Coda

 Dear Dark Dilettantes,

I’ve been thinking for a while about how to write this post, or whether I should write it at all. But silence has never been my language, and this space has never deserved an abrupt fade to black.

So let me say this plainly: I haven’t disappeared. I’ve transformed.

Musings in the Dark was born in an era when I needed a place to explore anything and everything: desire, darkness, grief, creativity, identity, fandom politics, and the strange corners of the human psyche. This blog held me through some of the most intense and chaotic years of my life. It gave me room to be honest, messy, experimental, vulnerable, and wild.

And many of you, especially the faithful few who always showed up (Shana, I see you), walked with me through all of it. You never asked for explanations. You never demanded updates. You just read, breathed, and understood. This will always mean something to me.

But my life has shifted. My work has deepened and consolidated. These days, every part of my writing– every spark, every question, every ounce of creative gravity–belongs to a single world, a single saga, a single calling: Entropy. It has taken shape and life and turned from one book into a nine-volume saga. I’m finally creating a work I was built for, and it takes all of me. And because of that, this blog has grown quiet. Not for lack of love, but because I no longer need this particular room in the house.

This isn’t an ending, exactly.  It’s a placement; an acknowledgment that Musings in the Dark has completed its arc.

I am formally archiving the blog. Nothing will be deleted. The essays, reflections, fragments, and shadows stay exactly where they are; for the readers who wander through years from now, for the curious ones who trace a writer backward, and for the one or two faithful souls who always wonder where the trail goes.

If you’re reading this, know this much: I’m still writing. I’m still dreaming. I’m still here — just in a different chapter. The Muse hasn’t left. She’s just more focused…and if she ever drags me out for a side quest, the story blogs (Shorties & pinkelegance) remain open for her whims. But do expect Entropy to hit the shelves at some point.

Thank you, Dilettantes, for walking with me through the shadows.

With gratitude and much, much love,

Amaya

Horror 203: Dark Night of the Scarecrow

This movie single-handedly is the reason why I don’t fuck with scarecrows. The mask is a simple altered pillowcase, similar to Jason’s in Friday the 13th, Part 2, but man…is it effective! The final scene of this underrated 1981 made-for-TV horror classic gives me chills to this day, so much so that I can’t watch it.

Horror 203: Us

Pluto is the youngest child of Red. He wears a mask presumably to hide his burned features. The mask is effective because of the stark contrast to Pluto’s red jumpsuit and the wide eye holes it has. Pluto’s feral behavior provides an added element to his characterization. And anytime we have a masked child is a win.

Horror 203: Trick ‘r Treat

The 2007 horror anthology Trick ‘r Treat contains one of the best underrated characters of all time. Samhain, b/k/a “Sam,” is a burlap sack-masked pumpkin patch-born demon who walks around to make sure the rules of Halloween are followed. If they aren’t, he steps in to make sure that the offenders pay the price. Sam looks like a child, but he is not. The burlap sack-mask is weirdly cute because of Sam’s childlike demeanor, but when it is ripped off, his visage is that of a deformed pumpkin, but no less cute. If you ask me, Sam is  Michael Myers’ little cousin.

Horror 203: The Black Phone

The Grabber’s mask is quite distinctive. It’s in four parts, and he wears it in a variety of ways: a smile, a creepy rictus, or nothing at all. According to Screen Rant, “The Grabber employs the mask as a sort of theater — the different Grabber mask variations each represent characters in a show he's putting on for himself and his victims.” Depending on where he is in his killing ritual determines how he wears his mask. It’s a downright diabolical performance by Ethan Hawke, and as far as I’m concerned, instantly iconic.

Horror 203:The Silence of the Lambs

Anthony Hopkins’ Oscar-winning turn as suave cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter needs no description. Nor does his iconic mask. I think what made everything hit home for the audience–as it was hard to reconcile the slightly-built, calm and soft-voiced psychiatrist with his crimes–was when we saw him strapped to a hand truck with that mask on his face. Not too long after that, we saw what he was capable of.

The mask is a repurposed goaltender’s faceplate, created by Ed Cubberly. I wonder if ol' Ed knew at the time that he was helping create the greatest villain of all time, according to AFI. 

Horror 203: Phantom of the Opera

This classic film premiered in 1925, with Lon Chaney Jr. Over time, the mask has evolved as the movie was re-released. The most famous iteration of the Phantom’s mask is in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic 1986 musical. According to Google, the mask was inspired by WWI vets with facial injuries. Maria Bjornson, the creator of the commonly known Phantom mask opted to use porcelain instead of copper. The mask represents the Phantom’s vulnerability and the injustice he faces. 

I picked out my favorite variation of the Phantom’s mask, but you can see more of them here: The Many Masks of the Phantom of the Opera - Monsters of Makeup

From L to R: Lon Chaney, 1925. Claude Rains, 1943. Herbert Lom, 1963. Michael Crawford, 1986. Gerard Butler, 2004.

Horror 203: Alice, Sweet Alice

Brooke Shields’ film debut paints her as the suspect to the murder of her younger sister during her First Communion, and other murders that soon follow. The mask the killer wears is an over-exaggerated woman’s made-up visage, but when it’s worn over an actual face, the effect is chef’s kiss. Scared the hell outta me when I was a kid.

Horror 203: Eyes Without a Face

A surgeon causes an accident that leaves his daughter disfigured, so he kidnaps young women in an attempt to do a facial transplant. She spends the bulk of the movie wearing a creepy white porcelain mask. The actress that plays Christiane, Edith Scob, has very expressive eyes. This produced a very creepy, effective effect. Scared the shit out of me when I was a kid.

Horror 203: The Masks of The Wicker Man, 1973

This is my favorite folk horror movie. Combine a pagan cult and Christopher Motherfuckin’ Lee, and you get some of the creepiest masks in horror movie history.

This movie still gives me the heebie-jeebies.