his life before Joker, when he donned the Red Hood. We see his wife, hear about their unborn child and their untimely deaths, throwing this unnamed man into a depression that he could not come back from. He just had to complete one job while wearing the Red Hood and his family would have been settled, but now he has nothing, so why should he continue this potentially dangerous job.

Pressure from his employers persuades him even in his moments of grief to go through with his part of the deal, which would later turn ugly and turn him from a grieving man to a shattered clown.

The laugh he gives when he first washes up, is something you can’t explain. Laughter is considered the cure to any ailment, so through all those laughs and all those grins we know Joker is just a grieving man.

At the end when he is confronted by Batman he makes one final joke which I have to admit I laughed at quite hard. Then something happened that I did not expect: Batman started laughing. I was shocked, this is Batman, he barely smiles and he is laughing!

He then grabs Joker by the collar and ‘bam’, cue credits, we are done here. We are left with an opening bigger than the Grand Canyon; did Batman break his rule or did he remain strong?

Source: Google Images

"Figures 1 and 2 are giving away a closely guarded professional secret. Yes, I did use photographic reference for the cover of THE KILLING JOKE! Since it’s a mirror image of me in the photo you’ll notice that it’s actually the thumb of my left hand that’s pressing the button to take the picture. The resulting sketch is probably the most thorough cover rough I’ve ever drawn and the only one in colour. I must have been very keen32to push the idea."

Movie Review Only Lovers Left Alive

By: Angela Butcher

Director: Jim Jarmusch Starring: Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska Genre: Romance Budget: $7 million Box office: $4,887,528 The movie revolves around the reunion of two lovers, Adam and Eve, from opposite ends of the world who have been alive for centuries. The reason for this being, they are vampires, but their addiction to blood is secondary to their addiction to each other.

This film might be one of the most powerful portrayals of love ever produced; the dialogue is genuine, natural and at times, hilarious. Some might call the script slow-paced, but to be honest, I was enjoying the performances of Swinton and Hiddleston so much, I barely noticed.

The convincing characters and haunting soundtrack make this movie into a memorable masterpiece.

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Dracula tells his tale on TV

By: Colet

We all know the classic tale of Dracula as the love stricken demon who can never have love fully to himself. However, the new series that started last year October ran rocket chart fan numbers for its originality.

Written by Cole Haddon as a dramatic horror/thriller and based on ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker, this series features new and exciting actors as well as the famous composer Trevor Morris.

Many would agree that the first of many episodes was really just a teaser of the action to come.

We first see Dracula as a new comer in London. He poses as an entrepreneur who wants to bring modern science to the Victorian society through means of lighting the way without using wires or candle light. In reality, he is there for revenge on the order of the dragon (council group whose sole goal is to extinguish vampires), who ruined his life and put him in misery.

This all is threatened by the reincarnation of his long deceased wife, who in so many ways handed him the possibility of happiness and new beginnings.

Lightly touching on the main actors, I'm sure you can agree there's some new eye candy.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Dracula knocked our socks off and called for the fire department to come cool us down! He shocked us at times with his touch for romance and iron hand for violence.

Jessica De Gouws (as Miss Mina Murray), plays a medical student and the reincarnation of Dracula's wife, and can only be explained as the sweetest of characters. We find ourselves willing these two lovers together as we see their struggle continuing.

Picture courtesy of www.hdwallpapers.org

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Picture courtesy of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_(TV_series)

Thomas Kretschmann as Abraham Van Helsing, Mina's teacher at university and the one who brought Dracula back to destroy the order of the dragon, played Dracula himself in the 2012 Italian horror film Dracula 3D.

He made us drool for his brooding demeanor and our instincts wanted to kick in to assist in mending his broken heart. Oliver Jackson-Cohen portrays the role of Jonathan Harker, a journalist who desperately wants to climb the ranks of the aristocracy to show his beloved Mina he can take care of her. Their young blood made us swoon, I'd say.

Lady Jayne Wetherby (Victoria Smurfit) many a times show favourable links to our Victorian goth with her leather and lace hunting outfits and her blood red gowns of seduction. Like many others, she falls hard for the king of vampires, but it would be an injustice to mention clothes alone when one can clearly see Dracula's castle as a gothic statement made to entertain and intrigue. The entire series is riddled in gothic nature but I'll leave that for you to see yourselves fellow darklings.

Cole Haddon, the creator of this series, has created many works of art. He has been amongst other things, a comic book scribe and a journalist, but can we say he is like Harker? Not only is he a fabulous writer but also a stunning man capturing the beauty of this re-imagined series. The beautiful twists and swift contrasts are all the works of this mind. From seeking only revenge to focusing on love, and introducing light to a dark world when you cannot go into the sun, one can see the intricate maze which is this writer. Set in gothic writing one cannot help but fall in love with this tragic tale that can be seen as the ideal life for some of us, where we can thrive in the darkness.

Nominated for 3 awards: * American Society of Cinematographers for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in a one hour episodic television series. * People’s Choice Awards as Favourite new TV Drama. * People's Choice Awards for Favourite Actor in a new TV series - Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Dracula) 35

Rebirth

By: Annari Du Plessis

Saturday 12 April saw the resurrection of Darctyde Events, as “Rebirth (Goth / Darkwave / Post-punk / Death Rock)” and was held at Zeplins in Centurion. Zeplins had recently done a revamp of their venue, which improved the sound to acoustic clarity as never before at their previous venues. New furnishings and finishes create a sleek and comfortable setting in which to enjoy the darker side of night life.

After a hiatus of a couple of years, Darctyde made a big comeback with an event that drew a decent sized crowd from our marginal subculture and had people talking about it long after.

Starting at 7pm, the event kicked off with a gothic market and a relaxed mood for chatting before the bands and DJ’s fired up the dance floor. The general vibe was good, with comfortable conversation between the growing gathering of black-clad individuals. It was an evening that held in store dark aesthetics of various kinds.

Explixit Sugarfix was there with their cakes and sweets that are almost too beautiful to eat and just as delicious. My personal favourites were the horror-themed red velvet cupcakes, complete with sugar “glass” shards and edible fake blood. Other delicacies included coffin and bat-shaped cookies, with beautiful icing decorations.

The Briar and Burley Travelling Shoppe was also there, selling their steampunk hats, various pipes, smoking accessories and tobacco. The market was rounded off by La’ila Designs’ gothic and steampunk jewellery.

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In Misery opened the stage with their guitar-driven gothic rock sound. The trio, composed of brothers Calvyn and Charl Kemp, joined by drummer Allen Purkiss, commanded attention with their atmospheric music that lands so well on the ear. They were the perfect act to share the stage with Hexotericka.

The main attraction for the night was goth rock band Hexotericka.

The two vocalists, Keith van Zyl and Allen Simpson (who also writes poetry), brought beautiful harmonies with their voices, while their DJ, Gareth Whitely, made sure that all the backing ran smoothly.

The fourth member of the ensemble, guitarist Douw Duvenage, could not share the stage with them, because he was getting married that day.

Even with his injured knee, Gareth Whitely put up a lively performance and the backing ran smoothly.

After the bands entertained the crowd, DJ’s Hexx, Dark Rabbit, Okami, and Johnny Voodoo took over and played the best in darkwave, death rock, post punk, and trad -goth as the strobe light illuminated dancing forms, moving to the music.

Be sure to visit Headbone Photography’s page on Facebook for their photo gallery of the event.

h ps://www.facebook.com/DarcTydeEvents?fref=ts h ps://www.facebook.com/pages/Explicit-Sugarfix/297048836991059?fref=ts h ps://www.facebook.com/TheBriarBurleyTravellingShoppe?fref=ts h ps://www.facebook.com/pages/Laila-Designs/468859993148409?fref=ts h ps://www.facebook.com/pages/In-Misery/163359390438053?fref=ts h ps://www.facebook.com/pages/Hexotericka/82721446769?fref=ts h ps://www.facebook.com/pages/Headbone-Photography/184169385030948 37

By: Angela Butcher

[|z{ [ÉÑxá yÉÜ xå@ xå@_tvÉÇ|tËá TÇz|x cÉáàÅt You may or may not have already heard of her, but Centurion-based artist Angie Postma is someone to look out for in the future.

The Shadow had a little chat with her about her background and her future plans...

Who are you?

Angie Postma.

What is it that you do?

I am a gothic vocalist.

What are you currently busy with?

I am busy with a solo project that I have been working on for years, but finally got the courage to do it. In the past it was more about having a band, but now I am doing it alone; just me, my voice and piano with the help of John Lewis Mills that will be recording me. We have been working together for years.

What are your short term future plans and goals?

At this moment, to get the performance act live. I love being in studio but performing live is where I can truly express myself. I want to get the album done and start doing gigs so people with a taste for music like mine can enjoy it. Not too many people in South Africa are doing the kind of music that I do; Gothic doom/Rock/Metal - or you just don't hear about them as much.

What are your long term plans and goals?

I want to do music full time. At this stage I have to have a day job to support my music career.

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Where have you performed before?

With bands I have performed at quite a few places including Carnival City, but solo not yet. I am trying to focus on the album for now but I am sure as soon as it's done we'll be doing gigs all over.

Some history of yourself?

I've been doing vocals since I was 5 years old.

I got introduced to the gothic community when I was 12 and I loved it ever since. It runs through my veins; it is me. I started playing piano when I was 14 and really started playing actively when I was 17. I always say anyone can master anything if they are given the right amount of time, but when you love something you don't need to master it, you just need to keep on loving it.

What can we expect from you?

I think in the next year or two big things will happen. I have the right mindset now and I have a few big names standing by my side and supporting me. I am not doing this to please anyone else anymore, I am doing this because this is who I am and this is all I've known to be for such a long time. Being a gothic vocalist is truly the happiest I've ever been and change won't happen soon.

A few likes and dislikes?

Oh, likes would definitely be food and beer and watching live bands. Dislikes I would say are people stepping on others to reach the top. I've learned that no matter what they say or do, just ignore it and go on living your life the way you want to.

Where can people find you?

Well, I have a Facebook account: Angie Postma Fanpage https://www.facebook.com/profile.php? id=175703325939267 I can also be followed on Twitter: Angie Postma https://twitter.com/PostmaAngie 39

By: MGR When hearing the name ‘Spectral Realm’, we ponder who theyare and what it means…

The Shadow had an interview with a Symphonic Black Metal band from the East of JHB that has been making waves in the South African metal scene.

Source: Shelby Maelanthe

Who are you?

Spectral Realm

What is it that you do?

We are a Symphonic Black Metal band from the East Rand of Johannesburg, South Africa.

What are you currently busy with in terms of an album, any details on the name, release date and so on?

We are busy recording a full length album titled "Voyage to Spectral Realm".

We are looking at releasing the album in the latter half of this year.

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What are your short term future plans and goals?

Source: Shelby Maelanthe

Short term plans is to release our album and to play "launch" shows in the major centres of SA. We also plan to bring newer songs to the stage.

What are your long term plans and goals for the future?

Our long term goals include recording a second album, shooting a music video and playing as many big shows as possible.

Where have you performed before?

We have performed at almost every "alternative/metal" club in Gauteng as well as playing a couple of shows in Mpumalanga and at Metal4africa's Winterfest (2013) in Cape Town.

Some history on all the band members?

The band was originally a one man project by our lead guitarist/composer Lord Onyr until he decided to make it a full band.

We started out in 2010, lost a member in 2012 due to a car accident and carried on from there.

What can we expect from you as a band?

A dark spectral presence on stage bringing you a brand of metal that is brutally black, incorporating symphonic melodies.

A few likes and dislikes?

Likes are playing and listening to music, partying with our mates.

Dislikes include negativity, especially in the metal music scene.

Be sure to Follow Spectral Realm and catch them playing a local metal gig near you.

Free Demo song downloads on their Reverbnation page.

Email: Facebook page: Twi er: Reverbna=on page:

spectralrealmband@gmail.com h p://www.facebook.com/spectralrealm @spectralrealm h p://www.reverbna=on.com/spectralrealm

41

Expressing oneself with different designs and wording on the body through somewhat painful ways has become an art form in our generation.

Many people still have a misconception of what this art is really about; where other individuals would see it for what it actually represents to that person - expressing tales of their lives, messages to themselves and drawn emotions of happiness, sorrow or representation of the struggles they have gone through in life to have gotten where they are today.

By: Rene Roux

Some misconceptions regarding tattoos would be “not being able to find a decent job” to “never making a good impression”. In some countries it is a sign of belonging to a certain culture and other cultures are against this. Some symbolism is sacred to certain countries and religions as well as showing their devotion to their beliefs.

Those should only be considered old wives tales since times have changed so much that people ranging from lawyers and successful business leaders to many peoples’ idols having them. Some may be visible and others hidden but it really is not such a big deal anymore.

Does it affect your life so badly that you will ever regret getting a tattoo? It was proven by Harris polls that 80-84% of all individuals that have tattoos do not regret having them.

Those who did have regret were the ones who were not satisfied with the quality of work they got and others not happy with the design they chose since they were very young at the time they had it done.

We all know now that with our advanced technology, you can now get tattoos removed or just get a cover up with a much more desirable and appropriate design.

42

As for scarification, it entails a medical procedure where a design is cut, burnt or etched out of the flesh of the person, leaving behind a perfectly formed scar when looked after well and it heals properly.

This form of art and self-expression cannot be removed though. One has to be sure of the design and procedure chosen before getting it done. It’s also imperative to make sure your scarification artist is a professional in this field with much experience.

The only problem with this choice of art would be that infection might occur so take extra good care of the wounds if you do get this done and always ask the artist to open all needed equipment in front of you.

Always play it safe.

Source: Google Images

#Fojwfstz.Wpvt#!)Hfu!Esvol*!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!gspn!Mft!Qfujut!Qpfnft!fo!Qsptf

By Charles Baudelaire, translation by Caro Soles It it essential to be drunk all the time. That's it!

The great imperative!

To avoid feeling the appalling weight of Time breaking your shoulders, bending you to the ground, get drunk and stay that way.

But on what? On wine, poetry, goodness, please yourself.

But get drunk.

And if now and then you awake up on the steps of a palace, on the green grass of a ditch, in the gloomy loneliness of your own room, your drunken state gone or disappearing, ask the wind, the waves, the stars, the birds, the clock, ask everything that runs by, everything that groans or rolls or sings, everything that speaks, ask what time it is; and the wind, the waves, the stars, the birds, the clock will answer you: "It's time to get drunk! Don't be martyred slaves to Time, get drunk!

Endlessly drunk! On wine, virtue, poetry, please yourself!"

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Expertly advised! – Marlise Magna with Cole Moebius, official piercer for SAGS. It would seem that being gothic and body piercings and tattoos go hand in hand. We are an individual crowd with a strong sense of self and choose to express this.

Here is a list of the most frequently asked questions we at The Shadow have received so far.

How do I know my piercer is legit?

Ask to see the piercer’s portfolio of work done in the past.

The general ‘vibe’ in the shop/studio should also say a lot.

Ask around and don’t be afraid to ask questions!

Judge how you feel about the answers you receive and follow your gut.

Also make SURE there’s an enclave in the shop/studio (its LAW!) and that all tools, needles and jewellery is new/sterilised.

Why should an earring gun not be used for nose piercings?

Because they are used for cattle! Moo! Seriously – earring guns use extremely blunt force to get through tissue/cartilage which shatters it. It also cannot be cleaned properly – micro-particles of blood splatters back and it cannot be sterilised in an enclave as it’s made of plastic and won’t handle the extreme temperature. This is a sure fire way to catch Hepatitis, not an all too appealing thought!

Why do mucous membrane piercings seem to heal faster?

It’s a warm, moist membrane and the body heals in liquid form using white blood cells – dry wounds heal a LOT slower. Basically, think of dogs licking their wounds and this should make sense!

What do I do if the piercing gets infected?

Go and see you piercer immediately! It is important to try and heal the infection before removing the piercing (if that is what you decide to do), as a pocket can form trapping the infection. In the case of an infected piercing, you CAN use Surgical Spirits. This is the ONLY time it’s beneficial as it will dry it out. That said, it strips the skin of essential bacteria leaving the wound vulnerable, so use it twice a day for two days ONLY. After that continue with your saline soaks.

Can I wear a belly ring while pregnant?

It depends on your body and how far along you are. A reputable piercer will NOT perform this piercing when you are already pregnant.

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Why do I need to remove my piercings before surgery and CAT-/MRI scans?

Metal jewellery needs to be removed in the case of you flat lining and needing electric shocks to the heart. This is because it will burn around the metal.

You can replace metal piercings with Bioplast jewellery with plastic balls.

What about using ear piercing guns on babies?

A good piercer generally will not pierce a baby. Our ears do not grow at the same rate until we are around ten years of age. Also – piercing guns are unsterile as previously mentioned.

Why is there starter jewellery and how long until I can change it?

It is to ensure proper healing. Many people swell around the piercing, causing it to embed in the skin and get infected. Your piercer will advise you when it is ready to be replaced / shortened.

How do I insert new jewellery?

Some piercers tighten the starter jewellery quite tightly. It’s advisable to have your piercing artist change your first set of jewellery for you.

The rule is ‘righty tighty, leftie loosey’ when screwing on balls.

Wearing latex gloves also helps you grip it better and not have it move around.

Please feel free to continue sending your questions to us or to contact Cole Moebius from Jaded Ink Tattoos in Johannesburg directly: marlise.sags@gmail.com theshop@jadedink.co.za for attention Cole. Their number is (011)658-1736

45

Image Source: www.keysonkites.com

By: Marlise Magna Ear stretching as a practise has been around for thousands of years, although as of late it seems to be increasing in popularity at an amazing speed. This is one of those body modification processes which show you’re a tad more hardcore and committed than the average piercing allows you to be.

Once you have stretched beyond a certain mark, there is just about no turning back.

Ear stretching (also known as plugs or tunnels) works on the premise of gradually (every 4-6 weeks ideally) stretching up to the size you desire. The reason behind the seemingly slow pace being that even if you have stretched up to 10/12mm, you CAN still remove them and gradually your ears will return to their initial ‘normal’ piercing size as they have retained cellular memory.

From 10mm upwards, there will always be some stretching left after removal.

In recent years plastic surgeons have started performing operations to repair individuals’ ears who have decided they are ‘over it’ or for professional reasons. The most popular way to stretch is using a lot of lubrication, such a KY-Jelly, and a stainless steel bar. Honestly – it wasn’t half as bad as I expected it to be and it hurt less than a normal piercing procedure. Watch this space in months to come as we’ll publish pictures of how the stretching expands.

Stretch gauges range anywhere from between 2mm’s up to beyond massive sizes larger than 10 cm’s in diameter! Some individuals decide from the get go that they want a larger gauge. In these cases there are options besides the gradual stretching method, which include punching out flesh or cartilage with a dermal punch, or using a scalpel. In these cases, there is permanent damage and surgery will be needed if you decide to revert.

There are acrylic, plastic, metal and natural materials such as wood and bone at your disposal, as well as actual pretty ‘dangly’ earrings!

Acrylic tapers are not recommended as body heat breaks them down and infection may set in. It is of utmost importance to keep your stretches clean and soak them daily with a saline solution or soap such as Protex later on in the healing process. This is not only to ensure they heal well, but also to prevent ‘ear funk’ – basically dead white blood cells which are rather gross and malodourous.

Whatever you decide, this certainly is one body modification which is totally different for each individual and has endless possibilities jewellery wise.

Go wild and have fun!

Addi=onal sources: tumblr, Cole Moebius

46

By: Marlise Magna Ohaguro is the practice of staining one’s teeth black and has been in existence since at least 250AD, Found mainly in Japan, but also in parts of Southeast Asia and parts of China.

This staining / dyeing was mainly done by married women, though the occasional man has been said to do it. I suppose there’s nothing quite like a blindingly black smile to attract (or deter!) those potential spouses!

The word "ohaguro" was a Japanese aristocratic term. The other meaning for ohaguro literally translates as 'iron drink'. (In my opinion ‘nerves of steel’ are required to consume this iron drink…)

The main ingredient was a dark-brown solution, which was made by dissolving iron filings in vinegar.

This concoction would then be combined with vegetable tannins from sources like gallnut- or tea powder. This would turn black and become non-water soluble.

Coating the teeth with this liquid helped to prevent both tooth- and enamel decay.

The mixture had to be applied once a day or once every few days.

As a convenient alternative, a fine mixture of gallnut powder, sulfuric acid and oyster shells could be applied to the teeth, though this never really caught on. (I cannot imagine why!)

In theatrical plays, ink mixed with turpentine was used, though nowadays, ink mixed with tooth wax is used.

At the end of the Edo period, only men in the imperial family and aristocrats blackened their teeth. Due to the malodour and labour required for the process, this was done only by married women, unmarried women who were older than 18, prostitutes and geisha. For rural people, ohaguro was done only at times of special celebrations. It was supposedly also beneficial in preventing tooth decay, much like modern dental sealants. It was said to be a way of showing total commitment to adult married life.

On February 5, 1870, the Japanese government banned the practice of ohaguro, and the process gradually became obsolete. After the Meiji period, it temporarily spread, but in the Taisho period, it almost entirely died out.

Ironically – in contemporary times we strive after the whitest of teeth, while back then the opposite was desired. I for one am glad to be a white toothed goth, fangs or no fangs! !!! PLEASE TAKE NOTE that blackened teeth may also be a sign of an underlying medical issue, so please seek advice if you are certain you haven’t ingested this horrid cocktail in order to obtain the black effect!!!

Source: Wikipedia, Google Images

47

For hundreds of years, the corset has been part of women's (and sometimes men's) fashion. In modern times, the corset is an exotic piece of clothing and has been popularized by the fetish, steampunk and gothic cultures.

It is often worn as underwear (as lingerie or traditional waist-trainers) or outerwear, for the sake of fashion alone, or function as well. Wearing a corset instantly improves your posture and also shapes the perfect waist.

Modern day corsets usually consist of several layers and panels of sturdy fabric. The boning, which gives the piece its shape, uses plastic, nylon or steel, depending on the quality of the corset—and QUALITY MATTERS if you are interested in finding one that will last.

Overbust Corsets These are long corsets that start just under the arms, covering the bust and extending to the hipbones. They may or may not have straps/ sleeves. They take some getting used to as they greatly limit your movement.

Underbust Corsets These corsets begin below the bust, and have to be worn with a shirt underneath, or bra.

Waist Cinchers These are short corsets that cover basically only the waist area, as the name implies.

These are the most comfortable to wear for long periods of time.

Source: Google Images

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By: Angela Butcher

Where to find quality corsets?

There are many cheap, mass-produced corsets sold online or in stores.

There’s nothing wrong with these if you’re only going for the look of the item, but if you want a serious waist-trainer, you will need to save up.

The best corsets are usually custom-made for your body, have a minimum of 14 steel bones and often cost upwards of about R800.

The best place to start looking is online, on websites such as the following: www.corsetry.co.za : Specializes in custom corsetry www.lucycorsetry.com : Features used, new and custom corsets www.corsetsa.co.za : Has a huge catalogue of quality, ready-to-wear corsets www.arwen.co.za : Specializes in custom corsetry Source:Google Images

FACT: One of the world’s most renown corsetieres, Mark Pullin aka Mr. Pearl, has designed corsets for names like Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen and Dita von Teese, and was born in South Africa!

How to lace a corset • Loosen lacing before getting into corset.

• Crisscross the corset lacing from top to bottom.

• Tie a knot in the two free ends at the bottom.

• The lacing now is a continuous loop with no free ends.

• At the waist, pull out the loops on each side.

• Begin tightening lacing from top down to waist, then from bottom up to waist. Waist loops will become longer.

• When corset is tight enough, pull the waist loops tightly, making sure to keep pressure even.

• Tie the waist loops together. They can be knotted and hidden inside the back of the corset, or tied in a bow, or tied in front of the corset.

The Victorians allowed 1" per decade of a woman's life.

Lace accordingly.

49

By: Marlise Magna Gothic ladies and vamps alike are known to take great pride in their personal appearance at all times.

We have a reputation to maintain after all!

What you will need for this look: Any two nail polish colours of your choice, but the sharp contrast of white on black works best.

A few toothpicks or a fine brush.

Topcoat.

How you are going to create this look: Start by painting one or two coats of black nail polish.

Once it is dry, paint the top half of your nail white. Take a toothpick and lightly run it through the white polish to the bottom to create the ‘teeth’.

Once that is dry, dab on two black polish spots for the ‘eyes’.

You are now ready to finish it off with a topcoat.

Now go and impress people with your skills!

For this look you will again need two colours of polish of your choice, but again, the sharp contrast of red and black work extremely well together, as well as fitting in to the vampire look perfectly.

Optionally you can add little metal studs as in the picture. Also some topcoat to seal the look and keep it fresh. (Optional, sticky nail tape.)

This is so easy it almost doesn’t need explanation.: Paint your entire nail with one or two coats of red polish.

Once it is dry, dab a dot of black polish to the base of the nail and either use the brush to shape it into the ‘V’-shape, or use sticky nail tape as stencil and paint (this all depends on how much of a perfectionist you are!)

Once that is done, and you have decided to use the studs, dab a dot of topcoat to the base of the nail and stick the stud on top.

Carefully coat your nails with topcoat after this.

Enjoy the stares and your fabulosity!

Please do keep sending us your requests and questions to beauty.sags@gmail.com 50

GO GLAM OR GO HOME! This is a look that works really well for goths and vampires alike.

The red will appeal to the vamps and the black to the goths.

What a win-win situation!

How to get this look: Once you have applied your foundation, line your eyes with black eye pencil or liquid liner.

You will need a steady hand for this! Start the dramatic look by applying red eye shadow to the centre of the lid.

Courtesy ofwww.eyemakeuptrend.com Build on this by shading with black shadow as in the picture. and Google Images The green shading is optional but gives it more depth.

End by applying white or cream coloured eye shadow to the inner corners of your eyes to brighten them up and ‘open up’ the eyes.

Finish this off with lashings of mascara. You can even wear fake lashes to go va-va-vamp to the max!

Line your lips using a black pencil and smudge it using your fingers.

Fill in with red lipstick or eye shadow. (Using eye shadow on your lips makes the colour last!)

Top with some Vaseline or gloss if you desire a shiny pout.

If that seems like too much of a mission for you, you can always just use one of these tried and trusted goth liner looks.

Please do keep sending us your requests51 and questions to beauty.sags@gmail.com

By: Marlise Magna

With hair as our crowning glory, it’s no wonder we go big or go home. Some of us stick to the standard black look, which is perfectly acceptable, especially if you are a corporate goth.

For the rest, it’s a colour explosion, with often added undercuts and side shaves.

Here are a few trending hairstyles for those of us brave enough to sport them.

It is often difficult to find the ‘weirder’ hairdyes if you choose to do it yourself.

Luckily, we have found Neon Hair Dye, situated in Vanderbijl Park.

They do mail orders, are extremely affordable AND have been around since 1983!

Be sure to check out their facebook page or contact them on +2778 210 0724.

They can also be mailed at info@punked.co.za or go to their website www.punked.co.za.

Let us know at beauty.sags@gmail.com what you would like in terms of hair tutorials or general questions.

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Now it's the darks turn to be afraid of

SYMFONY: The act of Sarah Van Wyk GOTHGLAMPIRE in style and DARK CLASSICAL in genre, Ms Van Wyk has a four octave vocal range, sings in 7 languages and holds one of the rarest of fachs; that of a dramatic soprano, which brings her music a hauntingly dark and velvety colour that simply enchants.

She has headlined the main stage multiple times, such as at Halloween (in Salem, MA), Hard Rock Boston and various TV shows. During this time also gaining radio play through The Darkest Radio, Westfield Recording Company, Wicked Spins Radio and Ravens Nest Vampire Radio.

Symfony was opener and headlining performer at Europe's largest Vampire Ball, also headlining the second night (‘ 1880’s night’). She has accordingly shared the stage with renowned act Rasputina (who toured with Marilyn Manson ), all as part of the Bram Stoker International Film Festival 2013 in Europe.

Symfony performed on the main stage in February 2014 for Voltaire’s Wicked NecroComicCon too.

Catch her next performing at Bar Sinister in Hollywood VERY SOON! Magazine covers and features include Kultur Magazine, Black Bird Magazine, The Shadow Magazine, Culture Asylum Magazine, Southern Gothic Society Magazine, Pulp Magazine and Revaltz Magazine. As frequent home page feature at www.newgothcity.com, Symfony has also performed with great success at goth club Infamy after Bella Morte!

Not surprisingly, out of 3.43 million musicians on reverbnation, Symfony is always #1 for classical! She gains a minimum of two fans per day on vampirefreaks too!

Symfony is currently working on multiple metalcore projects, soon to be unveiled. Join the mailing list or become a fan to Get Bitten by Symfony!

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/classicalbadgirl

Official website: http://symfonysarah.blogspot.com/p/symfony.html

Reverbnation: http://www.reverbnation.com/symfonysarah

Vampirefreaks: http://vampirefreaks.com/SYMFONY

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Basic goth wardrobe suggestions from The Ice Princess, Academia Gothica •Black jeans/leggings.

•Long Black Shirt (and this can hold true for the boys as well as the girls). style and fabric are your choice: velvet, silk, wool; straight, flowy, poufy.

•Black Boots: pointy- toed boots with lots of buckles and Doc Martens are goth favourites, but you're by no means limited to those.

•Black coat: Once again, choose what you like; leather biker jacket, wool overcoat, over sized blazer. It should give you a silhouette somewhat larger than normal, and if you can get that "billowing-in-the-wind" effect so much the better.

•Interesting black T-shirt: shirts for goth bands are obviously common, but this is a place where you can really exercise your own style.

Look for something not everyone has.

What not to wear to a corporate job Courtesy of Amy of the corporategoth.net

• So many people wear crosses to work, but I still tuck my pentacle in.

• Leather should be confined to shoes or a jacket.

• Black lace blouses are fine but wear something more modest than a bra or corset underneath.

• Excessive facial piercings frighten people. Leave jewellery at home.

• Learn to conceal your tongue ring while you talk.

• The torn fishnet stockings should probably get left at home.

• No visible garter belts.

• Avoid wearing skull jewellery (besides, it's rarely done well enough to keep you from looking like a lame teenager!)

• Leave the animal bones at home.

• Stiletto heels should stay in the closet. Your Docs are more comfy anyway!

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How to hold a goth picnic in the cemetery.

Taken from the Goth Bible by Nancy Kilpatrick

•Organize! Pick a date when no other major goth events are being held, or events in or near the cemetery. (You can't help spontaneous funerals! But its certainly better to skirt the mourners rather that rush up to the open grave and ask "can I peek at the corpse?")

• Advertise! Make flyers and web sites with: date, place, time, how radically to dress and a phone number for info. Its good to be specific: bring food (no, it's not obvious), water (don't drink from the water used to refresh flowers on the graves), sunscreen and umbrellas, insect repellent, something warm if it turns cool at night.

• Hypothesize! Distribute four times the number of flyers as you want attendees.

Bigger = more attention. This has a negative, in that you don't want annoying elements to show up. On the other hand, if people don't know you're having a picnic, they won't come will they?

• Utilize! Pick a discreet spot, preferably under the shade of a tree, keep the noise level down, clean up your trash.

• Proselytize! If the police or cemetery authorities show up, be friendly.

People have the right to congregate in a cemetery for peaceful purposes, and you can even tell them you are re-enacting the Victorian tradition. But you should avoid identifying yourself as a member of a witches coven, don't mention that your brother is starting a teenage vampire cult, don't discuss your love for death and decay.

• Diversify! While in the cemetery, there is plenty to do besides eat and get drunk.

One annual picnic in Montreal, run by Cemetery Crow, allows him to do group photographs. Another activity is gravestone rubbings.

Some funny history of the word goth/gothic by goth author Caitlin Kiernan Visigoths:

the one who goes out to clubs and spend the evening looking at themselves in mirrors while they dance.

Ostrogoths:

the ones who stays home and take Valium 55

Rolling Stone Tattoos invites you on a journey where you can use your own imagination and be yourself‌ You are welcome to come through and choose from a large portfolio of unique and interesting designs or if you prefer bring in your own masterpiece and we will do the rest.

Located in Weltevreden Park, JHB Contact: 079 965 7455 56

By: Marlise Magna

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now, Thus much let me avowYou are not wrong, who deem That my days have been a dream; Yet if hope has flown away In a night, or in a day, In a vision, or in none, Is it therefore the less gone?

All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar Of a surf-tormented shore, And I hold within my hand Grains of the golden sandHow few! yet how they creep Through my fingers to the deep, While I weep- while I weep!

O God! can I not grasp Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem But a dream within a dream?

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The Fate As I lay in wait in agonising anticipation For my jaded heart's inevitable destruction I stare out and contemplate my choice To go out and seek my saviour's voice that can provide me with comfort and solace Before I succumb to the deathly silence Of the deep dark hole In the corner of my soul I pursue this deceptive dream of perfection And begin to move in her direction In the distance she smiles and waves I get my fix of attention that I crave I hold onto every moment with her As my last breathe begins to draw nearer I know it will never last Like a cruel midnight breeze she will just blow past And I will crawl back into the deep dark hole In the corner of my soul Loneliness will be my solemn friend And he will comfort me to the bitter end But I will be content as I leave this hell on earth My prison since day of birth For I saw her face and heard her voice And it was a beautiful sight and a beautiful noise So with bated breath I will wait For the time to surrender to my fate And crawl into the deep dark hole And die in the corner of my soul Death's cold unforgiving hands refuse to give mercy And wrap around my neck so tightly Choking the hope from my body My last feeble grasp for redemption is in vain My eyes close and I feel no pain I rest in peace in the deep dark hole In the corner of my soul 58

Eye Voodoo Fashion Contact Lenses https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eye-VooDooContactLenses/222880087876497

R150.00 per pair including a Lens case

Delivery to JHB R55 CT R85 [Outlying areas need to be quoted on]

Email: eye.voodoo69@gmail.com BBM: 7BF96F88 Whatsapp: 079 189 5054 Gumtree Olx 59

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SAGS Information Support Submit Poems (Marlise Magna) Request Reviews (Angela Butcher) Submit Complaints Submit your suggestions Graphic Design (Shelby Green) Photography (Sven Slabbert) Editors (Marlise Magna & Christopher Knight)

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