Issuu

VEN OM

Snake Print Magazine 2023 | Micro 01 Masked

Table of 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 STAFF 4 MESSAGE FROM THE OWNER 5 EVOLUTION OF HALLOWEEN 9 THE SONG OF THE LEAVES 11 FALL TRENDS

Contents

13 DRESS-UP 15 MS. JENNIFER 17 THE SERIAL KILLER IMAGE 20 SOCIALS 2

STAFF OWNER

Allison Rainey

CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR Isabelle Hancock

CHIEF EDITORS

Caroline Bryant Natalie Garrison

DIRECTOR OF WRITING

Diego De Jesus

COSTUME DIRECTOR Madie Blithe

CREATIVE CONTENT DIRECTOR Beatrice Fleurant

MODELS

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Kailynn Bannon Michael Dominguez Beatrice Fleurant Natalie Garrison Jess Hudak Chloe Johnson Rebecca Lozada Amo Oehler

Caroline Bryant Morgan Shelton Demi Smith John Michael Widick

GRAPHIC DESIGN Caroline Bryant

OUR WRITERS 3

KAILYNN BANNON

DYLAN OLIVE

Fall Trends

Evolution of Halloween

CAROLINE BRYANT

ALLISON RAINEY

Ms. Jennifer

Song of the Leaves

DIEGO DE JESUS

ALEX RICHARDSON

The Serial Killer’s Image

Dress Up

Photography by Demi Smith

Venom is a idea that has been

long in the making. The time between each issue is filled with creative ideas that are worthy of being shared. Between the releases of the main issues, we are introducing something new and exciting. I am proud to present

our micro issue series, Venom. This issue is titled, “Masked.” With inspiration from this time of the year, we have collected research and creative pieces that represent the autumn months.

Allison Rainey OWNER

evolution of

HALLOWEEN Nothing is new under the sun; Halloween throughout the years across the world. By Dylan Olive | Photography by Caroline Bryant

Many countries celebrate Halloween by dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating, partaking in frights and carving jack-o’-lanterns, but the traditions we see today are a mere fabrication of what historians believe to be the holiday’s real origins. Debates on the real roots of Halloween are still in deliberation, but the common belief is that our modern-day celebrations date back to customs from Celtic pagans nearly 2,500 years ago, which were later adopted and re-framed by the Catholic Church to fit the context of Christianity. The Celts – tribal groups from western and eastern Europe in the Iron Age, in modern day Ireland, the U.K. and other parts of Northeastern Europe – took part in a three-day festival called “Samhain” to welcome the harvest, concluding the end of summer and commencing the Celtic New Year. Samhain (also spelled Samain) was held on Oct. 31 and is one of the four sacred fire festivals pagans celebrated and is considered to be one of the most significant. The festival was at the halfway point between the fall equinox and winter solstice, transitioning from the lighter half to the darker half of the year. The pagans believed it to be a brief time of removal between the barrier of the corporeal world and the realm of the spirits, which meant that the dead could return to Earth. Friendly spirits were welcomed like ancestors and passed loved ones and the harmful ones were warded off. Communal fires with crop and animal sacrifices were held to appease Celtic deities, and people dressed up in costumes and masks to ward off any unwelcome presences. In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III moved All Saints’ Day – honoring all saints in Heaven and the general belief in the afterlife – from May 13 to Nov. 1 to seemingly coincide with Samhain. The Church started incorporating supernatural elements and rituals of Samhain as a way to convert pagans to Christianity, at a time when the Church was actively seeking to adopt more followers. The evening before All Saints’ Day, Oct. 31, was called All Hallows Day Evening – “hallow” derives from Middle and Old English, meaning “holy” – then turned into All Hallows’ Eve and eventually Halloween. The holiday’s popularity didn’t spike until the last few hundred years, when in time, ancient traditions slowly developed and

formed into the ones among us today. Many Irish relocated to America in the mid-19th century due to the widespread potato famine and brought the holiday to the U.S., where it evolved into its secular form today. The traditions the Irish brought included dressing up in costumes, carving vegetables (turnips) and placing candles inside them to fend off evil spirits, asking neighbors for food/money and pulling pranks. The term trick-or-treating wasn’t introduced in America until the 1930s. “Tricks” were played, like window rattling and tying doors closed – the excessive use of pranks resulted in physical violence and vandalism, so the community adopted the “trick-or-treat” mantra. The concept dates back to pagans leaving food out during Samhain to conciliate the dead roaming the Earth, and sometimes people dressed up in masks and costumes in disguise as the spirits to indulge themselves in the food/ drink offerings. Today, Halloween is most popular in the U.S. and Canada, but other countries around the world take part in festivities in their own unique ways. In the Celtic countries where Samhain began – Ireland, Scotland and Wales – and other European countries like Germany, France and the U.K. have seen an increase in popularity Halloween’s celebration. Where the holiday originated, Ireland, children go trick-ortreating and play games like “snap-apple” where an apple tied to a string is placed on a door frame or tree as players attempt to take a bite of it. Setting off fireworks and lighting bonfires are frequent practices too. A bread dessert made with dried fruit mix (raisin-heavy), soaked in tea, is a traditional dish served on Halloween in Ireland called barmbrack. There is superstition in the cutting of the barmbrack, where the item left in the middle of the loaf can foresee your future. A coin represents wealth or good fortune and a ring represents marriage within the year, whereas a bean means poverty and a single pea signifies one going unmarried within the year. In Latin America, Mexico and Spain, Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is considered to be Mexico’s most known festival, which is meant to honor the dead as they return to their homes on Earth and visit their families. Beginning the evening of Oct. 31 and ending Nov. 2, people frequently visit cemeteries, build “ofrendas” (an altar with food and other offerings for the remembered loved one), dance and celebrate in parades.

“THE

PAGANS BELIEVED IT TO BE A brief time of the

removal between the barrier of the coropoeral world

and the realm

of the

SPIRITS.”

The main symbol of Día de Los Muertos is La Calavera Catrina (the ‘elegant skull’), which was originally sketched by Jose Guadalupe Posada in 1910. After growing in success culturally by a mural, it became symbolism for the cycle of life in enjoying it but embracing death – many paint their faces to represent a deceased loved one, honoring them and keeping their spirit close. The festival isn’t a variation of Halloween, but it does include similar pagan ideology seen in Samhain. Although the holiday and similar festivals are widely celebrated on the Western side, Halloween is a minuscule celebration in Asian countries, where different countries take part in limitedscale activities. China’s Hungry Ghost Festival, Japan’s Obon holiday, Cambodia’s Pchum Ben Day and Thailand’s Sat Thai festival are all differing celebrations that all consist of people honoring the dead and their ancestors. Similarly to Asia, Halloween hasn’t always been the most popular in Australia, but it has increased overtime. Many participate in trick-or-treating, costume parties and spooky decorations today, but researcher Mark McCrindle found that on Halloween 2011, nearly a quarter of people engaged in festivities whereas 45% of people didn’t celebrate at all – seemingly due to a perception of it still being an “American phenomenon.” Unlike in Africa, where the lack of Halloween celebration is contributed to its lack of origin in Africa, it’s supernatural components that some believe to be dark magic or witchcraft as well as for maintaining safety. In 2013, Rwanda banned Halloween – the Ministry of Sports and Culture released a statement saying “honoring the spirits of the dead is inappropriate and against Rwandan culture.” Dating back to Samhain, Halloween has seen an evolution throughout time to get to its current point today, where numerous different countries around the world celebrate. If they don’t celebrate, many still have a holiday or festival revolving around the honoring of dead ancestors. Every person has their own interpretation and view of Halloween with unique ways of celebrating (or not) in whatever ways they deem fit based on their cultural and personal beliefs.

What is All Saints Day and why do we celebrate it? | AS Halloween in Asia | Asian Inspirations Halloween | Brittanica Samhain | History.com Barmbrack: A Taste of Irish Halloween | The Irish Place Why there’s no Halloween in Africa | Kwei Jones Quartey La Catrina: A Sacred Symbol of the Afterlife | LB Homeliving The Origins of Halloween | Library of Congress Blogs The history of trick-or-treating and how it became a Halloween tradition | National Geographic Halloween is growing in Australia... | McCrindle Samhain | Newgrange.com The Surprising Countries Around the World That Don’t Celebrate Halloween | Newsweek How Halloween is celebrated around the world | NPR Samhain | The Rocky Mountain Collegian How do these 4 countries celebrate Halloween? | Study International Hispanic Heritage Month: Decorate a Day of the Dead Mask | Wake Forest University Do Other Countries Celebrate Halloween? | Wonderopolis Samhain | World History Encyclopedia

THE SONG OF THE LEAVES By Allison Rainey | Photography by Morgan Shelton

“I FEAR THE THAT BRINGS THE THE THOUGHT THE NEXT.”

When green dies and the warmth of color emerges, that is where I am. Within the orange and red there is a familiar tone. The melody sings and releases rhythm through leaves spiraling with the playful wind. A dance I wish I could do. The bricks, red with such history, cold and sturdy. The times that I search for are the moments when the air feels like a past life. I don’t yearn for the future nor dwell on the past. I am just present in

what feels almost a memory. I understand how the sun keeps others happy. The rays shower me with discontent. I am consumed with regrets that were brought with the June sun. I think clearly with the colors of autumn surrounding me. I fear the day that brings the thought of the next. The dread alerts with a chilling whisperer that winter is coming. For the hatred of the ice that follows after the orange and red carry me to the ground.

FALL

TRENDS By Kailynn Bannon | Photography by Caroline Bryant

For most, fall is the most anticipated season of the year. People walking down the streets, pumpkin spice lattes in hand. Friends gathering around a bonfire, toasting s’mores and sipping on warm apple cider. Listening to Hozier while waiting to take the maple brown sugar cookies out of the oven. The season encompasses so many memories and moments all within a few months. There are some things about fall that just stand out compared to other seasons. The flavors and scents of autumn are celebrated throughout the season, especially when it comes to the versatility of pumpkin. Pumpkin drinks, pumpkin baked goods, pumpkin dishes, pumpkin carving, pumpkin patches–Americans have found practically every use for the gourd. The shift of weather signifies the progression of the year and the passing of time. The leaves change colors to pretty shades of red and orange, painting a

beautiful landscape anywhere you walk. The thing that makes fall so special is how comforting the whole season is. Even when the skies become gray, it seems like the perfect weather to put on boots and go for a walk in the cool air or stay curled up in a blanket at home, watching Hocus Pocus as the scent of a pumpkin candle fills the room. The movie and television fall genre provides something for everyone. There’s scary movies that get people excited for Halloween, and comforting films that incorporate memorable fall elements. I could watch Scream one night and Gilmore Girls the next night and it’ ll still feel like fall just the same. When it comes to fall fashion, people await the temperature to drop below the 70’s so they can break out their boots and knitted sweaters. In a fall look, comfort is key. Warm colors and layers are the staples

of fall fashion. Looks vary from long sleeve patterned shirts under overalls to skirts with belts and scarves. Regardless of when the autumn equinox may be, the start of the fall season is relative. Some begin celebrating the second that school starts up again while others wait until October, or whenever their local coffee shop starts selling seasonal drinks. Fall means something different for everyone, across the country and around the globe. Halloween and Thanksgiving are a huge part of what makes fall in America. People will start celebrating Halloween the second the season begins. Jack-o’-lanterns and spooky decor start popping up in neighborhoods before October even hits. Kids become giddy with excitement as they prepare their costumes to go trick or treating. Once Halloween is over, there becomes

“THERE ARE SOME THINGS ABOUT

FALL THAT JUST

STAND OUT.”

less haunted houses and more turkey inflatables. In the month of November, everyone starts awaiting that perfect Thanksgiving meal bite. Thanksgiving staples such as harvest wreaths, parades and cranberry sauce are embraced as a continuation of autumn festivities. I think many people think of fall as the basic Pinterest aesthetic of cozy blankets and red crispy leaves. However, the time of year means something different to everyone. For me personally, fall brings back nostalgia and childhood memories. When I think of fall, I can smell the box of decorations being taken out of the garage. I can taste the warm cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven that my mom would make for me and my brother. I can feel the cool breeze as I finally break out my long sleeve pajamas from the closet. As Halloween crept closer, I would sit on the cool tile, looking up stencils to use for the pumpkin I was carving. Me and my brother would gather in the living room to empty our bags of candy and count how many pieces we got, trading the kinds we didn’t like. A month later, I would wake up early to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade before going to my grandparents house to have dinner with my extended

family. That night I would create my Christmas list while my mother and grandmother went through coupons the night before Black Friday, officially concluding the fall festivities and getting ready for winter. It is often difficult to look forward to fall now that I no longer experience the excitement of being a kid during the holiday seasons. And as a lifelong Floridian, I rarely get to see the leaves change color or the temperature drop below 40 degrees. The romanticized idea of fall brings a certain familiar nostalgia that I’ve never gotten to experience. However, this time of year is all about making new memories and carrying on new traditions with friends and family. There’s something so satisfying about going to a harvest festival, going on hayrides or picking ripe apples straight from the trees. That’s because fall gives everyone a specific time of year to branch out of their day-today routine and relish in something that they wouldn’t normally do. Instead of longing for lost experiences and aching when one’s version of fall doesn’t match the perfect Pinterest aesthetic, everyone can make the season festive in their own way. Fall is a time of year, the season is what you make of it.

DRESS UP By Alex Richardson | Photography by Caroline Bryant

why have they? It didn’t matter that we were older, I still wanted more than anything to play dress up with my friends again.

My favorite pastime as a kid was playing dress up. I would spend hours sifting through my cousins old dance costumes and my moms makeup bag to come up with a look that I could proudly show my parents. There were some days where I would get my little sister or the neighbor kids involved. They would bring their moms’ dresses against their wishes, and their boxes of cheap makeup. We would all travel down into my basement, arms full of ridiculously oversized clothing, and start mixing and matching pieces from each of our “collections”. With gowns way past our feet, bright blue eyeshadow, and lips painted with dollar store gloss, we would go show off our new looks to our parents. They would gush over us and applaud our obviously ridiculous ensembles. We didn’t know we looked silly. We were kids and we were so happy.

As I grew up, I kind of forgot about playing dress up too. It’s not that I still didn’t have this creative void in my life, that was still very much there. I just crumbled completely under the social pressure to fit in. But I was always so jealous of those who didn’t. I admired people who could live their creative truth through “dress up”. Drag queens and cosplayers were so beautiful and so brave to me. They got to play dress up all the time! I would marvel at the way my favorite queens would transform themselves for each performance with ceilinghigh wigs and bold makeup. Nothing was out of bounds for them. Not even their gender or body type stood in the way of their creativity. They got to wear their creativity on their sleeve, literally! They got to be their art and experience the thrill of being someone else.

October 31st. Halloween. The one day a year where you can literally be whoever you want. You can choose any character, person, animal, thing… anything! You can put as little or as much effort into your costume as you want. You can take your cousin’s old dance costumes or your moms dresses and put on the world’s tackiest dollar store makeup. It doesn’t matter! Because the entire country is suddenly playing dress up, just like I used to do with my neighbors.

I think there is such an innocence in reclaiming this holiday for your It took me a while, but I creative inner child. I started to eventually realized that there is enjoy the holiday much more a way for someone like me, the myself when I started looking average creative with a fear of at it as a way to reconnect with standing out too much, to still fill something I loved to do as a this creative void that dress up kid. I start to plan my costumes had left me with. And it might months in advance. By the time sound silly, but the loophole I August rolls around, I have at discovered was actually a date. least five ideas. When I was younger, choosing between these ideas would’ve been a really tough I would have played dress up every decision. However I find as I single day if I could have, and I get older, I need more and more definitely tried to. It seemed like costumes as Halloween turns into everyday that I would knock on “Halloweekend”. No matter how my neighbor’s door and beg their old I am or how many costumes parents to let them come over. And I need, I sew, hot glue, thrift and for the most part, they always did. duct tape, every detail every year to achieve something I’m proud But one day we just didn’t. Maybe of wearing. Don’t get me wrong, we were 14, maybe even 12, I recall I love the other aspects of the exactly when, but one day no one holiday too. But I don’t think wanted to play dress up anymore. anything can compare to the They all seemed to just grow out of expression and freeness that comes it, but I couldn’t understand why. with dressing up, just like you used I hadn’t grown out of it yet, so to do when you were young.

Everyone loved Mrs. Jennifer. Her life was perfect. She was young, blonde, and single. She wore a smile on her face. Her house was the nicest and had an expensive car. And she always went all-out for the holidays. As a landscaper, decorating her front lawn was A passion. Every Halloween, a sea of 7-foot motion censored monsters Lived on her porch, scaring toddlers who approached. Kids would scramble for the king-size Hershey bars, And if you started trick or treating early, she’d give you more than one. Everyone loved Mrs. Jennifer. But those kids who ate her candy Were the same kids who watched her only son Handle drug deals out of the back of his car By the elementary school bus stop. When she caught him, you’d hear sounds of Arguing echo from inside the house, Her son slamming the door after he lost patience, Driving away. He died of an overdose. Her life wasn’t perfect. She abandoned the house. Real cobwebs began to stretch across the columns On the front porch In an attempt to fill the emptiness she left behind. The grass became overgrown, with wilting flowers due to the evening frost. And no one saw Mrs. Jennifer again. But this is not what upset the neighborhood. It was because she stopped decorating for Halloween. Parents quarreled, with no energy to replace Her spirit. Future Halloweens became dark and quiet. Candy buckets ended the night full As kids moved on to other neighborhoods Trying to find the next Mrs. Jennifer.

By Caroline Bryant

Photography by Caroline Bryant

MS. JENNIFER

“IT’S NOT HALLOWEEN WITHOUT MS. JENNIFER.”

THE

SERIAL KILLER IMAGE

Trigger warning: Graphic content

By Diego De Jesus | Photography by Caroline Bryant and John Michael Widick

There are many answers as to why serial killers and murderers are romanticized and have become, in some ways, part of modern culture. Serial killers are seen and portrayed as morbidly fascinating through documentaries about their lives and crimes; others see them as psychological phenomena, a sort of window into the darkest undiscovered parts of the human psyche. But in reality, they are psychopathic killers who committed heinous crimes against their victims with no remorse or empathy. Despite the vivid detail these killers provide in their confessions as they make headlines, there seems to be more of a puzzling fascination but this doesn’t mean glorification. Our curiosity initially comes from the fact that they’re human beings, though it may be difficult to see them that way from their unforgivable actions. They’re different, which already sparks curiosity with an appetite for more and aims to understand them better but not from admiration but deterrence so audiences can learn cautionary signs; this is perpetrated primarily by cinematic media, especially documentaries. While documentaries about these killers are produced, there has been notable backlash. Most recently, this was seen with Monster: The Story of Jeffrey Dahmer when the families of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims denounced the series over its traumatizing events and questioned the necessity of another cinematic portrayal of their loved ones being murdered – 17 of them. Evan Peters, who played Dahmer, made a statement that the series was meant to highlight how society let the killer take more victims because of racism and homophobia. Popular examples include Ted Bundy and Charles Manson due to their portrayal during their lifetime and posthumously. These individuals are notable from their televised trials and post-trials that display glimpses into their manipulative tendencies and, like many serial killers, have notable charisma that bewitches their victims into their bidding. Ted Bundy, or “The Lady Killer”, was charged with murdering 30 women between 1974-1978 with estimates suggesting that he may have killed nearly 100 women during these years. His method was feigning injuries or using his charm to sway victims into viewing him as unassuming and harmless. For his crimes, he was executed by the electric chair in Florida State Prison in 1989 at 42. While he was being tried in court, multiple women were sexually attracted to Bundy despite being charged with violent crimes exclusively against women. Psychologists at the time theorized it was

due to a psycho-sexual condition known as hybristophilia, the sexual attraction toward those who’ve committed crimes. Bundy is a popular example of this condition, but many other serial killers were centers of sexual attraction. Charles Manson is a peculiar case as while he didn’t murder his victims personally, he is responsible legally and for being the coordinator. He organized the “Manson Family”, a cult ingrained in his personality and philosophy, who committed multiple murders the infamous Tate-Bianca Murders in the 1960s including the death of celebrity Sharon Tate by Manson’s orders based on his rudimentary theory that the Beatles wanted him to start a race war by framing innocent African Americans of the crimes from their album White Album. The Manson Family was responsible for 9 murders, and four members, including Manson, were given life sentences. Manson died in 2017 of natural causes at 83 while four of his followers are serving their life sentences in California. Yet there’s a whole mythology around The Manson Girls who were a group of young hippie women following Manson’s every command out of sexual attraction and reverence. Manson wasn’t an impressive individual by any means, being a failed musician and conspiracy theorist with a record of being hospitalized but he was able to seduce and revert these girls into his servants. These murders sent rippling effects throughout the nation, not only of the several brutal killings of celebrities – Tate herself being stabbed 16 times while eight months pregnant – but also Manson himself. Manson, like Bundy, was very charismatic and maintained his innocence until his death. Regardless, portraying these serial killers serves a purpose more than mere fascination. They’re cautionary tales of human beings who are capable of horrible actions and immortalizing them is a reminder of the terrible acts they’ve committed. These serial killers are the ones being punished, during their lifetime and posthumously. The attraction of these serial killers doesn’t lessen the severe blow of their actions but it does desensitize the media from displaying them further and that is something to be cautious of. Paradoxically, this media exposure serves a purpose as it prevents future serial killers. The media coverage prevents possible victims from being subject to anyone who looks for vulnerable victims. It greatly decreases the chance of these crimes being repeated and increases awareness for people who would otherwise be victims.

Why We Are Fascinated With Serial Killers | Discover Magazine, Charles Manson’s Own Story of Why the Manson Family Killed | Time, What You Need to Know About the Manson Family Murders | History | Smithsonian Magazine, What Is Hybristophilia? Attraction To Ted Bundy, Serial Killers (womenshealthmag.com), Ted Bundy: Biography, Serial Killer, Criminal, The Controversy Behind Netflix’s Jeffrey Dahmer Series | Time, Charles Manson: 1970 RS Interview About Manson Family Murders (rollingstone.com)

READ

@SNAKEPRINTMAGAZINE

ISSU.COM/ SNAKEPRINTMAGAZINE