While I was working on this year’s props over the weekend I came across my old mask from 1991 or thereabouts.

I made this mask after a rather peculiar and inspiring dream. It went on to become part of an evolving costume that I would add to every Halloween until eventually hanging it up in favor of decorating the house. By the end, the costume included a heavy, wool, hooded cloak, a 7′ staff, a tabard-style outfit and a handful of ornaments.

A lot of great memories are tied to it: my mother helping me make the plaster cast of my face (that was tricky), roaming the woods looking for “the right branches”, the many and varied reactions. I even wore it on stage once as a prank. Halloween parties were always especially fun.

There’s a character and a story behind the mask which have evolved over time, as well. I once had ambitions to actually write it all down until a friend gently broke the news that a strikingly similar story had already been written. That’s not to say it couldn’t still happen. A few adjustments here and there might make it workable.

It occurred to me when I dug this up that it actually works really well with the props I’m working on now. Looks like old Faunus (one of my handful of names for the character) is going to be making a comeback.