Happy National Black Cat Appreciation Day!
One of the highlights of our recent trip to Gencon this year was seeing all the love for the Dungeon Crawler Carl universe. The community showed up with everything from pinball machines to cosplays, and from larger-than-life statues to visits from Sound Booth Theater and Matt Dinniman.
Our girls, who only tolerate crowds on their home turf, decided not to come, but we think they’re a bit jealous of the trip.
They made this little video to try to get the attention of their favorite crawler, the legendary Princess Donut. We’re sure they’d also do great in the crawl, but we doubt we’d ever turn our back on Baroness.
It was also wonderful to finally get to meet Audrey Benjaminsen in person and to catch up with Scott Murphy, Elisabeth Alba, and all the other wonderful artists there that we’ve worked with over the years.
Also, all our hats (and masks) off to the incredible King in Yellow we exchanged cryptic gestures with by the dice. We just can’t stop thinking about you. Hmmm, that might be a problem.
Full video here.
We grew up loving pixelated adventure games like King’s Quest, Maniac Mansion, and Monkey Island.
They demanded creativity, rewarded careful risk-taking, and encouraged elaborate imagined backstories.
They still live in our heads. Our home and shop constantly make us wonder what tools from our inventory might open the portal in our grandfather clock, and what offering might move the cat off the sleeping demon princess.
The magnificently talented Rachel Hams created this illustration of the shop to remind you all to stock up on magic items that might be useful later! Unclipped prints of this design will be available in the shop!
You never know when you’re going to wish you had pie for a bear guarding a bridge.
(Just in case anyone was wondering, we loved these games, but were terrible at them.)
This weekend is also the second annual Arcade Music Festival. It’s centered around the tunnel right next to our building, so a trip to see us will also afford a chance to see live music and enjoy food and beverage trucks!
Happy birthday to these marvelous creatures who share their home and shop with us.
We don’t have enough superlatives to describe our love, so here is a kitten flashback!!!
Full video here.
While somehow the prideful month of June is almost a month behind us, sapphic vampires are always in fashion at Hierophany & Hedge.
Long before Dracula arrived at Whitby, Carmilla was making English ladies swoon, and V. E. Schwab keeps the tradition alive with her “Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil.” We loved this book, but you don’t have to take our word for it as Siswrn has it covered on her “Hey! Read this.” podcast.
Those looking for something more academic can sink their teeth into “Killing the Dead,” an incredible review of the enduring historical fear of Nosferatous infestations.
Or you could ask those vampires and all of their monstrous friends for some advice on your future with the eternally popular Horror Tarot by Abigail Larson.
We also, of course, have vampire themed materials for children and kittens.
We are closed most of this week for our annual floor cleansing, oiling, and enchantment, but will be open Saturday for Lughnasadh and the birthday celebration for Murderpaws and Baroness.
Most possessed objects fit into one of two categories.
The first, less common despite being better known, are the things to which external entities have attached themselves. Think diabolical mirrors that tell you about young women, demonic bloodthirsty swords, and all those haunted dolls.
Much more frequent are objects exposed to intensely emotional environments, ideally for prolonged periods and in spaces already attuned to the supernatural. Psychometrists, ghost hunters, and metaphysicians may quibble over exactly what is going on here, but the bottom line is that echoes of an object’s history bleed through into the present.
Lecterns and pulpits, particularly ones with figural elements, and particularly ones stared at for generations during fiery sermons, are commonly possessed in this manner.
While some develop issues with certain sins and virtues, most just want a good rant.
Also, we took some dramatic liberties here. This lovely and lonely church is near Lake Erie in Northwestern, Ohio. We purchased the lectern from a defunct chapel in New England. It needed a forklift to move, and it’s enjoying its new home, especially the candles.
It seems to like complaints about generative AI and capitalism more than discussions of the corrupting influences of rock ‘n’ roll and video games. Go figure.
Full video here.