The realms of Faegoria are a bit rooted in fae legends with a twist of Halloween. Most of the darker reaches of Faegoria are ruled by the various houses of the Samhain Court. In Faegorian mythos, the lords of the houses have been cited as an original source of inspiration for Jack-o-Lanterns. In fact the very name Jack is attributed to Lord Jack Orion of House Orion. Lord Jack Orion (pictured below) was known as the trickster and the lord of theives and may very well also be the origin of the popular seasonal catch-phrase “Trick or Treat”.
Their facial features are very gourd like and range in various pale rotting shades of orange with coarse sickly green hair. Jack tends to keep his pulled back in a style akin to Chinese monks further lending to the likeness of a pumpkin. Their necks are slightly elongated and hunched over. If not for gourdish heads they could easily be mistaken for Skeksis.
The Samhain Court is comprised of several other houses and lords but this year I’m probably only going to concentrate on Jack.
Planning this year’s haunt has been extremely difficult for some reason. There have been a few setbacks but for the most part we were aware of them even before last year’s Halloween. I’ve managed to get myself into the spirit again mentally but not quite physically just yet. There’s still a bit of panic in my thought processes and the fear of “analysis paralysis” setting in.
Part of me says just take what I have and set something up with it. But then there’s this whole new canvas in front of me and a driving force calling me to take the opportunity to build something new and different. And therein lies the rub. While no longer worried about inadequately filling the larger canvas, there is a different problem rearing it’s ugly head. Along with this new canvas and the desire to do something new, different, and fresh. There also comes a desire to do so in a conhesive manner.
I want all the pieces to fit together in a single vision. But when I look at this canvas I also see several unique areas. And while thats all fine and good the real challenge then is to ensure these areas interlock with each other in a cohesive manner.
Often I get ideas for a prop, a character, or a specic element of a set I’d like to do. Sometimes these ideas conflict with my long term vision and its easy to be distracted enough by it that the vision can become fragmented. So for me the challenge is to stay focused on the overall vision.
Last year I began introducing the dystopic realms of Faegoria. A world where legends of the Fae, dark magic, necromancy, steampunk, and victorian nightmares come together. I introduced characters such as Fineas, Edward, Zann, and the mysterious steampunkish demon known as The Collector (a personal favorite of mine so far). As the years go on I would like to continue introducing new characters from this dark realm as well as evolving the mythos through new emotional themes.
The color scheme is definitely lending itself more to a dystopic steampunk palette than to the traditional gothic flare. All the while maintaining a strange creepy otherworldly air. This year’s theme will be exploring plagues and zombies so there’s also gonna be a bit of sickly yellows and greens on the palette.
The enclosed area to the upper right would be where the graveyard will go. At the end of the driveway I am considering adding the wall panels I need to finish up. Maybe leave a section open into the garage where I could run some fog and the laser vortex.
Halloween is quick approaching boys and ghouls with only 143 more days to go. As things get sorted out at the new haunt I’m gearing up for a new segment here called “What’s He Building In There?”. The segment will take a look at some of the things I’m working on and the thought processes behind them.
Well, we’re mostly settled into the new haunt and plans are slowly underway for setting up. I snapped a few pics of the front yard to give an idea of how much space I’ll be working with this year. It’s almost like starting over because the prop to lawn real estate ratio has changed.
And here’s what the new dungeon below looks like. I’m really digging how it turned out. I’ve got good vibes about this year’s ‘ween.
